It goes without saying that this year was unlike any other. However, my yearly top 10 album tradition must live on!

Shall we?

10. The Chicks, Gaslighter

After a 14-year hiatus, The Chicks (formerly The Dixie Chicks) release their new album through a unique collab with producer Jack Antonoff and arrive together at a new era of protest country-pop. “Gaslighter” is super fun and dynamic and I was thrilled they covered Charlotte Lawrence’s heartbreakingly relateble “Everybody Loves You.” So glad this iconic trio is releasing music again!

Best Tracks: Gaslighter, Texas Man, Everybody Loves You, March March

9. Overcoats, The Fight

Recently featured as Billboard Pride’s Artist of the Month and on Spotify’s physical billboard on 12th Ave as you head into Nashville’s downtown, Joy Oladokun is not only an artist to watch but possesses a voice and perspective that gracefully demands to be listened to.

I remember when the superstar released 1989-a ground-breaking album that replaced the comfortable image we collectively held of the beach-waved country singer with a sleek-bobbed pop star that took the genre to its most crafted fringes.

While 1989 felt like a rubicon of sorts dripping with the counter-intuitive desire of resisting reaching the height of one’s potential, she managed to deliver two more successful projects in reputation and Lover (both in terms of quality and commercial success), and while reputation didn’t do as well as she hoped and is never the popular choice of a “which TS album is the best?” poll, a weaker Swift album is still incredibly well done with this album bringing “Delicate” (a personal all-time favorite and #4 on Rob Sheffield’s ranking of all 153 Taylor Swift songs on Rolling Stone).

*in order of appearance

Catch and Kill (podcast)

November 2019-February 2020

Technically starting in 2019 but concluding in 2020, Ronan Farrow’s companion podcast to his Pulitzer Prize-winning crime novel Catch and Kill elevates and makes audibly tangible the stories he uncovered about Harvey Weinstein and the dangerous scrutiny he went through because of it.

Where to listen: Apple Podcasts & Spotify

Awkwafina makes Golden Globe history (moment)

January 5th

I’ve written a lot about The Enneagram.

Mostly about it in relation to my favorite TV shows (Gilmore Girls, The Office, One Tree Hill and Parks & Rec)

Although it’s become ubiquitous and at times abused, I still find it a helpful tool of gaining awareness of the places we come from and the tendencies in our perspectives and projections. And I’ve always said the reason why I love and study this personality analysis the most is because I think it is the one to most honestly, and even a bit brutally, expose our sin.

I was reminded yesterday (listening to this Midtown Fellowship Podcast episode on The Gospel & Justice) how much our self-righteousness permeates everything — even the seemingly selfless aspects of our lives. …

Today marks 10 years since one of my best friends in the world was diagnosed with stage IV cancer.

10 years since she had to cancel singing “Falling Slowly” from Once with me at a school coffeehouse to go to the hospital for what we thought was a persisting sports injury. 10 years since I stood in my kitchen, almost premonitionally avoiding eye contact with my mother before she said she had to tell me something. 10 years since she said “it’s cancer,” since I said “what? oh my God, oh my God.” …

*Even though this is being published now, this was my first edition to my TV Shows & The Enneagram series (that’s why it includes the most Ennea background). The site I originally posted these on crashed so I’ve slowly gotten them back on Medium. Check out others on my profile (One Tree Hill, The Office, and Parks & Rec) and check out coordinating podcast episodes on my show Monologue here!

I first learned about The Enneagram in college, and studied it my final year in a Spiritual Formation course. I was able to learn about the different types, discover my specific one, and begin applying it to my life.

The Enneagram is subtle and complex. It’s common to find a little of yourself in all nine of the types, but the more you dive into each, the more one…

Hi. My name’s Monica Moser and I like to write about the year’s most important films, notable moments in pop culture, and, Billie Eilish.

But among my many hats, one of them is an employed member of the music industry in a very important, timely niche: streaming promotions.

In fact, the company I work for is literally called Streaming Promotions. We love being on the nose.