January 31, 2025
jmunney
Best of 2024, Best of Music 2024, Music
Alice Merton, Ariana Grande, Cage the Elephant, Camila Cabello, Charli XCX, Chris Stapleton, Dhani Harrison, Father John Misty, Fever Ray, Future Islands, Jack White, Justice, Kacey Musgraves, Kim Deal, Kim Gordon, Lauren Mayberry, Lenny Kravitz, Megan Thee Stallion, Milky Chance, Pharrell, Reneé Rapp, Sabrina Carpenter, Sleater-Kinney, Snoop Dogg, St. Vincent, Tame Impala, Tenacious D, The Beaches, The Black Keys, The Cure, The Last Dinner Party, The Smile, Tommy Richman, Tori Kelly
Every week, I check the schedule of new albums coming out and listen to the ones that catch my ear. Then I make a note throughout the year of the ones that made a strong impression. And then to finalize my Best Albums of 2024 list, I re-listened to everything on that shortlist to confirm whether or not I did in fact like them enough to enshrine them among the crème de la crème.
As for my favorite new songs of the year, they can be hard to find, since I live in a city with reliable public transportation, and thus rarely drive, and thus rarely listen to the radio. So I hope that I’ll encounter some good ones on the albums that I seek out, or that they otherwise reach me via pop cultural osmosis. Also, I try to stick with songs that were released as singles, but it’s okay if they weren’t.
Anyway, here’s the music that happily stuck with me in 2024:
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November 17, 2024
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Charli XCX, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 50, SNL, SNL Season 50
How many Brats does it take to screw in an episode of SNL? (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)
Jeff “jmunney” Malone watches every new episode of Saturday Night Live and then reviews all the sketches and segments according to a “wacky” theme.
Happy Brat, everyone!
Yes, it’s true, Ms. Charlotte Emma Aitchison was both the host and THE musical guest of Season 50, Episode 7 of Saturday Night Live. You may have noticed that she released an album called Brat earlier this year. Brat isn’t just a collection of songs, it’s also a meme, and a lifestyle, and perhaps a revolution. So of course I’m going to review each sketch of this episode in terms of its Brat-ness.
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June 7, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Sports, Television
Aurora, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Belmont Stakes, Bon Jovi, Brat, Charli XCX, Fantasmas, Forever, Golf, I Used to Be Funny, The Watchers, Tuesday, US Open, What Happened to the Heart?
Will Fantasmas be fantasmic? (CREDIT: HBO/Screenshot)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Bad Boys: Ride or Die (Theaters) – This is the fourth Bad Boys. The third one was called “for Life.”
–I Used to Be Funny (Theaters) – Rachel Sennott is in this.
–Tuesday (Theaters)
–The Watchers (Theaters)
TV
–Fantasmas Series Premiere (June 7 on HBO) – Starring Julio Torres.
Music
-Aurora, What Happened to the Heart?
-Bon Jovi, Forever
-Charli XCX, Brat
Sports
-Belmont Stakes (June 8 on FOX)
-2024 US Open (June 13-16 on NBC, USA, and Peacock) – Golfing in Pinehurst Resort.
March 18, 2022
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Atlanta, Charli XCX, CRASH, Deep Water, Human Resources, Motomami, One Perfect Shot, Rosalía, The Outfit, Umma, X
Human Resources (CREDIT: Netflix)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Deep Water (March 18 on Hulu) – Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas directed by Adrian Lyne.
–The Outfit (Theaters)
–Umma (Theaters)
–X (Theaters)
TV
–Human Resources Season 1 (March 18 on Netflix) – Big Mouth spin-off.
–Atlanta Season 3 Premiere (March 24 on FX)
–One Perfect Shot Series Premiere (March 24 on HBO Max) – Based on the Twitter account.
Music
-Charli XCX, CRASH
-Rosalía, Motomami
March 6, 2022
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Charli XCX, Oscar Isaac, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 47, SNL, SNL Season 47
SNL: Charli XCX, Oscar Isaac, Aidy Bryant (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)
And the Oscar goes to… the 14th episode of the 47th season of Saturday Night Live, as it was hosted by Acting Man Oscar Isaac. And as for the musical guest, well you know it’s Charli XCX. She was originally booked to sing on this season’s partially scuttled Paul Rudd episode, which she at least did appear on in pre-recorded form. Save that one for the history books…
Since my birthday is in a few days, I’ve ordered the sketches in this review in order of how much I would enjoy spending my birthday in the sketches’ settings, from least desirable to most desirable.
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January 20, 2022
jmunney
Best of 2021, Best of Music 2021, Music
Aly & AJ, Best of 2021, Cat Power, Charli XCX, Cold War Kids, Doja Cat, Halsey, Lil Nas X, Meg Myers, Modest Mouse, Olivia Rodrigo, Royal Blood, Sigrid, Tori Kelly, tune-yards, twenty one pilots, Willow, X Ambassadors
CREDIT: Music Video Screenshots
According to my 2021 Spotify Wrapped, my top musical moods of the year were “bold” and “ecstatic.” So let’s call these the Best Bold & Ecstatic Songs of 2021.
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December 19, 2021
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Charli XCX, Paul Rudd, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 47, SNL, SNL Season 47
SNL: Charli XCX, Paul Rudd, Ego Nwodim (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)
This Paul Rudd-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live was supposed to feature Charli XCX as the musical guest, but instead there was no musical guest. (Although Charli did show up in a pre-recorded sketch!) Changes were made at the last minute, but the show had to go on, so it did go on! There were some new bits, but several of the sketches were classic Christmas-themed selections, along with new intros from Rudd and/or Tina Fey, Kenan Thompson, and Tom Hanks.
Rudd was in town presumably to promote his new flick Ghostbusters: Afterlife (which also features some SNL alums in its cast) and his new Apple TV+ show The Shrink Next Door (which also co-stars an SNL alum). But I also must mention that he has a recurring voice gig on the terrific new Netflix show Saturday Morning All Star Hits!, which stars and was co-created by current SNL cast member Kyle Mooney.
In the spirit of persevering, I will stick with the reviewing plan I had for this episode, which was to list the sketches in order from least Christmassy to most Christmassy. I’ve determined this according to the number of times we hear spoken in the sketch the word “Christmas” (or its derivatives, like “Christmassy,” “Christmastime,” etc.). I have included in the counts those Christmases spoken in the intros.
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June 25, 2020
jmunney
Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Music
Adele, Ariana Grande, Beck, Best of the 2010s, Best of the Decade, Beyoncé, Carly Rae Jepsen, Charli XCX, Childish Gambino, Daft Punk, David Bowie, Hans Zimmer, Janelle Monáe, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Kendrick Lamar, Kesha, Lady GaGa, Lana del Rey, Lizzo, Lorde, Major Lazer, Miguel, Miley Cyrus, Pharrell Williams, Rihanna, Sia, St. Vincent, Tame Impala, Taylor Swift, Tegan and Sara, The Black Keys, The Weeknd, Tove Lo, Vampire Weekend, Weird Al Yankovic
CREDIT: YouTube Screenshots
One more list! One more list!
My Best of the 2010s list-making journey has finally come to a close! (Or has it? … For now, it has at least. The future will come as it may, and it may just surprise you, and me.) All this week, I’ve been posting my rankings of a few categories that I was inspired to put together after submitting them to a Best of the 2010s polls that I’m participating in with some of my fellow cultural aficionados. To wrap it all up, I guide you along to the realm of music and lyrics, as I present the Best Musical Artists of the 2010s.
My criteria was similar to that of my choices for Best Film Directors. I considered a combination of how much I enjoyed their musical output as well as how much – and how well – they influenced the industry at large.
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May 15, 2020
jmunney
Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
All Visible Objects, Brec Bassinger, Celebrity Escape Room, Charli XCX, Community, DC's Stargirl, Graduate Together, Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020, Holey Moley, How I'm Feeling Now, Jack Black, Joel McHale, Luke Wilson, Moby, Red Nose Day, Stargirl, To Tell the Truth
CREDIT: The CW/YouTube Screenshot
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
TV
-Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020 (May 16 on Various Networks)
–DC’s Stargirl Series Premiere (May 18 on DC Universe and May 19 on The CW) – Starring Brec Bassinger as Stargirl; Luke Wilson and Joel McHale also appear.
–Community Cast Reunion Table Read and Q+A (May 18 on YouTube)
–Celebrity Escape Room (May 21 on NBC) – A Red Nose Day celeb goof-off hosted by Jack Black
–Holey Moley II: The Sequel Premiere (May 21 on ABC) – Mini-golf is so hot right now.
–To Tell the Truth Season Premiere (May 21 on ABC)
Music
-Charli XCX, How I’m Feeling Now
-Moby, All Visible Objects
September 13, 2019
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Alec Baldwin, Charli, Charli XCX, Comedy Central Roast, Comedy Central Roast of Alec Baldwin, Conan, Conan Without Borders, Conan Without Borders Ghana, Country Music, Hustler, Ken Burns, Ken Burns' Country Music, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, The Masked Singer, Undone
CREDIT: Amazon Prime Video/YouTube Screenshot
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Hustlers (Theatrically Nationwide)
TV
–Undone Season 1 (September 13 on Amazon Prime) – A new animated wonder from BoJack Horseman creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg.
-Comedy Central Roast of Alec Baldwin (September 15 on Comedy Central)
-Ken Burns’ Country Music (Premieres September 15 on PBS)
–The Masked Singer: Super Sneak Peek (September 15 on FOX) – There’s an “Egg” costume this season.
–CONAN Without Borders: Ghana (September 17 on TBS) Looks like this has been rescheduled!
Music
-Charli XCX, Charli – One of today’s best pop hitmakers.
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