my favorite things in 2024, part 1

I am not a movie buff or a TV buff or really an anything buff, but I decided to highlight some of my favorite things from 2024 during the infancy of our new year. Granted, I don’t take in a ton of content – earlier this year I graduated college so, along with three small children commanding my attention, there wasn’t a lot of free time to spare. But I can tell you what I liked from what I consumed!

My picks are generally from 2024 (or pretty close). I’ll detail my reasoning for my top choices and also a couple sentences for the runners up.

Favorite Song

Ohio All the Time - Momma

I listen to music from all eras but sometimes struggle to stay current. Momma is a band that captivated me a couple years ago with their guitar-based sound that I love, with various 90s-era grunge influences shining through while still remaining unique and fresh in their own right. The band has been touring relentlessly since releasing their album “Household Name,” so hearing new music in 2024 was a special treat. “Ohio All the Time” is not more of the same – this track is an homage to the restful yet chaotic midwest, or really any hometown visit with friends. Guitars are alternately as chunky and squealy as ever, accompanied by dreamy keyboards and heavy drums, and there’s now a road-worn quality to the tag-teamed lead vocals by Etta Friedman & Allegra Weingarten. OATT sounds like Momma, but with an exciting nod to what is coming next.

Runner up: Astral Plane – Say She She

The tightness of these vocals, guitars, bass, and drums…this is pure psychedelic candy. Once again, a fresh throwback. I don’t know that I’ve heard much like Say She She before, and “Astral Plane” certainly lives up to the name – close your eyes while listening and the song will have you floating safely through another timeline.

Favorite Concert

Ozma - Rock and Roll Part Three, 25th Anniversary Shows

I wrote about this trio of concerts in a previous post – I’ve been an Ozma fan for years and bought RNRP3 back in 2000/2001. I obsessed over it, it’s (in my opinion) a perfect album, filled with crunchy guitars inspired by Weezer, insane basslines, swirling synths…I could go on but you could just click below and hear it for yourselves (and I invite you to do so!). Ozma’s lyrics were and are impactful for me as well. I was close to the same age as the band members, so their clever wordplay about love lost, crushes on Natalie Portman , and reminiscing about playing games with your friends struck a chord with me.

Katie surprised me with tickets to the first two shows as a graduation present, and my brother Ben came along. This was meaningful since I listened to Ozma nearly exclusively as I struggled with college my first go-round, and now I had the opportunity to hear the album live as a 41-year-old college graduate. Three times, with my brother no less! And the band did not disappoint.

The shows were incredible. I loved hearing the full album, of course, but having never seen Ozma before I appreciated the inclusion of b-sides and tracks from every other album. Each night was a different setlist, and on night three we were comped tickets by the band and I was able to meet three of the five members. A truly special experience that I will never forget.

Runner up: Weezer - Voyage to the Blue Planet Tour

Weezer launched what many called the blueprint for a nostalgia tour. Somehow they presented the Blue Album (the first album I ever purchased with my own money) in a fresh and unique way, with a facade of a trip to outer space with the four elder statesmen of nerd power-pop. The show opened with tracks from various albums (Anonymous & Return to Ithaka from the amazing Everything Will Be Alright In The End kicked off the show with guitar theatrics) before settling into that familiar crunchy groove of 1994’s self-titled debut. The show was a spectacle as well, with a backdrop changing the scenery to various space locales and an intense light show which, while fantastic to see, somehow never distracted from the music. Go out of your way to see recordings of this show, at least one of which was streamed live.

Favorite Book
(neither book was published in 2024 – I’m breaking my own rules here)

Hit So Hard by Patty Schemel

I learned of Patty Schemel’s phenomenal book via John Strohm’s Substack and, after reading his piece, snapped it up immediately. Schemel, the drummer for Hole from 1992 until 1998, wrote explicitly about her experiences in a major rock band during one of the hottest periods for touring musicians – and those “experiences” included a shocking amount of drug use. Like, every drug. I devoured this book almost entirely on a flight from Nashville to Los Angeles, where a significant portion of this book took place. It was sad and heartbreaking in so many ways – reading about Patty losing everything, gaining it back, losing it again, and starting and stopping self-destructive habits repeatedly was mindbending. Spotlighting 90s legends like Patty herself, Layne Staley, Courtney Love, Scott Weiland, and Kurt Cobain was also interesting yet brutal to read. These were young people trapped by addiction while attempting to navigate fame, contracts, obligations, and relationships. There are so many lessons to be learned in Schemel’s book, a true cautionary tale to young musicians or people surrounded by drug culture and potential fame, but it also contained a joyful ending that I was relieved to read. Cannot recommend enough, though in fairness this one may be a tough read for addicts or the squeamish.

Runner up: A Stir of Echoes by Richard Matheson

Richard Matheson is one of my favorite authors of all time. I discovered a compilation book of his called The Shores of Space back in the mid 90s, when I bought it at our local library for fifty cents. Inside were 13 short stories of the horror or sci-fi genres, many of which were also Twilight Zone episodes. Matheson wrote more than a few best-selling novels too, such as A Stir of Echoes (which you may remember as a 1999 film starring Kevin Bacon). I bought my copy of Echoes years ago and it sat on a shelf until I decided last year to burn through my books after I finished school. This was my first one, and what a great story! A quick synopsis – after a hypnotism party trick, a man begins seeing glimpses through time and space, both of things that happened in the past and prophetic visions that he must break down to understand before they come to pass. It may sound heady, but Matheson’s writing is very balanced and he explains the unbelievable quite believably – Matheson is a master of saying much in very few words. I won’t spill any further details on the story because it truly is a masterful, concise little book that I highly recommend.

Next week I will conclude my “favorite things” list with my favorite video game, YouTube channel (I don’t watch tv!), and favorite album of the year. Thank you for reading, and please let me know your picks for your favorite…everything…from these categories in the comments.