2023 was a strange year. I say that statement confidently yet humbly as I’m unsure what makes a year strange (or normal). What I do know is that 2023 was many different things all at the same time. I’ll have to write up my annual Lessons Learned once 2024 has begun, as I cannot sort through 2023 at this hour. What I can do, however, is give a semi-year-in-review via my favorite Art consumed this year. So please indulge me as I break it all down for ya.
Movies:
Past Lives (Now available on VOD)
Are You There God, it’s Me Margret (Now available on VOD)
The Holdovers (Now Streaming on Peacock)
Oppenheimer (Coming soon to Peacock)
May December (Now Streaming on Netflix)
Nimona (Now Streaming on Netflix)
Rye Lane (Now Streaming on Hulu)
Elemental (Now Streaming on Disney+)
I’m proud of this list, though I must admit I have not seen: Killers of the Flower Moon, Zone of Interest, Anatomy of a Fall, The Color Purple, or Taste of Things. With such a large “not seen” list, I feel certain this list will change once I do.
Books:
Losing Our Religion: An Alter Call for Evangelical America (Russell Moore)
Beartown (Fredrik Backman)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Edward Albee)
This is Our Youth (Kenneth Lonergan)
Paris to the Moon (Adam Gopnik)
This was the first year since I started my yearly reading goal back in 2018, that I did not meet it (22 out of 24). While I’m genuinely annoyed at myself, it’s a great reminder that if I don’t have a plan to attain a goal- it won’t be attained. So… Not me with a list of the 24 books I’ll be reading in 2024 with dates of when to start and finish each one. ;)
Television:
Poker Face (Peacock)
Beef (Netflix)
The Bear (Season 2 - Hulu)
Jury Duty (Amazon)
Mrs. Davis (Amazon)
Barry (Final Season - HBO)
Television was good this year- excellent, maybe better than movies- good. If you haven’t seen the above shows please do yourself a favor and check them out now!!!
Theater:
I won’t rank these, but I had to include the amazing theater I was blessed with seeing this year- 5, FIVE Broadway shows, plus some local theater, it was a rich year.
My favorite show of the year was the Tony Award winning, Best Revival of a Musical: Parade. I’m not exaggerating when I say it is the best singing company I have seen on Broadway, not to mention the dazzling two leads. The music is also some of the most powerful and haunting Broadway has ever known (bold statement, yeah, yeah). So with the recent announcement of the National tour coming soon- SPEND THE MONEY AND SEE IT.
Music:
I normally do a write-up of music, but this year I don’t feel as moved to do so. With that said I must (I MUST) still give mention to some projects I kept on repeat. Anna Golden’s latest, Church, Katie Gregson-MacLeod and Griff’s new EPs, Jon Batiste’s World Music Radio, and Grace Carter’s A Little Lost, A Little Found. Great stuff. Also, my dear friend Abby Ellis’ Clementine is what follow-up EP dreams are made of.
I’m looking forward to the Art released in 2024. I’m also looking forward to making my art again (I wrote it here, so it has to happen). It’s strange to think that my life could very well be nearing the halfway mark. In 2024, I want to grow even more protective of my time and what I consume. The lull in new film and television (from the Writers and Actors strikes) is coming, and I will be prepared to challenge myself with works outside of my favorite art mediums.
What were some of your favorites this year?