A Year In Review: Top 5 Saves, Shazams, and Books
It’s a new month, it’s a new year, it’s a new set of top 5’s from me.
Happy 2025, hope yours is off to a good start. 2024 was a big year for me — I ran a half marathon, I moved to an apartment I love, I got super sick and couldn’t figure out why, I examined my relationship with alcohol, and I cried and laughed a lot. Overall, I think there were more wins than losses which is always lucky.
If you’ve been reading long enough, you know that I posted a roundup of top moments in December of last year. I see so many end-of-year lists around December 15th but what about lost last few days of the year?! Exciting, year-in-review-worthy things can happen in those days too. So, this year, I decided to push it into the early days of 2025 to give a true recap and leave a little room for last-minute music and media finds. Let’s begin. (If you’d like to jump down to the full playlist, including some additional tracks, it’s closer to the bottom!)
Top 5 Saved Songs of 2024:
These tracks were not necessarily released this year, they just happen to have come into my life in 2024.
California by CMAT
CMAT is such an exciting and emotive performer. I mistakenly found her on Instagram reels and immediately listened to the record, “Crazymad, for Me” from top to bottom. Some live videos connect with me more than the final mixes, but it’s still a stellar record. Watch her perform “Stay For Something” live if you really feel like diving in.
Favorite lyric: “I’m milking what I can from this grief…”
UMI Says by Mos Def
I used to listen to Mos Def a lot with my dad and I rediscovered this song this year. It’s such a timeless track. The writing is simple and straightforward — my favorite kind of songwriting.
For similar energy, see also: Amber Mark’s cover of My People
Chito’s Song by Cochemea
As a deeply lyric-focused person, instrumentals don’t always stick with me. This track is a major exception. Cochemea’s credits are vast and varied sonically but this record is ultimately rooted in his indigenous Yaqui heritage. The whole record is a journey but this one is a personal favorite.
Unending Bliss by Rosie Tucker
What a joy it was to open for Rosie early this year! I think this is the first track I heard from their new record and it got me excited for the rest. Rosie says it and I have to agree: “If at the bottom of everything we are all alone / Then I want nothing but unending bliss for my enemies…”
See also: If U C My Enemies by Rubblebucket (“If you see my enemies, tell ‘em that I want to be friends again…”)
Think Different by Lucky Daye
I don’t drive, but I’d drive to this song if I did. The outro? Chef’s kiss. The drum groove AND the drum tone?! Amazing.
Honorable Mention because I can’t stick to my own guidelines:
Cadillac by Sophie May
I had to shout out this song specifically for these chorus lyrics:
I wonder what is going on in that head of his
Not a lot is going on, my mother says quit asking him
He's not a good guy, remember that
When you come back crying in his Cadillac
He says it's from 1962
Bet all my money he loves it more than you
Top 5 Shazam’d Songs of 2024:
Like last year, these are songs I heard in the wild (bars, Ubers, TV/film placements, etc.) that stuck with me. Some of these songs were brought back into my life by Shazaming in public and no one will ever convince me to be embarrassed about it.
Frente A Frente by Rocío Dúrcal
I Love Your Love by Donald Byrd
State Trooper by Bruce Springsteen
I love me a Jersey girl and I also reference Route 1 in my music. Maybe I ride for Bruce Springsteen now?
Save The Children by Gil Scott-Heron
Honestly, this whole record…
Don’t Matter by Kings of Leon
Did you guys know that Kings of Leon could sound like this? I sure didn’t. I like this version of them a lot!
If you’re interested in listening to all these tracks and maybe a few more that I struggled with cutting, check out the full playlist here. I usually sequence things to a T, but this is a free-for-all. The preview is also shown below:
Top 5 Books of 2024:
I read or listened to 95 books this year. (Seems like kind of a lot. I guess I’m just never alone with my thoughts.) Here are the best of the collection.
Sula by Toni Morrison
★★★★★
This book is a classic for a reason. Toni Morrison has felt intimidatingly dense for me in the past. If you’ve struggled to get into her writing, please start here.
The Change by Kirsten Miller
★★★★.5
God, this book made me want to burn things to the ground in the best way. It’s a crime/thriller/magical realism novel with strong, vivid characters. It’s a book I went into with no context or background info and I’d recommend doing the same, just check content warnings first! (I definitely should have done this but didn’t. Do as I say, not as I do.)
Pure Colour by Sheila Heti
★★★★.5
This book won’t be for everyone but it was for me. I finished this book at a coffee shop and still fully sobbed while surrounded by people. It’s an experience more than it is a novel. Expect a somewhat existential book on love, how we connect, and grief — all under the premise that we exist in the first draft of creation. I was gifted this book in a bundle from The Last Bookstore and I couldn’t be happier that it came into my life.
Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters
★★★★.5
This is another grief-related book but this time a queer rom-com with some spice. I’ve described this book in past newsletters, but a quick recap: An uptight city person comes home after a loss and has to work closely with an art school dropout/free-spirit/sex educator as outlined in the will to save a sex shop from closing. Chaotic, fun, and surprisingly heartfelt.
Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang
★★★★.25
I dipped my toe into fantasy this year and this book was a wonderful start. It’s technically a “dark academia” novel (not a fan of that sub-genre and I still liked this book, do with that information what you will) that follows an orphan who’s life work is to become the first female highmage in the history of her society. I won’t say more than that, but if you’re hesitant about the world-building that fantasy requires, I will say this one is worth the first 100 pages of background info.
I know in newsletters of yore, I’ve included personal accomplishments, food, and other media highlights but these 3 categories are the most important to me. Plus, this is long enough as it is. If you’re in a sharing mood, send me your favorite songs, Shazams, or anything else. Talk to you next month!
Adjenai