Another year has gone by, and boy was it not a great one. For me, at least. I remember telling a friend “Age 26 was not fun. 27 will be my year.” These last few months haven’t been amazing either, so we’ll see if 27 is all it’s cracked up to be.
At least there were cool experiences to have and art to absorb. So let’s get into it.
Like 2023, I did not watch/listen/experience as many things as big publications. But it’s still fun to share my opinions (and writing on the blog is fun).
Live Music:
I went to a lot of concerts again! Some top moments:
- The Beths and Alvvays co-headlining at The Fox Theater— Probably my favorite live show experience ever!
- Kara Jackson interpolating her song “No Fun” with SZA’s “Love Galore”
- Seeing Mitski twice!
- Catching The National for the third time in Berkeley
- Explosions in the Sky performing “Your Hand in Mine”
Best Albums:
Blue Raspberry – Katy Kirby
At the end of January, I absolutely fell in love with Katy Kirby’s newest album. It became the record I listened to the most by the end of 2024, with the 38-minute runtime matching my commute almost perfectly.
My favorite song on the record is “Party of the Century”— seeing Katy and her band perform this live was a treat. You can listen to the album version below.
TRANSA – Red Hot Org (Compilation Album)
Last month, I took a vacation and listened to TRANSA exclusively while I was driving to Los Angeles. I really enjoyed it! There are so many amazing artists, covers, and original pieces that cover the 4-hour, 8-disk compilation. You owe it to yourself to listen through at least once.
That said, I didn’t listen to a lot of new music this year! I did get into music from previous years, so I’ll include some of that here. My top albums (and highlights) go like this:
- Blue Raspberry – Katy Kirby
- Favorite Tracks: “Party of the Century”, “Blue Raspberry”, “Redemption Arc”
- TRANSA – Red Hot Org (various artists)
- Favorites: Disc I (Womb of the Soul), Disc V (Grief), Disc VII (Liberation)
- Paradise Pop. 10 – Christian Lee Hutson
- Faves: “Tiger”, “Carousel Horses”, “Beauty School”
- Aperture (2023) – Hannah Jadagu
- I slept on this last year, it’s phenomenal
- Are We There (2014) – Sharon Van Etten
- I’m slowly working through her discography
- SABLE, -EP – Bon Iver
- People Who Aren’t There Anymore – Future Islands
- Grieftopia – Ministry of Interior Spaces
- “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD” – Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- Jump Rope Gazers (2020) – The Beths
Video Games
I did play a few video games! I started off the year by thoroughly enjoying The Talos Principle 2 and capped it off with a lot (and I mean a lot) of No Man’s Sky. In between, I enjoyed the remake of Riven, as well as some Red Dead Redemption II and indie platformer Beton Brutal. The Zium Society released a new gallery, and that was a joy to walk through and take in. I really like laid-back exploration, so these games were an excellent fit. Riven wins Game of The Year from me.
Best Movies:
I did not finish my New Year’s Resolution of watching 50 movies. And that’s okay. But I did watch at least 36 (including a concert DVD and a few made-for-TV films).
Tarsem Singh’s The Fall (2006) was incredible. I watched it at an independent theater, and it was jaw-droppingly gorgeous to see all of the colors and action on a big screen. I have recommended it to everyone I meet. It’s streaming online via MUBI, and you gotta see it.
Here’s a top 10:
- The Fall (2006)
- Stalker (1979)
- DUNE (Parts I and II) (2021 & 2024)
- After Yang (2021)
- ME (2024)
- Cameraperson (2016)
- Challengers (2024)
- Asteroid City (2023)
- John Wick (2014)
- Scream (1996)
Things I did
Best: As I mentioned above, I took a road trip to L.A. around Thanksgiving. I rented a minivan (only thing available) and drove down the coast. It was beautiful! I really can’t wait for Hwy 1 to open completely so I can do the full drive from San Francisco to SoCal. I stopped in a few places along the way, and saw plenty of nature, art, and ocean.
Worst: I spent most of July recovering from facial surgery— my head swelled up like a balloon and it was a struggle to really do anything. No regrets about the surgery though! I have much less dysphoria about my face and hairline.
Other Things
- Saw the 2024 Solar Eclipse in totality. It was amazing.
- Met Reza Farazmand, creator of Poorly Drawn Lines, one of my favorite comics!
- Taught Art for an entire semester!
- Started taking antidepressants
- Got to tour Pixar’s campus (Thanks Kyrie!)
- Got catcalled for the first time (Wow! Yuck!)
2025?
I don’t really know what next year is going to bring. I am going into it with a lot of trepidation. I hope that good things happen, and I will do my best to make sure I stick around to see 2026. This year had more downs than ups, but I am just going to keep chugging along. It’s all I know how to do.