TLDR… You’re not going to get off that easy, sorry!

All attempts at passive aggressive jokes aside, to anyone who was wishing for 2021 to be a step up after the demonstrable year-long shitshow that ushered in the decade, I would be the first to offer a conciliatory hug, as by my estimation 2021 appears to have suffered from the typical pitfalls that are bestowed on any follow-up production receiving the baton from a notorious predecessor…

Which is more of the same of what distinguished the previous entry, but somehow simultaneously more horrifying and boring with an overstuffing of controversial new elements fighting for space amidst the main through line, leaving an emotionally drained audience dangling on a dispiriting lack of resolution with an embittered-but-resonant hope that perhaps next time, a sense of finality may finally be achieved and the sooner we can look back over our shoulder at this whole mess, the better.

(Sidenote: To fans of The Matrix, you continue to have my deepest sympathies…)

Amidst the backdrop of a pandemic refusing to die down being punctuated by the threat of another military conflict burgeoning on the Ukrainian border, a global summit about the environment ending with a collective maybe-shrug from world leaders about the health of the planet, those slippery politicians still managing to evade all manner of consequences for deceiving the public amongst an avalanche of deadly scandals and James Corden still managing to turn up absolutely fucking everywhere in my viewing suggestions on multiple streaming platforms, it is easy to forget that everyone in the world was affected by 2021 in more ways than they could imagine possible.

Personally speaking, I went from being unemployed and unvaccinated to not-so in both regards twice, losing over thirty kilos in weight down to pure stress over the first job only to slowly gain ten back down to stress on this most recent one as well as managing to catch the dreaded VID despite my best efforts to open doors with my wrists and elbows and sanitizing absolutely everything.

It reminds me of a telling moment at the beginning of the first episode of Tiger King Season 2 after Joe Exotic’s presidential pardon campaign squad are bullied out of that rally at Capitol Hill by a bunch of ravenously angry terrorists/SPECTATORS who would end up storming said political stronghold at a deadly cost. With their tails between their legs, the campaigners watch live footage of the siege on their smart phones as they drive away from the carnage, only for one of them to break the awed silence by finally piping up “I hope they [the Orange Suprem(e-r)acist administration] saw our banner”…

At first, I felt that this was merely a crystallization of Tiger King’s newfound status as an also-ran in popular culture only two seasons into its narrative, but the more I think about it, this is how I honestly felt throughout most of 2021, head sunk into my smart phone as the world continued to rage against itself into the next furore, struggling to keep up with a crushing and befuddled disappointment.

(Incidentally, don’t bother watching Tiger King 2; in short, they are all still awful people but the surviving cats got rescued, which we can take solace in the fact that something good came out of it all in the end…)

So, in the face of a world that seemed to constantly do nothing but tap sinisterly at my door only to implore me “don’t fucking bother”, the only emotional crutch I had to rely on was that old adage of “we can only look after ourselves and each other”…

And thankfully, quite a lot of my family and friends were up to this task, punching their way through my malaise to remind me that there was still enough to be moved by and care about this year without realising quite how much of a lifeline they were giving me by doing so.

Yes, this tangent has proven especially long-winded for something that offers little more than a “thank you” to people who most likely will not even read this, but if I’ve learned anything from the year that was(n’t) 2021, it is that those smaller moments of connection, however tenuous and fleeting they may have been, meant more to my mental wellbeing than ever before.

So yeah, “thank you”… and as for 2022, any spoilers would be appreciated, but in the meantime, here’s an overview of my favourite stuff from the past year.

Top 25 Albums Of 2021

1. Pool by Skee Mask
2. Boy From Michigan by John Grant
3. ULTRAPOP by The Armed
4. DEACON by serpentwithfeet
5. Black To The Future by Sons Of Kemet
6. Isles by Bicep
7. Agor by Koreless
8. Medieval Femme by Fatima Al Qadiri
9. Clara by Loscil
10. Romeo by Sega Bodega
11. Sometimes I Might Be Introvert by Little Simz
12. Broken Hearts & Beauty Sleep by Mykki Blanco
13. Water by Lotic
14. Infinite Granite by Deafheaven
15. SINNER GET READY by Lingua Ignota
16. On All Fours by Goat Girl
17. The Besnard Lakes Are The Last Of The Great Thunderstorm Warnings by The Besnard Lakes
18. Reflection by Loraine James
19. Sensational by Erika de Casier
20. Conflict Of Interest by Ghetts
21. Extended by Modeselektor
22. The American Negro by Adrian Younge
23. The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers by Valerie June
24. Immigrants by Nitin Sawnhey
25. To See The Next Part Of The Dream by 파란노을 [Parannoul]

But if you followed me over on IG, you would be familiar with some of this already, right?

Incidentally, if you’d like to hear highlights from each of these albums and many more standout songs from 2021, checkout my playlist on Mixcloud heralding as much here.

Other A/V Stuff From 2021 That I Liked

What We Do In The Shadows: Season Three (FX/BBC)

The Staten Island enclave of vampires continued to push the boundaries of taste and decency in the name of fantasy-fuelled dirty laughs for their third series, though a welcome emotional undercurrent that brought more investment to the lead quintet marked this particular tome apart from its predecessors, as well as a concerted effort to further build upon the supernatural world right under humankind’s noses via introducing more frighteningly funny characters and mythologising that posits some particularly succulent prospects for season four.

Them: Season One (Amazon Prime)

Whilst I wouldn’t recommend season one of Them to anyone triggered by visceral sequences of rape and torture, I would argue any misgivings some may have had about said sequences being too over-the-top in the name of “black trauma porn” seem to miss the point; show creator Little Marvin along with producer Lena Waithe and the excellent cast and crew do well to not shy away from the impact of the violence wrought here nor its psychological implications, towing a red-misted line that renders the trauma of its protagonists both arrestingly and honestly.

Squid Game: Season One (Netflix)

Yup, I got sucked in to the Netflix sleeper hit series’ vacuum, and out of everything that everyone went batshit over this year, this one still holds up despite losing its dramatic thrall about one or two episodes ahead of the finale; an irresistibly high-concept combination of sociological commentary and brutal violence that through committed performances, slick direction and eye-catching production design (think René Magritte does Fortnite) captured the world’s imagination, despite an apparently ridiculous English language dub (anyone know where I can get a “I Read Subtitles” T-shirt from, by the way?)

Kevin Can F**k Himself: Season One (AMC/Amazon Prime)

I am certain that part of my lack of emotional cohesion this year was due to the fact that I didn’t have a new series of Schitt’s Creek to latch onto, though it was still encouraging to see Alexis herself, Annie Murphy, headlining her first show since everything went to Schitt, effortlessly carrying a tricky role as an emotionally weathered spouse who decides to go off-book from the seemingly fun-filled sit-com trappings of her home life and do away with her dunderhead husband, revealing a stifling reality informed by bad choices and disappointments.

Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu/Amazon Prime)

I try not to ascribe to the “Guilty Pleasure” mode of thinking to any sort of media that I end up being quite taken with, but NPS came pretty effing close; a delirious, sun-soaked soap opera dressed in expensive prestige television trappings from the producers of Big Little Lies featuring Nicole Kidman in intoxicating, red-eyed, high-camp form as a preposterous Earth mother who guides a well-cast bunch of emotionally affected souls through a wellness break full of micro dosing psychotropics with questionably tasteful but eminently watchable results.

The Horror Geek (YouTube)

And finally, a shout-out to a man after my own heart, self-professed horror movie nerd and powerlifter Mike Bracken, a YouTuber of magnificent beardage who trades in bad puns and saucy innuendo when reviewing classic splatter gore horror films who also seems to have materialised from the inner recesses of my mind’s taste components. It’s just nice to know that even the most finite of whims can be reciprocated sometimes, right? 😊

So, yeah, that’s it for 2021, for really-realzz…

Stay safe and keep well everyone; there’s undoubtedly more to come but in the meantime, all we can do is look after ourselves and each other.

xxxo