A list of films I have yet to see: Wicked, Flow, All We Imagine is Light, Love Lies Bleeding, The Beast, Sing Sing, Close Your Eyes, Queer, The Room Next Door, I’m Still Here, Red Rooms
Now we begin! I’ve also put my acting awards at the bottom.
15. A Different Man
14. The Substance
13. My Old Ass
12. Problemista
11. Hard Truths
10. Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World
9. Kneecap
8. Nickel Boys
7. Rebel Ridge
6. The Brutalist
5. I Saw the TV Glow
4. Conclave
3. Furiosa
2. Anora
1. Challengers
Honorable mentions: Dune: Part II, Trap, Hundreds of Beavers, Sometimes I Think About Dying, La Chimera
Best Supporting Actor:
5. Karren Karagulian, Anora
4. Percy Hynes White, My Old Ass
3. Yuriy Borisov, Anora
2. Guy Pearce, The Brutalist
Adam Pearson, A Different Man
Best Supporting Actress
5. Margaret Qualley, The Substance
4. Renate Reinsve, A Different Man
3. Julianne Nicholson, Janet Planet
2. Michelle Austin, Hard Truths
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Nickel Boys
Best Actress
5. Demi Moore, The Substance
4. Zendaya, Challengers
3. Mikey Madison, Anora
2. Ilinca Manolache, Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World
I notice three themes as I go through my favorite albums this year.
One, I returned to heavy music this year. My high school years were spent devouring the Tooth & Nail/Solid State Records rosters, but post-college I left a lot of that behind. Three albums here fit into the punk/metal/hardcore trifecta.
Second: older musicians reflecting back on their lives. Two of my favorite albums come from artists looking back at their dreams, failed promises, and the ways the world has let them down (without completely forsaking hope in the world).
Finally, I leaned into grating work. As I mention below, the companies who control the music we listen to are always looking for ways to deepen their pockets. A lot of the time that means pushing easy things to listen to so people will nonchalantly continue listening and they can sell investors on “listener growth”. While this doesn’t mean that everything that’s hard to listen to is a genius work, I did appreciate artists pushing against convention.
10. Gouge Away “Deep Sage”
Why? My favorite punk album of the year. It’s pulsing and furious while leaving room for experimentation and the occasional slow down.
Songs to listen to: “Spaced Out”; “Maybe Blue”; “Idealized”
9. Sarah Kinsley “Escaper”
Why? It’s a sort of adult-contemporary album from a classically trained musician that always pushes a little further than you expect. These songs just stuck with me.
Songs to listen to: “Escaper”; “Matter”
8. Detach the Islands “A Highly Magnified History”
Why? Chaotic hardcore that captured the sound of my youth in perfect ways. It’s intense and fun.
Songs to listen to: “The Sky is Black with Success”; “A Highly Magnified History”; “Cutting the Chandelier”
7. Chat Pile “Cool World”
Why? Heavy and pessimistic songs for a heavy and pessimistic time.
Songs to listen to: “Funny Man”; “Masc”
6. Beyonce “Cowboy Carter”
Why? The Queen returns with a reflection on country music that is that but so much more. It’s full of catchy tunes, vengeance, and lullabies– an essential work in her majestic oeuvre.
Songs to listen to: “Bodyguard”; “II Hands II Heaven”; “Ya Ya”
5. Mk.gee “Two Star and the Dream Police”
Why? A new star has arrived, pushing forward the singer-songwriter genre in new ways that are familiar but just beyond description.
Songs to listen to: “Candy”; “I Want”; “Alesis”
4. The Cure “Songs of a Lost World”
Why? An 80s great returns to create a beautifully reflective album.
Songs to listen to: “All I Ever Am”; “Nothing is Forever”
3. Elucid “Revelator”
Why? Experimental hip hop that pushes the boundaries of the genre, while calling out the brutality of the world.
Songs to listen to: “CCTV”; “Instant Transfer”
2. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds “Wild God”
Why? It’s a harrowing, at time epic, at other times heartbreaking album from an artist reflecting back on their life decades into their career.
Songs to listen to: “Cinnamon Horses”; “Wild God”
1. Økse “s/t”
Why? Numerous articles have been released about Spotify flooding certain playlists with fake for-hire artists so they don’t have to pay royalties to real musicians. Økse is my number one because it’s the opposite of that. An avant-garde jazz super group making pulsing experimental music while avant-garde rappers rhyme over the top.
Songs to listen to: “Amager”; “Three Headed Axe”
Honorable mentions:
Jake Xerxes Fussell “When I’m Called”
Trent Reznor / Atticus Ross “Challengers (Score”
Mannequin Pussy “I Got Heaven”
The Smile “Wall of Eyes”
Charli XCX “Brat”
Spanish Ran “Abandoned Saints”
Respire “Hiraeth”
Trophy Wife “Get Ugly”
Kendrick Lamar “GNX”
Porridge Radio “Clouds in the Sky They Will Always Be There For Me”
I still need to see: The Zone of Interest; Fallen Leaves; Anatomy of a Fall; The Taste of Things; Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret; Ferrari; A Thousand and One; American Fiction
15. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (Christopher McQuarrie)
Had so much fun with McQuarrie’s latest installment of watch Tom Cruise risk his life for the big screen.
14. Beau is Afraid (Ari Aster)
Aster’s huge swing doesn’t always work, but when I think of my favorite movie moments of the year so many of them come from Joaquin Phoenix’s ultra-paranoid Beau and all he goes through.
13. Maestro (Bradley Cooper)
Defies biopic convention while examining the multitude of roles we play as humans.
12. The Holdovers (Alexander Payne)
Largely predictable, but so warm and charming, in what is sure to be a newfound holiday classic.
11. The Killer (David Fincher)
Explores the absurdity of being a person in modern life in which consumerism invades even the most principled among us.
10. The Boy and the Heron (Hayao Miyazaki)
Miyazaki’s final(?) feature is filled with weird birds, peculiar hope, and making the choice to embrace our reality no matter how tough it can be.
9. Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)
An actually simple story overloaded with magical weirdness as Emma Stone’s Bella faces each of life’s stages. Lanthimos is obsessed with humanity’s desire for control, something Bella questions, succumbs to, and ultimately overcomes.
8. Showing Up (Keilly Reichardt)
High drama with low stakes, Kelly Reichardt tells the story of a small art school in Portland while exploring themes of art, care, and the complexities that make up each of our communities.
7. Past Lives (Celine Song)
Dives deep on the ideas of lost love and the impact on our souls. An astounding and poetic work of romantic genius.
6. Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)
Nolan’s pulsating thriller explores a man’s quest to be the best at what he does and what happens when that leads to the most horrific results imaginable.
5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, Kemp Powers)
Continues to push digital animation toward thrilling heights while offering delightful characters and storytelling beats.
4. Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese)
Brutal examination of American history, in which Scorsese ultimately critiques himself and the way we tell these stories.
3. Return to Seoul (Davy Chou)
Considered by some a 2022 release, Seoul received a wider release in mid-February 2023 so it counts here, a character study on how long it takes to heal our generational wounds.
2. May December (Todd Haynes)
A complex melodrama about the roles we play (in society, in relationships, and in the movies) and oh so much more.
1. Asteroid City (Wes Anderson)
Potentially Anderson’s masterpiece, Asteroid City, explores the ways we find meaning through the tragic and incomprehensible moments that life throws our way. How do we create hope? Anderson finds it in storytelling, curiosity, and the bonds we build with one another.
The best 25 songs of the year! Listen to them all here. As you’ll see it was difficult for me to not pick all of the songs from the newest Sufjan album.
25. “Memories” by Statement of Pride
24. “What Was I Made For?” by Billie Eilish
23. “all i do is try my best” by glaive
22. “Moments Stolen” by Cautious Clay
21. “Effort” by Pearla
20. “That! Feels Good!” by Jessie Ware
19. “Astrology Poisoning” by Avalon Emerson
18. “Moment of Your Life (feat. Coco Jones)” by Brent Faiyaz
17. “Hiding Out in the Open” by Feist
16. “One More Time” by blink-182
15. “Parking Lot” by Indigo De Souza
14. “Emily I’m Sorry” by boygenius
13. “Alyosha” by Susanne Sundfor
12. “Will Anybody Ever Love Me?” by Sufjan Stevens
11. “Killer Her Freak Out” by Samia
10. “mememe” by 100 gecs
9. “Shit Talk” by Sufjan Stevens
8. “Bug Like an Angel” by Mitski
7. “Touch Me (feat. Clara La San & Aidan)” by Jam City
6. “John ‘the Rock’ Cena, Can You Smell What the Undertaker” by Hot Mulligan
5. “Old Spice Icon” by Sophia Stel
4. “Sunset” by Caroline Polachek
3. “Float (feat. Seun Kuti & Egypt 80′)” by Janelle Monae
4. Boldy James “Super Tecmo Bo” (with The Alchemist); “Killing Nothing” (with Real Bad Man); “Fair Exchange No Robbery” (with Nicholas Craven); “Mr Ten08” (with Futurewave).
3. Porridge Radio “Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky”
24. “up at night” (feat. Justin Bieber) by Kehlani
23. “meta angel” by FKA Twigs
22. “Expert in a Dying Field” by The Beths
21. “Nonchalant” (feat. Mamii) by Westside Boogie
20. “Piano Love” by Conway the Machine
19. “If I Had the Heart for Chasing” by Yumi Zouma
18. “Silk Chiffon” (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) by MUNA
17. “Watching You Go” by Let’s Eat Grandma
16. “Hiding in Place” by Queen of Jeans
15. “Return of the Sasquatch” by Your Old Droog & Madlib
14. “Gone Girl” by SZA
13. “Laura and the Beehive” by The Wonder Years
12. “Mount Auburn Cemetery” by Rat Tally
11. “BULERIAS” by Rosalia
10. “United in Grief” by Kendrick Lamar
9. “midnight sun” by Nilufer Yanya
8. “Game Time” by Boldy James
7. “Rotten” by Porridge Radio
6. “New Shapes” by Charli XCX
5. “That’s Our Lamp” by Mitski
4. “Despues de la Playa” by Bad Bunny
3. “Sauvage”(feat. Boldy James) by Billy Woods
2. “Good Will Hunting” by Black Country, New Roads
“You’re the Reason I Don’t Want the World to End” by The Wonder Years
To choose hope over despair is probably the burden of every parent ever with every anxiety and world issue multiplied by a billion. I’ve entered that portion of my life and the weight is heavier than ever. Here The Wonder Years express the unrelenting grief and joy of parenthood. It’s a pop-punk/emo dirge that was perfectly crafted to hit both my nostalgia and current state of mind.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(726x0:728x2)/FURIOSA-trailer-113023-q-ee1bf195e6a5405ebc37f3e915ef4d90.jpg)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/beyoncegrammymain-cd25a7e735ec49e2ba2a9a394d7499f7.jpg)
Jacob Wilson 