Last year, when I was writing my “Top Whatever”, I wrote that I would be going into 2025 with a lot of trepidation. And I did. As I expected, this year has had a lot of downer moments. Despite it all, I tried my best to make it worthwhile.
I’m going to do things a little different with my write up his year. Looking back, I realized that I’ve done as much as I can to live life to the fullest! To summarize my crazy year, I’m going to write a separate post to “wrap up” my 2025.
But you’re still here for top whatever, right? Let’s dive in to some categories.
Best Albums:
I have come to realize that I will find 10-15 newly released albums and keep coming back to them over the course of the year. And that’s what I did! These aren’t exclusively the records I listened to — I go back and listen to old favorites all the time.
Here are the 2025 records that I enjoyed a lot:
Describe – Hannah Jadagu
I wrote about Hannah Jadagu’s debut record last year. I think she’s pushed herself in a brilliant new direction. Describe conveys the difficulties of long-distance relationships in a way that speaks to me super well. More on this later.
A Welcome Kind of Weakness – Runnner
I got this record a month early – I was fortunate enough to get a pre-release CD in the mail from the label – and I listened to it non-stop for a long time. It’s an emotional record that hit me at the right time.
Blight – The Antlers
The Antlers return with perhaps their most focused record yet. It’s a soft yet devastating journey.
Cloud Time – Emily Sprague
When Emily Sprague isn’t making music with Florist, she is making some of the most relaxing ambient work. Love this.
Bloodless – Samia
Please listen to North Poles I am begging you
Straight Line Was a Lie – The Beths
Let’s go Beths, love the Beths
DON’T TAP THE GLASS – Tyler, The Creator
I really enjoyed how dancey this album is. Lots of repeats on this one.
Florilegium – Uwade
Uwade’s first full-length is gorgeous and deserves lots of repeat listens.
Get Sunk -Matt Berninger
I like this one more than Matt’s first record. Lots of enjoyable tunes from the sad dad extraordinaire.
Land’s End Eternal – Cole Pulice
Oakland-based Cole Pulice is a masterful sax player. This exploration of new instruments and vocal arrangements is such a treasure.
For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) – Japanese Breakfast
I am a melancholy brunette. Made for me, etc. etc.
SABLE, fABLE – Bon Iver
Of course I love the new Bon Iver record! This is kind of cheating since I had the SABLE EP on my list last year, but the full package is something to behold. If Only I Could Wait is a phenomenal duet.
Live music:
I did see a lot of musicians live! I’ll list them here, in the order I saw them:
- Ben Gibbard
- Mount Eerie
- Mogwai
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- Matt Berninger
- Lauren Mayberry
- Laraaji + Sam Prekop
- Cole Pulice
- Samia
- Japanese Breakfast
- Runnner
- The Beths (at the Fillmore!)
I wish I had unlimited money to spend on concert tickets so I could see a larger variety of musicians. Live music is so special to me! I hold it dear to my heart.
Video Games:
I just bought Hollow Knight: Silksong, which I am very excited to play. I started the remaster of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but didn’t get too far into it. I’ll get back to it when I have a lot of time to kill (and a slightly better PC setup). I did beat Horizon: Zero Dawn, finally. Not much else though! I would rate Horizon as the best game out of the few I played.
Movies:
I watched a grand total of 7(?) movies this year. I don’t have a desire to watch a lot of films after last year’s mishaps. Lesson learned, I guess!
I did re-watch Contact after reading Contact for the first time. It’s still very good! Jodie Foster’s acting is exquisite.
Sinners was incredible and deserves all of the praise it’s received. Same goes for Weapons.
I also watched the indie animated film Boys Go To Jupiter. It was rough around the edges but I spent a ton of time laughing. I’m glad I saw it on a big screen!
TV:
I really enjoyed the second season of Severance! I’m glad that there’s still room for experimentation and flourish in the land of prestige TV. Jessica Lee Gagné’s cinematography is incredible and is worth the watch for that alone.
I am also stoked to watch the finale of Pluribus tonight! Everyone involved in this show has put in phenomenal effort, and it shows so well on screen. Very very excited for this one.
More to come!
That’s it for now. I have so much to cover in terms of “things I did this year” that I’m writing a whole separate post for it. I might end up making two! Who knows how long I’ll ramble on for.