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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June 28, 2024
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Sports
A Family Affair, A Quiet Place: Day One, Bad Cameo, C XOXO, Camila Cabello, Hiatus Kaiyote, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1, Hot Dog Eating Contest, hot dogs, Hot Sun Cool Shroud, James Blake, Johnny Cash, Lil Yachty, Love Heart Cheat Code, MEGAN, Megan Thee Stallion, Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Songwriter, South of Here, Wilco, Wimbledon
All’s A-fair in a Family (CREDIT: Aaron Epstein/Netflix © 2024)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–A Family Affair (June 28 on Netflix) – Starring Joey King (and also Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron)
–Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (Theaters) – Part 2 arrives in August.
–A Quiet Place: Day One (Theaters)
Music
-James Blake and Lil Yachty, Bad Cameo
-Camila Cabello, C,XOXO
-Johnny Cash, Songwriter
-Hiatus Kaiyote, Love Heart Cheat Code
-Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, South of Here
-Megan Thee Stallion, Megan
-Wilco, Hot Sun Cool Shroud
Sports
-Wimbledon (July 1-14 on ESPN)
-Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest (July 4 on ESPN2) – No Joey Chestnut this year!😱
January 21, 2024
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Jacob Elordi, Megan Thee Stallion, Rachel McAdams, Reneé Rapp, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 49, SNL, SNL Season 49
Oh by the way, which one’s Mother? (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.
Fact: the first SNL host of 2024 is Jacob Elordi. I’ve seen him in Saltburn and Priscilla.
Fact: the first SNL musical guest of 2024 is Reneé Rapp. Here’s the rap on her: I’ve enjoyed her in The Sex Lives of College Girls and Mean Girls (2024).
Since the week leading up to this episode has been one of the coldest this winter in my neighborhood, I’ve decided to review each sketch by using the words “cold,” “cool,” “hot,” “warm,” or some derivation thereof.
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October 25, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Movie Reviews
Aaron Jackson, Allison Janney, Amar Chadha-Patel, Bowen Yang, Dicks: The Musical, Gareth Edwards, Gemma Chan, Godfrey Reggio, John David Washington, Josh Sharp, Ken Watanabe, Larry Charles, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Megan Mullally, Megan Thee Stallion, Mike Tyson, Nathan Lane, Once Within a Time, Ralph Ineson, Sturgill Simpson, The Creator
CREDIT: Oscilloscope Laboratories/Screenshot
The Creator
Starring: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Allison Janney, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, Amar Chadha-Patel, Ralph Ineson
Director: Gareth Edwards
Running Time: 133 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: September 29, 2023 (Theaters)
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October 16, 2022
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Megan Thee Stallion, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 48, SNL, SNL Season 48
2 Stallions, 1 Promo (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)
Okay, folks, here’s what’s going to happen: Megan Thee Stallion just hosted SNL, and she was also the musical guest. Now I’m going to review that episode, sketch-by-sketch. And those reviewlets will go by the following format, in honor of the guest: a quick little word or phrase, followed by “Thee Stallion.”
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October 4, 2020
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Chris Rock, Megan Thee Stallion, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 46, SNL, SNL Season 46
SNL: Megan Thee Stallion, Chris Rock (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)
If we’re responsible during a pandemic, we can return to some of our pre-pandemic routines before the pandemic has fully run its course. And Saturday Night Live sure looks like it’s being responsible, which is presumably how we can explain its return to Studio 8H (with a real-live host, musical guest, and studio audience to boot!) after a trio of resourcefully assembled remote episodes back in the spring.
Pretty much every sketch in this Season 46 opener has something to do with the pandemic in one way or another, which is perfectly reasonable, considering that every part of daily life currently has something to do with the pandemic in one way or another. But host Chris Rock and MG Megan Thee Stallion aren’t here because of pandemic reasons; they’re here because, as is usually the case with SNL guests, they’ve got something to promote (Fargo Season 4 and new music, respectively).
As for me and my SNL viewing routine, as per yoozh, I woke up early on Sunday morning and fired up my DVR. I was feeling a little congested, so I popped some phenylephrine and it seemed to hit the spot. Then I ran 10 miles after Update, and it was off to the races!
In deference to pandemic precautions, I have decided to give each sketch its own line in my review so as to visually represent 6 feet apart. Let’s get to it!
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