Into the Season: Music, Movies, and a Dash of Dublin

Happy Thanksgiving, if you are celebrating. If you are not, you probably are confronted with Black Friday, which is technically tomorrow in the US, but has expanded globally to an entire season. Anyway, the year-end holiday season has officially started, and despite all the complaining, we still love it.

One way to get into the holiday spirit is by watching seasonal movies. This year, we started early with Champagne Problems, which was not perfect but highly enjoyable. We especially appreciated the absence of a hysterical female protagonist, a common trope in the genre. Instead, we get a protagonist who feels real, relatable, and easy to root for. Also, while the film is only holiday-themed because of the decorated locations, it features some beautiful views of Paris and a château (presumably) in the Champagne region.

I recently started listening to The Price of Music by the UK music industry site Music Ally. While the podcast is industry-focused, it’s still entertaining and interesting even if you’re not into the business side.

In the last episode, the hosts Steve Lamacq and Stuart Dredge discussed two articles by Emma Wilkes and Mark Davyd about why smaller music venues don’t publish set times at shows. You know when the door opens, and from there, you have to guess when the opening and main acts will start. The venues argue that this helps the opening acts and allows concertgoers to spend more time at the bar.

The latter is vital for the survival of independent music venues, which is a problem in itself. Mark has good ideas on how to revive the scene, focusing on making a night out at the venue enjoyable so that people feel good about supporting music and the arts. Selling drinks in plastic cups at sky-high prices while making the audience wait for the music they came to hear does not exactly go in that direction.

Another update for the UK is a new law that prohibits ticket resales above face value. Sounds like a good idea: nothing positive comes from businesses squeezing themselves between artists and fans and skimming off money.

Five Songs

Listen to glamglare five songs on Spotify, Apple Music, or below on YouTube:

A great way to celebrate the human spirit in music is by listening to rock bands. Even if there is only one main songwriter or mastermind, it’s the collaboration and energy exchanged that create a good rock song. Some say bands are making a comeback; others say they were never gone. We definitely don’t have enough bands on glamglare, so here are five of the ones whose music we enjoyed this year.

• Dear Boy — “Kelly Green” (Los Angeles, CA): A band we came to love the moment we heard “Kelly Green,” a bittersweet indie-rock shimmer that hits all the right emotional notes.
• Night Moves — “Hold On To Tonight” (Minneapolis, MN): Dreamy, velvety, and instantly magnetic — Night Moves deliver exactly the kind of nighttime glow we love to get lost in.
• Stolen Gin — “Spoil My Night” (New York City): Effortlessly fun and wildly catchy, Stolen Gin bring a sparkling NYC energy that makes “Spoil My Night” impossible to resist.
• Kanadia — “I Can’t Feel the Sunlight” (Oxford, UK): A gorgeous, slow-burning swell of emotion — Kanadia wrap melancholy and uplift into one unforgettable moment.
• Adult Leisure — “Kiss Me Like You Miss Her” (Bristol, UK): Tension, desire, and big indie-rock atmosphere — Adult Leisure know exactly how to pull you into their world.

Song Pick of the Day

Listen to/watch all seven songs on [YouTube](Link Here). Follow our daily updated playlists on YouTube, Apple Music, or Spotify for the 50 latest Song Pick of the Day features, or subscribe here to receive them in your mailbox in real-time. Thank you for following us and sharing the excitement.

• Selkie turns two surreal real-life moments — glowing bioluminescent seas and a midnight descent through bear country — into the luminous, intimate ballad “Heartspeak.”
• Weightless vocals, a vulnerable heart — Eva Gadd’s “I Just Flew To The Moon” drifts beautifully.
• Jena Malone unveils “Create In Your Name,” a moody, minimalist dark-pop track about seeking something divine in love—even in today’s digital chaos. Listen and fall into its spell.
• Instant pull, effortless charm — Culture Wars shine on the irresistible “In the Morning.”
• Romanie turns quiet frustration into defiant energy on her new single “I Won’t Yell.” A cathartic, powerfully reworked track about being told you’re “too much” — and deciding to speak up anyway.
• A whisper that feels like a wave — Holly Wilks’ “Leave Me” stays with you.
• Balderdasch is back with “Stillness Gyrating” — an experimental pop spark that twists, crackles, and hits straight at the heart.

Three albums (or not)

We have reached that time of the year when much of the music industry takes a break, and album releases become very rare.

I’m working on a classic best-of 2025 album list, which will be ready for one of the next two newsletters.

The Three Albums feature will continue next year. Check out our album release calendar to get an idea what is coming up.

Nine Photos: Dublin, Revisited in 24 Hours

Our second 24-hour stop in Dublin surprised us — in the best way. Even in November, with colder winds and early sunsets, the city felt livelier, more layered, simply more interesting than our first visit in September 2023. Maybe it was the mood, maybe the season, or maybe Dublin just knows how to reveal itself one visit at a time.

Here are nine moments from a day that felt richer than expected — a quick trip that left us already thinking about the next one.

1. Oliver in the morning, all relaxed at Munich Airport.
2. Approaching the Hilton Dublin City Center — our second stay, chosen again for its location, beautiful rooms, and fabulous breakfast buffet.
3. View from the 6th floor: rooftops, soft winter light, and that little thrill of arriving somewhere new.
4. The River Liffey at dawn.
5. At Temple Bar — the classic Dublin moment, captured.
6. The Temple Bar neighborhood dressed up in festive decorations.
7. Dublin at night, glowing streets and that unmistakable Irish warmth.
8. Oliver in front of Café Lisboa, a tiny Brazilian bakery where we chatted with the owner and left happily stocked with Pastéis de Nata.
9. Flight back to New York with Aer Lingus — a moody sunset closing out 24 full, bright hours and wrapping up our trip to Germany and Ireland.