Archive for the Lists Category

10 Best Free Bandcamp Downloads #3: Dead and Dripping, FACS, Sulaco, Frontierer, Earthbøund

Posted in Album Reviews, Lists, MP3s, Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , on 11/27/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Strapped for cash but hungry for great music? You won’t have much luck camping out at the grocery store these days; Bandcamp is a way better destination. Here’s a rundown of 10 rad releases, about half of them newly released, that The Bad Penny recently came across on Bandcamp.

(Note: If you do have some green to spare, please show your thanks to these deserving artists and labels.)

1. Dead and Dripping’s Nefarious Scintillations (Transcending Obscurity)

The physical editions of this release by New Jersey’s brutal death metal band Dead and Dripping aren’t out till tomorrow, but the always-generous Transcending Obscurity Records granted us the digital version early – and for free. Fans of Suffocation and Wormed will eat up this latest journey into the grotesque courtesy of Evan Daniele, who is responsible for every lick of music and even the artwork that comes with Nefarious Scintillations.

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The Bad Penny’s Top 50 Best LPs of 2025, Pt. 1: Sharon Van Etten, Spy, Turnstile, Swans, Cloakroom

Posted in Album Reviews, Lists, Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , on 11/23/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

A lot of fucked-up up shit happened in the U.S. this year. Way, way too much of it. For many of us Americans who actually carry values in our hearts instead of bloviating about them or slapping bumper stickers on our monster trucks, it was almost too much to bear.

Fortunately, 2025 also saw the release of a staggering number of stellar records, which made the year a little more … well, bearable. Hence, for the first time ever, The Bad Penny is deviating from its usual annual tradition of limiting out favorite listens to just 10 and breaking them into a five-part series containing 10 records per installment.

What follows is the first batch.

41. Sharon Van Etten & the Attachment Theory (Jagjaguwar)

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Fimbul Winter’s Ex-Amon Amarth Members Name Their Favorite Amon Amarth Songs

Posted in Interviews, Lists, Videos with tags , , , , , on 11/22/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

A new band named Fimbul Winter is here to deliver fresh songs that hearken back to the earlier sound of Amon Amarth, much like the Halo Effect is doing for those longing for what many consider to be the peak albeit bygone era of In Flames. Also similar to the Halo Effect, Fimbul Winter have cemented their legitimacy and ensured they’re not merely a bunch of wannabes by featuring some of the most important musicians that Amon Amarth has counted in its ranks over the past three-plus decades.

They include founding members Anders Biazzi and Niko Kaukinen, who play guitar and drums, respectively, for Fimbul Winter; and another ex-Amon Amarth member, Fimbul Winter’s lead guitarist Fredrik Andersson (who recently shared with us a poignant memory of recently deceased At the Gates frontman Tomas Lindberg). Rounding out Fimbul Winter’s lineup is vocalist Clint Williams of Munitions note. The Bad Penny caught up with the majority of Fimbul Winter’s lineup last month, ahead of the band recently releasing its five-song debut EP, What Once Was.

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10 Best Free Bandcamp Downloads #2: Rose of the World, Bimbo, Depravity, Weeping Death

Posted in Album Reviews, Interviews, Lists, Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , on 11/20/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Strapped for cash but hungry for great music? You won’t have much luck camping out at the grocery store these days; Bandcamp is a way better destination. Here’s a rundown of 10 rad releases, about half of them newly released, that The Bad Penny recently came across on Bandcamp.

(Note: If you do have some green to spare, please show your thanks to these deserving artists and labels.)

1. Rose of the World‘s Heaven Is a Broken Heart (Sad Cactus)

It’s audacious for an NYC hipper-than-thou band to craft its first LP in the style of Sunny Day Real Estate. Those old codgers have not only come and gone but come and gone again, and then a third time. Hell, even most of their protégés have melted away at this point too. To their enormous credit, Rose of the World has pulled off a maneuver worthy of the Olympic Games with this catchy keepsake of a record. Just released on November 12, snag Heaven Is a Broken Heart before those who can make money off realize that palm-against-forehead revelation and start charging 18 bucks for it.

HEAVEN IS A BROKEN HEART by Rose of the World

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The Bad Penny’s Top 10 Music Books of 2025

Posted in Features, Lists, What You Readin' For? with tags , , , , , , , , , on 11/19/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Most music fans can’t read music. But they can read about music – the larger-than-life personalities, the history of various genres, the often-times truth-is-stranger-than-fiction dynamics that keep one of the entertainment industry’s least profitable yet universally beloved pillars standing.

For the first time ever, The Bad Penny shares what we consider to be the most essential nonfiction books about music that came out in a year during which citizens across the country tolerated book bans and censorship in Authoritarian America. Mark these words: What happened this year and is still happening in libraries and schools in the U.S. will go down as one of the most shameful “chapters” in this country’s history.

Read whatever books you want to read, and enjoy doing so, because in this unpredictable hellscape, who knows what rights we might lose next.

1. Patti SmithBread of Angels: A Memoir (McNally Jackson)

Buy here.

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10 Best Free Bandcamp Downloads: Smirk, Miracle Blood, Jute Gyte, Rat Champion, Iodine Sampler

Posted in Lists, MP3s with tags , , , , , , , , , on 11/14/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

Strapped for cash but hungry for great music? You won’t have much luck camping out at the grocery store these days; Bandcamp is a way better destination. Here’s a rundown of 10 rad releases, about half of them newly released, that The Bad Penny recently came across on Bandcamp.

(Note: If you do have some green to spare, please show your thanks to these deserving artists and labels.)

1. Smirk’s “Domestic Dog” b/w “Manhunt In Paradise”

Connecticut punk prince Smirk greased the wheels for a swing of spring dates last year with this single, which Industry Standards just put out today in the form of a 7-inch. The still-free digital version tops our list of gratis Bandcamp releases because the humble artiste donated all proceeds from sales of it to HEAL Palestine.

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Bad Penny Post #1,000: Your Top 10 Favorite Reads Thus Far

Posted in Lists, News, Polls with tags , , , , , , , , , on 11/13/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Tom Hardy Thumbs Up GIF

The proverbial “they” said it couldn’t be done, but with these words, The Bad Penny has reached its thousandth post since launching way back in 1862 (the same year rock ‘n’ roll was invented!). In celebration of what is still a smaller number than the grand total of songs released by Guided by Voices (no, we didn’t do the math, but are you gonna challenge that assumption?), here are the top 10 most popular posts in the modest history of this website:

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Mastodon Guitarist Brent Hinds’ Top 10 Freakouts

Posted in Lists, Videos with tags , on 11/10/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

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Best New Music Vidoes (October 2025): Imogen Heap, Slowthrust, Rattboys, Matt Pond PA

Posted in Lists, Videos with tags , , , , , , , , on 11/09/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

1. Imogen Heap‘s “I AM __.”

2. Slowthrust‘s “Midnight Slay”

3. Infinity Dream‘s “Lost Embrace”

4. Ratboys‘ “Light Night Mountains All That”

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Favorite Films: Heavy Heavy Low Low Vocalist Lists His Favorite Flicks as Halloween Creeps Closer

Posted in Favorite Films, Interviews, Lists, Reviews with tags , , , , , , , , , on 10/25/2025 by Kurt Orzeck

It’s not uncommon for an actor to form or join a band – after all, it takes a certain gene to drive a person to be at the center of attention as much as they possibly can. But this past summer, when we caught up with vocalist Robbie Smith of sasscore squad Heavy Heavy Low Low, we learned that the inverse isn’t necessarily as common.

Sure, he enjoys fronting the band from San Jose, California, and writing and recording their songs – which are so unhinged and berserk that even Guantanamo Bay couldn’t restrain or temper them. Nonetheless, Smith also enjoys stepping away from the physical intensity of the band’s concerts to focus on an artistic endeavor he may value even more than crafting music: filmmaking.

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