Welcome to Whiskey & Music. This is the online home for my music collection, where I can post playlists, mixes, reviews and a handful of other random, music related things. I spend a whole lot of time listening to, thinking about and organizing music, and the goal of this site is to have a place for this stuff beyond my brain and hard drive.

About me: My name is Andrew Ryan; many of my friends know me by my nickname Widdla or Wid. If you’re reading this, chances are you already know me. Sup. I’ve been a huge fan of music since I was a little kid, listening to MC Hammer, Weird Al and DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince on a My First Sony Walkman. And from that point on, no matter where I’ve been in my life, my love for music has never changed. I graduated with a degree in American Studies, where I focused on the sociology and history of modern popular music, and I served as the research assistant on two books addressing music after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I was the Reviews Editor for Progress Magazine and PM-Live.com, a website that focused on hip hop and music culture. I released an EP called “Preconditions of Extinction” as The WID and I was one of two MCs for the group Damn Good People.

Really the only thing that makes me qualified in any way to write about music is that I love it, and listen to a whole lot of it. My favorite artists are Wu Tang, The Roots, Bjork, Queens of the Stone Age, King Creosote, Rage Against the Machine, Lisa Hannigan, Brother Ali, Run the Jewels, Frightened Rabbit, Beastie Boys, Outkast, Aesop Rock, Them Crooked Vultures, Pink Floyd, Deftones, LCD Soundsystem, Mr. Lif, The Julie Ruin, Blackalicious, De La Soul, Nirvana, The Deftones, Talking Heads, Operation Ivy, The Kills, Czarface, Gary Clark Jr., Rural Alberta Advantage, Kanye, Elbow, The White Stripes, NIN, A Tribe Called Quest, St. Vincent, Rob Zombie, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Modest Mouse, Redman, The Vaccines, okay I’ll stop now.

I make a pretty extensive list of my favorite songs that were released each year, and I’m always looking for new artists to check out. I appreciate the lists and recommendations that others put together, so this site is for me to do the same.

Pour a glass of whiskey, put on some headphones, and enjoy the site. Cheers!