2024 Year-end Wrap-up
It's the end of 2024, ain't it. Jeez, rough times. Real rough times. It's odd; the world has continued descending into much worse territory, but my personal life has actually improved quite a lot, and I've had a great 6 months since the Year-middle Wrap-up. Minneapolis is wonderful! I love it! My first semester at Minneapolis College went great! I've had a great time meeting people! The Magdalena Bay show I went to was wonderful!
As for the art that's really impacted me the last 6 months, major-key favorites include:
😴
Yo • to • Yo • ta — So, if you're not in the one Discord server I've been talking about this in, this'll need some explaining. On July 31st, 2024, between 1:00pm and 3:40pm CST, I took a nap. During this nap, I witnessed the thing "Yo • to • Yo • ta", a fictional TV show from the 2010s. I recorded a plot breakdown immediately after I woke up, in length, and for the past 5 months have been fleshing out the world and ideas and details. Some day I will write a narrative treatment of the story in long form. But it changed my fucking life. And it's brainwormed my mind. When I am not thinking about the game I'm working on, I'm thinking about Yo • to • Yo • ta.
Imaginal Disk — This album changed my life for a good bit. I talked about it in the Newest Music Friday blog post, I went to the Imaginal Mystery Tour, and I wrote a plot breakdown of the album. It's so good, y'all.
Stalker (1979) and Solaris (1972) — Two incredible films, both by Tarkovsky. I love both for different reasons, but I need to include both at the same time, because they feel so twinned to me. Solaris is about the inherent disconnection of personhood and life, while Stalker is the most depressing film I've ever seen, which ruined my mood for days, about killing hope. Reusing the joke: phenomenal art — phart.
Phil Elverum's panoply of work, but also specifically Microphones in 2020 and Night Palace — Night Palace came out this year, and upon hearing from my friend Crank that it's their favorite thing they've listened to by Phil Elverum since It Was Hot, We Stayed in the Water (also my fave (at the time)), I decided I'd listen to the panoply of his work in The Microphones and Mount Eerie. And I did. And it blew me away. He's a generational talent, who is impeccable at all he does. I think my favorite work of his is Microphones in 2020, which is... almost indescribable, you just have to listen to it with the context of all his other work. And Night Palace is also unable to peccare, and has stuck in my mind as a standing reflection upon colonialism. My favorite line is "I laid in the tall grass". Just... fuck.
Honourable Mentions:
• The Substance (2024) — Really great horror, probs the best I saw this year. Letterboxd review here.
• Minecraft — Good game. Played a shitton with friends.
• The New Sound — Geordie Greep's album really made me feel a lot of things!
• Immortality — Phenomenal game. I'm being haunted by the fucking ceramic owls, they're suddenly everywhere I go.
•
• Meet the Feebles (1989) — My pal Cleffa showed this to me, and he's got good taste. Other than the horrific racism, it's extremely funny. I love it when Bletch says the f slur, that's been my main brainworm from this movie (other than Garden of Love).
• Charm — Clairo shade by putting her this low on the Honourable Mentions.
• 9-1-1 — I got hooked on it after Jane Mulcahy's video on it. It's good procedural network TV!
Currently back in Stillwater, for the holidays. I hope H5N1 doesn't progress into a pandemic. 2025's looking to be rough, but I'm beginning it by collaborating with Lambchopper and Calamity on my game, so... that's real exciting! Maybe I'll spend New Year's with a friend, idk. 'Till next time.