My Favorite Movies of 2024

It's New Year's Eve.  And there are some good bowl games on TV.  Time to accept the fact that i'm probably not going to see anymore 2024 movies.  So, time to drop a list of my year-end favorites.  I'm limiting myself to 10 films this year, leaving a bunch of great stuff out (Challengers, The Shadow Strays, Dune 2, etc.), but i really, really love the movies that it settled on.  We've got ghost stories, action spectaculars, introspective slow burns, cults, surrealism, serial killers, body builders, vampires, gallons and gallons of goop, and more assorted weirdness.  Here's hoping that 2025 can deliver the goods the same way 2024 did.  Without further ado, here are my favorite films of the year in alphabetical order.

1. Exhuma

2. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

3. I Saw the TV Glow

4. Immaculate

5. Kinds of Kindness

6. Longlegs

7. Love Lies Bleeding

8. Nosferatu

9. Strange Darling

10. The Substance

If you haven't yet, all of these movies deserve your eyeballs.  Check 'em out!

Ozean

California shoegaze band Ozean released one demo tape back in 1993 and then faded into obscurity until said tape was rediscovered in 2017 and rereleased back into the wild.  It has since been reissued a dozen times because it's quite wonderful.  And now, for the first time in 30 years, we've got a new tune from the band.  Check out a preview of "Streets of Chrome" below and download the song here from the band.

Daily Jam - Eraser

Ending the year with some Nine Inch Nails.  Stay strong in 2025.  Here's "Eraser," our Daily Jam.

Airline

Here's some shoegaze and grunge-tinged alt-rock from Sydney, Australia's Airline. Dig on new tune "Bloodspiller" below and download it here from the band.

Daily Jam - West Side

It is hot has fuck here today, so I need something in my ears to reflect how melty everything feels. How about some dubby, balearic disco vibes from Swedish duo Studio. Here's "West Side," our Daily Jam.

blue heron holy ghost

The '90s alt-rock vibes are strong in this one.  Tennessee artist blue heron holy ghost has a new album heading our way next month with the impending release of "Shining Through."  Dig on the grungey, shoegazey spacey alternative rock of "Step Back" below and pre-order the album download here.

Daily Jam - Cosmic Runner

Here's some cool electronic music from Irish duo Solar Bears for your Sunday afternoon.  "Cosmic Runner" sounds like blasting through the cosmos as time, space, and reality bend around you.  Listen below, our Daily Jam.

Glasstrees

Here's some lo-fi, noisy, shoegazey dreampop from Glasstrees to wind down your Saturday to.  Listen to "Tomorrow" below and download the new "Floating in Space" EP here from the band.

Friday (Saturday) Horror Trailer - Specters

I forgot to post a horror trailer yesterday, so here it is today instead.

Daily Jam - Baby, I Love You

At the end of the '70s, the Ramones recorded their fifth album with legendary studio producer and wall-of-sound creator Phil Spector.  Reportedly, the band was so afraid of him that they'd hide in the studio during the production because Spector carried a revolver with him that he liked to flash around.  I believe it.  Anyway, here's a track from "End of the Century."  Listen to the very Phil Spector sounding "Baby, I Love You" below, our Daily Jam.

Zeal & Ardor

I somehow failed to post about Zeal & Ardor's new album "GREIF" when it dropped at the end of the summer.  I caught them on stage last week and everything, and still managed to drop the ball.  Well, i'm remedying that now.  "GREIF" is the first release as a full band and continues to push the sound into new and interesting directions.  It rules.  Check out "Are You the Only One Now?" below and get the LP here.

Daily Jam - Everyone's a V.I.P. to Someone

There are a couple of different versions of UK band The Go! Team's "Everyone's a V.I.P. to Someone."  I think it had to do with clearing samples for release in the US.  I'm partial to the original UK mix, probably because it's the one i heard first.  Dig on the wistful instrumental below, our Daily Jam.

Whirr

Hey, it looks like for Christmas we got some brand new music from Modesto, California shoegaze band Whirr.  It's been a while.  You can get the download of the new "Raw Blue" album here from the band or pre-order the LP here from Funeral Party.  In the meantime, listen to the title track below.

Daily Jam - Tomorrow Tomorrow

It's Thursday afternoon, the day after Christmas.  Thinking about what to do with the rest of the day and listening to Elliott Smith.  Here's "Tomorrow Tomorrow," our Daily Jam.

Sault

Just in time to spend that Christmas money on, wonderful UK act Sault just dropped new album "Acts of Faith."  Dig on the soulful "Pray for Me" below and order the LP here from Forever Living Originals.

Daily Jam - Little Drummer Boy

While Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is my favorite Christmas song, Low's take on "Little Drummer Boy" has got to be my second favorite.  Let's listen.  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.  Merry Christmas.

Death Parade

I feel like it's been a while since we last heard from gloomy Oregon band Death Parade, formerly known as Laura Palmer's Death Parade.  Well, they're back with a new song with an assist from Tasy Hudson and Mitch Wells.  Listen to "Coming to the City" below and download it here.

Daily Jam - Heavenly

Happy Christmas Eve everyone.  Here's a track from The Dandy Warhols that i'm having a hard time believing is 21 years old.  Listen to "Heavenly" below, our Daily Jam.

Bananagun

About to spend the next couple of hours wrapping Christmas presents.  Let's do it with a little psych pop from Australian outfit Bananagun.  The band's new album "Why Is the Colour of the Sky?" dropped last month.  Get it here from Full Time Hobby and listen to "Feeding the Moon" below.

Daily Jam - Cheree

I don't know why, but for some reason "Cheree" by Suicide has Christmastime vibes to me.  It's got to be those chimes or little bells in the background.  Whatever it is, we're jamming it today.  Give it a listen below, our Daily Jam.

JESSICA

And now for some dark and ethereal baroque folk from Australian artist JESSICA.  "The Reenactment" is a somber lament, ghostly vocals playing atop an even ghostlier sounding piano.  Beautiful, aching, haunting stuff.  Listen below and get the "Letting Go Is Letting In" album here.

Daily Jam - Wash the Day

It's always fun to go back to an old album you loved back in the day and realize that it still slaps.  Such is TV on The Radio's sophomore album "Return to Cookie Mountain."  Here's the album closing "Wash the Day" for your Sunday listening pleasure, our Daily Jam.

Daisy Rickman

UK folk artist Daisy Rickman dropped a new track today just in time for the winter solstice.  "Where the Sun Meets the Sea" is a quiet, ambient folk track, perfect for calming nerves and finding that missing inner peace.  Check it out below and download it here from the artist.

Daily Jam - Public Image

John Lydon is a turd and always has been, but Public Image Ltd have always been great.  Here's "Public Image" from the 1978 debut, our Daily Jam.

Goon

LA band Goon dropped a new track last week.  It's a gentle little lament, and kind of feels like the encroaching winter.  Check out "Death Spells" below and download it here from Born Losers Records.

Friday Horror Trailer - Christmas Bloody Christmas

 

Daily Jam - Pulse (Section I)

I'm about to be off for two weeks...which means today is going to be hectic and busy getting everything done beforehand.  So let's calm my soon to be frayed nerves with some minimalist neo-classical music from composer Steve Reich.  Here's the opening section of "Pulse" from the 1978 album "Music for 18 Musicians."  Check it out below, our Daily Jam.

Kit Sebastian

Here's a wonderful new song from UK duo Kit Sebastian. "Enkaz" serves as farewell and eulogy to band member Merve Erdem's grandfather who passed away last year. There's a classic and cinematic Turkish psychedelic vibe to it that can really get under the skin. Check the track out below and download it here from Brainfeeder.

Daily Jam - Around and Around

Forever a soft spot in my heart for the music of John Denver.  There's just something about it.  Here's "Around and Around," our Daily Jam.

My Favorite Old Movie Discoveries of 2024

I watch so many movies.  I always have, but ever since the pandemic transitioned my job to a hybrid thing where i'm working from home 50-60% of the time, the number of films i watch on a monthly basis just exploded.  I should probably dial it back some and read instead, but i am what i am.  Here are 10 movies i saw for the first time this year that i absolutely adored.  We've got some Blaxploitation, some Wim Wenders, a profound surfing movie from John Milius, over the top Hong Kong action, a Walter Hill classic that is entirely too hard to find, ugly Italian mondo exploitation that disturbed and repulsed me but has also stuck with me ever since, a '90s crime thriller, an underseen dram from Dennis Hopper, a '70s neo-noir crime drama with Dustin Hoffman, Harry Dean Stanton, and Gary Busey, and spaghetti western featuring Orson Welles and a score by Ennio Morricone.  You know, the good stuff.

Seek these films out and give 'em a view.

1. Across 110th Street (1972)

2. The American Friend (1977)

3. Big Wednesday (1978)

4. Black Cat (1991) / Black Cat 2 (1992)

5. The Driver (1978)

6. Goodbye Uncle Tom (1971)

7. One False Move (1991)

8. Out of the Blue (1980)

9. Straight Time (1978)

10. Tepepa (1969)

All of these movies are certainly worth your time.  I'll be back with my favorite movies of 2024 closer to the end of the year to give myself adequate time to see as much as i can.  Be there.