5 movies, 5 albums, 5 books that you get an unasked opinion about, for free! What a deal. With this list and website I guess I am essentially combining two things I’ve been doing a lot of this year, especially quite recently: tech-tinkering and journaling. So I guess here you have a more focused, public version of a journal entry of mine, that required a lot of GitHub commits in order to appear before your face. Admittedly the tech part of this took about 95% of the effort, with 2% going toward the actual journaling/writeup and a mysterious third amount. Anyway, these are some short thoughts about movies and albums I enjoyed that came out this year, and some books that I read this year (that didn’t necessarily come out recently).
🎬 5 Movies#
This year I became quite the insufferable Letterboxd user. Unemployment have something to do with it? Maybe, maybe… though I have realized it’s my calling (not - it’s just a website for logging things, a concept I have been a fan of since I discovered last.fm in high school). Here’s some opinions that are neither funny nor interesting enough for that site.
Anora#
Director: Sean Baker
The other movies on this list aren’t in any particular order, but this one is my top movie of the year. It definitely caught me by surprise, as I did not find out about it until quite late December. This certainly solidifies Sean Baker as a favorite filmmaker for me, all of his films feel so significant to the point where I can remember the days I saw each of them for the first time, which is a little rare at least for me. In relation to his other films this one isn’t completely original per se, it’s certainly a character piece / day in the life of some marginalized member of society, in this case a sex worker who has found herself working for a spoiled Russian oligarch’s son. The filming is beautiful, and shot in a way that despite somewhat ordinary things going on for the duration of the film, you still get sucked all the way in.
Alien: Romulus#
Director: Fede Álvarez
This is a pretty unexpected selection, I admittedly hadn’t seen any of the Alien movies prior to the release of this one (I watched the first Alien the day I bought tickets for Romulus, so like right before going to the theater). I’ve since watched them all, and it’s a franchise full of some definite classics and some real stinkers. This one feels like it could be a modern classic, though I don’t really know how much that is a thing these days with the sheer amount of shit that gets pumped out. But it certainly has everything going for it to be one, in my view. It has pretty much everything I enjoy in a space sci fi flick, combined with some fun slashy gore, but not an overreliance on it: horror movies for me really need to have an extreme tension, sense of impending doom, an atmosphere, and this one has that.
Will & Harper#
Director: Josh Greenbaum
This one was really nice (and important). Not much needs to be said about how funny Will Ferrell is, but to be honest I wouldn’t have expected him to care to help put a project like this into existence. Not that I wouldn’t expect him to be supportive of his trans friend, but more that at this stage of his career he doesn’t need the risk or honestly doesn’t need to do even anything remotely challenging. He can just be that funny guy in the periphery of pop culture for the rest of his life if he wants. And I guess I’ve also become jaded by celebrities I thought I respected and were probably good people when I was growing up showing themselves to be pretty simple-minded culture war weirdos. But I think doing something like this is really important because so many people that grew up with his comedy have become or are on the cusp of becoming the closeminded bigots we all made fun of growing up. I think a movie like this shows that learning about others and growing doesn’t sacrifice any part of your being, and in fact it helps you learn your more authentic self. And helps you be a kind person, damn it.
trans rights are human rights
Challengers#
Director: Luca Guadagnino
I don’t think I have much to say about this movie that hasn’t been said, its hype was pretty strong but fairly warranted I would say. I’m quite a fan of the Luca Guadagnino films I’ve seen so far, and they’ve all been quite different so it’s pretty cool to see. The score of this one is excellent, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails) made a real good one, I’ve listened to it quite a bit actually here and there throughout the year. Quirked up white boy busts it down sexual style (with the sauce). Or whatever the kids say.
The Bikeriders#
Director: Jeff Nichols
This is one of those movies that I cannot say is very original, and yet it is so well executed I think is still highly worthy of recommendation. I thought the casting was excellent, Tom Hardy’s goofy voice notwithstanding. Sometimes the 60’s biker greaser vibe is just what is right, and this captures that as well as any other movie I’ve seen. It’s not nearly as profound as my favorite Nichols movie Take Shelter (consider that a bonus recommendation, amazing movie but a wee bit of a downer be warned) but still feels like a Nichols movie somehow.
🎵 5 Albums#
I wish my list was a little more diverse, but I did listen to a lot of heavy music this year so that’s what this list is consisting of. Sowwy not sowwy. 🥺
Absolute Elsewhere by Blood Incantation#
genre: death metal on a lot of acid
I’m so happy these guys are getting some mainstream recognition, they’re making some incredibly awesome and inventive music. I honestly never would have thought you could blend their particular brand of OSDM with epic, Pink Floyd-esque prog but I guess you can and it’s beautiful. I was wearing the album shirt at a show recently and no fewer than 5 people came up to me and mentioned how much they loved this album. So yeah, the universal acclaim is real, it’s just that good. It’s feeling a little like when Deafheaven first started getting a lot of press, except people aren’t giving them shit for appealing to normies. Huh.
Favorite Track: THE WHOLE THING! It’s two 20 minute tracks lol
Maze Envy by Civerous#
genre: death/doom metal
This one really took me by surprise, I had given it a couple of listens when it came out and I didn’t really get the hype (“The Internet’s Busiest Music Nerd” gave it a 9?!). I for whatever reason gave it another shot a couple months later, and then I found myself just putting it on in the car, putting it on while working, I think there was a week where I mostly listened to only this album. The death/doom thing isn’t anything new by a real long stretch, but their execution is incredibly fresh. Like I know what I’m hearing isn’t coming from out of nowhere and yet I haven’t heard a band pull it off like this before. I think it’s one of those albums that every extreme metal fan needs to give a few spins because it’s really something that might tickle a specific itch just right. Brutal? Sad? A lil epic? Yeeeah.
Favorite Track: Geryon (The Plummet)
Artificial Bouquet by Frail Body#
genre: screamo
Loud, pretty, frantic, calm, this album is all over the place and I love it. But mostly it’s pretty. There was a large chunk of years where screamo was not my thing at all, but as the years have gone by and bands have gotten more and more open-minded, I have as well, and the hardcore, screamo, and metal scenes have definitely intertwined a lot more. In short, discovering bands like Envy and Deafheaven who played styles I was firmly a fan of while also giving me a taste of the screamo sound really brought me around to the point where I’ll listen to some bands like Frail Body. That isn’t to say Frail Body is boilerplate screamo, because it’s certainly not. Post-rock anthemic builds, chaotic black metal-ish moments, but Frail Body is still pretty rooted in the hardcore influenced sound and scene that I’m really coming around to lately.
Favorite Track: A Capsule in the Sediment
Nocturnal Will by Dödsrit#
genre: melodic black metal, crust
This further exemplifies a growing trend in my recent years’ listening, enjoying my fast metal with some punk/hardcore tinge to it, and these guys have got to be the top of the BM/crust mountain (?) for me. The dual harmonized lead guitars that they make use of quite frequently makes them stand out in a genre mix that can get quite stale fast, and I feel like they really perfected it on this one. Insanely catchy, memorable, sad hooks, great riffs and blast-y sections, epic moments, there’s a lot for me to love here. I hyped this album up for myself because I had discovered them within the month or two prior to the release of it and was blown away with their previous albums, so I had high expectations for this one and it certainly lived up to them.
Favorite Tracks: Nocturnal Fire, As Death Comes Reaping
Cool World by Chat Pile#
genre: sludge metal, noise rock
Pretty neat to see a band like Chat Pile gaining some popularity, much in a similar way to Blood Incantation, their sound is a lot more extreme than I would expect folks that don’t normally venture into the sludge/noise-rock world would be able to withstand. That said, I’m sure it’s at least partially to do with their very explicit statements in regard to the state of the world. Not that we’re lacking it, but us heavy music fans can always use more bands that stand for something a little greater than grotesque lyrics or being edgy.
It stung hot in my eyes, the illusion of justice
It burned deep in my face, felt unbearably selfish
In my mind right now it’s just horrible darkness
Had to break away knowing no one can save us
All tears flow from the same source
Favorite Track: Shame
📚 5 Books#
We can consider the books a bonus section maybe. I’m not nearly a big enough of a reader to be providing you with only selections that were written this year, so these will just be general book recommendations that I read this year.
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac#
Originally Published: 1958
My first and only Kerouac so far and I loved it. Following along with the audiobook read by Ethan Hawke probably helped, but the writing was really vivid and pretty. Quite cozy and a nice little escape. I’m not really sure if people really make this or other books of his to be a really deep thing, because I didn’t get that from it, but I did really enjoy his storytelling so it’s enough for a recommendation from me and enough for me to want to try some more of his.
The Way of Zen by Alan Watts#
Originally Published: 1957
Alan Watts has always been a favorite philosophical figure and quote-smith, so I’m glad I finally got around to formally reading something of his. I thought the approach was perfect for me, explaining the historical context and events within the history of Zen while also getting down to the philosophical nitty gritty.
“I have no other self than the totality of things of which I am aware.”
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair#
Originally Published: 1905
This one has been on my list for a while, given my worldview and political leanings it’s certainly a must. A really wonderfully written immigrant story first and foremost, and a quite harrowing view of the quality of life of the American laborer at the turn of the 20th century. You could use this as a starting point to try to explain why simple quality of life improvements for the working class is considered “radical”.
Unwinding Anxiety by Judson Brewer, MD, PhD#
Originally Published: 2020
Alright finally something more modern eh? If you know me personally it’s probably no surprise that I suffer from anxiety and depression (whether I’ve explicitly told you or not I guess, lol), and in my process of finally confronting it, getting treated and exploring and researching on my own I encountered Dr. Brewer speaking on one podcast or another promoting this book of his. I ended up buying it after not hearing that much, I figured as part of my due diligence with a diagnosis maybe it’s worth reading at least one book on the subject (listen kids: also go actually see a doctor - I eventually did) so I grabbed it and I was beyond happy that I did. One thing I’ve realized about mental health, at least for me, it’s incredibly helpful to get lost in the science of it (well, it’s helpful to eventually understand it too) because it really brings you outside of your experience and lets you examine it for what it is: a neurochemical, biological phenomenon. You’re a person experiencing a thing. And a lot of anxiety ends up being our reactions to this phenomenon. That isn’t to say “get good” or “stop reacting that way”, but more like, start making the effort of taking a look at your mind, your body, and analyze what is happening when you feel bad. I find the neuro-stuff with anxiety and depression to be pretty fascinating so this was a nice easy introduction to it, there’s plenty much more complicated stuff you can get into if you’re made more curious by his framing.
Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.#
Originally Published: 1963
It wouldn’t be a batch of random book recommendations from me if there wasn’t any Vonnegut on it I guess. There isn’t another writer past or present that simultaneously makes me laugh as well as think quite as much as he does. And his books are always just a pleasure to read. Any time I want to get back into the practice of reading, reading one of his makes it so easy to do. So a period of reading other books is usually marked by reading at least one of his.
“In the beginning, God created the earth, and he looked upon it in His cosmic loneliness.
And God said, “Let Us make living creatures out of mud, so the mud can see what We have done.” And God created every living creature that now moveth, and one was man. Mud as man alone could speak. God leaned close to mud as man sat up, looked around, and spoke. Man blinked. “What is the purpose of all this?” he asked politely.
“Everything must have a purpose?” asked God.
“Certainly,” said man.
“Then I leave it to you to think of one for all this,” said God.
And He went away.”