Posted by bzedan on Jan 16, 2024
[Main image description: An illustration in the vibe of the diagrams that show how the seasons are related to how the earth orbits the sun, with four Garfield faces to the top, bottom, left and right of a glowing orb. His face is shadowed or lit starkly depending on its position to the sun.]
Movies & TV
I didn't watch as many movies purposefully this year (as in, sit to watch and remember to write down). I did avail myself of a lot of what was on Hoopla (free with most library cards!), and became very enamoured of Modern Marvels over on Kanopy (another library perk) - a dry documentary series on everything from the polio vaccine to salt mines. I figure I'll group things on the screen by vibe.
Animated, strange worlds
Memories (1995) - I love an anthology. And a sci-fi anthology?! It's a lonely series of stories and the last, Cannon Fodder, felt so very Heavy Metal. The first story, Magnetic Rose is very very sci-fi but also fantastical in how the characters minds are manipulated. A wizard tower or the remains of a space station, what is the difference really. The middle story, Stink Bomb, is weird and funny and yikes.
Scavenger's Reign (2023) - This felt like coming home in a way. The animals! The horrible little creatures of the planet our characters find themselves in, so perfectly and wildly adapted. If you miss the vitamins of Liquid Television this very much offers that - along with a lovely story and characters you feel fierce about.
Bob Spit: We Do Not Like People (2021) - trailer - This stop motion semi-documentary about the Brazilian cartoonist Angeli is a delight. It satisfies that comix desire, it's weird and punk and a delight. Going between interview and vignettes in a post-punk sort of apocalyptic world, it's just a dang delight to watch.
The Storegga Slide
If I had a nickel for every time a show depicted a supernatural-ish deep water intelligence causing submarine landslides to lash out at humanity, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but I’m delighted that it happened twice.
The Rig (2023) - I don't know how much you know about oil rigs in the North Sea (and I only a little) but they're quite the location for a supernatural thriller. You've got interpersonal tensions, weather, and the stress of the work itself - throw in an ancient parasite and blammo - a mix made for me tbh. A character is shown reading John Wyndham's The Kraken Wakes, which I then read. I've since read some other Wyndham new to me, as I'd only ever read the classics (Midwich Cuckoos and The Day of the Triffids) and that was ages ago. Anyway it's the kind of show that has a character reading a tattered topical paperback.
The Swarm (2023) - This is based on a book, but I suggest not bothering with it. This show was a really acme example of taking a story and improving it in adaptation. Lots of Black and brown characters, women, there is a singular US-ian character and he's a charming take on a sterotype. Every phobia about the sea is in this one, from goo to swarms of little things to Very Large Creatures, so go in wisely. Lots of delightful science and the mess of science, and just one big brutal mystery.
As a semi-related recommendation, the Norwegian disaster film trilogy of The Wave, The Quake, and The Burning Sea are all great entries into environmental disaster films without some of the overblown ickiness one finds in many entries to the genre. I learned quite a bit about the geology of Norway! What a nightmare that is!
Creeps and yikes
Two horror movies stood out for me this year, very different vibes but good creeps.
Enys Men (2022) - There's a beauty just in how this was filmed (on 16mm) - the colour and approach is so spot-on British Folk Horror that fits the 1973 setting. It lulls you and the unease sneaks up in a satisfying way. Also it's a little about science and very about lonliness. It was promoted in both English and Cornish, which is lovely as Cornwall and its ghosts are a vital part of the film's story.
Hell House LLC 4 (2023) - Listen, I love found footage horror. Just, unapologetically. I'd watched the previous three films and was delighted for a fourth. There was some wild lore built up, and the story stepped away from the titular Hell House (an ex-hotel that had been the site of a haunted house and then an interactive play, both of which went spectacularly poorly). I watched this alone, during a time of stress and you know when you love horror but you don't necessary get scared? Like for me a movie with good terror will creep under my skin and inhabit shadows later but the heart-stuttering horror thing doesn't happen much. I watch Event Horizon as a nap/comfort movie. But watching this, hyped up on worry, wow! Haha, I don't think I'd like this every time I watch a scary flick but what a rush. I later watched it with Chase, who did think it was scary and probably the strongest of the series, so it wasn't just all due to outside influence. The ongoing theme in the series is the danger of mixing monofocus with a drive for glory, and if you've access to Shudder the whole series is available and a nice diversion for found footage fans.
Books
Did you know Storygraph does gorgeous little charts FOR you?! (if you're there I'm bzedan, as I am everywhere). According to Storygraph, I read 67 books this year, sort of accidentally leaving my standard goal of 50 in the dust.
As usual, hooray for their charts. I can see that basically I read the same kind of stuff as the year before - down to me only having to change ONE descriptor in the image description - removing "Emotional" as second-highest value and adding "Tense" as fifth highest value. Lol.
[Image description: A pie chart of "Moods" of books read. The largest slices are: Adventerous, Dark, Mysterious, Reflective, Tense. The thinnest slices are: Relaxing and Inspiring.]
I did read quite a few more non-fiction books this year! I just have to find ones that are a specific mix of tone and subject.
[Image description: A pie chart of "Fiction/Nonfiction" of books read. Most of the pie is bright pink and labeled "Fiction (93%)." One very tiny slice says "Nonfiction (7%)."]
The top faves of this year of record-breaking non-fiction reading, with my Storygraph reviews:
It Doesn't Suck: Showgirls - Adam Nayman
This is a quick and thoughtful examination and history of Showgirls. There isn't much to add to it - you either like Showgirls and would like to see behind the curtain a little, or you've no interest.
Paper: A World History - Mark Kurlansky
This was SO interesting! It is truly wonderful how paper has woven itself through so many aspects of time and culture. This was recommended by a tumblr I follow for fan binding and honestly if you do any work with paper from books to printmaking to writing to watercolour, this is worth a read to learn the history of not only one of the key parts of your work but the world itself.
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall - Alexandra Lange
I love malls! And this history of them is Quite Good. I found myself wondering “yes what about?” only to see the subject (malls outside of the US, alternate uses for malls, etc) addressed not long after. Seeing malls I’m well acquainted with mentioned was a delight, where I live malls are not dying at all because they’re adapting to a wider populace and need, and it was neat to see the why.
I re-read California Bones this year, my bff got me a copy of my own (this is definitely a book to look at the content warnings for btw). I don't own many trade paperbacks because I hate their shape but some books I need the physical copies of so I can turn to specific passages. I actually hung a shelf this year for a particular gouping of series and books of a theme.
[Image description: A picture of a simple blonde wood bookshelf on a wall below layers of cards and photos clipped to length of string. From left to right the books are: the first three books in The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir, the first three books in the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie, Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno Garcia, the first two books of the Daniel Blackland series by Greg Van Eekhout, a box of the Crow Tarot, and the first ten issues of Dungeon Meshi/Delicious in Dungeon manga by Ryōko Kui.]
Here are some top faves from my 5-star reads for 2023:
Query - Zilla Novikov
I am a sucker for a book that relies on novel form and oh boy did this deliver. It’s funny and fast and the slow seep of weird ramps up in delightful way before turning to something soft and genuine and hopeful. I’m grateful I preordered and got a physical copy, the A6 format is a delight as an object to interact with and makes the process of reading it feel like reading a diary.
(Reading an epistolatory book made of query letters has a little extra sting when you've been hung on actually writing one for a while, I’ll note.)
Light from Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki
What a wild thing to pick up this book and see that it is set in the area I live. And to lovingly describe these places and world, with a comfortable familiarity that had me looking up parks and doughnut shops. There is heartbreak and pain in this book, and love and joy and the pleasure of food. There’s hope in this book, and several restaurants I hope are real. [nb: it is very wild to realise I read this book for the first time this year, it rewired my brain a little - also one to check content warnings for, btw]
Piranesi - Susanna Clarke
Oh well I loved this. Labyrinths, mysteries, memories, a story in the format of journal entries! Everything I love and beautifully done. [nb: how it took me so long to get around to reading this I could not tell you]
Music
Obviously I track my music - I make playlists every month and then compare various stats between months, and am somehow always surprised at how often some songs are reused. Also surpised at how many songs by The Monkees I listened to.
[Image description: A hollow-centre pie chart of bands titled "QTY." The colours are a gradient of rainbow. The top artists are: Boy Jr (7.5%), The Monkees (5.3%), and Carly Rae Jepsen (5.3%). Oliver Tree, Simon & Garfunkel, Donavan, Kesha, Dusty Springfield, Izzy Perri and Duran Duran are all (4.5%).]
My playlists consisted of 422 artists, across 52 albums and 422 songs. Just not as MUCH this year as last, which is fine. A wider range, I think? The average is about 51 songs a playlist and the median is also 51 - the tendency towards shorter playlists I moved toward last year has held, although June I did go off (71 songs), but it's Pride, so.
[Image description: A bar chart of "Number of Songs vs. Month" with the bars in shades of pink-purple. June show the highest numbers, with September and December the lowest.]
The faves of the year playlist is thick with covers, have fun.
Link to the 2023 Monthly Playlist Faves here, and tracklist below:
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'Beam Me Up' - Midnight Magic
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'Bells' - The Unlikely Candidates
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'Crimson + Clover' - Pom Pom Squad
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'Crimson and Clover' - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
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'Hollow Days' - Twin Shadow
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'Good Vibrations' - The Beach Boys
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'Good Vibrations' - Brian Wilson
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'Sunshine' - Oliver Tree
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'Sussudio - 2016 Remaster' - Phil Collins
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'Blue Monday' - Orgy
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'Career Boy' - Dorian Electra
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'Underwater' - Sun's Signature
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'Temba, Tumba Y Timba' - Los Van Van
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'This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) - 2005 Remaster' - Talking Heads
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'I Think We're Alone Now' - Billie Joe Armstrong
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'I Think We're Alone Now - Single Version' - Tommy James & The Shondells
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'I Think We're Alone Now' - Lene Lovich
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'Kiss from a Rose' - Seal
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'One & Only' - Oliver Tree
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'Bitter Sweet Symphony - Remastered 2016' - The Verve
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'Bittersweet Symphony' - Graeme James
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'Vitamin C - 2004 Remastered Version' - CAN
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'Hungry Like the Wolf' - Dinah Eastwood
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'Hungry Like the Wolf - 2009 Remaster' - Duran Duran
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'Jolene' - Strawberry Switchblade
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'Jolene' - Dolly Parton
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'Mad World' - Tears For Fears
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'Mad World' - Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox
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'Smells Like Teen Spirit (feat. Mckenna Breinholt)' - Cinematic Pop
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'Smells Like Teen Spirit' - Stantough
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'Mellow Yellow' - Big Maybelle
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'Mellow Yellow' - Donovan
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'Miss You' - Oliver Tree
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'Miss You' - southstar
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'A orillas del Cauto' - Ñico Saquito
If you made it this far wow, cheers and thank you! Please chatter to me about what you liked this year!
Crossposted to Patreon