Moon-Hee Kim
MUSIC
Ana Tijoux – Vida
Not too familiar with her other releases but was hooked when I saw her Tiny Desk performance.
Doechii – Alligator Bites Never Heal
Love her lyrics and style. She’s one of my fave new artists. Was also blown away watching her on Colbert.
Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More
This was a nice end of year surprise. Gorgeous songs with Kim’s unique voice, nostalgic and refreshing at the same time.
FILM
This was a good year for horror, there are still many on my list to watch such as Nosferatu and Mads but here are two I really enjoyed this year.
The First Omen
Was afraid this would suck but was pleasantly surprised.
Late Night with the Devil
Loved this one as well, I was actually a bit freaked out for once!
Tristan Grant (aka Wolf Castle)
Honestly I mostly listened to music, didn’t watch a lot of movies. Travelled a lot – it was fun 🙂
MOVIES
I did happen to see and enjoy
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
It’s rare to have a video game franchise with competent movies that actually work. Jim Carrey’s performance is worth the price of admission, it felt good to witness him create yet another iconic performance. And it’s ridiculous as fuk, which is exactly my kind of thing.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Hell yeah. I’ll take any excuse to watch apocalyptic transport truck warfare. Thx.
Nosferatu
My love for this character is undying.
MUSIC
All the albums that these songs come from are incredible and I recommend them highly. Seriously, what an exciting year for music.
Geordie Greep – Holy Holy
(Also the whole record is amazing)
Doechii – DENIAL IS A RIVER
Late discovery for me. Doechii is a rapper that’s actually exciting, showcasing a lot of personality and a breath of fresh air.
Laufey – From the Start
Bossa Nova is so back
Tyler the Creator – Like Him
This song fucked me up for real. Love it. His album CHROMAKOPIA is his latest masterpiece.
Kendrick Lamar – Squabble Up (Also the entire GNX album)
Entire album is fucking incredible. Usually artists at Kendrick’s level aren’t able to keep pushing their boundaries or get stuck in this continuous rapper lane. Nah, we’re all about having fun now. It’s amazing.
Sky – Love Song
Every year I re-discover an obscure / old Canadian radio hit that I become obsessed with. Honestly this is a perfect pop song and I’m upset I didn’t write it. One of the members is now a chef in Montreal.
Joshua Van Tassel
MUSIC
Sault – Acts Of Faith
Will Gregory Moog Ensemble – Heat Ray
Church Andrews and Matt Davies – YUCCA
Congo Funk! – Sound Madness From The Shores Of The Mighty Congo River (Kinshasa/Brazzaville 1969-1982)
BOOKS
Cebo Campbell – Sky Full of Elephants
Jeff Vandermeer – Absolution
Sally Rooney – Intermezzo
Michael Belyea (Michael Feuerstack, Wolf Castle, The Olympic Symphonium)
MUSIC RECORDINGS
Michael Feuerstack – Eternity Mongers (2024)
I know, how tacky, to include an album I played on. Whatever. It’s just such a good album with or without me.
Chelsea Wolfe – Birth of Violence (2019)
By far my most played album of 2024. Stripped down and mellow compared to her other releases but I find it hits just right. A nice entry point if you’re ready to allow the witches to pull you completely into the warm dark.
Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter – SAVED! (2023)
Although I am a huge Lingua Ignota fan, I thought this album was too crazy to enjoy, until Ian at Obsolete convinced me otherwise. It’s an unpleasant listen and highly recommended. You have to be open and in a safe space, and be ready to be confronted and uncomfortable and you will come out the other side crying and tougher than you were before.
Shabason, Krgovich, Sage – Shabason, Krgovich, Sage (2024)
I’m almost too jealous to enjoy listening to this shit. I want to make this music. It’s just unbelievably subtle, rich and gorgeous, like Pam Anderson now that she doesn’t wear makeup.
Elbow – Audio Vertigo (2024)
I thought I discovered a new cool band when I first heard this this year. Elbow isn’t that I guess. It’s just kinda great if you’re a white guy in his late 40’s and you’ve gotten a bit more boring and rounded-off over the years, like a pebble that’s been thrashed in the surf for an eon but still has an interesting pattern if you really look at it in the right light, when it’s wet. Anyway, I listened to this a lot this summer.
Mark Guilianna – MARK (2024)
Maybe the best drummer alive but not because he’s the fastest or has the most impressive reels. He’s an actual musician. This album is maybe his only truly solo album. Very percussion forward. I guess this is what you get with a huge amount of time, money, and true talent. (The golden triad of art success)
Alan Sparhawk – White Roses, My God (2024)
This album almost never leaves my record player. I am obsessed with it. True synthy grit. I don’t know what he’s saying 90% of the time, but knowing what he’s been through recently, I feel like the emotion he’s sharing sticks in the subconscious, regardless if you think you understand the lyrics or not. The urge to weep is strong and the urge to get good at synth stuff is there, but that will probably fade.
Rosary Violet – Rosary Violet (1990)
What is this? Metal? Goth? Rap-rock? Glam-metal? I don’t know but I’m super into it these last few weeks. I hear some Type O Negative, Alice in Chains, Biohazard, L.A. Guns. It’s a confusing mix. Is the singer a vampyric waif or a NYC toughguy? You probably won’t like it. But I do for now.
LIVE MUSIC
Now that I live out in the country I almost never see live music. I did see two shows that were so inspiring they’ve helped keep the spark lit.
Rick Margitza Quartet – Paris France, July 29, 2024
Totally stumbled upon this late night jazz set in an old train station in Paris called GORE. Myself and 2 great musician buds, bought incredibly cheap and gross gin and tonic quadruples at the bar, and then had our minds blown by this punk-ass shit throwing down. This group had the fire, for the right reason. Looking at the crumbling concrete walls and graffiti everywhere, and listening to the horn honkin’ like mad, I was reminded where I came from, and what I still am somewhere inside, and what I do music for. I hope I remember this for a while longer.
Chris Cohen – Montreal, Quebec. October 26, 2024
I didn’t know this music until a few days before the show, so I arrived with enough recognition to be excited when I heard certain intros, but in the dark enough to be surprised by the unusual musical moves. Really a master class in tastefully playing with the key and time, while maintaining the thread and handing out sweet hooks.
BOOKS
Cormac McCarthy – All The Pretty Horses (1992)
I’m actually only half way through this book, but I started it yesterday. After reading the Vanity Fair article, I was curious to see what kind of whacko would groom a sixteen-year-old at forty two. Turns out, the kind of whacko that writes in an immensely beautiful and unique way. I don’t know what’s right here. We want someone wild enough to live and think wild enough that we can be enthralled by their lives and what they create, but not wild enough to cross the line. The Mötley Crüe paradox. We’ve always celebrated problematic people’s art. Although the former teenager insists the relationship was mutual and not predatory, it still feels complicated liking Cormac McCarthy so much. // I’m now almost finished the second book in the trilogy and I can say firmly, these books are the most moving prose I’ve ever read (I think).
Oliver Sacks – On The Move (2015)
My favourite author. A flawed and genius person who is lucky to have survived himself. He has helped countless people throughout his career in neurology and outside of it. I have read many of his books but never had the full picture until reading this autobiography. Very inspiring.
Michael Feuerstack
MUSIC
I tried to keep it short by mostly sticking to albums released in 2024:
Field Music – Limits of Language
Perennial favourites. Always in bloom.
Miriam Gendron – Mayday
It’s corny to say it, but this record is like a message in a bottle.
Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More
There was a time when all anyone ever wanted was a Kim Deal solo album. Now it feels like we’ve had it all along.
The Hard Quartet – The Hard Quartet
These clowns? They would’ve had to try to pretty hard to fuck this up.
The Cure – Song of a Lost World
Still got it.
Lijadu Sisters – Horizon Unlimited
This re-issue came out in 2023 but I missed it, so I’m sneaking it in here.
BIG|BRAVE – A Chaos of Flowers
Digging a hole to put the bad stuff in.
Alan Sparhawk – White Roses, My God
Crawling toward the light.
Eye of Newt – Stay in Your Lane
Full of wild ideas and playful as a billy goat.
Unessential Oils – Unessential Oils
Throw this on if you want to vibe hard.
Daniel Romano’s Outfit – Too Hot to Sleep
Throw this on if you want hard vibes.
Jordy Walker – Gifted with Fiction
Kind of like a glass replica of a brain.
Richard Laviolette – All Would Things Are Shy
A devastating celebration.
Mega Bog – End of Everything
Also from 2023, but who can keep up? Very cool, odd record that I don’t want to leave off my list. (Thanks to Justin Karas for introducing me to it)
Favourite concerts of 2024
Jennifer Castle at Nowadays Festival, Dartmouth
Yes the show was great, but I’m also including it here because I haven’t yet gotten my hands on the new record, but it likely belongs on my list up above.
Absolute Losers at Nowadays Festival, Dartmouth
Totally inventive yet familiar. These guys are pretty serious about making music fun.
Chris Cohen at Bar Le Ritz, Montreal
Elegant, unique, and meticulous while remaining effortless.
Erika Angell at Ausgang Plaza, Montreal
This was the launch for The Obsession With Her Voice, a deeply personal adventure of a record. Erika sings like no-one else and plays her pedals like a ouija board, while Milli Hong’s drumming is like a driftwood fire.
Violent Femmes at Elora Riverfest
The 40 year anniversary of their classic self titled record was as weird and patchy as I needed it to be. That record is worth spending time with. I feel like it got painted with the wrong brush somewhere along the way.
PJ Harvey at Place Bell Laval, Montreal
Pure class in their ability to make small gestures huge. Not a dull moment.
Michael Feuerstack Eternity Mongers album launch at Ursa, Montreal
I was there and it was great. Totally counts.
Gianna Lauren
.:| happy new year |:.
~ twenty twenty four ~
//// the year that was \\\\
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entering the path of totality with friends in rural New Brunswick / singing with the Forever Chorus / curating Harmony Bazaar festival / hosting some faraway friends for visits / blissed out walks and hikes with Kodak / going to Pop Montreal and seeing Astrid Sonne, Stillhouse Plants, Beverly Glenn Copeland / seeing childhood faves Sarah McLachlan on the Fumbling Towards Ecstasy tour, and Emmylou Harris / binging buffy the vampire slayer and angel / working so many fun shows pursuing the long-dreamed trade of live sound engineering / and then doing sound for icon U.S. Girls!
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//// thanks for the memories \\\\
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Films I enjoyed – Love Lies Bleeding, Anora
Most Listened to Albums – Dorothea Paas Think of Mist / Astrid Sonne Great Doubt / Nala Sinephro Endlessness (and not from 2024 but I listened to Glasser’s Interiors the most)
Memorable Books – Emma Cline, The Guest / Hernan Diaz, Trust / Sheila Heti, Alphabetical Diaries / Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Long Island Compromise
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//// happy 2025 love g \\\\
Kyle Cunjak
Songs I loved in 2024 but not necessarily from 2024
Waxahatchee – ‘Right Back To It (feat. MJ Lenderman)‘
Loggins And Messina – ‘Angry Eyes‘
James & Bobby Purify – ‘I’m Your Puppet‘
Albums I loved
Cowboy Sadness – Selected Jambient Works Vol.1
Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch
Jeff Parker ETA IVtet – The Way Out of Easy
Underrated New Brunswick releases
Owen Steel – COMBE
Chris Belliveau – La Rivière Croche