Brace yourself, because this is gonna be hard to believe.

The twenty-first century is a quarter of the way over.

How crazy is that? I remember struggling to conceive of the year 2000 when I was a child. Now it’s 25 years in the rearview mirror after what seems like the blink of an eye.

Go figure.

Like so many others in my world, I was starting to assemble a “Best of 2025” release list for this site. And I will put a quick one together. But when I thought on it, it’s incredible to realize just how many incredible things I’ve experienced over the last quarter century.

My neurodivergent mind tends to use music as context when I try to remember something from years back. That memory triggers thoughts of the event I’m using as a cue. And with that, the floodgates opened.

It started with the me thinking about my favorite albums. But music is about SO much more than records! There were spectacular gigs, legendary venues, and first-hand encounters with musicians I admire.

These thoughts only intensify when I narrow things down to the last five years. When I retired from policing in 2020, I took on an entirely new identity (it seemed), which led me into a completely different world, both literally (when I moved to Chicago) and metaphorically. These memories are too great to ignore.

And so, 25 from 25 is born!

I’ve sketched out 25 potential headings and thought about the adventures or discoveries connected with them. The ideas came even faster than I thought they would. So, I guess this is a Thing.

My work on these will begin very soon, but they probably won’t be released until the start of 2026. How often they spring forth is also subject to my personal editorial choices and how quickly I can run down the materials needed.

I’d be very excited to hear your comparisons. Comments will be more than welcome.

Let’s take a stroll down Memory Lane.

#cirdecsongs

If you would like to have your music reviewed or your band photographed when you’re in Chicago, please contact me at cirdecsongs@gmail.com