January 31, 2024
jmunney
Best of 2023, Best of Music 2023, Music
Andre 3000, Bebe Rexha, Best of 2023, Cannons, Caroline Polachek, Corinne Bailey Rae, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Fall Out Boy, Flavor Flav, Halo Maud, Jessie Ware, Kim Petras, Lil Yachty, Miley Cyrus, Music, Necry Talkie, Olivia Rodrigo, Paramore, Queens of the Stone Age, Reneé Rapp, Royal Blood, Sam Smith, Snoop Dogg, Sparks, The Chemical Brothers, Troye Sivan, U.S. Girls
It’s tricky to fall in love with new songs when I don’t drive as much as I used to and therefore don’t listen to the radio as much as I used to either. But somehow, a dozen or so songs still manage to annually bubble their way up to a very special place in my heart.
Albums, meanwhile, typically have a better chance of making an impression on me nowadays, as I tend to sit and listen to them straight through on a popular music streaming service while taking care of business.
With all that mind, here’s the new music that made the biggest impression on me in 2023:
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December 10, 2023
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Adam Driver, Julia Stiles, Olivia Rodrigo, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 49, SNL, SNL Season 49
“Adam Drivers License” (CREDIT: NBC/Screenshot)
Merry Christmas! (And I’ll probably say it again next week, too.) For the second new SNL episode of December 2023, we’ve got a couple of returning favorites in the form of host Adam Driver and musical guest Olivia Rodrigo.
I ran a 5K on Saturday morning, and not only is “Driver” Adam’s last name, but he’s also playing a famous car person in an upcoming movie. So with that feeling of speed going so strong, I’m going to get through my review quickly by offering just one word per sketch. Furthermore, Olivia Rodrigo’s breakthrough single was also automobile-related, although “Drivers License” actually moved at a rather leisurely pace. But she’s really kept up the momentum since then!
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September 8, 2023
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television
Back to the Water Below, Courtney Barnett, End of the Day, For That Beautiful Feeling, Guts, James Blake, Jeopardy!, Olivia Rodrigo, Playing Robots Into Heaven, Royal Blood, The Chemical Brothers, The Masked Singer, The Nun II, Video Music Awards, VMAs
CREDIT: FOX/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
–The Nun II (Theaters)
TV
–The Masked Singer Season 10 Premiere (September 10 on FOX) – Right after football.
–Jeopardy! Season 40/Second Chance Tournament (Begins September 11; check local listings)
-2023 MTV Video Music Awards (September 12 on MTV) – The VMAs are on a Tuesday this year, interesting, I wonder how that’ll go.
Music
-Courtney Barnett, End of the Day
-James Blake, Playing Robots Into Heaven – I know James Blake the tennis player, but I’ll see if James Blake the musician is also worth paying attention to.
-The Chemical Brothers, For That Beautiful Feeling
-Olivia Rodrigo, Guts
-Royal Blood, Back to the Water Below – This came out last week, but somehow I missed it, even though Royal Blood is one of my favorite bands right now.
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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January 19, 2022
jmunney
Best of 2021, Best of Music 2021, Music
Adele, Andrew WK, Annette, Best of 2021, Chvrches, Courtney Barnett, Damon Albarn, Halsey, Julien Baker, Lil Nas X, Modest Mouse, Olivia Rodrigo, Prince, Rostam, Royal Blood, Sparks, Sting, The Pretty Reckless, tune-yards, Weezer
In all the years I’ve been listing my favorite songs and albums, this is probably the first year that I’ve had a better handle on the albums. That’s mainly due to my lack of radio listening compared to earlier eras in my life. Nowadays, my most frequent music consumption habit is one album at a time on Spotify.
Here are all the releases that pleased my ears (and my feet and brain, and all the rest of me) the most in 2021, including a number one that I’ve been obsessively re-listening to over and over in a way I didn’t realize was still possible.
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May 21, 2021
jmunney
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Television
$100000 Pyramid, Chrissie Hynde, Crime Scene Kitchen, Duncanville, Gary Numan, Intruder, Joel McHale, M.O.D.O.K., Master of None, Olivia Rodrigo, Press Your Luck, Rugrats, Scaled and Icy, Sour, Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan, twenty one pilots
M.O.D.O.K. (CREDIT: Hulu/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
–M.O.D.O.K. Season 1 (May 21 on Hulu) – Robot Head.
–Duncanville Season 2 Premiere (May 23 on FOX)
–Master of None Season 3 (May 23 on Netflix)
–The $100,000 Pyramid Season Premiere (May 26 on ABC)
–Crime Scene Kitchen Series Premiere (May 26 on FOX) – I usually don’t watch cooking shows, but this one’s hosted by Joel McHale.
–Press Your Luck Season Premiere (May 26 on ABC)
–Rugrats Reboot Premiere (May 27 on Paramount+)
Music
-Chrissie Hynde, Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan
-Gary Numan, Intruder
-Olivia Rodrigo, Sour
-twenty one pilots, Scaled and Icy
May 16, 2021
jmunney
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television
Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Rodrigo, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 46, SNL, SNL Season 46
SNL: Olivia Rodrigo, Keegan-Michael Key, Kate McKinnon (CREDIT: YouTube Screenshot)
The penultimate episode of Saturday Night Live Season 46 has been hosted by Keegan-Michael Key! Fun fact about Keegan: he used to be one of the two stars of his own eponymous sketch show. But that show ended its run nearly six years ago. What do you think about that! The musical guest is Olivia Rodrigo, a teenager who writes songs.
For sustenance, I had a typical Sunday breakfast: two fried eggs, toast with strawberry jelly, and orange peach mango juice. Was the fruit-based-products-to-eggs ratio too high? #BreakfastThoughts
I didn’t forget to review the sketches! (Not that you thought I did, lol.) We start off with a Message from Dr. Fauci (Grade: 3/5 Faucis) and a bunch of other folks who are supposedly doctors, but they’re REALLY wacky by doctor standards. Supposedly they were acting out scenarios to help people figure out if and when they should still wear face coverings, but instead it was all just an excuse to act out shenanigans.
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