Here is my all things entertainment post from 2018! And a slightly less complete best of 2017 post.
I made a separate post for my 2019 in books since I read more than I consume other media. You can see all the books I’ve read this year (and a few from late 2018) in my Book review Index Page.
Now, here are the rest of my media favorites…
Music
First thing’s first, here’s my Spotify wrapped:
I found a few new favorites this year, the ones with an asterisks* came out this year. Here are my top 5…
Night Time, My Time by Sky Ferreira: This is probably my favorite find of the year. I hope she comes out with new music soon. Favorite tracks: Boys, Nobody Asked Me (If I Was Okay), You’re Not the One
The Goat by Puppy*: I saw Puppy open for Creeper in late 2018 and thought they were fantastic. I really want to see them live again! They’re criminally underrated. Favorite tracks: Black Hole, Demons, Bathe in Blood, Just Like You
ZUU by Denzel Curry*: I don’t listen to much rap, but I can probably recite this man’s album front to back, he’s so brilliant. Favorite tracks: ZUU, AUTOMATIC, CAROLMART
Fight with Tools by Flobots: “Handlebars” was a somewhat popular song when I was in middle school but after seeing a few of my friends enjoying the band as a whole, I finally checked them out and I love them. Their lyrics leave me in awe, this album was way ahead of its time. Favorite tracks: Handlebars, Fight with Tools, We Are Winning
I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty: This album art actually caught my eye and who knew I’d end up loving the music. So mellow and beautifully written. Favorite tracks: Chateau Lobby #4, The Ideal Husband, I Love You Honeybear
Honorable mentions: Stranger in the Alps by Phoebe Bridgers, when we fall asleep where do we go by Billie Eilish*, Say It Out Loud by The Interrupters, Fight the Good Fight by The Interrupters, Hadestown by Anais Mitchell, Bon Iver by Bon Iver (let’s just call this the year of Justin Vernon)
YouTube channels
I probably spend more time on YouTube than watching T.V. shows and movies combined.
- Kurtis Conner (comedy/ commentary): he is so funny and wholesome and has the most hilarious edits/mini skits. I’m so bummed I missed his tour. Favorite videos: Twisted Pair: the best worst movie?, The Internet’s cringiest dating show
- Cody Ko and Noel Miller (comedy/ commentary): I got the pleasure of seeing my short kings live earlier this year. Cody Ko is not only funny but also super interesting: check out this article by Forbes about him! Favorite videos: literally anything from That’s Cringe series, Sketch comedy of TikTok, Nobody likes you when you’re 28
- Casey Aonso (comedy/ commentary): she is so hilarious and underrated and should definitely have more subscribers if you enjoy the above creators. Favorite videos: Exploring the world of LinkedIn, YouTube’s Bachelor bootleg series is a literal nightmare
- Tiffany Ferg (commentary): her series are very informative, easy to understand and it’s clear she works very hard on her videos. Favorite videos: The MLM “girl boss” narrative is a lie, You’re not relatable anymore, Sustainable issues we don’t talk about enough
- Ask a Mortician (informative): I know I talk about Caitlin all the time, but I love her and think everyone should watch/read her content. As a mortician, she talks about death and dying and tries to make the public more comfortable with confronting these topics. I know the GoodReads awards are just really a popularity contest, but I’m excited that her most recent book Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? won the award for best science book! Favorite videos: Death and Disney: Walt’s morbid obsession, Why did we get Columbine so wrong?, Oven crypts of New Orleans, What is the oldest mummy in the world?
Honorable mentions: Ready to Glare, Read with Cindy, Treacle Tatts
YouTube videos
Here are some 15 randomly selected videos I “liked” this year:
- Songs you might not know are covers
- Catchin’ up with the Dobre Bros
- That’s Cringe: Dhar Mann
- Nobody ever dies at Disney?
- Exploring Vine stars in a post-Vine world
- Sequels that aren’t sequels
- Huge YouTuber flew out of the country to visit a minor
- This is the weirdest movie I’ve ever seen
- Shane Dawson’s Chuck E. Cheese theory is wrong
- I bought the “you.” girl’s course and here’s what happened
- Lele Pons just keeps getting worse
- Iconic corpse: the Romanov family
- Welcome to the Black Parade in 22 styles
- Extreme 150 sq. ft. studio apartment makeover
- Younique make-up MLM scam: scummy charity and bad make-up
T.V. shows
I have rewatched my two all-time favorite shows: Breaking Bad and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I have also rewatched a lot of The Office (U.S.) and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I’m not great at watching new shows but I really enjoyed two this year:
- You: At first, I was a bit skeptical because I heard a lot of mixed reviews, or rather, people slamming others for infatuating the villain, Joe. After one episode, I was hooked. This is one of the few pieces of media I enjoyed more than the book. I’m going to binge season two as soon as I can!
- The Act: I watched the HBO documentary on Gypsy Rose Blanchard a couple of years ago and thought it was super interesting. I have mixed feelings about adapting crimes to shows for entertainment purposes, especially when those effected are still alive, but this was my guilty pleasure. From my understanding, it followed the real events closely (although some parts are dramatized and fictionalized, you can watch more comparing the real events and the show here) and the acting is phenomenal.
Documentaries
I’m a big nerd for documentaries and almost always bring them up in conversation.
- My Scientology Movie: I love Louis Theroux and I had no idea such a bizarre movement was happening in my own backyard. People like to make jokes about Tom Cruise and Scientology, but it’s a dangerous belief system and Louis does a great job of dissecting their processes.
- 13th: This documentary was probably my favorite of the year and got me interested in finding more about the prison industrial complex and abolition movement. It’s quite shocking.
- American Circumcision: I watched this late last year but didn’t mention it in my 2018 media favorites post. This documentary details the origins of circumcision and why it’s still around today (and depending on your point of view, why it shouldn’t be).
- Fyre: I think I was living under a rock (read: the U.K.) when this happened so I completely missed out on the events while they were happening, but these documentaries were super interesting and one of the more modern ones I’ve seen as the hype around this festival was exclusively fueled by social media. I watched both the Netflix and Hulu versions and liked the Netflix one better.
- Rotten and Explained: These are two docu-series that I enjoy from time to time. Explained is short blurbs about pretty much everything. I really enjoyed the Monogamy and Animal Intelligence episodes. Rotten is the same, but more dense with longer episodes focused exclusively on food. I loved the Cod Is Dead and High on Edibles episodes.
Movies
I’ve re-watched a lot of movies this year too but again, movies are probably my last choice of entertainment after books and T.V. shows so my viewing are sparse.
- Mr. Nobody: Wow. This movie blew my mind. I don’t think I understood it but that’s when I know the movie is really good (or really bad).
- About Time: Probably my favorite movie I found this year. Can you tell I love time-bending films?
- Zodiac
- Rocketman: I love jukebox musicals and I love Taron Egerton, need I say more?
What were your media favorites of the year?
Photo by Nicolas J Leclercq.
