January 2026
Dear POOPsters:
POOP 39 is here. That means we once again find ourselves huddling together under the digital streetlamp, sharing the music that somehow managed to penetrate the shower of shit around us. The Eastern world, it is exploding . . . as they used to say. Just a few minutes ago as I was typing this, I discovered that I cutely closed last year’s cover letter with the words “Next year in Greenland.” Not so cute anymore, eh? These days music keeps falling further back in the line of things important but maybe, just maybe, it’s one of the few things that provides a glimmer of that hard-to-remember normalcy. Sort of like “you gotta POOP to keep from crying.” And POOP we somehow have. This year twenty-two of us (including some much needed new blood and one Prodigal POOPer) barked at the moon with the usual pith and pomp.
Once again I’ve employed the customary tabulation system, the Who’s-Kidding-Who methodology. As always, I’ve given 2 points to each pompoid’s Top 10 choices and 1 point to each title beyond a Top 10 or in the variously designated ‘honorable mention’ categories (up to 25 titles in all; more than 25 means half-points). Like last year, because we all seem to treat historical releases differently, I awarded 2 points to an archival title in someone’s Top 10 and 1½ points if the title was listed apart from the person’s main list. A bit of mathematical license has been exercised here and there.
So here it is, the unredacted Top of the POOPS:
1 – WET LEG – Moisturizer 12 points (appearing on 6 of 22 lists)
2- STEREOLAB – Instant Holograms on Metal 11½ (6)
3 – GEESE – Getting Killed 10½ (6)
4 – JEFF TWEEDY – Twilight Override 9½ (5)
5 – JASON ISBELL – Foxes in the Snow 6½ (4)
PANDA BEAR – Sinister Grift 6½ (4)
7 – DROPKICK MURPHYS – For the People 6 (3)
VIAGRA BOYS – viagr aboys 6 (3)
WATER FROM YOUR EYES – It’s a Beautiful Place 6 (3)
10 – ADRIAN SHERWOOD – The Collapse of Everything 5½ (4)
Thanks one more time to the digitally dexterous Mark Zip, architect, mechanical engineer and keyboard operator of www.pooplist.net (and manager of POOP’s Facebook page). These days my only job is to just herd the cats and work the numbers, leaving Zip to do all the pretty gift-wrapping. So please show some love to our online facilitator by hitting the ‘DONATE’ button at the top of the webpage to help offset some of his web fees. Be a proper POOPster, pretend our federal funding’s been cut off and drop a few Lincoln pennies into the tip jar (and thanks to the many who have already contributed). Thanks, Mark Z. Be and stay well, all.
Next year in normalcy.
Mark Rosen
Executive Curator of the POOPstein Files
CONTRIBUTORS:
Rich Allen – Centerport, NY
Rob Barocci – Brooklyn, NY
Duncan Clark – Milton, NY
Don Cohen – New Paltz, NY
Scott Dell’Amore – Pine Plains, NY
Eric Fine – New York, NY
Jim Finnigan – New Hamburg, NY
Michael Hodgkiss – Amity Harbor, NY
Brian Hoffman – North Salem, NY
Danny Hoffman – Utica, NY
John Lefsky – New Paltz, NY
Bob Lukomski – New Paltz, NY
Mike Miller – Cuba, NY
Matt Nerney – Grafton, NH
Mark Rosen – New Paltz, NY
Andrew Stewart – Rhinebeck, NY
Jay Stewart – Bloomington, NY
Malcolm Stewart – Rhinebeck, NY
Bill Still – Kingston, NY
Stan Twist – Seattle, Washington
Dan Wilmer – Jersey City, NJ
Mark Zip – Woodstock, NY