Hello friends, it’s been a minute! In the interest of keeping this bit short and getting to the “fun,” I’ll just say that I started this mostly because I was bored over the summer and had nowhere else to write about sports, but by November, that had changed. Suddenly there were opportunities to write about college basketball for the Sporting News (pulled the plug on that pretty quickly when better things came along), Hoops HQ (whose newsletter I’ve also been editing a couple nights a week) and Her Hoop Stats (where I’ll be writing even more, something I’ll discuss in detail soon). So, this venture is likely to be more sporadic and more on the nonsense side of Numbers & Nonsense for the time being as my energy is directed elsewhere, as weird as it’s felt the last couple months just being a football fan without spending several hours a week researching and writing about why A.J. Brown is the Eagles’ most important player (he makes everything else in that offense work!)
So, on to the nonsense! Here are my 13 favorite movies, songs and albums of 2024, in that order, which is different than the way they’re listed in the title (alphabetical), because I want to make you scroll all the way to the end to see how hard I copped out choosing my favorite album. I also want to emphasize the word favorite, because I am by no means qualified to tell you which of these things is the “best.” neither are you, or anyone, because that’s a really fucking stupid concept when it comes to art. But I am qualified to tell you which ones I personally enjoy the most.
Disclaimer: I have not seen everything, and I imagine that A Different Man, Heretic, September 5th, Nickel Boys, Better Man and The Wild Robot might find their way onto this list once I have seen them.
Disclaimer 2: I saw one movie I really fucking hated in 2024, Juror #2. That isn’t strictly relevant to the list, I just wanted to say I thought that movie was absolute donkeyshit.
I considered several options for this spot, all of them very different (also Trap, Furiosa and A Real Pain), but ultimately I just had a fucking blast watching this movie and it’s the one I’d be most likely to watch again. Glen Powell made me a full on believer.
I’ve always been a Kirsten Dunst guy and I thought she was at her best in a film that had a much more compelling narrative than I expected, albeit with a lot less to say about American life. This probably would’ve landed near the top if its message went beyond “having a civil war is a bad idea.”
I’ve never read the novels and didn’t even see the first of the modern Dune movies until a couple weeks before this one came out, but once again…just enjoyed the shit out of watching it, twice in theaters and once more already at home. I don’t know that all of it necessarily works (Christopher Walken just feels like Christopher Walken in a space opera), but it doesn’t necessarily have to work to be a good ass time.
Dev Patel is awesome. Revenge flicks are awesome. Not sure what else needs to be said about this one.
Look, it’s Zendaya again! Every single thing about this worked, starting with another performance that made me a believer and down to tennis players thinking tennis is literally the pinnacle of human existence. My favorite sports movie in a long time.
I’ve never actually seen the broadway show, but I love movie musicals (and stage musicals for that matter) and The Wizard of Oz in particular. And, in a trend that’s gonna keep coming up…two absurdly convincing lead performances brought it all together.
I only watched this one a few days ago on my couch and was definitely not expecting to like it this much, but I thought it was both genuinely funny and told a unique story (rare for a coming of age movie). I choose to believe it exists in the same universe as Safety Not Guaranteed, obviously known as the Aubrey Plaza Time Travel Cinematic Universe or APTTCU.
I am not trans, but I still related relate to the notion of an isolated teenager using media as an escape from a struggle to grasp their identity and place in the world. Also, not necessarily related to its position on the list, but just an absolute banger of a soundtrack to this film.
It’s a shame that Kristen Stewart will always be best known for Twilight, because she’s a hell of an actress. Katy O’Brian is also fantastic and this was an absurd and wildly entertaining film. Reminded me of a modern day lesbian True Romance minus all of Quentin Tarantino’s racism and other various off putting tendencies (his movies are still mostly good, especially the early ones, sue me). Could see myself watching this many, many more times.
This is, like, the opposite of Love Lies Bleeding in just about every way except the most important one, being really fucking entertaining. I’m glad people talked constantly about how good this was on release, because the marketing gave me the distinct impression of a Dan Brown story and I had no interest. Would have been a tragedy to miss out on this absolute clinic in Very Serious Dialogue put on by Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and everyone else in the cast. More Vatican boardroom dramas, please! (Said the devout atheist/Jew?)
I’m still not sure if this was the funniest horror movie or the most fucked up comedy I’ve seen in ages, but I loved every second of it. Margaret Qualley and Demi Moore would be tied atop my personal list of my favorite performances of the year if not for one that’s coming up in a moment. Dennis Quaid also jumped off the screen with one of the most memorable creeps I’ve seen portrayed in a long time.
First of all, I hate all of you who didn’t see this in theaters for letting it be a flop because it deserved so much better and we deserve more big budget action comedies. Secondly, this was genuinely my favorite action comedy ever, taking the mantle from True Lies, which only held it for thirty years or so. Neither Ryan Gosling or Emily Blunt is the number one performance I was referring to a minute ago, but they were both outstanding and their chemistry was otherworldly. Aaron Taylor-Johnson was also a standout in a fantastic cast, so good I ALMOST remember who he is when he comes up on the daily movie guessing games Bestie 2 and I play.
Mikey Madison gave, for me, the performance of the year in what was also my favorite movie of 2024, and if I’m being honest, by a pretty decent margin. That’s not a commentary on any of the others. It’s just that I truly adored Anora and would gladly watch it every day. This film makes me feel like Sabrina Ionescu when she gets a high five from Spike Lee — like someone injected the soul of New York into my veins. It wouldn’t land at the top of my all-time 13, but I’m pretty sure it would be on the list.
No immediate commentary coming on these, all but one of them come from albums I’m gonna talk about in a minute anyway and really my commentary on just about every song I love is “it makes me feel things and I like to sing along to it.” The only one not from a fave-13 album, Bad Moves’ “Let the Rats Inherit the Earth” comes from one which barely missed the cut, but it expresses a sentiment that resonates deeply with me, particularly since early November. I highly recommend clicking the links peppered throughout the rest of this post, feeling things and singing along.
Before the top 13, I wanna mention a bunch of artists who released albums I loved this year, just not quite as much as the 13 below. In alphabetical order: Bad Moves, Bleachers, Dehd, Humdrum, Illiterate Light, Japandroids, Katie Gavin, Killer Mike, Linkin Park, Maggie Rogers, Mannequin Pussy, Mk.gee, MJ Lenderman, Origami Angel, Pale Waves, Porridge Radio, Sheer Mag and Vampire Weekend.
I’m a Swiftie who’s been following Jack Antonoff’s projects since Steel Train’s very first Drive-Thru Records showcase as Bestie 1 can attest and “Nonsense” is in the title of this blog, so obviously I also dig Sabrina Carpenter. I particularly love “Taste” and “Juno.” “Espresso” is probably towards the bottom of the album for me and I don’t think anyone needs a link to that one, but it’s undeniably catchy as all fucking get out. Also had a great time seeing her live at both GovBall and the Ally Coalition Talent Show!
I don’t remember how I came across this wonderful debut album, but I’m thrilled it happened. Wikipedia says it’s indie rock and shoegaze, I would call it power pop, but I increasingly feel like I have no idea what genres are. Whatever it is, the songs remind me of Good Weezer, which is one of my favorite qualities in a band. Personal favorites include “Sick Sweet,” “Love On the Outside” and “Busted” (which I can’t find anywhere on the web but it’s on streaming services and shit).
I don’t think I’m exactly breaking any news in telling anyone Billie Eilish is great, and like pretty much everyone else I’ve been a fan since the moment I heard her for the first time. I’m also not breaking any news with the fact that “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” in particular is a goddamn bop of the highest order though at least one Bestie and possibly all three got my post-midnight breaking news reactions the night it dropped (I don’t feel like searching my texts to see how many of them I spammed in their sleep). I also really love “THE GREATEST”.
Again, not really telling any secrets here: Sturgill Simpson is an incredible artist, he doesn’t really make anything other than fantastic records, and I really hope he doesn’t retire or whatever because I want more. I listed “Jupiter’s Faerie” above, and if that song doesn’t make you feel things I worry about your ability to feel things. “One For the Road” is also stunning, as is “If the Sun Never Rises Again”. The other five songs are great too.
The third and (once again, I hope not) final chapter in the story of Aaron West, fictional alter ego of The Wonder Years singer Dan “Soupy” Campbell, brings to an end the story of Aaron’s journey from losing his father and being left by his wife to finding family and peace in this real life fictional band. If Soupy’s voice is on a record, whether it’s TWY or AW20, it’s almost guaranteed to be one of my favorites and I’ll be there shouting the choruses back at him till the bitter end (that’s a reference to the title track, which I linked above). “Roman Candles” is both another favorite and the first song I can ever remember making specific reference to catalytic converters.
Once again not breaking any news, but I was as pleasantly surprised by GNX’s release as everyone else on the planet, particularly because Big Steppers was by far my least favorite of his albums. Everyone’s heard it, and I’m probably the last person who’s gonna have anything to add to the discourse, but “reincarnated” and “Dodger Blue” are my personal favorites.
A band I’ve loved for a few years and this is definitely my favorite record of theirs so far. Once again, I’d call it power pop, but Wikipedia says it’s Indie rock. They’re from Philly, they make catchy songs with guitar parts that rip and they put on one of my favorite live shows of 2024 despite seeing them on one of my shittiest days of a supremely shitty year. “Books in Bed” is on the fave songs list above, “Bitter Pill” comes right after for one of my favorite back-to-backs on any album this year and “Horny Hangover” is somehow a better song than its legendary title, but really you should go listen to the record front to back because it’s all outstanding and they deserve everyone’s love.
The record which started my “2024 Faves” playlist nearly a year ago gradually fell from No. 1 on the list as other things came out that I loved a little more, but it absolutely dominated my life for several weeks and introduced me to a band I expect to love for as long as they exist. I wouldn’t even dream of putting genres on this one, but “A Vineyard For the North” is on the list above, “We Make Hits” is both an actual bop and a very amusing origin story wrapped up in a hedged bet and “Dream Job” is another personal fave. (singing to myself) “I’m still an anti C A P I T A L I S T, it just so happens that there’s other things I happen to be…”
Speaking of bands that defy genres, Foxing’s self-titled fifth album is just plain old Rock according to Wikipedia despite being about as far from the likes of an Aerosmith or Creed as I can imagine. It’s fitting that they got one of their earliest breaks with an opening slot on a Brand New tour, because they have basically taken over the space I used to hold in my heart for BN. I skeeted “Gratitude” in a thread of my favorite songs from 2024 a few weeks ago as I listened through my whole 2024 playlist and Michele from the fantastic I Have That on Vinyl called it quite possibly the best song they’ve ever made. I’m not here to argue. “Kentucky McDonald’s” is another of my favorites. This one definitely is not for everyone (only one of three Besties ever gets Foxing texts and I don’t think she reads them).
It’s always been clear that Katie Crutchfield is a remarkable singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, but this is the first Waxahatchee record with songs that also got stuck in my head. I’ve literally been walking around singing the chorus of “Right Back to It,” which is on my fave songs list, to my cat for the last 10 days. “365” also landed on the above list, and also gets stuck in my head all the damn time. “Crowbar” is another of my faves from the record, and I recommend both the studio version and the band’s fantastic recently-released Tiny Desk Concert. Again, though, don’t just listen to one song, listen to the whole record, and do it often. It’s good for the soul.
A band Wikipedia actually lists as power pop! I love these motherfuckers with absolutely every ounce of my being. Literally the only thing I could say that could be construed as negative about Forever is it’s my second-favorite of their three albums, but that’s only because it follows 2019’s Young Enough, which is probably in my all-time top 13 (and certainly in my non-Taylor top 13). “Last First Kiss” is above and is my favorite album closer of the year, a position of extremely high esteem. “Calling You Out,” “Back There Now” and “Here Comes the Darkness” are other faves, but there are no misses here. The album title says it all: Charly Bliss FOREVER.
First of all, this isn’t gonna be some bullshit where I’m calling the two halves of TTPD a tie for number 1. There is an actual non-Taylor record still to come. I just don’t personally feel the need to separate the two halves of TTPD. Dropping The Anthology was an incredible surprise on release night, but by now it’s all TTPD to me. It’s also gonna stand up as my favorite Taylor album at least until the next one drops, because I believe she’s been operating at the peak of her powers on everything since Lover and this is a double album with 31 songs containing exactly one that I ever skip. There are three songs already on the list above, and I’ll also throw out “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” and “Guilty as Sin?” to go with all the ones I think you’ve probably heard. As with the likes of Chase Cameron Utley, James Calvin Rollins and Joel Hans Embiid, Taylor is as always referred to by her full government name as the ultimate sign of respect.
That there’s something after Taylor on this list is probably the most pleasant surprise of my entire 2024, but I genuinely can’t choose a favorite. The night I listened to Imaginal Disk for the first time, after reading this batshit crazy Pitchfork review, I hit Bestie 2 with an absolute barrage of overnight texts about this band she would probably hate which sounded like The Lorde (as Bestie 2 and I call her) fronting a band of aliens sent to earth from the future whose only exposure to humankind was the music of 100 gecs (who Bestie 2 hates). The next track, they sounded like they’d learned English listening to Fleetwood Mac. Throughout, they also dropped my new favorite No Doubt song, an all-time great Coheed & Cambria song and a disco banger that’d make Donna Summer proud. By the end of the record, I was pleading with Bestie to ignore the gecs reference because I needed her to love this band with me, and thankfully she obliged. For all of their improvements on their obvious influences, my absolute favorite MagBay songs, including “Death & Romance” and “Vampire in the Corner” from the list above, as well as “Image” and “Angel on a Satellite,” still don’t sound like anything else to me other than aliens from the future, and I desperately want to go hang out on their home planet if this is what the music sounds like. Two shows I’m attending in April have an incredibly high likelihood of being my favorites of 2025 assuming the future Mrs. Kelce won’t be gracing us with her stage presence.
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