What I Adore in Twenty Twenty-Four

This year in music, for me, was marked by an embrace of narrative storytelling in popular music. Musicians like Chappell Roan, Taylor Swift, and Sabrina Carpenter led the way by sharing very diaristic, specific, and graphic lyrics imbued with heartbreak and triumph from their personal lives. This increase in specificity correlated with a continued rise in the popularity of country as artists such as Beyoncé and Post Malone made bold leaps into the narrative-heavy genre. It's been exciting to see established artists shift from pop music to country music, because in recent history, we've tended to see the reverse. Hearing what Beyoncé and Post brought to the genre of country was stimulating and I believe will help propel the genre forward into 2025. 

    In cinema the female gaze was amplified in fascinating ways as intriguing female protagonists embodied roles in genres as divergent as dystopian war journalism road movie (Civil War) all the way to body horror (The Substance and Nightbitch). Coralie Faraget and Demi Moore made the best movie of the year as they confronted the internal struggles many face with body dysmorphia, self-loathing, and the patriarchal imbalances baked deeply into the media industry. For me it was refreshing to see an established Hollywood icon like Demi Moore take such a risk this late in her career and I can't wait to see what the success of this film brings for her in terms of new work.  

    As for TV...I don't have much positive to say because I think the writer's strike finally caught up with us. HBO – usually a leader in the field – had very little to show for. And Netflix, once an arbiter of prestige, continued its contemporary scourge on serial storytelling as it insists on making shows that are listened to while scrolling TikTok. It's been a disappointing year, but I have to acknowledge it's a reality that is ultimately our fault as consumers, because this is what we're showing our algorithms we want. What is a media company supposed to do? You can only buck trends so far before you're faced with irrelevance. 

    Ironically, bad TV has injected new life into the movie theater, because (at the very least) in that dark room with other people, you may feel kind of bad using your phone – which creates an increased opportunity to get lost in a story. And, similar to music, my hope for TV is that we'll see re-embrace of visionary storytelling in 2025 and 2026. A vacuum has been created for exciting serial narratives, and I'll be curious to see which studios step up to claim the mantle long held by HBO, FX, and AMC. Here's to another great year in media!

The Morgan Wallen Honorary Top Ten Most Listened to Songs of 2024*

• Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan
• Primrose by Pixies
• TEXAS HOLD 'EM by Beyoncé
• A Bar Song (Tipsy) by Shaboozey
• Hide My Gun (feat. HARDY) by Post Malone
• squabble up by Kendrick Lamar
• Yeah x10 by Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
• Barney Grabs a Club and He Beats on Head by Barney Zunkel
• True Love by Jane's Addiction
• Fortnight (feat. Post Malone) by Taylor Swift

The Gary Johnson Honorary Top Ten Movies of 2024**

1. The Substance
2. Challengers
3. Civil War
4. A Real Pain
5. Wicked: Part I
6. Deadpool & Wolverine
7. Fall Guy
8. Longlegs
9. Dune: Part Two
10. Inside Out 2

The Drew Carey Honorary Top Ten TV Shows of 2024***

1. Agatha All Along (S1)
2. Mr McMahon (Limited Series)
3. X-Men ‘97 (S1)
4. 3 Body Problem (S1)
5. A Man on the Inside (S1)
6. The Floor (S1)
7. Curb Your Enthusiasm (S12)
8. So Help Me Todd (S2)
9. Dune: Prophecy (S1)
10. The Perfect Couple (Limited Series)

* – if you'd like to save this playlist on Spotify please click here.

** – these are the movies I've yet to see: Alien: Romulus, The Beast, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Gladiator II, The Last Showgirl, Kinds of Kindness, My Old Ass, NIGHTB*TCH, Nosferatu, Red One.
** – these are the television shows I'm still hoping to see: Disclaimer*, No Good Deed Penguin.