Woof, well this will clock in hopefully as the latest I’ll ever post a year in review. 😬 Let’s just say that the beginning of 2025 got away from me big time. The busy-ness so far in 2025 hasn’t been all great, but most of it has been pretty great. But that’s for next year, when I hopefully reminisce about 2025 a touch earlier than June.
I could probably just skip it entirely, but my completionist mind set will never forgive me if there’s a missing year when I look back at a full 20 year span of my reviews, which believe it or not, this is in fact my 20th year in review. *airhorn*
So much like how 2023 was colored by dealing with Condo BS, 2024 was pretty quickly made better by the selling of the condo. There were other stressful things to deal with in 2024, mainly my parents’ ailing health, but not having the condo hanging over our head was a blessing that I don’t ever want to forget.
I had said for a couple years that some big changes were coming potentially the next year. 2024 finally brought some of that, starting with the condo being sold, but the other big change was that I started a company (or rather, acquired/split off a company) called Deep Roots Hosting. It’s basically the same work I’ve been doing for a while now, but it’s taken on a deeper meaning and responsibility, now that I’m part owner of the company. It’s been exciting to be on this side of it, although my responsibilities didn’t really change much, which was an odd transition.
Other highlights from 2024:
- I was the character of Donnie Kirshner in Beautiful at Civic Theatre, and Avery was the lead character in the play One is Silver and the Other’s Gold as part of Civic Theatre’s Ten for All one act play festival. There was definitely some really wonderful theatre community moments all throughout 2024 that has made me really glad to have my biological family all wrapped up in this chosen theatre family.
- Saw the total solar eclipse along the river in Toledo, Ohio after a super fun vacation/trip with our friends the Hoke family and David Ellens.
- Avery finished up 3rd grade and started 4th grade, while Margot finished up 1st grade and started 2nd grade. The days are long, but the years are short.
- Had the bougiest fancy boy birthday ever by staying at the Waldorf Astoria in Chicago and eating at Alinea. It was all incredible, and I still dream about it.
- Celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Common Shiner Social Mediasochist video at Horrorcon in Los Angeles.
- Had cocktails with so many amazing friends in my life, several weekend trips involving brewery lunches with my family, coached Avery in their flag football league, laughed a lot, gigged a lot (both weddings and Garbage Angel), achieved a lot, beat myself up for not achieving more, cried, cooked, worried, gardened, and loved. All in all, a pretty full year.
Looking back on my 2023 review, one thing that will continue is my lack of progress on a new album, but spoiler alert, progress is finally being made in 2025. So in my next year in review, hopefully I’ll have plenty to say about that! But I’ll leave that spoiler free for now.
Not sure if anyone will care about this, but again, my completionist mind is such that I have to do this. So as I always do, let’s sum up my favorite media from 2024 before I forget all of it!
Here’s links to my previous 19 years:
2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005
Top 5 Albums
- Bring Me the Horizon – POST HUMAN: NeX GEn
There’s a lot more dark emo pop-punk on this album than the heavier metal of their last album, and while some of the lyrics certainly border on eyeroll-y emo, I just can’t get enough of this album. It’s such an amazing combination of screamy angst, ridiculously catchy hooks, and utter heavy metal electronic chaos. Love it.
2. The Midnight – Monsters
My friend Joey turned me onto this band, and I immediately just fell into a content nostalgic groove with this album. It’s like living in the soundtrack of an 80s sci fi movie in the best possible way. This album was actually almost 4 years old when I finally listened to it, but I figured screw it, it’s making the top 5 this year.
3. Aleksiah – Who Are You When You’re Not Performing?
Pretty sure I first heard of her when hearing the song 24 on TikTok of all places, and it was just such a delicious hook of a song, I figured I’d give the whole album a listen, and it did not disappoint. Heartfelt, and wiser than her years, but with so many catchy hooks all throughout. Spoiler alert, she’s likely gonna be appearing on the 2025 mix as well.
4. Great Good Fine Ok – Exist
Like GGFO tends to do, I heard most of this album a full year before this came out, because they released everything as singles. But Breathing and Blame, the first two tracks on this album, are just undeniably great, so since I continue to love these guys so much, I wanted to reward them on the list.
5. Unleash the Archers – Phantoma
Handful of albums could have gone here, but I’ve so genuinely enjoyed Unleash the Archers over the last 4 years or so, that I wanted to reward them here. While this album is certainly quite a step down from their 2020 album Abyss, it’s still just epic sword metal that is endlessly entertaining to me.
honorable mentions
Frank Turner – Undefeated, Vampire Weekend – Only God Was Above Us, Remi Wolf – Big Ideas, NOTHING MORE – Carnal, Savoire Adore – Savoire Adore, Lizzy McAlpine – Older
Theme Song of the Year
Me: Dance with Somebody – The Midnight
Corinne: The Seed – AURORA
Avery: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger – Far Out (remix)
Margot: Flame – KATSEYE & Purple Girl (I’m Psycho) – EnchantedMob
Top Bands I Should Have Been into Earlier
Everything Everything – Very fun indie band who has a ton of albums that are really fun.
The Midnight – Decided to just list them in my top 5, even though the album is older, but it felt like I’ve known it forever already.
Favorite Movies
Reminder that you can follow me on Letterboxd (username fosterthemorgan). Here’s my top rated from the year:
Wicked
The Substance
Woman of the Hour
Hundreds of Beavers
Late Night with the Devil
A Quiet Place: Day One
Alien: Romulus
Godzilla Minus One
Dune: Part Two
Deadpool & Wolverine
Worst Movie of the Year
As usual, with following along with How Did This Get Made, I watched many terrible movies. Worst one according to my Letterboxd ranking:
Fifty Shades Darker
Here was my review on Letterboxd: Woof What a stupid waste of time. Everything interesting that is introduced is resolved immediately, and almost nothing actually happens. The sex scenes continue to be totally uninteresting but if they weren’t in the movie, you’d think this was a high school drama
Favorite TV Shows
Corinne and I watched several shows, but I did a poor job of tracking my favorites throughout the year. A few that come to mind now:
The Bear (Season 3)
Fallout
Shogun
What we do in the Shadows (Season 6)
Favorite Podcast
I think the new (to me) podcast that I got into the most over 2024 was:
60 Songs that Explain the 90s
Rob Harvilla is just an exceptionally clever writer, and writes so well for his own voice. Each episode is like an essay about a given song/band/time in music, and it’s just a wonderful podcast.
The 2024 MCAM (Morgan, Corinne, Avery, Margot) Mix
1: All Ur Luv (feat. Toro y Moi) – Madeon
Just give me all……
2: Cure for Me – AURORA
An Avery find, but one we all enjoyed jamming along to.
3: blankets – corook
Such a sexy catchy cute tune.
4: I Feel So Good – Jukebox the Ghost
Sweet catchy tune about love and growing up and crap.
5: HOT TO GO! – Chappell Roan
Obviously.
6: I’m the President – KNOWER
Jazzy, funky, catchy, this song has it all.
7: Famous on the Internet – Young Rising Sons
Catchy rocky poppy tune. I’m a sucker for these.
8: Good Journey – The Forecast
Did my heart good to see The Forecast come back out with some music in 2024, and it was just that same catchy rock with big heart that it was before.
9: 24 – aleksiah
So catchy, so heart felt. aleksiah knows how to tug my heart strings.
10: Stop Talking – Motion City Soundtrack
Speaking of old bands of mine that came out with new music in 2024, this song came out of nowhere, and is just deliciously Motion City Soundtrack.
11: Gods in Decay – Unleash the Archers
As you listen to this, you’ll suddenly be wearing a viking helmet. I can’t explain it.
12: Kool-Aid – Bring me the Horizon
No one in my family other than me really listened to this one, but the electronica combined with the metal in this song is incredible, and has one of the best break down moments ever.
13: Dance with Somebody – The Midnight
So wonderfully synth-y 80s, but from like a version of the 80s that was exclusively in sci fi movies. Makes me nostalgic for a time I never actually experienced.
14: Cheerleader – Porter Robinson
I was so excited for the new Porter Robinson album, but to be honest, it was a little disappointing. Still had some trademark fun poppy stuff like this one.
15: Soup – Remi Wolf
The lyric is “I don’t want to live without you” and Avery consistently would sing “I don’t want to live without soup” which of course made everyone laugh.
16: Trump Trailers – Jesse Welles
If Trump was born in the trailer park, he’d have a big ol’ dog with a big ol’ bark, and a little bite in a single wide and he’d tell everybody that it was a double.
17: Sure Enough – Two Door Cinema Club
Also a random single out of a band I’ve always loved, and man does this song rule.
18: Kiss – Savoir Adore
Didn’t love this last album as much as the previous one, but still some really lovely tunes like this one.
19: RADIO – Millington
Maybe some day punk/ska songs won’t work for me anymore, but today is not that day. This song is great.
20: The Elevator – Lizzy McAlpine
Another album that I was very excited about, given how much I loved her previous album, but was a little disappointed by. However, this tune and moment in the album is just gorgeous.
21: Defying Gravity – Wicked: The Soundtrack
Real slice in time here, but a song that was played in the car MANY times.
22: Euclid – Sleep Token
I’ve said that I can picture this song being in a pretty modern musical, and I want to be in that show so badly. Love the drama and dynamics.
==================================
It’s so far into 2025 now, that 2024 feels SO long ago, but that’s my fault. Nevertheless, another year in the books, and while some really good things happened in 2024, here’s to 2025 being even better. At the very least, I’ll listen to stuff and watch stuff and tell you about it.
Cheers!