I must confess that I was about to, again, give up on the yearly list exercise. I am too old and wise for this- which is something I often say when I feel lazy to do something, hence being immature. But then I took a look at previous yearly lists and discovered strange and interesting things. Books I’d forgotten I’ve read but were on my best of lists. Songs I’d apparently loved, but never listened to again. Not only that- I couldn’t remember a single chord. While this might sound like reason enough to ditch the practice, it had quite the opposite effect. These lists were a snapshot of who I was at a certain point in time, and while I am no longer quite the same, they’re still strangely enlightening. They’re also out there, and people randomly find them, and maybe five, ten years later, will discover a song or film I’ve forgotten. Any maybe they will remember it instead.

Before tearing into the songs and albums list, a brief mention of concerts. While, perhaps, I went to less, in number, than in other years, there were some exceptional ones included: Air playing Moon Safari in full at Berlin’s Theater Des Westens- sitting in a plush chair with a flute of bubbly listening to one of the best albums ever made. Bucket list item ticked off right there. Nick Cave being so utterly Nick Cave in the Budapest Arena. The man is 67 and sprints faster across the stage than I do on my power laps. And he does it singing. And screaming, occasionally. And then sits down to the piano to play the best version of Into Your Arms ever- according to the good people of the Internet, he played the best version ever on every single night of the tour. Coldplay at Puskás stadium- sure you can complain about Chris Martin having a chronic case of the Bono saviour syndrome, but, as stadium rock, they are impeccable. And then, them again, the Sad Dads were back, in Vienna, and I am very clearly part of a strange but uplifting The National cult and I feel no remorse whatsoever.

When it comes to songs and albums, 2024 was, shockingly, by the state of the world, or because of it, perhaps, a vintage year. There was so much brilliant new music to discover that I often felt almost a little breathless, hardly having time to get to know one great album before I’d discovered another one. And while a lot of people went on wild rants (about everything, actually, but more specifically in our case) Spotify, I still love the beast. If you listen mindfully enough for long enough, you can train your dragon (read, algorithm) to actually find genuinely good music you will enjoy, and not necessarily in the very same genre. Sure, I had recommendations from friends, read magazines, and even occasionally visited a record store. Spotify, if you want it to be so, is just another instrument of discovery among many. Cindy Lee chose not to have their album on Spotify, instead, you can listen to it on YouTube. Which is great, because thusly I discovered a wide range of detergents, cough syrups and flat screen televisions I will not buy and am ever the richer and happier for it.

All in all, this is then an almost random list of what I found to be most exciting right now, and I willingly left out three ‘big hitters’ that I did enjoy, but most people will have heard anyway: Charli XCX’s Brat, Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft and Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. The latter came to me as a surprise: while occasionally feeling just a little self-indulgent and in your face about it, is a genuinely entertaining attempt at a genre mash up that ultimately works. Compared to other years, I also noticed a complete discrepancy between the songs and albums list, almost as if they are becoming two different genres, or, at least, I listen to them in different ways. Loving and album so much, as say, Wild God, meant that I could not pick a single standout song, as it would feel a little bereft of its brethren.

In other much maligned things- the Sziget line up included three of the artists who ended up on the final album list (admittedly, Adrianne Lenker played with her band, Big Thief). Not bad for what was widely considered an irrelevant edition in terms of artists. And so then here is the evil but lovingly curated Spotify playlist for your entertainment.

Perhaps because there was so much music to listen to, I did abjectly on the film front, occasionally missing out on films I really wanted to see, for no good reason at all really. When it comes to films, though, my feeling is that streaming platforms are much poorer in throwing up good stuff than in terms of music. I do question why I am signed up to four platforms altogether (Prime Video for Clarkson’s Farm is the only clear answer I have), because often none of them will have anything particularly exciting. MUBI is marginally better, but their selection is quite poor when streamed from Hungary or Romania as compared to Western Europe- this is partly because the films should theoretically have local cinema releases, but don’t always do. So, here is a meagre five film list, with the resolution (ah, the dirty word) to do better in 2025.

Poor Things

Perfect Days

Past Lives

Dune II

Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World

Lefkovicsék gyászolnak (All About the Levkoviches)

At least I finished my Goodreads challenge, though- another platform which has been quite widely criticised, both for gamifying reading, and for problematic practices when promoting certain authors. I do again believe that much of how you experience it depends on you as a user. It has never been anything more than an easy tracking device for me, replacing paper lists. I don’t feel it’s the end of the world if I fail at a yearly challenge- I have done so in the past- but it can serve as a gentle reminder when I slack off too much time watching Moo Deng videos.

Eshkol Nevo- World Cup Wishes (translated into other languages, variously, as The Symmetry of Desires, The Course of the Game Has Changed and We Have the Whole Life Ahead, which could serve as the basis of an intriguing analysis of titles in translation)

Edmund De Waal-The Hare with Amber Eyes (this book was very popular with friends and acquaintances a few years back, and so then I did not read it, due to my occasionally contrarian nature. I then randomly found it on a bookshelf facing me directly in a café, bought it on a sudden whim, read it, and loved it so much that I went to Vienna just to see The Hare with my own eyes).

Ann Scott- Les Insolents (no English translation yet, sadly)

Sheila Heti- Alphabetical Diaries (you might feel wary of someone making a book out of their random diary entries arranged alphabetically, but it clicks wondrously into place in the end)

Federica Manzon- Alma (no English translation either, for now)

Elizabeth Jane Howard- The Sea Change (a stunningly well written book, that came to my attention thanks to the Hydra book club. Helpfully, the French title is in fact Une saison à Hydra)

Alena Mornštajnová- Hana ( I read a lovely illustrated Hungarian edition, from the Csirimojó publishing house)

Pavlos Matesis- The Daughter ( I wrote a bit more about this book, and Howard’s, in the post about Hydra)

Goran Vojnović- The Fig Tree (picked up a copy after listening to Vojnović’s talk at the Margó book festival, which had a much stronger line up of guests this year than the more popular Budapest Book Festival)

Daša Drndić- Belladonna (one of the toughest but most enlightening reads of the year, unwavering both in cruelty and splendour)

Karl Ove Knausgård- The Third Realm (perhaps not as strong overall as the Wolves of Eternity, but quite the ending, and I will say no more lest there be spoilers)

Gabriel García Márquez- One Hundred Years of Solitude (a much delayed re-read, but sometimes it makes a lot of sense to return to classics you read when you were quite unripe for them, to say it politely)

Last but not least. I have just started the new Murakami (delayed it due to some convoluted logistics- it’s a large book and I did not want to travel with it). So I could go ahead and read that, but also I could look at…