26 best songs of 2026 so far
and my thoughts on the last great Coachella
Happy Thursday. It’s Spring and the year is 1/4 over. Yesterday I read a tweet that said Cameron Winter is dating Ella Emhoff and just moved on, which is something you are allowed to do. None of my business!
It’s Coachella weekend 1 which brings me great pleasure because Los Angeles empties out and you can move about freely and park easily and get good restaurant reservations. It seems neither Scott Speedman or I go to the festival anymore.1 I think the last really joyful year, for me, was when Dr. Dre and Snoop brought out the Tupac hologram. It just used to be so much more stupid in a good way? But I am happy for everyone. I’ll be using god’s Brick (phone in the other room) this weekend because I have a lot of work to do and I can’t look at one single other grotesquely protruding celebrity shoulder bone this week.
A few other things before I get into my list, which to be clear is just my 26 favorite songs of the year so far with no context (I trust your ears to serve you). Objective “best of” lists are not real but I’ve started to dabble in provoking via subject line and social media post because once you remove yourself from the energetic exchange, it’s really fun to observe. Also they’re not really in any order (you know how I feel about ranking things). Just a bunch of great songs for you. And if you like this, (almost) every week on my Instagram I put up a video of 5 songs I loved that week. Also, Chris Ryan and I discussed some of these artists in more depth on the Bandsplain episode about…our favorite music of 2026 so far (I am like a three trick pony at best).
Anyway first some news:
Patrik Sandberg is on Substack now and you should all get involved with Paraphernalia because his view of the world is unique and surprising (rare these days), his taste is basically perfect, and his throwaway writing is better than anything I could craft after forty drafts.
My friend Jago Rackham put out his first cookbook To Entertain: Instructions for a Dinner Party! He is bitingly funny and much like myself, deeply devoted to researching his niche interests, one of which is traditional British cuisine. He’s always making something called like “milk fish” that I think will be disgusting but is actually delightful. I have had the extreme good fortune to attend a dinner part or two with food cheffed up by Jago, and let me tell you, you want to buy this book (once you can in America? Not sure when that will be).
BLIND ITEM: I got to listen to a new album by a band you guys love (me too) that isn’t announced yet and it’s absolutely fucking incredible. (Stretching the outer limits of how annoying one person can be over here). Hint: they’re playing Coachella.
Found Time, the new book by Caroline Goldstein from 831 Stories, has the protagonists meeting at a Jeff Buckley concert, if that is your sort of thing (it is very much my sort of thing but I have to read three more unauthorized Madonna biographies before I can get into it).
Not really related to music but I contributed my non-scientific research on hair loss and hair care2 to Alexis Page’s fabulous newish Substack Self Involved. One of these days I’m going to get it together and create a second Sub for all my deeply researched, lightly provocative wellness/health/skincare thoughts and findings and then it will be over for at least a few hoes (or at the very least I’ll get a PR package that isn’t a stack of vinyl).
Moving on…
THE 26 BEST SONGS OF 2026 SO FAR: