My 2021 in consumption
6 min readJan 13, 2023
Hi………….I totally forgot to hit publish on this last year lol. Here was my annual dump of things I consumed in 2021, with things bolded and strong recommendations described. I didn’t listen to as much music as I usually do — I spent so much time working with friends in our little college covid pod and not nearly as much listening to music alone. Check out my lists from 2020 and 2018 too if you want.
I actually had a really good time writing some of descriptions, because now they were all 1–2 years ago, and it felt like finding memories I might’ve lost otherwise.
Movies
- In the Mood for Love
- Minari. Me and Michael D watched #1 and this as a double feature in a central Illinois cabin using a projector to cast it on a sheet we’d haphazardly taped up.. I later rewatched it with other friends on their big gray couch. It was great.
- The Cabin in the Woods
- Marriage Story
- Coded Bias
- The Lighthouse. I watched this in May during a strange time. My childhood cat was terminally sick and had three weeks to live, and my family had given me the grim task of caring for him on my own while they went out of town on vacation. I spent three weeks in the house all by myself, doing nothing but eating junk food and spoonfeeding my dying cat. It was making me have a bit of an existential spiral, but a few friends were really sweet and drove 2.5 hours south to visit. We want golfing, made burgers from scratch, and then, as the rain started, we turned all the lights off and watched this — it’s such a distinct night for me that I associate with feeling cared for and also grieving a creature that I really loved. But that’s not necessarily related — the movie’s just really good.
- The Furby
- What We Do in the Shadows. Watched this with Jasmine over the phone with The Furby, which was a random student short film about……. a possessed Furby……
- Luca
- It’s Such a Beautiful Day
- Kung Fu Hustle
- My Blueberry Nights. I watched this with Jasmine, Mike and Daniel M. This is a lesser-known Wong Kar-Wai movie that stars Norah Jones and Jude Law who meet and fall in love in a tiny NYC diner. I went in with low expectations because the ratings weren’t that great. In fact, someone in the audience right after the lights came on immediately started hating on Norah Jones’ acting, but I enjoyed it a lot. It’s cute and simple. Her voice fits the warm tone of the movie so well. You can still see the creative vision that Wong Kar-Wai had, even if it’s not perfectly executed. I was particularly impressed by how cramped and small the diner feels but it’s still so warm and full of tenderness thanks to the directing. The longer it’s been, the more I think about it, which seems odd to say about a movie.
- Pickpocket
- The Green Knight
- Your Name Engraved Herein / 刻在你心底的名字
- The Meaning of Hitler
- Your Name (rewatch)
- About Time
- The Speed Cubers
- The Big Short
- Demon Slayer: Mugen Train
- Tampopo
- Lost in Translation
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
- No Time to Die
- Ikiru
- Cam
- Haxx Deadroom
- Possession. This was a Halloween watch with Jasmine at Music Box Chicago that had unnaturally good directing/cinematography. It’s pretty nasty and makes you feel tense for 2.5 hours straight. Though I guess you could say that about most horror movies
- Noroi: the Curse
- Howl’s Moving Castle
- A Quiet Place
- Hubie Halloween
- The French Dispatch
- Eternals
- Spy Kids
- The Witch/vvitch
- Happy Together
- Carol
- Die Hard
Games
- League
- Amnesia
- Osu!
- Super Hexagon
TV
- Burn the Witch
- Jujutsu Kaisen season 1
- Big Mouth season 4
- Sweet Home
- Great Pretender
- What We Do in the Shadows, seasons 1–3
- Vincenzo
- Never Have I Ever season 2
- Naruto part 1 and maybe a third of shippuden ha.
- The Chair
- I May Destroy You. I still think about this show quite frequently. It’s so creative and raw and honest. The main theme is processing sexual assault, so a heads up that it can get heavy. But it’s also quite lighthearted at times because the protagonist is a messy charming 20 something.
- Sex Education season 3
- Feel Good
- Mare of Easttown
- Squid Game
Books
- Know My Name, Chanel Miller
- Fun Home, Alison Bechdel
- The Very Nice Box, Eve Gleichman and Laura Blackett
- Severance, Ling Ma
Manga
- Jujutsu Kaisen, Gege Akutami
- Paradise Kiss, Ai Yazawa
- Naruto
Albums
- how I’m feeling right now, Charli XCX
- The Perfect Red Velvet: The 2nd Album Repackage, Red
- Pieces of a Man, Gil Scott-Heron
- The SHINee World: The First Album, SHINee
- THE S(EX) TAPES, FLETCHER
- Men I Trust, self-titled
- Feels Like This, Sean Angus Watson
- If I’m Gonna See You, Sean Angus Watson
- I Love You, Honeybear, Father John Misty
- Hozier, self-titled
- Genshin Impact — The Wind and the Star Traveler OST — Yu-Peng Chen, HOYO-MiX
- TRON: Legacy — The Complete Edition OST, Daft Punk
- some kind of peace, Ólafur Arnalds
- Don’t Call Me — The 7th Album, SHINee
- Little Oblivions, Julien Baker
- jams EP, Luna Li
- No Burden, Lucy Dacus
- we just need some time together, BETWEEN FRIENDS
- Mabuk Laut, The Panturas
- Valencia, Yeek
- Moodswings in This Order, DPR IAN
- Wastewomxn, self-titled
- Parked Car Convos, Kaash Paige
- Justice, Justin Bieber
- 偉大的渺小, JJ Lin
- PINK PLANET, Pink Sweat$
- Luby Sparks, self-titled
- LP1, FKA twigs
- DEACON, serpentwithfeet
- Our Country, Miko Marks; The Resurrectors
- sweet baby james, James Taylor
- Fin, Syd
- ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE; BROCKHAMPTON
- Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift
- Live at Vidro ’77, Ryo Fukui
- Other Here Comes the Cowboy Demos, Mac DeMarco
- Shut Up Move On, Lemondrop
- To Kill A Sunrise, Kota the Friend
- Lyrics to GO, Vol. 2; Kota the Friend
- soil, serpentwithfeet
- Queer Love Songs, be steadwell
- Be Right Back, Jorja Smith
- Convocations, Sufjan Stevens
- SOUR, Olivia Rodrigo
- Unofficial Wii Sports Soundtrack, Gabriel
- Goodies, Ciara
- The Shave Experiment, Q
- When Smoke Rises, Mustafa
- Like A Good Old Friend, Vegyn
- Jubilee, Japanese Breakfast
- a liquid breakfast, AUDREY NUNA
- Language, MNEK
- Introspection Reimagined, UMI
- Planet Her, Doja Cat
- CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, Tyler, the Creator
- Home Video, Lucy Dacus
- Deadpan Love, Cautious Clay
- CINEMA, The Marías
- Mood Valiant, Hiatus Kaiyote
- Our Extended Play, beabadoobee
- MADLO: Influences, Car Seat Headrest
- i like when you shine!, BETWEEN FRIENDS
- Magic 8ball, Mac Ayres
- Dreamland, Glass Animals
- Reflections in Real Time, Kilo Kish
- Across, Kilo Kish
- TEMPORARY HIGHS IN THE VIOLET SKIES, Snoh Aalegra
- Vince Staples, self-titled
- Pool, Porches
- The Turning Wheel, Spelling
- DAILY BOP, Lucky Kilimanjaro
- Sling, Clairo
- DID I IMAGINE, Alex Banin
- Cloud Hidden, Susumu Yokota
- Sakura, Susumu Yokota
- Dancing With The Devil…The Art of Starting Over, Demi Lovato
- Slow Dance, Aseul
- Amusing Her Feelings, dvsn
- Care, 中山信一
- 大陸 (Continent), 臥軌的火車 (Railway Suicide Train)
- the book about my idle plot on a vague anxiety, toe
- Happier Than Ever, Billie Eilish
- Under the Lilac Sky, Arushi Jain
- Embers, Friday Night Plans
- melanchole, salvia palth
- Good Dog, Bad Dream; Hippo Campus
- ひとつぶの海, Toshifumi Hinata
- 333, Tinashe
- Solar Power, Lorde
- The House Is Burning, Isaiah Rashad
- Donda, Kanye West
- Sampled Moods, Cherokee
- Queendom, Red Velvet
- 432, Gatsby in a Daze
- Hunger In Me Living, Organ Tapes
- It’s Never Easy, GANGGA
- SG8*, Duckwrth
- Shang Chi soundtrack
- Before I Die, Park Hye-Jin
- Euphonie, Ojard
- Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, Deb Never
- lately I feel EVERYTHING, WILLOW
- Esprit, Jiwoo
- Sundial, Osean
- MONTERO, Lil Nas X
- Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, Little Simz
- The Albatross, Foxing
- ECO PACK, Faye Wong
- Cull Fircle, Asian Glow
- And Then Life Was Beautiful, Nao
- The Devil is Loose, Asha Puthli
- Amor Prohibido, Selena
- Aaliyah, self-titled
- Rat Pack, Frat Mouse
- Frame and Canvas, Braid
- Sonorite, Teruyuki Nobuchika
- Turn On The Bright Lights, Interpol
- Take Offs And Landings, Rilo Kiley
- Reflections, HXRY
- A Beginner’s Mind, Sufjan Stevens and Angelo de Augustine
- gelato, boylife
- Dancing On The Ceiling, Lionel Richie
- SUGARTOWN, Warren Hue; Chasu
- Ryo Fukui in New York, Ryo Fukui
- Nina Simone and Her Friends, Nina Simone
- Valentine, Snail Mail
- ken, Destroyer
- Red (Taylor’s version), Taylor Swift
- An Evening With Silk Sonic, Silk Sonic
- Absolutely, Dijon. This entire album sounds like it was recorded in the soft-lit living room of a house with wood flooring on a cold autumn night. Something about it is very serendipitous and natural, as if he’s just pushing record and playing whatever sounds come to mind.. and it all works and makes perfect sense.
- In Praise Of Shadows, Puma Blue
- Forest Green (Deluxe), Q
- TWOPOINTFIVE, Aminé
- LP!, JPEGMAFIA
- 30, Adele
- Unavailable, JAAS
- Nurture, Porter Robinson
- Far In, Helado Negro
- Heaux Tales, Jasmine Sullivan
- Changephobia, Rostam
- The Asymptotical World EP, Yves Tumor
- im hole, aya