Is there anyone out there?! Odds are there aren't, but nevertheless I am posting my 2021 year in review for music, film and television (a whole month-late, at that) and am so excited to share one of my favorite years for media in years. With the rise of streaming and HBO Max putting their entire soul into their content (clearly a big fan), one thing that I did this year that I enjoyed was being able to read along on reddit, GoldDerby and twitter to see others' reactions to the same shows--it helps to not laugh alone okay!
It may be a break from the travel content, but here is what has kept me sane for my most difficult times ending college and moving abroad (and everything in between!). Here we go--up first is music!
This year was full of familiar artists and new ones alike; new genres and old; songs that played during big and small moments. The classic Taylor Swift album placeholder because, well, every year she's in my list, is Red (Taylor's Version), which blended just what I liked about the old version with some really amazing bonus tracks. But she didn't just end up there! No, she is also in the album two over, How Long Do You Think This It's Gonna Last?, by Big Red Machine, her collaborators from her past two albums. It is simply exquisite and a beautiful, calm listen with touches of a wide array of emotions and songs that have become a soundtrack to moments in my life. Standout tracks are Latter Days, Reece and New Auburn, a heartbreaking end of the album.
Beyond Taylor + others, two other artists came back this year and, though not to such acclaim as past years, delivered gorgeous albums. These are the likes of Lorde with Solar Power and Kacey Musgraves with star-crossed. Both contain a good variety of songs in my daily playlist, including 'The Path' from SP and 'there is a light' from SC.
This paved the way for many new artists for me. The first that really grasped me was Sling by Clairo, a beautiful, stripped, and somewhat acoustic follow-up to her first album. It has slow melodies and the song, 'Management,' was something that I relied on a lot this past summer--it is everything about coming of age. Doja Cat released some of my favorite songs to rap to this past summer with Planet Her, including Woman and Ain't Shit, which were a blast.
Lastly, I really found a new love for Lucy Dacus' music in her sophomore album, Home Video, which delivers many sucker-punch lines. My favorites are the ones that are weird and unusual feelings hard to articulate in song, such as the loss of innocence with our friends expressed in 'Hot & Heavy'-- and who could forget 'VBS,' which really struck a chord for me with my religious upbringing. (It stands for Vacation Bible School for all those unaware!)
Though music was my main media this year, I really loved the movies released and especially the representation of musicals and or play adaptations (I spy three above...). With that said, tick...tick...BOOM! and In The Heights really tickled my fancy! The latter was a fun summer film that really had a strong and unique take on the original, which the song 'Paciencia y Fe' of course making me sob. TTB also had me in tears and brought a score I hadn't heard yet before--but now it's on my playlist. Andrew Garfield....that's all I need to say--wow.
Not to be forgotten is The Humans, an adaptation of the 2015 Broadway play I actually saw on Broadway--and with Jayne Houdeyshell too! This movie was marvelously done and, though different from the play a bit, it resonated just as much and creeped me tf out. Plus, I love Amy Schumer okay!
Some other favorites were the thriller Last Night in Soho, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, which was a fun and confusing movie that wasn't quite gratifying but grasped me just enough with the style. Licorice Pizza too had me belly-laughing but I also loved getting to see Alana Haim in a film and to hold her weight with other actors so well.
Lastly, Zola was a romp of a movie that I saw in theatres inspired by a twitter thread about two friends falling out--it was hilarious and endearing and the performances were equally as believable. The type of movie that made me so glad to go to theatres to see.
This year, I think television finally overtook films in my rankings and entertainment value--I mean, keeping me on pins and needles with theories about the plots really did help to get me invested. I started the year with two lighter-hearted shows, Ted Lasso and The White Lotus.
The former was one I had heard much about but wasn't sure if it was just a millennial thing--it is actually that good. It is a great comedy with a great ensemble, but it's also fun to finally have wholesome television that doesn't over-rely on an anti-hero--they're loveable and it works. As for TWL, it is an entertaining watch and has its twists, which was fun--but Jennifer Coolidge is reason enough to watch this show, it really is a hoot.
After those, I was left with quite a bit of dramatic shows, such as The Morning Show, which stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. Besides this show basically being a star vehicle for its leads, this season dealt with the pandemic slightly and I enjoyed how it depicted it and adapted the plot for it.
HBO dominated my streaming time even further with The Sex Lives of College Girls, which (though the title makes me cringe) was realistic, funny and diverse--but above all, refreshing. Plus, love watching Renee Rap go from Mean Girls Broadway to this! Station Eleven, though a bit slow, was an interesting miniseries about art surviving after the end of the world. The pandemic allusions were a bit painful, but the show was gorgeously done.
Lastly, perhaps my favorite thing on any list this year--Yellowjackets. From Showtime, it depicted a state-champion female soccer team in 1996 crashing on a plane, and flashes forward from the actual event to the repercussions once rescued. It is just plain fun mystery and even more fun to discuss theories with other viewers. It is well-acted and clearly well thought-out, and the best thing on television this year.
And just like that (not the HBO series, don't even...), another year begins and with it, already some amazing shows, films and music. Here's to hoping Taylor Swift puts out another album and the Wicked movie finally starts production--you just never know!
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