Justin The J-Bird

12/26/2025

J-Bird's Favorite Albums of 2025:
# 17: Dax Riggs - 7 Songs For Spiders
A fuzzy, sludgy, stoned out EP that came across my field of awareness early on in the year and was on constant rotation whenever I needed some heavy jams.

12/22/2025

The 12/20 playlist. Sorry the first hour or so went unaired. I reached out to the powers that be when I heard my show not airing but it took a while to get a response.

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

12/16/2025

Hi all,
No show on the 12th due to a mixup at the station. I reached out to the folks at the station but didn’t get an answer as to why a hockey game was airing in my spot until hours later that night. Apparently someone hit the wrong file and no one was able to correct it. I will see you this weekend for our J Bird Christmas special and try to get last week’s show aired in January.

12/08/2025

The 12/6 playlist! Will be back next week for the 250th pre-recorded show I have done! Expect something special.

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

12/06/2025

7.21.25
Pelican @ The Sinclair

Ok, just gonna get this out of the way: this was possibly the best show I’ve seen all year. What’s the secret? Nothing. Just a tightly executed rock show.

Pelican rides a fine line between hard rock, metal, and somewhat stoner-y leanings but without any of the peacocking or ego that you get in those circles. 4 dudes, no lyrics. Just heavy riffs and amazing interplay. These guys have been at it a while but their most recent offering is one of my favorite records this year for all of the above reasons. It’s just good fu***ng rock music.

Unlike the Pixies gig before this, I got the sense that everyone in the audience WANTED to be there. It’s been the better part of a decade since Pelican landed in Boston and the celebratory nature was highly palpable. Phones down, eyes up… yeah I’m praising grown adults for being grown adults but this was night and day in terms of crowds. I live for stuff like this. No frills at all. 20 bucks can still get you the best night you’ll have without question.

Sorry I’m not more descriptive here. I was just so living in the moment but I do remember at one point having an absolutely stupid grin on my face from how much I was loving the show. Rather giddy, I turned to my buddy and said “this is what live music should be”. I stand by that. Cherish these kinds of shows.

12/04/2025

Hi folks!
I don’t really stream at all so in lieu of my spotify wrapped, here are my favorite records of 2025. Will be giving these some mini reviews in the coming weeks.

12/02/2025

7.19.25
Pixies @ MGM Music Hall

This was a big one off the list. Pixies are very much like a more contemporary Velvet Underground in that they seem to have an outsized influence that started since they broke up. You can probably chalk it up to “Where Is My Mind” being featured in Fight Club or something, but regardless I do consider Doolittle to be a real 10/10 record. I’ve been real mixed on the post Kim Deal revival of the group which has kept me from making a solid effort to check them out, but this bill with Kurt Vile drew me out.

This was night 2 of a 2 night “residency” at MGM, with the first being focused on full album playthroughs and the second being a more typical Pixies set. I honestly opted for night 2 due to it being easier to get to Fenway on a Saturday than Friday. Easier said than done as there was some country show next door since the Sox were out of town.

The highlights were definitely worth the price of admission, those being classic material from the original 4 albums. Those songs are amazingly timeless and have endured more than many of their contemporaries of the late 80’s and early 90’s. The new stuff… really doesn’t do it for me. Its nothing bad, but none of the material stuck for me and it was clear that the audience felt the same way.

Speaking of, this was a pretty crummy crowd. Pixies are pretty well known across multiple generations so it makes sense the folks here were a bit more… pedestrian. Lots of people in my area that were obnoxiously drunk or glued to their phones despite being pretty close to the stage. I felt like no one cared about the act that they paid good money to see. I dunno, that’s just how I read the room.

Kurt Vile killed it too. Honestly maybe a better set than Pixies but I may be biased. Awesome to see another former Boston act on the bill and even cooler to see Kurt rip up such a big stage!

12/01/2025

The 11/29 playlist, celebrating Neil Young’s 80th birthday!

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

11/20/2025

A little late but here is the 11/15 jazz playlist! See you this weekend with a return to general programming.

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

11/09/2025

Hope you liked the 11/8 vinyl week show going over 1985 and 95! Here is the playlist.

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

11/03/2025

Hey, it’s the 11/1 playlist with songs straight from Japan! Sayonara till next week.

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

10/29/2025

The 11/25 playlist - a Halloween feature on the devil himself.
And a quick note... I will be in Japan the next two weeks on vacation but don't worry! We have plenty of broadcasting already pre-recorded for you so it's like I never went anywhere. See ya when I return!

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.