Streams of Unconsciousness Wrapped: 2024

Modern Miscellanea 003: What I wore, consumed, abhorred, resumed, and everything else I cared about too much in 2024 that you didn’t need to know.

Hello hello hello! It is almost Christmas which means it’s also almost the end of the year, and as is customary it’s time for me to give you my hot or not lists from the past year!

Ok, it’s not really customary for me to do that, but everyone else does, and I am nothing if not a follower.

So, without further ado, here are my hits-and-misses of 2024, a year that mostly sucked but had enough bright spots to keep me doing whatever it is that I do.

The Bizarre-Yet-Touching Video From 1980s France That I Couldn’t Stop Watching

I’d say I’m embarrassed to admit the number of times I’ve watched this video since discovering it on Light in the Attic’s Instagram earlier this year—but I’m not ashamed about it at all. In a touching tribute to noted French pop icon Serge Gainsbourg jut a few years before his passing, the French children’s choir Les Petits Chanteurs d’Asnières performed an homage to one of Serge’s classic tracks “J’e suis venu te dire que je m’en vais” (“I came to tell you that I’m leaving”) but they changed it to “On est venu te dire qu’on t’aime bien” (We came to tell you that we like you).

This time capsule of 1988 France has it all—namely, children pretending to smoke and drink while singing angelically to a grown man who, to quote them, they admire despite his proclivities (and, for Gainsbourg, that’s a loaded statement), with said grown man being brought to tears while holding a cigarette that’s producing enough smoke it looks like he’s standing in the exhaust fumes of a train.

I loved this video so much I dressed up as one of the kids for Halloween.

Funny as this video is, it did introduce me to the music of Serge Gainsbourg who, yes despite his proclivities, has some of the best French Pop music I’ve ever heard. And don’t sleep on his reggae albums from the late 1970s. These kids have broadened my musical horizons and I’m more cultured for it.

The Artist I Should Have Loved but Shamefully Didn’t Get into Until 2024 I Wish I Could Go Back 20 Years and Listen to All This Time

About 11 years ago my good friend Kari asked me if I knew who Ted Leo was one day at work. I admitted the name sounded familiar, but that was the extent of it. He and his band, The Pharmacists, had been her favorite for years, and I have no good reason as to why I didn’t try to get into his music right then and there. A few months later at Hallowmas (World/Inferno’s yearly Halloween show), Ted Leo was the opening act and, while his acoustic set was an odd fit for that particular show and crowd, I enjoyed his banter and music alongside Kari and her partner, Duncan. (This was also the day my husband and I got engaged, so everything about this night holds extra special significance for me).

And yet, I still didn’t listen to his music beyond that.

At some point this year, my husband re-discovered Shake the Sheets (fittingly during its 20^th anniversary year), apparently unlike me, he had listened to Ted Leo after the fact, albeit not ravenously. This year, with an album that’s contents and message are as appropriate now as they were in the Iraq War-era America, he gained a new appreciation for it. He started playing it in the car and from the minute I heard the first line and chords of Me and Mia I was hooked.

Bar That I Went to Twice and Haven’t Stopped Talking About Since

The thing that sucks about when friends move is that you don’t get to see them as much. The great thing about when friends move is when they move to cool places. Thankfully, one of my closest friends lives in Portland, Maine, which thus gives us an excuse to visit Portland, Maine. Portland has a vibrant nightlife scene but after exploring several cool spots on our last two trips we were feeling a little burnt out—trust me, I like a good craft cocktail as much as the next person, but there’s only so many $18 “riffs on classics” one can take.

This year, we were looking for something a little different. In that short-lived post-strike, pre-Trump endorsement bliss, my husband and I’s mutual love for an ice-cold bottle of Miller High Life was reignited. Once we were in the clear that we weren’t crossing the picket line, we sought out to find any late-night spots with cheap beers and, maybe, a red snapper (this was new to me, I was unaware of the bright-red hot dog that Maine claims as their own. I didn’t know I needed more glizzy variations in my life, but red snappers were a game-changer). Alas, late night eats are hard to come by in Maine.

However, in my quick Google search I stumbled upon a new spot called Room for Improvement and we made our way over to the Old Port, navigating the stone-streets and avoiding the jam-packed-with-20-somethings bars with long waits. Room for Improvement was like a beacon shining brightly in the night—well actually, it was dimly lit in red, but metaphorically my statement still stands. A bar made for industry folks by industry folks, it had everything our little hearts desired—dirt cheap MHLs, red snapper “lunch boxes” with my favorite brand of potato chips (North Fork), shots in tiny boots, and legitimately fantastic riffs on classic cocktails for absurdly good prices—that could also be half-sized for shots.

And, above all else, the best damn music I’ve ever heard played in a bar periodt on Gawd. And not just “good as in alt rock or punk,” good as in incredibly hyper-specific to mine and my husband’s musical tastes. After hearing the Pixies, Bouncing Souls, Gun Club, and, yes, “Me and Mia,” all in a row, we knew it was exactly where we were supposed to be—and replicated that experience two nights in a row to great success each time. I haven’t stopped raving about it since, and I’m grateful there’s a distance between us and that location because I really don’t need another bar to frequent when I’m trying to cut back on my vices.

Was-Ambivelent-To-Then-Fell-In-Love-With-Then-Out-of-Love-With-Then-Went-Back-To-Being-Ambivalent-To

Ah, Bluesky. The only app that really thrived as a competitor to X that isn’t owned by another megalomaniacal billionaire. I really tried to embrace having little to no social media if X went kaput but seeing how many fellow artists and comics creators were migrating over to Bluesky, I figured it couldn’t hurt, at very least for promotion (because Lord knows all creatives now need to be content creators as well—gag). Much like Facebook all those decades ago, I got my invite link and signed up. The app was glitchy, the load times were slow if they worked at all, and there wasn’t a vibe yet so I kept my account but mostly forgot about it, deleting the app off my phone to save space.

Like many others, the few days leading up to the election finally gave me the courage I needed to say sayonara to X altogether. It didn’t feel as bad as I thought it would to delete almost 15 years of mostly-ignored content, and I set sail to bluer skies in the hope of refocusing my promotion on my personal writing endeavors.

And at the start (or restart, I should say) it was great. I was connecting with fellow creatives, having genuine interactions, and it actually felt like sharing my personal writing and projects were yielding successful engagement.

Then the mass X-odus came, and the more people that fled the X dystopia, the more Bluesky started to resemble its evil twin. Sure, the block lists and starter parks give it an edge and it has been much nicer to read better political takes and avoid the porn bots, Musk simps, and right-wing propaganda, but it’s also come at a loss. Those frequent engagements and interactions are barely existent now and it’s harder than ever for self-promotion. I’m hoping I can find the magic trick that brings it back to its former glory, but for now I’m finding it a passing fancy more than a worthwhile waste of time.

The TV Adaptation I Enjoyed but Only Watched One Episode of Because I Needed to Wait to Get a Free Subscription to Apple TV and I’ve Still Yet to Watch the Rest of It

I know I need to get back to watching this. Maybe it’ll be great, maybe it’ll be mid, who knows! But Bad Monkey is one of my favorite Carl Hiaasen books and Vince Vaughn is the perfect Andrew Yancy that I never fan-cast while reading the novel. This might have to be a winter break binge.

The TV Series That Continues to Entertain

I love the British gameshow Taskmaster, and I’m so glad to see it gaining more and more prominence in America. Greg Davis and Little Alex Horne’s equal parts erotic and antagonistic relationship while comedians struggle and sometimes have existential crises while attempting to solve absurd and impossible puzzles (“tasks”) never ceases to amaze. The latest season was an especially stand-out one—who doesn’t love Rosie Jones?

The newest spin-off, Junior Taskmaster, has (surprisingly) not been ruined by the addition of children. I’d argue it’s almost on par with its parent series (maybe it’s because kids in the UK are just more charming and witty than here in the good ol’ US of A). Rose Matafeo is an excellent host, and Mike Wozniak fills the Alex Horne role perfectly, taking abuse from the contestants and all. I hope this becomes more than a one-off, as it’s a great fill-in between Taskmaster seasons.

But please, for the love of God, let’s not try to do another American version of Taskmaster ever again.

The TV Series’ Return I Eagerly Anticipated That I Watched One Episode of and Might Not Watch the Rest

Ok, maybe, just maybe, with the Apple TV sub I’ll attempt to continue watching Bad Sisters in between or after episodes of Bad Monkey—but man, that first episode of season 2 just did NOT get me jazzed for the rest of the season. And I adored season one, despite some of its flaws.

I think it’s that season 2 just starts off so—goofy? The characters seem so uncharacteristically over-the-top and the scenes shot to just look That Way™ did not re-invest me in these women’s lives. I’m willing to give it another go, but a lot of reviews haven’t convinced me it’s a worthwhile endeavor.

For an Irish series that is, however, well worth the hype, Say Nothing was a fantastic watch. (Ireland, as a country, produced some fantastic media this year. Please read The Bee Sting by Paul Murray if you haven't yet.)

The Book That Came Out This Year That Flew Under the Radar but Was My Favorite Read of 2024

Holy hell did I love this book. I picked it up as part of a buy one, get one deal at Barnes and Noble mostly based on the title and cover design, and I’m so glad I did. I’ve become more of a mystery reader thanks in large part to the work of Lucy Foley and, though many have criticized it, The Silent Patient. You’d Look Better as a Ghost felt like it would, at the very least, be a fun, snarky read. Instead, it was a flawlessly executed murder mystery from the perspective of the killer. I really don’t want to spoil anything, but this book’s beautiful characterizations, hilarious tone of voice, and wild twists and turns you’ll never see coming really made it the full package for me. Excited to see more of what Joanna Wallace cooks up next.

The Book That Came Out This Year That Everyone Loved But I Thought was Just Ok

I know! This is a bad take, I’m sorry but I was not in love with this one. Actually, I should say I really loved Martyr! until the very end—then, boy oh boy that end. One of my biggest pet peeves is when the ending ruins the rest of the book for me. Your mileage may likely vary on this one, but it fell out of favor for me pretty fast, which is a shame since I adored everything about it up until that point.

New Band I Dig

My first time seeing Ted Leo and the Pharmacists live also introduced me to my favorite new band. Oceanator manages to blend a wide array of styles that would otherwise be a strange mélange into something hard-hitting and just damn good. In the absence of Screaming Females (which I’m still not over), having a female-fronted rock ‘n’ roll band was needed now more than ever.

Album That Didn’t Come Out This Year but was on Frequent Rotation Because it is More Appropriate Now Than Ever

If you’re still only familiar with Chumbawumba because of “Tubthumping” you’re sorely missing out. Chumbawumba has a notable history as a full-on anarchist punk band, and it is well worth a deep dive into their discography and politics. Never Mind the Ballots is a perfect place to start—written almost as if it’s a play, it’s a story about how all sides of the political spectrum serve a capitalist hellscape that doesn’t seek to help its constituents, only butter them for their votes based on empty promises. It’s a tale as old as time, but an anthem for a year where the election felt as phoned in as ever to dramatically awful results.

This album was special to me this year, too, because a few of the former members of the aforementioned World/Inferno Friendship Society held a special one-night performance of the album in its entirety, appropriately near Halloween and election day. An album that felt like it was the basis for everything Jack Terricloth and WIFS stood for, it was a touching tribute to the late Terricloth’s memory while providing a pitch-perfect performance of the album by the only people who could do it justice that aren’t Chumbawumba. World/Inferno forever. Jack Terricloth forever.

This Year’s Celebrity Icon

Snoopy and Peanuts were EVERYWHERE this year, and the exploitation of these characters and this iconic franchise never got old for me. There could be something to be said about the absurd amount of merchandising, but it’s always done with good representations of the characters. It never feels like soulless shilling, which is pretty damn impressive.

I was recently asked to describe Peanuts to someone who grew up never watching it before. It really made me think, and the biggest descriptors I kept coming back to were “melancholy,” “wise,” and, of course, “sincere.” That’s what makes Peanuts so special, it never spoke down to kids. Sure, it wasn’t always quite as profound as Calvin and Hobbes, but it still manages to be even more relatable as an adult.

And then there’s Snoopy. He’s just a little guy who is more than just comic relief, he’s equally thoughtful, and witty, and does so much while saying so little. We could all learn to be a little more like Snoopy, for now, I’ll just keep continuing to amass a large collection of Peanuts and Snoopy paraphernalia, because it makes me happy, dammit.

Cuture Kitsch’s explanation of the Snoopy phenomenon this year, particularly with Gen-Z, is a must-watch:

Snoopy for President.

Final Special Mention: Person I’m Most Proud Of

Yeah, I’m gonna be corny on main here, but it’s true. This year my husband managed to build up an excellent trivia brand AND released a solo EP along with a bunch of singles. He continues to dabble in poetry and haiku writing and his endless faunt of creativity never ceases to amaze me. He’s about to start work on a full-length. You can listen to his music here. DO IT.

And, before I part, here are a few fellow writers/publications/mentors you should check out and support, for they all brought me great joy throughout this awkward and oftentimes uncomfortable year:

• Rax King
• Eve 6
• Alex Segura
• Josh Gondelman
• Ken Klippenstein
• Aubrey Sitterson
• Art All Around Us by Jordan Moss
• Links I Would G-Chat You if We Were Friends
• Garbage Day
• Amber Petty (her weekly Wednesday Pitching Hour has consistently been a highlight of every week for the past few months, and it’s because of her that I even opted to do an end-of-the-year wrap-up post!)

Thoughts on any of my end-of-year hot takes? WELL KEEP ‘EM TO YOURSELF!

Seriously, though, thanks for all the love and support this past year, to both new readers and old. Happiest of Holidays, and a Happy and Healthy New Year.