It’s been a h*ck of another year.
Albums of the Year
I listened to 112 albums this year. These were my favourites. The top two are the top two, but the rest of the order is a little less clear.
- Promises by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, London Symphony Orchestra
- Space 1.8 by Nala Sinephro
- A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine
- Sympathetic Magic by Typhoon
- New Music and Big Pop by Another Michael
- Pono by A Great Big Pile of Leaves
- I Know I’m Funny haha by Faye Webster
- Mercy by Natalie Bergman
- A Comedy of Errors by Lo Talker
- Cooler Returns by Kiwi jr
Honourable Mentions
BADBADNOTGOOD, Jaubi, Portico Quartet, Sam Gendel, Sungazer, The War on Drugs
Other Categories
- Favourite Song: Unknown Transmission Arrives by Lo Talker, from A Comedy of Errors
- Favourite Lyric: “Love me for an abstract length of time” – Unknown Transmission Arrives by Lo Talker, from A Comedy of Errors
- Favourite Album Title: Open the Phone and Talk on the Phone with You by Ben Levin & Justice Cow
- Favourite Album Art:
- Space 1.8 by Nala Sinephro, Design by Maziyar Pahlevan, Painting by Daniela Yohannes or
- I Know I’m Funny haha by Faye Webster, Artwork by Luke Webster, Photography by Eat Humans
Podcasts of the Year
Based on episodes released in the year 2021.
- Comedy Bang! Bang! by Scott Aukerman
- Threedom by Lauren Lapkus, Paul F Tompkins, and Scott Aukerman
- Front Burner by the CBC, hosted by Jayme Poisson
- Stay F. Homekins by Paul F Tompkins and Janie Haddad Tompkins
- Triple Click by Kirk Hamilton, Maddy Myers, and Jason Schreier
- Ouevre Busters by Liam Billingham and George Fragopoulos
- Ohno Radio by James Edmondson of Ohno Type Co
Video Games of the Year*
I only played two games released in 2021, so these are my favourite games that I played this year. I made an effort to finish more games this year. I still left Breath of the Wild, Outer Wilds, and Ghost of Tsushima unfinished, so you can probably expect to see those titles on this list next year.
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) – Nintendo Switch
- The Gardens In Between (2018) – Nintendo Switch
- Stardew Valley (2016) – Steam
- Donut County (2018) – Nintendo Switch
- For the King (2017) - Nintendo Switch, Steam
- Florence (2020) – Nintendo Switch
- Windsor Road (2021) – GB Rom/Itch.io
- Picross S2 (2018) – Nintendo Switch
- Knockout City (2021) – Nintendo Switch/PS4
Other Categories
- Favourite Game Score of 2021: Sable by Japanese Breakfast
- Favourite Art Direction of 2021: Sable
Books of the Year*
I read 34 books. Here are a few of my favourites that I read this year, in no particular order.
- The Lord of the Rings (1954–55) [Trilogy] by JRR Tolkien
- Policing Black Lives (2017) by Robin Maynard
- How To Do Nothing (2019) by Jenny Odell
- Ways of Seeing (1972) by John Berger
Movies of the Year
I only watched five films from 2021 in 2021.
- Dune, directed by Denis Villeneuve
- Minari[^minari], directed by Lee Isaac Chung
- Action Button Reviews Cyberpunk 2077
- The Green Knight, directed by David Lowery
- Inside by Bo Burnham
Favourite Score: Minari by Emile Mosseri
TV of the Year
I watched seven shows from 2021 and liked six of them.
- The Beatles: Get Back
- WandaVision
- Loki
- Busted (범인은 바로 너!)
- New World (신세계로부터)
- Squid Game (오징어 게임)
Videos of the Year
- Action Button Reviews Cyberpunk 2077 by Tim Rogers, and the 5 other videos that make up Action Button Reviews Season 1
- 9/21/21 by Demi Adejuyigbe
End of an era. - The Great Myth of the Medievel Tritone Ban by Adam Neely
- The Rise and Fall of the McElroy Fandom by Sarah Z
- An Exhaustive History of Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings by Folding Ideas
- A Tool With No Blood On It by Hank Green
[^minari]: Technically a 2020 release, but only wide released in 2021.