- Dear Ratboy
- Posts
- The 2024 Long List
The 2024 Long List
Rod O'Toole
December 31, 2024
A lot of “best of the year” lists were published weeks ago, which I think isn’t super fair to December. So I waited a little longer to start compiling mine, but nothing new put itself forward to make a run for significant positioning in the waning days of the year. Go figure. Nevertheless, I am one of the few publications putting out a year-end list on New Year’s Friggin’ Eve, so go stew on that why don’t you?
I’d like to establish a few things up top. The 2024 Long List includes art, media, and forms of content consumed in the year 2024. Entries may be categorized together for my convenience and yours. Entries are not ranked, unless otherwise indicated. The 2024 Long List includes things that were new in 2024, things that were new to me in 2024, and things that were neither but had some significance worthy of celebration to me in the 2024. Commentary is provided for some entries.
The 2024 Playlist
In 2023 I decided to make a playlist every month comprised of songs that I heard and vibed with, new songs that I liked, songs that I had on repeat for one reason or another, and songs that seemed to fit with whatever was going on that month. At the end of the year, I compiled them all into a playlist for the year, and I repeated the practice again in 2024. This playlist is not comprehensive or necessarily representative of everything that I was listening to over the year, but I had fun building the playlist and listening back to it. I would also use a photo taken in each month as the cover art for that month’s playlist, which I’ll include here:
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
And of course, the playlist itself:
Music
Bright Future - Adrianne Lenker - This album underwent a recurring process in my music listening life where I listened to it when it first came out, thought it was good, but didn’t touch it again until months later when I then put it in heavy rotation and wondered why I hadn’t been listening to it more over that span of time.
Brat - Charli XCX - I was in the process of quitting a job right around the time I discovered this album and that is a very powerful combination.
Illuminator - GIFT - This album start to finish got a lot of play time for me this year because its like someone threw The War on Drugs and DIIV in a blender just so I could drink a smoothie that made me feel the way I did in 2015 for like a few minutes.
Hovvdy - Hovvdy - My sweet Midwest indie boys. They put out an EP recently of some acoustic covers from this album that makes a great companion piece.
Challengers (Original Score) - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - I was skeptical of the algorithm when I saw that Reznor and Ross were on my Spotify wrapped but then I remembered how many times I would have this soundtrack pumping through my earbuds while going for a run over the summer. Folks, this is one to sweat to!
Diamond Jubilee - Cindy Lee - If pressed on the issue, I’d put this as my favorite album of the year. This is a two hour joint from the drag persona of Patrick Flegel, released only on YouTube and a GeoCities website. It is to me both familiar and entirely new, a swirling, distorted combo of Lou Reed, sixties girl group pop, and fuzzy psychedelia. It reminds me of that Tom Waits quote about the best music in the world being a song on an AM radio coming through your open window from across the street. Diamond Jubilee has joined a select group for me - records that I will listen to while lying on my living room floor with all the lights turned out either because I am relishing in the joy of music or my brain is positively fried and I need to take the edge off.
Movies
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) in 70mm at Village East Cinema - Seeing this in a large format in a great theater was of course a spectacular experience, but this was made even more special due to a great deal I got at the concession stand. At the intermission I decided to get some popcorn and a beverage. A small pop was $6.50, BUT I was informed by the concessionaire that they had a bunch of extra commemorative cups from the Taylor Swift Eras Tour film that they needed to offload, so I could get what was a much larger drink for only $4.50! I did not keep the cup, but I can assure you it was voluminous.
Sorcerer (1977)
Hundreds of Beavers (2022) - It is listed as 2022 but I consider this a 2024 movie. Don’t bring it up to me unless you are ok with me not shutting up about it for a little while. Life changing.
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - Between this and Sorcerer, I guess I had a real appetite for movies where dudes are handling explosives in the jungle, huh?
Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000) - My thoughts on this are well documented.
Something’s Gotta Give (2003) - I have seen this Nancy Meyers classic before and it rocks the house, but on this particular viewing I was in the throes of sun poisoning, shivering from sunburn on my couch after plastering myself in aloe. Great experience.
Trap (2024) - One third of my enjoyment of this film has come from talking to people about it and doing the “I’m not supposed to tell you this” line with my eyes all wide and a big grin on my face.
Eraserhead (1977) - Lady in the Radiator rules, and Eraserhead’s baby looks like that alien they brought to the floor of Mexican congress a few years ago, which is one of my favorite images of the last ten years.
Ricochet (1991) - Possibly the most bonkers movie I’ve seen all year.
Rap World (2024)
Predator (1987)
Yentl (1983) - Babs!
The Insider (1999) - There have been a few weeks this year where I’ve watched the deposition scene where Bruce McGill yells “wipe that smirk off your face” multiple times.
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) - Sorry to everyone that I haven’t seen this movie before this year.
Things I Read
The Temeraire Novels - Naomi Novik - My basic logline is that its like if Russel Crowe’s character from Master and Commander was in the British Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, but also dragons exist and make up an aerial combat force and he has to abandon his post to join the aerial core, and his globetrotting adventures span 9 books. When I tell this to people they either immediately want to know more or they want me to stop talking.
Remembrance of Earth’s Past Trilogy - Cixin Liu - Engrossed and completely floored me. Accomplishes some things for me that the later Dune books don’t, namely getting into heady sci-fi concepts without being annoying about it and taking huuuuuuuge jumps in time.
Moby Dick - Herman Melville - Ahoy.
James - Percival Everett
Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver
There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension - Hanif Abdurraqib - One of my favorite writers puts out a book about (among other things) basketball, LeBron, and being from Ohio? Come on now!
Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech - Brian Merchant
Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World - Henry Grabar - This book about parking references an even longer, more in-depth book about parking that I hope to read next year.
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention - and How to Think Deeply Again - Johann Hari
TV / Other Video
The Bear Season 3 - Sue me, I loved that first episode with the extended Nine Inch Nails song.
The History of the Minnesota Vikings (and others) by Jon Bois / Secret Base - I was fully Bois-pilled last winter, which started off by getting completely riveted by this 7 part, 8 hour plus series on the history of the Minnesota Vikings. Of the “big three” American sports leagues, I am the least invested in the NFL, I had no particular feelings or interest in the Vikings going into the documentary, and the videos are essentially essays with a ton of charts, still photographs, and newspaper clippings and I had the time of my life watching it. Also recommend the History of the Seattle Mariners and the Dave Stieb series.
Twin Peaks - This was my third attempt over the span of maybe six years at getting into Twin Peaks and this time it finally clicked. I hadn’t really seen any David Lynch movies up until this year and I watched a few to set the table for Twin Peaks, which worked out great. Also really loved The Return / Season 3, even though the whole Dougie Jones plot was driving me up a wall until that scene where Naomi Watts tells the doctor “He missed Sonny Jim’s birthday party, which we’ve been planning for six months!” at which point everything clicked and I realized this was incredibly funny.
The Beverly Hillbillies on Pluto TV - They took away my precious Johnny Carson channel, but this has replaced it as casual background viewing. Granny Clampett is goated with the sauce.
The Patrick Willems videos about Trains in Movies
Al Pacino revealing his Shrek phone case in an interview with the BBC - “Who would be expecting Shrek? Who?” is a gift.
“Must Be Santa” performed by Bob Dylan uploaded with an image of Moo Deng on YouTube
The first minute and ten seconds of this video from Family Feud featuring national treasure Steve Harvey
Well, it was certainly a year! Health and happiness to all of you as we enter the New Year, and I look forward to writing more for you soon. - Rod