Weekly5 turns five this year, and for a couple of weeks now, I’ve been frantically searching for the perfect angle, the ideal format, to create a celebratory recap of this time. However, nothing felt really great.
In 2015, I started curating new music every week. “Songs of the Week” was the selection’s name, and it didn’t have any defining shapes. But it lasted for three years, until one night at the Kaltern Pop Festival, a music promoter suggested carving a clearer concept for the curation. And in January 2019, the very first edition of Weekly5 was published.
We all know what happened next: The pandemic hit, and after pushing Negative White for a decade, I decided to put the magazine to rest.
But around the turn of the year 2020/2021, two things came to a head: on the one hand, I realised that I was missing the chance to discover new music and that I really needed to make time for it. On the other hand, a friend approached me and said he really missed Weekly5. The perfect excuse to continue the format as an English-language spin-off for enthusiasts. And I feel hugely honoured that some of you have been here since 2021. Thank you so much!
So, to be precise, it’s five years of English-written Weekly5. But by now, that’s the defining part of its history. The format will hit its 200th edition this year, with 1000 songs recommended over all this time.
Ploughing through emails and new songs to find the gems has become a comforting routine on my Fridays and Saturdays. And yes, it does sometimes feel like a chore. But more often, it brings me joy. It’s become a companion, a friend, in my life, and hopefully, in yours too.
And as it is with friendships, you go through some shit together. Looking back at these five years, I can sort of assess where I was in life—and how it unconsciously shaped the songs I selected. Maybe that’s the best angle to celebrate this Weekly5 anniversary.
2021: Between Resilience, Hope, and Despair
After the pandemic had swept away our usual sense of normality the year before, 2021 was all about perseverance. Life and the world were still in turmoil, but somehow we had to carry on. And I’d say that As I Try Not To Fall Apart by White Lies single-handedly and ultimately got me through this period relatively unscathed.
From this song, just as from James’ Beautiful Beaches, the Hot Chip remix of Casper Caan’s Last Chance, BARON.E’s Comme Rêve or Ivorrie’s Plane, I drew hope and basked in longing.
And yet there were moments of despair and pain. Moments when I just wanted to pull a blanket over my head and forget everything around me. Tracks like 45rpm by Kaktus Einarsson or the achingly piercing Darkness Born in Youth capture these feelings perfectly.
2022: Change
A transformative, difficult, yet beautiful year. After a long struggle, and on the brink of burnout, I decided to leave journalism behind. A new job, a new city, new experiences, and newly in love.
The selection of songs was just as wild. There’s an unmistakably loud element, such as Zeal & Ardor’s Church Burns, but also plenty of melancholy and world-weariness, for example in The Haunted Youth’s Broken, Ezra Furman’s Point Me Toward the Real or Violence’s Honey.
All these personal changes are reflected in the R&B, blues, soul and rap tracks that gradually found their way into the Weekly5: for example, Go by Baby Rose, Peter Pan by Palma Ada and, above all, Stockholmsvy by Hannes and waterbaby.
However, the biggest influence was undoubtedly my new job and the colleagues who reignited my love for electronic music. HVOB, Julien Bracht, Ätna, Perel and, above all, the brilliant Sensu remix of NOTI’s hooked.
2023: Finding the Groove
In keeping with the theme of settling into this new life, the curation also found its groove.
A look at the year’s best tracks perfectly underscores this: there’s the rebellious post-punk of True Faith’s In Vain alongside the crisp rhythms of Sensu’s Fuse, the soulful neo-soul of We Never Knew by Beharie, contrasted with the flow of Kwengface.
2024: The Best so far?
Perhaps it had something to do with reaching the milestone of 40 editions, but today, looking at the 2024 selection, there are so many brilliant tracks still on heavy rotation in my playlist. And these are songs that I feel will stay with me for the rest of my life. Never Mind by the Moonpools, First Touch by Francis of Delirium, or the futuristic sounds of Hugo Trist.
Was it the best year? I’m not sure. But for me, it was a year in the flow. The pieces of the puzzle fell perfectly into place everywhere. Looking back, I suppose I also felt a fundamental sense of optimism. Or at least the music created this wholesome bubble. Letz Get It was the motto. That lasted at least until November. And that’s exactly when The Cure were there to offer comfort with their phenomenal Endsong.
2025: Persistence
Right, where do we start? The optimism is gone. 2025 was an incredibly draining year, mainly because of the demanding work. I often felt burnt out, but had to keep going. I’m actually surprised that I still managed to put out 35 Weekly5 editions. But when I scroll through last year’s posts, they don’t meet the standard I expect of myself.
But 2025 is still too fresh to really take stock. What White Lies did for me with As I Try Not To Fall Apart during the isolation of the pandemic, Patrick Wolf achieved last year with Jupiter, that indescribable ode to persistence and hope:
But on the darkest night
I see most clear
The way to anywhere
But here
I’m blinded
To the big picture
Then just before morning
Jupiter
Now, where do we go from here? It feels as if Weekly5 has arrived at a pivotal moment: Born from the age of streaming, the glory days of playlisting, and the increasing irrelevance of albums, the format’s future seems quite unclear to me.
However, in today’s algorithm-dominated, abundant, increasingly AI-slop-filled world, I am simultaneously convinced that the core of Weekly5’s promise remains valuable: human music recommended from one person to another. And very much connected to Negative White’s purpose of sharing and nurturing people’s passion for music. I believe more than ever that music is best when it is a shared human experience, and that when we share music with others, we build relationships and create memories.
So, the question is: How can music curation look in 2026 and beyond?
I don’t have an answer yet. But until I do, you can count on the Weekly5, your music recommending companion, to knock on your inbox on Sunday mornings.
