The Best Recs from the 617 Q&A Series Interviews in 2025

Last year, at this time, Vanyaland was doing its annual Year in ReView, and my submission was 12 of the best revelations from our 617 Q&A series. This time around, we revisited the concept, but instead of combing through the interviews for revelatory nuggets, we went straight to the recommendations. If you’ll recall, the 617 Q&A is six straight interview questions, one recommendation from the subject, and then we ask for seven of something specifically tailored to the interviewee.

All the recommendations were vastly different, from guitarist Marty Friedman geeking out over a limited edition breakfast cereal to Eloise Wong of The Linda Lindas swooning over drinking hot water, to Jamie Hince from The Kills [pictured], declaring romance was back, with proof in a woozy banger from a Danish pop group. All of them showed just why the 617 Q&A can be so much fun in the unexpected. Check out the full list, and below is the song Hince was so (rightly) hopped up about.