Fiction
(in no order)
Kay Gabriel A QUEEN IN BUCKS COUNTY (nightboat)
Ida Marie Hede ADORABLE (lolli)
Blake Butler UXA.GOV (Inside the Castle)
Hesse K. DISQUIET DRIVE (Pilot Press)
Ágota Kristóf I DON’T CARE (New Directions)
Joseph Goosey CASEY ANTHONY, RENOWNED TRAPESE ARTIST (Schism Nεuronics)
Navid Sinaki MEDUSA OF THE ROSES (Grove Atlantic)
Lauren Cook SEX GOBLIN (nightboat)
Gary J Shipley STAB FRENZY (Apocalypse Party)
Joy Williams CONCERNING THE FUTURE OF SOULS (Tin House)
Wolfe Margolies SHAME (Infinity Land)
Juliet Escoria YOU ARE THE SNAKE (Soft Skull)
Kristen Felicetti LOG OFF (Shabby Doll House)
David Kuhnlein BLOODLETTER (Amphetamine Sulphate)
Valerie Werder THIEVES (Fence Books)
Snatch Wylden SLASHER REDUXXX (Cloak)
Jack Skelley MYTH LAB (Far West Press)
Estelle Hoy SAKE BLUE (After8 Books)
Danielle Dutton PRAIRIE, DRESSES, ART, OTHER (Coffee House Press)
Grant Maierhofer PISSANT… BIB… DOLLAR TREE PARTS… WE SHOULD BECOME THE PITILESS CENSORS OF OURSELVES… (Inside the Castle)
Max Restaino COYOTE (Amphetamine Sulphate)
1-wing 2can, et al 2-BYTE βETA Ei8ht ½-LOOPƨ (Calamari Press)
Jeremy Kitchen MR. CRABBY YOU HAVE DIED (First to Knock)
Katharine Haake WHAT HAPPENED WAS (11:11 Press)
David Leo Rice THE BERLIN WALL (Whisk(e)y Tit)
John Trefry MASSIVE (Inside the Castle)
Stacey Levine MICE (Verse Chorus Press)
Christopher Owens “DETHRONE GOD” (Sweat Drenched Press)
Zebulon House THE PSYCHIC SURGEON ASSISTS (Calamari Press)
Charlene Elsby VIOLENT FACULTIES (Clash Books)
Nate Lippens RIPCORD (Semiotext(e))
Logan Berry ULTRATHEATRE: VOLUME 1 (11:11 Press)
Poetry
(in no order)
Joyelle McSweeney DEATH STYLES (nightboat)
Emily Hunt STRANGER (The Song Cave)
Anselm Berrigan DON’T FORGET TO LOVE ME (Wave Books)
Sabrina Tarasoff, ed. FUN TO BE DEAD: THE POEMS OF BOB FLANAGAN (Kristina Kite Gallery / Pep Talk)
Ira Rat ENDLESS NOW (Filthy Loot)
Ted Rees HAND ME THE LIMITS (Roof Books)
Oscar d’Artois THE ISLAND (Shabby Doll House)
David Trinidad SLEEPING WITH BASHO (BlazeVOX)
Stéphane Mallarmé A ROLL OF THE DICE (Wave Books)
Alice Notley BEING REFLECTED UPON (Penguin)
Alex Osman SCANDALS (Filthy Loot)
Zoë Hitzig NOT US NOW (Changes)
Charles North NEWS, POETRY AND POPLARS (Black Square Editions)
Tony Trigilio THE PUNISHMENT BOOK: THE COMPLETE DARK SHADOWS (OF MY CHILDHOOD), BOOK 4 (BlazeVOX)
Cletus Crow PHALLIC SYMBOLS (Pig Roast)
Kendra Sullivan REPS (Ugly Duckling Presse)
Maria Hardin CUTE GIRLS WATCH WHEN I EAT AETHER (Action Books)
Wayne Koestenbaum STUBBLE ARCHIPELAGO (Semiotext(e))
Charalampos Tzanakis ALL OUT IN THE OPEN (Sweat Drenched Press)
Bruce Andrews & Sally Silvers UPSTAGE (Ugly Duckling Presse)
Alan Felsenthal HEREAFTER (The Song Cave)
Clark Coolidge RADIUM OUT COLD (Lithic Press)
Nonfiction
(in no order)
Cynthia Carr CANDY DARLING: DREAMER, ICON, SUPERSTAR (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Anne Carson WRONG NORMA (New Directions)
Ted Berrigan GET THE MONEY!: COLLECTED PROSE 1961-1983 (City Lights)
Lucy Sante SIX SERMONS FOR BOB DYLAN (Tenement Press)
Brad Gooch RADIANT: THE LIFE AND LINE OF KEITH HARING (Harper)
Sam Ashby, ed.LITTLE JOE: A BOOK ABOUT QUEERS AND CINEMA, MOSTLY (SPBH)
Valerie Hsiung THE NAIF (Ugly Duckling Presse)
Mike Corrao SURFACE STUDIES (Action Books)
Kevin Killian SELECTED AMAZON REVIEWS (Semiotext(e))
Chris Zeischegg CREATION: ON ART AND UNBECOMING (Apocalypse Party)
Richard King TRAVELS OVER FEELING: ARTHUR RUSSELL: A LIFE (Faber & Faber)
Joe Brainard LOVE, JOE: THE SELECTED LETTERS OF JOE BRAINARD (Columbia University Press)
Steve Finbow GRAVE DESIRE: A CULTURAL HISTORY OF NECROPHILIA (Infinity Land Press)
Serge Daney FOOTLIGHTS: CRITICAL NOTEBOOK 1970–1982 (Semiotext(e))
Alexander Kluge THE DRAGONFLY’S EYE: MY VIRTUAL CAMERA (AI) (Spectormag)
Music
(in no order)
7038634357 TIMERS (Bus)
HYPER GAL AFTER IMAGE (Skin Graft)
Richie Culver SCREAM IF YOU DON’T EXIST (Participant)
Mount Eerie NIGHT PALACE (P.W. Elverum & Sun)
Kali Malone ALL LIFE LONG (Ideologic Organ)
KMRU NATUR (Touch)
Guided by Voices STRUT OF KINGS (Rockathon)
Moor Mother THE GREAT BAILOUT (Anti-)
Thurston Moore FLOW CRITICAL LUCIDITY (Daydream Library)
Meth Math CHUPETONES (Reel Life Entertainment)
Klara Lewis THANKFUL (Editions Mego)
claire rousay SENTIMENT (Thrill Jockey)
Kee Avil SPINE (Constellation Records)
Kim Gordon THE COLLECTIVE (Matador)
Cindy Lee DIAMOND JUBILEE (Realistik)
Morgan Garrett PURITY (Orange Milk Records)
Still House Plants IF I DON’T MAKE IT, I LOVE U (Bison Records)
Loren Connors & Chris Cochrane ARTEMISIA (Infrequent Seams)
Buñuel MANSUETUDE (Skin Graft Records)
Morton Feldman, Christian Wolff, Wendy Eisenberg THE POSSIBILTY OF A NEW WORK FOR ELECTRIC GUITAR (Other Minds)
Charli XCX BRAT (Atlantic)
Locrian END TERRAIN (Profound Lore)
NPVR 33 34 (Editions Mego)
Film
(in no order)
Jean-Luc Godard SCÉNARIOS
Harmony Korine AGGRO DR1FT
Leos Carax IT’S NOT ME
James Benning BREATHLESS
Wang Bing YOUTH (HOMECOMING)
Harold Crooks & Judd Tully THE MELT GOES ON FOREVER: THE ART & TIMES OF DAVID HAMMONS
Leslie Thornton HANDMADE
Ernie Gehr ERNIE GEHR: MECHANICAL MAGIC IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson RUMOURS
Steve Reinke SUNDOWN
Simon Liu LET’S TALK
Radu Jude DO NOT EXPECT TOO MUCH FROM THE END OF THE WORLD
Kurosawa Kiyoshi CHIME
Wes Ball KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
Art
(in no order)
Thomas Schütte RETROSPECTIVE (MoMA)
Liz Larner MAGNETIC INSTINCT (Regen Projects)
Arte Povera (Pinault Collection)
Chantal Akerman EXPOSITION (Jeu de Paume)
UNDERCURRENTS I: STORIES, SYMBOLS, AND SOUNDS (Wende Museum)
Matthew Barney SECONDARY (Fondation Cartier)
Peter Fischli & David Weiss (Pinault Collection)
Allen Jones FROM THE GODS (Almine Rech)
Alan Vega CESSPOOL SAINTS (Galerie Laurent Godin)
Rob Pruitt x Lizzi Bougatsos HELP ME LIFT YOU UP (Air de Paris)
LA BANDE DESSINEE US MUSEE (Centre Pompidou)
Internet
(in no order)
SCAB
ASTERISM
zlibrary
The Wire
GAMESCENES
Internet Archive
VK Video
PLAY THERAPY V2.0
Solidarity Cinema
otherppl
WAKE ISLAND
Mattazine Society
pixiv
{ feuilleton }
SHABBY DOLL HOUSE
too scared to tell my mom
espresso bongo
X-R-A-Y
Art and Trash
Legsville
Rhizome
Theme Park Review
ok.ru
Musique Machine
Original Cinemaniac
ANGUSRAZE
PEPPERLAND SPICERACK
Beaucoup
Expat
SOAP2DAY
Volume 1 Brooklyn
Experimental Cinema
The Los Angeles Review of Books
3:AM Magazine
largehearted boy
pantaloons
Locus Solus: The New York School of Poets
giphy
The Wonderful World of Tam Tam Books
Hobart
Ubuweb
*
p.s. Hey. So, it’s that annual day of the year when I share my favorites of the past year. There are probably things I’m forgetting. There are undoubtedly things I haven’t yet read, seen, heard, or watched that would be there if I had. As always, I would love to hear what your favorites of the year were if you would be so kind as to pass them along. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Yes, I suppose you’re right. I think the Weezer lunchbox is still in storage somewhere. The one from my childhood, surely not. I can share my Buche event of yesterday in the following form. Here’s the Buche itself. And here are my fellow devourers and the Buche just before its dissection (l. to r.: Chris, Lucy, Ange, Zac). It was good: the logs aka cake and even the white chocolate fireplace, stocking, and grate. And there’s a wee bit left. Very smooth trip to Hungary today. Will you be there for the holidays’ duration, I guess meaning until New Years? Love making a list of his favorite humans of the year with you most assuredly on it, G. ** jay, Hey, Jay. Well, there isn’t a lot to tell about the ‘God Jr.’ graphic novel yet. The artist/graphic novelist doing it is Sylvain Bordesoules, who has published two really excellent graphic novels here in France. The ‘GJr’ one is planned to be published in English and in French. I think in France it’ll be published by Gallimard. I don’t know about the English one. I’m excited about it. Thank you for the ‘Belladonna’ link. I’ll use it ASAP. Awesome. Yes, ‘Eye’ is my top choice, predictably. Haha, your boyfriend sounds sweet. I’m happy you’ve wound up with a nice and readable guy. Thanks, Buche pix just above, and I hope your weekend’s atmosphere is Xmas-y in some way. ** Misanthrope, Sorry about the busyness, G, but I reckon they’ll cut you loose any second if not already. Enjoy the birthday dinner, obvs. I’m planning to spend my weekend with Paper Mario. ** _Black_Acrylic, Glad it/he was of interest. What Hollywood cranks out is mostly just a bunch of dissolvable distractions. My list is now yours. Time for you to pony up, dude. ** Steeqhen, I woke up too early too, but luckily I don’t have anything mind-busting to do today. I quit ‘Luigi’s Mansion 3’ because I came upon a boss who seemed impossible (for me) to beat, but it was fun until he drove me away. I watched my roommate play the Zelda as Zelda game when I was in LA last time, and it did look quite charming and not excessively hard. ** politekid, Big O! Thanks about ‘God Jr.’. I’m very proud of that book, and not just because it’s the novel of mine that people seem least interested in. I think the last section of ‘God Jr.’ is the best thing I have ever written. Anyway, thanks. I told what there its to be told about it to jay up above. It’s still pretty early on. I don’t think the artist has actually started working on it yet. Director’s Cuts of films are almost always more self-indulgent and worse. Like ‘Donnie Darko’ is a lovely film, or it was until the director fucked it up by adding a bunch of time-consuming, ‘meaningful’ leftover crap. You do sound better about your own writing today, great, and, yes, keep me in the loop. Editing is my metier. Great, I can pore through the lit journal, thank you, maestro. Everyone, here’s a link to a lit journal issue co-edited and co-introduced by the brilliant politekid. Brainy coolness awaits. I seriously envy you on that tractor parade. Zac is obsessed with tractors, and he would lose his mind if he were you. How/what was it? Any exciting fiascos or intentional highlights? Right, I was working on an opera like you describe at one point. Gisele Vienne was to direct it. Zac and I co-wrote it. Dominique Gonzales-Foerster was going to do the set. And the one and only Scott Walker was composing the score and songs. But then he got cancer and died, and that was kind of the end of it. It’s really too bad. It would have been very strange and maybe even innovative if we had actually done it. Have a blast with the tractors and with every other little thing that enters your peripheral vision this weekend. ** Steve, Thank you, I did. Pix of the Buche whence still in tact are link-accessible up above. I hope your parents are toasty warm. Nice re: your snow. We had a good two minutes of hail and sleet here the other day. Young child like really young? Pokemon and its billion offshoots seem to be the child game, I think? Maybe some of the easiest Mario stuff? Kids probably play those puzzle-based games like Tetris and stuff? ** HaRpEr, Basinski leant a nice, melancholy vibe to the Buche feast yesterday, all thanks to you. The Buche was complicatedly delish. You can see it if you click the links in my talk to Dominik up above. I remember trying to make a Scary Xmas music gig for the blog and finding that too difficult. Did you mange to fill one? You have a great start there. That’s funny, or sort of, but when I was in high school one of my best friend’s girlfriend was this much older British woman, and she used to make all of us teens watch ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ with her at Xmas, so there you go. I don’t remember it so well. I was doing a lot of acid at the time, and I do remember it wasn’t so conducive. Your dad sounds like a major handful. Yeah, I mean, polite silence and forced smiles seems like your arsenal. Ugh, sorry. Congrats on your shoes, which do sound very scenic and physically uplifting, which hopefully transfers up to your heart and head. Have a lovely weekend up there. ** Sarah, Hi, Sarah. There you go? What infected your year in the good way? ‘Yakuza’ does sound really fun, yes. Really. I’m going to look into it. Ooh. Awesome about your novel! That’s so great! When is it coming out? That’s very exciting. As someone who either writes or tries to write vibes-based fiction with minimal, merely fuel-like narrative, I applaud you. Bah, there’s no ‘you can’t do that’ with writing and with fiction in particular. I don’t need to tell you that, in fact, anything goes. Predetermining rules from outside sources are why most fiction books are just inert clones only distinguishable from one another due to slight variations. No, I haven’t seen ‘Smile 2′, but I do intend to see that one. I’m way behind on regular, wide release films. I need to get over myself. Did you have a weekend of note? ** Bill, Hi. Pix of the Buche and its eaters (minus me) available via the highlighted green words north of here. The eating itself was just eating plus the occasional uttered compliment plus cheap champagne buzz. Oh, nice, about VanDerBeek’s grandson. And about you getting to see that Dome piece in person. Very cool. Your gig is tonight! Knock ’em dead! Everyone, If by some miracle there is someone reading this who is in Taipei today, the great Bill Hsu is performing in your vicinity tonight, and you should go! Here’s the scoop. ** Right. My 2024 faves, ideally in return for yours. See you on Monday.
Now available in North America 
* 
Ah ok so here we are already. Thank you ever so much for including Play Therapy v2.0 in your list! Only 2 more episodes to go before I dedicate my 2025 to writing, or that’s the plan anyway.
FILM
The Substance (Coralie Fargeat)
MUSIC
Actress – Statik (Smalltown Supersound)
British Murder Boys – Active Agents And House Boys (Downwards)
Eros – Your Truth is a Lie (Downwards)
FICTION
Audrey Szasz – Rubber Anne (Infinity Land Press)
Max Restaino – Coyote (Amphetamine Sulphate)
Rebecca Gransden – Figures Crossing the Field Towards the Group (Cardboard Wall Empire)
The latest episode of my show is online here via Tak Tent Radio!
With Play Therapy v2.0, you seem even more beautiful than before.
A massive, massive thank you for including “dethrone god” on this list. A great honour being listed alongside people like claire rousey, Nate Lyons and Guided by Voices.
hey dennis! let’s see if i can actually post here. i’m still on ancient machinery here and haven’t been able to post for ages. kim gordon’s album was my fave of the year. and i tried really hard but i just could not understand what all the fuss over BRAT was about.
YAY, success!
Hey Dennis! I’ve looked up the artist who’ll be doing that adaptation, and wow, really lovely style! I think the visual art that defines your work (to me) is definitely kier’s “I Wished” cover, and those crazy body explosion covers for Closer + Frisk. But who knows, maybe this guy might join that list! I agree about God Jr.’s ending being spectacular. I’d say the final stretches of Guide, God Jr. and Frisk might be some of my favourite bits of writing full stop, so I’m super curious to see how the graphic novel turns out.
Awesome list, I also loved that Harmony Korine film – and brat, of course, but that’s sort of a given. Hmmm, one thing I saw and loved this year was “Sleep” (from 2023, but globally released this year), this crazy Korean film about a man who starts harming himself in his sleep, before escalating to threatening his wife. It sort of falls apart at the end by escalating the violence to this unreal level – there’s a really nauseating scene with a power drill – but it’s otherwise amazing.
Anyway, yes, my guy is incredibly sweet, it’s definitely my longest relationship to date. He’s working his way through my Christmas gift to him – “Path of Exile 2” – which seems to be a fantasy action game. I’m currently enjoying his Christmas gift to me, which is a really fancy haircut/dye (at his expense). Anyway, looks like a lovely Buche Noel, I hope your holiday keeps getting better. See ya!
Hiii! I know tomorrow’s P.S is going to be rather packed, so I’m just dropping my list here. Hope you’re doing good!
Music:
CALIGULA – Lingua Ignota
Grave Of A Dog – Sightless Pit
Venereolegy – Merzbow
Women As Lovers – Xiu Xiu
A Promise – Xiu Xiu
Recursos Inhumanos – Varsovia
‘77 LIVE — Les Rallizes Dénudés
Books:
The Thief’s Journal – Jean Genet
Blue of Noon – Georges Bataille
The Passion According to G.H – Clarice Lispector
Thomas The Obscure – Maurice Blanchot
The Unnamable – Samuel Beckett
Blue Eyes, Black Hair – Marguerite Duras
Period – Dennis Cooper
Tomb For 500,000 Soldiers – Pierre Guyotat
Close to the Knives – David Wojnarowicz
History of Sexuality: Vol I – Michel Foucault
Pierre Reverdy – Pierre Reverdy (NYRB Poets)
The Dream Police – Dennis Cooper
Laure: Collected Writings – Colette ‘Laure’ Peignot
Nothing More Left To Lose – Najwan Darwish
Film (actually so many more):
Celine & Julie Go Boating – Jacques Rivette
Vivre Sa Vie – Jean-Luc Godard
Agatha and the Limitless Readings – Marguerite Duras
Multiple Maniacs – John Waters
Terrorizers – Edward Yang
The Wounded Man – Patrice Chéreau
None of these are 2024 releases, I know I have so much to catch up on 😓
God Jr is one of my favorite DC books. I read it one afternoon in the midtown NYPL. I’ll never forget the video game object the father tried to recreate as a sculpture. I was spending a lot of time lollygagging around galleries then, and many of the art pieces began to take on the shape of that video game object. It’s still the first thing I think about when I see many new sculptures. Merry Christmas, Dennis. I can’t wait to read more of your novels next year.
Hey, I do one try to see if I can comment.
Super list and made my day to see All Out in the Open there earlier, just little after I saw a double rainbow outside 😉
I have so much to talk to you about but I am getting stuff from your answers here. So super excited for the God Jr news. Love from Crete
Great list, Dennis. Hope you have a relaxing festive period and got the presents i sent your way 🖤 I read lots of great books and saw lots of interesting films this year as well, but your list has exposed a few of my gaps. I’ll add them to my 2025 list!
Aw yeah, new dude I kno/ew bugger all about. I browsed some of this post in English, in which basically no work got done, and I just talked, and made benign festive condensation graffiti, and helped a friend with his work. I like anything with pixels. That GIF of a muscly dude under the microscope has me a little entranced. Also, hi Khrushchev.
*sigh* Hi, Den, start of Christmas break, lord I’m exhausted. From college (thank you, now thankfully ex-teacher, for 1) saying I look like Scrooge, 2) criticising how many layers I wear, and 3) telling me I look iron-deficient), from the post-college walk around town for about 3.75 hours, and then the post post-college walk walk, for another few hours with my friend, which was great fun, but Hell on my feet, and then the post post post-college walk walk walk, which was shorter, though accompanied with phone fuckery, though that should fingers crossed be solved by the end of tomorrow. What. A. Day. A good one. Girl told me I am not as bad as other men, and that I apparently have a feminine view of the world. She claimed to have good gaydar which made me laugh semi-nervously. Another girl gave me a chocolate. I ate 3 custard doughnuts today, man. I may die. Lovely stars out tonight.
218 slaves whose role = lunchbox, hm. I don’t know if the blog would ever verge into such feederistic content.
Had occasional pingpong in primary and secondary school. I was never any good (the only sport I was ever decent at was hockey), and never followed the rules. I just hit the ball with the paddle and saw what happened.
And as for pool, not my thaaang either, I don’t understand it. Or snooker, which my parents are big on. To me, it is very boring.
I am a terrible klutz too, I get that from my mother. Always bumping into things, falling over, breaking, dropping things, most embarrassing.
I read the P.S. pre-English, but now I am, yes, *free.* And thank fuck for it, I need the rest. Fatigued hifive right back at you. Yawn.
Wild days, mhm. Young hearts, run free… that’s me. Eating 3 custard doughnuts. Now that’s wild.
Hopefully family can keep nose out of my beeswax. Terrible timing, father just unsubtly tried to subtly check on me, am probably making typing noises. Ugh. That was uncomfortable.
Latest I’ve commented thus far. Can’t wait to lie in.
Ach, I fell asleep before commenting.
Awesome of you to share the stuff you thought was cool this year. I share your appreciation of zlibrary and Internet Archive.
I’m not very up-to-date on… things, in general. So I have a poor idea of just what’s come out this year.
Music is the only one I can really talk about, and even then, barely. I liked BRAT like everyone else did (excluding my straight dude friends who judge me for enjoying Charli XCX), and underscores’ Wallsocket (Director’s Cut) was an album I listened to and liked.
Had ANOTHER nosebleed earlier this morning.
Need to catch up on yesterday’s writing. See you on Monday – when I won’t have to be in college by 9am! Or at all! Best.
Hey Dennis,
Gonna make my own 2024 list, probably after new years. Will listen to some of the albums there that I don’t know about. I’ve barely read any 2024 releases, and I think I’ve seen only 5 films from this year.
Albums not mentioned by you I enjoyed:
I enjoyed the new Xiu Xiu, and Imaginal Disk by Magdalena Bay. Also the new Kendrick was a nice surprise as I had kind of fallen off his music until Not Like Us came out and hooked me back in. The new Cure album shocked me in how much I enjoyed it; I had heard like half the songs when they played them live in 2022, but that was 2 years ago and I’d forgotten about them. Britpop by AG was good, Heartache + Lucifer + Without + Soulbreaker were standouts from that. The Clairo album was a cute one too. Have about 10 or so albums on my “to listen to” list before I make my 2024 post, and maybe I’ll sneak in a few new films too.
Enjoying this Christmas break, going to do a bit of writing and then meet up with a friend
It’s been a hot minute, but I’m glad to come back to one of these. They never get old (and just remind me how much good art I’ve missed, lol). As for my own lists, there’s still some I need to check out on the film front, but this is how it’s looking now:
FILMS
Love Lies Bleeding (Rose Glass)
Rap World (Danny Scharar, Conner O’Malley)
all the words but the one (Nava Mau)
Challengers (Luca Guadagnino)
Caught By the Tides (Jia Zhangke)
Trap (M. Night Shyamalan)
Queer (Luca Guadagnino)
Juror #2 (Clint Eastwood)
AGGRO DR1FT (Harmony Korine)
The Beast (Bertrand Bonello)
MUSIC
Ka – The Thief Next to Jesus
Moor Mother – The Great Bailout
Mach-Hommy – #RichAxxHaitian
Kendrick Lamar – GNX
Beth Gibbons – Lives Outgrown
Tyler, the Creator – Chromakopia
Charli XCX – Brat
Doechii – Alligator Bites Never Heal
Kim Gordon – The Collective
Paysage d’Hiver – Die Berge
BOOKS
My Body is Paper: Stories and Poems by Gil Cuadros
The Wild Creatures by Sam D’Allesandro
The Torn Skirt by Rebecca Godfrey
The King of Video Poker by Paolo Iacovelli
After Claude by Iris Owens
Teorema by Pier Paolo Pasolini
Yr Dead by Sam Sax
Sluts: Anthology, edited by Michelle Tea
Big thanks for including THE BERLIN WALL, which continues to be a most prescient terror, amongst an always excellent list. I’ve got a lot of catching up to do. Happy whatever!
Hope I can get through playing with IP on Firefox. My comments sometimes say they go through but don’t. You asked about the film last Monday; it was Silent Night Deadly Night; not a great movie but dumb in a fun way. I was wondering why they weren’t playing Black Christmas like they usually do. I guess that’s been reserved for this Monday.
A favorite band of mine, World’s End Girlfriend, put out a really cool concert film on Youtube today: https://youtu.be/bcT2ZwUTjtI?si=znB1Yihl498sv-fi
Most of these films did not play at my local indie theater! Not even Aggro Drift, which I thought would for certain. I think Didi and I Saw the TV Glow were standouts for me in terms of new releases.
Bunuel and Hypergal for me as well, yeah, good year for Skin Graft. I like Brat a lot and listened quite a few times, though I don’t find the remix collection or its instrumental companion Britpop worth the time at all, sadly. I did not know there was a Locrian release this year.
As for my albums (a few are EPs) list (with Bandcamp links for those who want to download):
Patricia Taxxon- Bicycle https://patriciataxxon.bandcamp.com/album/bicycle
Ashley Ninelives- Cheshire Days https://ashleyninelives.bandcamp.com/album/cheshire-days
Femtanyl- Reactor https://femtanyl.bandcamp.com/album/reactor
Kopy- Heart Fresh https://kopymusic.bandcamp.com/album/heart-fresh
Otaco- △○□☆◇ https://otacosan.bandcamp.com/album/–4
Half and Half and the Desire Dogs- Girlish https://biddyfox.bandcamp.com/album/girlish
Eisei to Karatea- Pure Diary https://eiseitokaratea.bandcamp.com/album/pure-diary
Amprrrong-1.618 033 988 749.... https://amprrrong.bandcamp.com/album/1618-033-988-749
Coaltar of the Deepers and Boris- Hello There https://boris.bandcamp.com/album/hello-there
Hollow Suns- Free Fall https://hollowsunsjpn.bandcamp.com/album/free-fall
About yesterday’s post, was the Try manga doujinshi (unauthorized fan work)? Or were you somehow involved. Also, concerning the boy’s love parody in Horror Hospital Unplugged, I was a little surprised: was that stuff on many people’s radar back in 90s? How hard was that stuff to find in the states? I like the BL artist Nagabe. This one, Smell, is my favorite of his: https://myreadingmanga.info/nagabe-smell-eng/
Anyhoos, it’s been kind of a wild year. I’m better than I was psychologically but still financially precarious. Here’s to hoping I “make it” (whatever that may mean) in 2025.
Thanks for the plug, Dennis. The show went well. James and Olaf are a pleasure to hang and play with. I used to joke I hardly ever play in SF so I don’t tire out my friends. Still kind of true, haha.
Will definitely sift through your treasures when I get home. Somehow I’ve managed to space out on the new Blake Butler, Brad Gooch, Joe Brained etc. My favorites at a glance:
Fiction:
Mariana Enriquez, A Sunny Place for Shady People
Brian Evenson, Good Night, Sleep Tight
Percival Everett, James
Naben Ruthnum, Helpmeet
Brian Evenson, None of You Shall be Spared
Carter St Hogan, One of Several Deserts
Sofia Samatar, The Practice, The Horizon, and the Chain
Jessi Jezewska Stevens, Ghost Pains
Graphic novels:
Bhanu Pratap, Cutting Season
Daniel Clowes, Monica
Non-fiction:
Will York, Who Cares Anyway: Post-Punk SF…
Gnarly jazz/improv reordings
Rob Brown, Oblongata
Axel Dorner, Aphelia
Frequency Disasters, Naize
Nmperign/Meginsky, Selected Occasions of Handsome Deceit
Ned Rothenburg, Crossing 4
Stoffner/Butcher/Corsano, Braids
Kyle Bruckmann, of rivers
John Butcher, Fluid Fixations
Matthew Goodheart, 5 apparitions
Deupree/Shipp/Morris, Travelogue
Mike Mitchell, Illimitable
Zakrocki/Garbowski/Gradziuk, Ballads & Blues
Jim Baker/Hunt/Heinemann, Horizon Scanners
Butcher/Lehn/Tilbury, Lights
Sophie Agnel/Jerome Noetinger, Un clavier bien tempere
Abstract ironic pop recordings:
Radian, Distorted Rooms
Thomas Carnacki, Cadavre Isole
Ruth Goller/Skylla, Skyllumina
Gastr del Sól, We have Dozens of Titles
Contemporary composed music recordings:
Aaron Cassidy, A Way of Making Ghosts
Jason Eckardt, Passage ’24
Trio Catch plays Urquiza, Terranova etc
Live music:
Ric Louchard 4tet at SFSound series, West Oakland
Conor Hannick plays Ustvolskaya piano sonatas, Berkeley
John Butcher/Magda Mayas, Contest of Pleasures at KM28, Berlin
Skylla, Magic ID at Ausland, Berlin
John Butcher/Angharad Davis, Butcher/Beins/Dalfedecker at KM28, Berlin
SFSound Ensemble plays Elliot Carter, SFSound series, West Oakland
Oishi, Brian Chu at Exit Entry, Hong Kong
Salonen conducts SF Symphony, Kanneh-Mason play Shostakovich Cello Concerto #1, Gubaidulina etc
Ken Ueno/Karen Yu at SFSound series, West Oakland
Chris Brown/Ben Davis/Jon Raskin/Shokrai at SFSound series, West Oakland
Thea Farhadian/Sylvia Matheus at Center for New Music, SF
Euphotic at Peacock Lounge, SF
Thomas Carnacki/Cheryl Leonard etc at Berkeley City Club
I’m incredibly behind on movies, but
When Evil Lurks (dir Demian Rugna)
Rotting in the Sun (dir Sebastian Silva)
Poor Things (dir Yorgos Lanthimos)
Didi (dir Sean Wang)
The Beast (dir Bertrand Bonello)
Bill
Hi Dennis! It’s you old pal John. Here are my top albums of 2024 in no particular order. Looks like we overlapped on the Klara Lewis album. I also love the one she did last year with Nik Colk Void (Full-On). Autechre added another 12 tracks to their 2022 live album a few weeks ago and that’s about all I’m listening to all day every day. They play around with some of the sounds they introduced in their 2nd London set a bit more in the sets that follow. It’s just stunning all the way through. Looking forward to reading some of what’s on your list. I read Édouard Levé’s two books after seeing him on your blog and enjoyed them both.
Autechre – AE_2022
Mariam Rezaei – Fractured
Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More
Glorygirl2950 – Queen of the Land
Leila Bordreuil – 1999, Summer, Huntington Garage Fire
Laetitia Sonami / Eliane Radique – A Song for Two Mothers / Occam IX
Bill Orcutt – The Four Louies
Bill Orcutt – How to Rescue Things
Catherine Christer Hennix – Further Selections from the Electric Harpsichord
Rian Treanor with Rotherham Sight and Sound – Action Potential
Moth Cock – Chicago Twofer
Klara Lewis – Thankful
Kopy – Heart Fresh
Fujita – MMM
Farida Amadou – When It Rains It Pours
Bendik Giske – Live at Zebulon (Show)
We got a nice 2″ of snow overnight. Once it got dark, walking became much more treacherous because the patches of ice were hard to see. It doesn’t look like they’ll be melting in the next few days, but I’m getting the COVID shot tomorrow, so I’ll probably be indoors for that period.
I’ve posted both my music and film top 10 lists here earlier this month, but here’s a list of the best older films I saw for the first time in 2024:
AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS (Paul Vecchiali)
RETRIBUTION (Kiyoshi Kurosawa)
FIELD N*****S (Khalik Allah)
UNFAITHFUL (Adrian Lyne)
BONA (Lino Brocka)
JULY RHAPSODY (Ann Hui)
BEIJING WATERMELON (Nobuhiko Obayashi)
ONE FALSE MOVE (Carl Franklin)
NOITE (Paula Gaitan)
HIGHWAY (Imtiaz Ali)
THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION PART 2 (Penelope Spheeris)
KAUN? (Ram Gopal Varma)
SIMON OF THE DESERT (Luis Buñuel)
SOLEIL O (Med Hondo)
FOR THE MONEY (Alejo Moguillansky)
TESTAMENT (Lynne Littman)
WHITE MEN ARE CRACKING UP (Ngozi Okumrah)
THE UNDERGROUND ORCHESTRA (Heddy Honigmann)
ALEXANDRIA AGAIN AND FOREVER (Youssef Chahine)
2024 Books:
Simon Reynolds-FUTUROMANIA
Serge Daney-FOOTSTAIRS
Shigheiko Hasumi-DIRECTED BY YASUJIRO OZU
Anton Hur-TOWARD ETERNITY
Gretchen Felker-Martin-CUCKOO
John Ganz-WHEN THE CLOCK BROKE
Matthew Strohl-HARD TO WATCH
Percival Everett-JAMES
Brad Gooch-RADIANT
Cynthia Carr-CANDY DARLING
Willow Catelyn Maclay and Caden Mark Gardner-CORPSES, FOOLS AND MONSTERS
Tricia Romano-THE FREAKS CAME OUT TO WRITE
Lucy Sante-I HEARD HER CALL MY NAME
Pier Paolo Pasolini-TEOREMA
Have you heard Kaitlin Simiotics? Her new album, which is full of sped-up, jarring yet somehow pop samples, is close to what I’m aiming for with BRAIN ROT. (DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ, who makes actual pop with a similar method, has also been an influence.)
I hope you had a great weekend. I’ll take a look at the Buche.
Hey Dennis,
never commented here before, though been a longtime follower. But this year i put out my first novel in English (after four ones in Danish), and since your writing has meant so much to me over the years, I’d love it if you’d allow me to send you a copy.
The book is called ‘Romeo & Seahorse’, it’s out on Cipher Press with some wonderful blurbs from Christopher Zeischegg, Thomas Moore and Travis Jeppesen. I’d say it’s about desire, addiction and queer road movies, and why Romeo & Juliet has more to say about chemsex than it does about love.
Happy holidays and all the best,
Nikolaj
PS: my own favourites this year was probably ‘Nicholas Pages’ by Guillaume Dustan followed by ‘Love The World or Get Killed Trying’ by Alvina Chamberland.
the tractors were better organised this year (unfortunately) so no massive pile ups and it was all a bit quicker — but still a lot of fun. uhhh highlights: lots of inflatable santas and reindeer, christmas trees on bonnets and wagons, fairy lights strung all over their cabs; one spat fake snow over everybody; one had a horn that sounded like an accordion falling down the stairs; one was trying to play Baby Shark with its horn and you could hear it for miles; one driver had an ostrich puppet over their spare hand and stuck it out of the window to look at everybody. if you and/or zac happen to be in the neighbourhood some future christmas consider this an invitation!
god that opera would have been, well you don’t need me to tell you. it’s there in my head in some nebulous proto form, and that works for me. is it adaptable in any way or have you put it to bed?
& how was the weekend?? looks like Paper Mario? my sister got a switch recently and we’ve been playing a game called Moving Out and that’s a lot of fun.
AND the 2024 best of!!! christmas come early. you’ve given us a tsar bomba of a list. here’s mine, as always trying to avoid repeats of yours:
BOOKS
[to be honest, a mix of books i’ve read & loved and books on my shelf i’m super hyped for but haven’t had time to read properly]
Renee Gladman, MY LESBIAN NOVEL
Alec Robbins, THE COLLECTED CRIMEHOT, VOL. 1
Legacy Russell, BLACK MEME
Naomi Klein, DOPPELGANGER
Elfride Jelinek, CHILDREN OF THE DEAD
Camille Ralphs, AFTER YOU WERE, I AM
Kirsten Norrie, AN AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DEAD
Hari Kunzru, BLUE RUIN
Esther Kinsky, SEEING FURTHER
Kristjan Norge, THE DEMON TRACTS
Anne de Marcken, IT LASTS FOREVER AND THEN IT’S OVER
Jeff VanderMeer, ABSOLUTION
Jonathan Littel and Antoine D’Agata, AN INCONVENIENT PLACE
Anna Kornbluh, IMMEDIACY: OR, THE STYLE OF TOO LATE CAPITALISM
Per Högselius and Achim Klüppelberg, THE SOVIET NUCLEAR ARCHIPELAGO
Laszlo Krasznahorkai, HERSCHT 07769
Pippin Barr, THE STUFF GAMES ARE MADE OF
McKenzie Wark, LIFE STORY
Isabella Hammad, RECOGNISING THE STRANGER: ON PALESTINE AND NARRATIVE
Mario Levrero, THE THINKING-ABOUT-GLADYS MACHINE
AV Marraccini, WE THE PARASITES
Rachael Allen, GOD COMPLEX
Edwin Denby, THAT STILL MOMENT: POETRY AND ESSAYS ON DANCE
Larry Neal, ANY DAY NOW: TOWARD A BLACK AESTHETIC
[also a shout out to Mikel Rouse, THE WORLD GOT AWAY, which was extremely boring, *except* for a chapter describing all his favourite restaurants in excruciating detail which transcended boring to become nouveau roman]
MUSIC
Patricia Taxxon, TEN SKIES [someone else mentioned BICYCLE which was also great]
Chat Pile, COOL WORLD
Laurie Anderson, AMELIA
Steve Roach, REFLECTIONS IN REPOSE
Astrid Sonne, GREAT DOUBT
Bladee, COLD VISIONS
Little Kid, A MILLION EASY PAYMENTS
DJ Sabrina the Teenage DJ, SORCERY
Magdalena Bay, IMAGINAL DISK
Syzy, THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD
Adrianne Lenker, BRIGHT FUTURE
ML Buch, SUNTUB [was apparently last year but i’ve been listening to nothing else this year so here it is]
Jean-Luc Guionnet, Eric La Casa, Philip Samartzis and Dan Warburton, PARKING
Burial, DREAMFEAR / BOY SENT FROM ABOVE
Wist, STRANGE BALANCE
Lustmord, MUCH UNSEEN IS ALSO HERE
Lewis Spybey, Dead Voices On Air and Graham Lewis, LEWIS SPYBEY
Aphex Twin, MUSIC FROM THE MERCH DESK, 2016-2023
not an album but all of Kendrick Lamar’s diss tracks against Drake
the first fifteen minutes of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis, WARRIORS
FILM
[still not as on it as i want to be]
THE ZONE OF INTEREST dir. Jonathan Glazer
CIVIL WAR dir. Alex Garland [everyone else seemed to hate this though?]
SANATORIUM UNDER THE SIGN OF THE HOURGLASS dir. Brothers Quay
CHIME dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa [doubling up bc it was so good]
I DON’T KNOW JAMES ROLFE dir. Dan Olson
[FÜR JOSEPH dir. John Moran looks great but i haven’t found a way to watch it yet; annoyed that i missed MEGALOPOLIS and THE SUBSTANCE; THE BRUTALIST isn’t here til next year. WALLACE & GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL might well join this list but it doesn’t premiere til xmas day]
THEATRE
Annie Baker, INFINITE LIFE (@ National Theatre)
Alice Birch, THE HOUSE OF BERNARDA ALBA (@ National Theatre)
SPIRITED AWAY (@ London Coliseum)
ART
I’M NOT OKAY: AN EMO RETROSPECTIVE (@ Barbican)
FRANCIS ALYS (@ Barbican)
THE IMAGINARY INSTITUTION OF INDIA (@ Barbican)
the first three rooms of YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND (@ Tate Modern)
MIKE KELLEY: GHOST AND SPIRIT (@ Tate Modern)
ANTHONY MCCALL: SOLID LIGHT (@ Tate Modern)
ELECTRIC DREAMS: ART AND TECHNOLOGY BEFORE THE INTERNET (@ Tate Modern)
MARIA BERRIO: THE END OF RITUAL (@ Victoria Miro)
LAUREN HALSEY: EMAJENDAT (@ Serpentine)
HAGUE YANG: LEAP YEAR (@ Hayward Gallery)
WHEN FORMS COME ALIVE (@ Hayward Gallery)
CAMDEN TOWN TO GARDEN CITY: WORK BY GILMAN, GORE AND RATCLIFFE (@ North Hertfordshire Museum)
HITCHIN’S TOY STORY (@ North Hertfordshire Museum)
WEBSITES
Anna’s Archive
vx-underground
Mid Theory Collective https://mid-theory.com/
Mining the Dalkey Archive https://dalkeyarchive.substack.com/
The Untranslated https://theuntranslated.wordpress.com/
The Neglected Books Page https://neglectedbooks.com/
Animation Obsessive https://animationobsessive.substack.com/
The Cutting Room Floor https://tcrf.net/The_Cutting_Room_Floor
Ed Zitron’s Where’s Your Ed At https://www.wheresyoured.at/
Poltergeist https://sedpoltergeist.com/
Rural Indexing Project https://www.ruralindexingproject.com/
Blue Tapes https://bluetapes.bandcamp.com/
Pokey the Penguin https://www.yellow5.com/pokey/
Max Graves, What Happens Next https://whathappensnext.webcomic.ws
Hey Dennis,
A belated happy buche-ing from me — it looks pretty scrummy, and I hope all the assembled crew were/are doing well — I guess the equivalent manoeuvre over here this year is getting a very aggressively un-vegetarian Christmas sandwich from Borough Market, I guess because the English don’t know how to do tradition unless it involves death.
My favourites of the year… gee, I dunno, for a great swath of the year, I feel like I was too depressed to have any kind of broad-ranging engagement with new output, my sole cultural tryst until like October being the Kendrick beef, then all of a sudden I’m not depressed, but also too busy (in a not-unwelcome way) to give myself up to cultural pursuits. I just read Shame, which was pretty tight, and a t-boy memoir which started relatively strong but then totally collapsed into unoriginal dreck. The Radu Jude movie was great, plus Red Rooms, although I dunno if that’s technically a 2023 release. I’m sure there’s some other cultural consumption falling by the wayside — but then, if I can’t remember it, maybe it doesn’t deserve a spot on the ‘best of?’
Anyway. I’m zipping over to Paris at the end of January, from the afternoon of the 25th to the evening of the 27th. I’m happy to report that I’ve departed miserable broken record territory, so I’d maybe be able to make better conversation this time. Are you guys gonna be around? Lemme know if so, no worries if not. What else? Tadhg is cranking out poems, and I think they’re actually, genuinely very good (although not quite out of the editing-revising stage yet). He says hello, of course. Alex is on small press manoeuvres — I think he’s in Paris earlier in January, so maybe he’s reached out already. And another friend, Charlotte, who I think I’ve mentioned and who’s also very good with Golnoosh, asks if I would be able to ping some of her writing over to you. I don’t normally like fielding requests like that, but she is, in my estimation, a deserving writer in a bit of a predicament, so I’m happy to oblige. Let me know if you are, too, but no worries if not.
Yeesh. Word-gasm. Anyway. Let me know your and Zac’s January movements — if you’re busy or out of town, don’t sweat, and I hope you’re both well and occupying a post-buche festive vibe.
Hugs,
Adem
Hi!!
Ah, the Bûche looks fantastic – and so does the company you devoured (most of it) with!
Our trip to Hungary was exhausting. It usually takes about 3.5 hours to get from Vienna to Hungary by car. Yesterday, it took 8.5 hours. The whole highway was jammed. But it does feel good to be here now. Indeed, we’ll spend the holidays here and start work from Vienna at the beginning of 2025, as usual.
I can’t wait to pore over your 2024 favorites! Thank you so, so much for including SCAB!! I’m afraid I’ll only be able to share my list once I’m back in Vienna, though, because I need my book journal for that, and I don’t have it here.
Awh, love! Thank you so much! Likewise, of course – if my love were to make such a list, you’d be a VIP on it! Love sending you homemade Christmas cookies, Od.
P.S. I’ll be pretty busy during the holiday period, so I think I’ll be back here once I’m back in Vienna too, on the 2nd of January. I’m wishing you very happy, peaceful holidays!!
Hi, Dennis!
How are you? I always think of you and things I’d like to tell you. I’m sorry for not writing to you in such a long time!!
Thank you for your list of faves! Lots of things I’ll be checking out. Here are some of mine: Flunker (loved it! My favorite story is “From Here On”), Ripcord, Prairie, Dresses, Art, Other, Deliver Me, Poetics of Work by Noémi Lefebvre, The Bees and the Invisible by Clemens J. Setz…
Music: Brat, Mannequin Pussy- I Got Heaven, Alan Sparhawk – White Roses, My God
Film: Aggro Dr1ft, Bird (Andrea Arnold)
Excellent to read about God Jr being turned into a graphic novel! What about Room Temperature? Is it finished?
What a lovely bûche you had! Happy holidays!
Send my love to Zac and huge hugs to you my dear friend!
Dennis, Great list, as usual. Last thing I read was Flunker. Need to get to that Denton Welch novel now. Gonna see that Bob Dylan movie with Chalamet next weekend. I saw a sneak peek clip and it actually looks pretty good. We’ll see. Dylan’s thrown all his support behind it. But then again, why wouldn’t he?
We do get Tuesday and Wednesday off, so that’s good. I hope they don’t cut us too loose, if you know what I mean. I like a paycheck. 😛
We’ve been playing a lot of Mario Party Jamboree. It’s a new Mario Party game on the Switch that’s really fun. My mom plays with us.
The dinner was good. We had a lot of fun.
testing this
i’m god’s first tortured soul today, i clogged the toilet and not in the ‘wait like ten minutes for it to shake the apartment’ type. i can’t really think of anything on top of my head i enjoyed this year due to that, my new year resolution is to release a book called collected works which has nothing to do with the usual meaning for it.
feliz navidad everyone, or skibidi gyatt as it is refered to now.
toilet’s unclogged folks, you no longer need to worry
Lol’d at this, thank you
Hey Dennis – Hoping this will break through the Cloudflare nightmare. As always, a pleasure to see your list and everyone else’s lists too. Keeping mine short since it might not get seen, some things that weren’t on your round-up:
THE GODMOTHER by Joy Williams
GRAAL FLIBUSTE by Robert Pinget
SALLY MARA’S INTIMATE DIARY by Raymond Queneau
TWO-HEADED DOCTOR by David Toop
TRAUMNOVELLE by Grant Maierhoffer
IN THE BREWING LUMINOUS – THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF CECIL TAYLOR by Phillip Freeman
FUN TO BE DEAD by Bob Flanagan
I HEARD HER CALL MY NAME by Lucy Sante
**
Broadcast – SPELL BLANKET
car colors – OLD DEATH
Patois Counselors – LIMITED SPHERE
Kim Deal – NOBODY LOVES YOU MORE
Seefeel – EVERYTHING SQUARED and SQUARED ROOTS
Ghost Trees – INTERCEPT METHOD
**
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT
IT’S NOT ME (Carax)
ROBERT IRWIN: A DESERT OF PURE FEELING
I played Balatro for like 500 hours this year, which is not good. That infected me, I think. I’m too much of a gamer. Do Not Expect Too Much From The End of the World was prob my fav movie this year, just so good. I still think about Bobita all the time. And Challengers. My albums of the year were Fent Faiyaz by Xanman and Watch the Throne by Jaeychino, for sure. I also think Drake won the beef.
RE: Smile 2, I really was super impressed. There’s been a lot of horror movies in the past few years that are supposed to be all metaphorical, but this is the first one that’s worked for me while also being scary. I didn’t like Midsommar or anything, is what I mean to say.
My book will be out next year, there’s no date yet, though. I am super excited to see if people like it. I greatly appreciate your vibes based work, btw.
I caught a cold, so no weekend, unfortunately. It was okay, though, I caught up on sleep and played Yakuza. Oh, I watched four Tom Cruise movies yesterday, too. Risky Business, The Firm, Cocktail, Jerry Maguire. I realized I was lacking in my Tom Cruise expertise.
Hey! Oh yeah my frightening Christmas playlist has had a few additions, currently running to about half an hour. This weekend I added: ‘Welcome Christmas’ by Red Red Meat, ‘There ain’t no Santa Clause on the evening stage’ by Captain Beefheart and his magic band, and ‘Santa Dog ‘78’ by The Residents, as well as ‘Hey Lord’ by Suicide. So it’s going pretty well I think.
Wow, a glorious list. So happy you included ‘Diamond Jubilee’, my favourite album of the year. I remember recommending it to you after the first time I listened to it, but I won’t take the credit haha. So many interesting books. I’ve asked for ‘Disquiet Drive’ for Christmas, and I’ve heard about the Kevin Killian book and think it’s a genius idea, and wow, I didn’t realize that there’s a book of Joe Brainard’s letters out. I actually think a lot of the poetry and non-fiction has perked my interest in particular. I’m still desperate for that IFP edition of ‘Grave Desire’. Amazing! Anyway, here is my list:
ALBUMS:
The Dare – What’s Wrong With New York?
death’s dynamic shroud and galen tipton – You Like Music
Cindy Lee – Diamond Jubilee
Iglooghost – Tidal Memory Exo
Mannequin Pussy – I Got Heaven
Mk.gee – Two Star & the Dream Police
Porches – Shirt
Jessica Pratt – Here in the Pitch
Charli XCX – Brat
Xiu Xiu – 13” Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips
BOOKS:
I only read one book that came out this year that I really liked and that was Candy Darling: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar by Cynthia Carr. I normally play catch up and read the books from any given year the year after they come out. But books I read for the first time this year that really stuck with me include:
Lord of dark places – Hal Bennett
Death sentence – Maurice Blanchot
Journey to the end of the night – Louis-Ferdinand Celine
J R – William Gaddis
Horse crazy – Gary Indiana
New Millenium Boyz – Alex Kazemi
The notebook trilogy – Agota Kristof
Mawrdrew Czgowchwz – James McCourt
Time Remaining – James McCourt
Fassbinder: thousands of mirrors – Ian Penman
The Satyricon – Petronius
Against the day – Thomas Pynchon
Count D’Orgel’s Ball – Raymond Radiguet
Quartet – Jean Rhys
Good morning, midnight – Jean Rhys
And many many more, I think I’ve read 128 books so far this year, these are the ones that really come to mind though. I think ‘Good Morning, Midnight’ and the Agota Kristof might be the ones that left the biggest impact on me. But McCourt, Blanchot and others have left a real mark on me as well.
FILMS:
I did actually see a lot of films that came out this year but only these two really stuck out to me.
The Devil’s Bath (dir. Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala)
I Saw the TV Glow (dir. Jane Schoenbrun)
Ones I saw for the first time which are only new to me that I really liked:
The Devil, Probably (dir. Robert Bresson)
Penda’s Fen (dir. Alan Clarke)
The Outsiders (dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
Caprice (dir. Joanna Hogg)
SLC Punk (dir. James Merendino)
The Color of Pomegranates (dir. Sergei Parajanov)
Lynch/Oz (dir. Alexandre O. Philippe)
Out 1 (dir. Jacques Rivette)
Rotting in the Sun (dir. Sebastian Silva)
Stolen Kisses (dir. Francois Truffaut)
Jane B. par Agnes V. (dir. Agnes Varda)
The Seven Year Itch (dir. Billy Wilder)
Cracked Actor (dir. Alan Yentob)
Hey, Dennis! Thanks for the list. So much to pore over. I really should be more organized and keep better track of my favorites—maybe a New Year’s resolution? Off the top of my head, though:
Films:
‘Dìdi (弟弟)’ — dir. by Sean Wang
‘Crossing’ — dir. by Levan Akin
‘Evil Does Not Exist’ — dir. by Ryūsuke Hamaguchi
‘I Saw The TV Glow’ — dir. by Jane Schoenbrun
‘An Urban Allegory’ — dir. by Alice Rohrwacher
‘My First Film’ — dir. by Zia Anger
‘The Substance’ — dir. by Coralie Fargeat
Fiction:
‘Flunker’ — Some guy called Dennis Cooper
‘My Year of Rest and Relaxation’ — Ottessa Moshfegh
‘Death in Venice’ — Thomas Mann
‘Saint Sebastian’s Abyss’ — Mark Haber
‘Skippy Dies’ — Paul Murray
‘Fable’ — Robert Pinget
Albums:
‘we should’ve killed each other’ — Bubble Tea and Cigarettes
‘Evergreen’ — Soccer Mommy
‘X’s’ — Cigarettes After Sex
‘Only Hinting’ — Clinic Stars
‘Submarine’ — The Marías
‘Dreamweaver’ — Trentemøller
‘Memoir of a Sparklemuffin’ — Suki Waterhouse
‘Dust’ — Say Lou Lou
I’m probably forgetting so many things. Hope you had a lovely weekend. Your Bûche de Noël looked delightful, as well as the company you enjoyed it with!
Wow this list is superb – Have not done one of these probably ever but reading about how Scott Walker almost did the music for a film of yours made me go through my playlists and such because I LOVE him. Super woo-woo but we have the same Chinese zodiac (horse) and element (water) , also Sharon Tate has the same combo. (Don’t ask how I know these things haha)
Have you ever listened to the compilation of the Walker Brothers singles? Some of them are weirdly good – Hope you are having the greatest Christmas time ever !
(I am still finishing papers and assignments for school because I have no time management.)
Some albums:
From Nursery to Misery “Pixies in the Woods”
Carola Baer “The Story of Valerie”
Tim Buckley “Lorca” (1970)
Pale Cocoon “Mayo” (1984)
Anything by The Beach Boys
// Anything by Guided by Voices //
The Postal Service “Give Up” (2003)
Sparklehorse “its a wonderful life” (2001)
little darla has a treat for you 1995-2009 compilation with avocado cover on Spotify
A place to bury strangers “a place to bury strangers” (2007)
Rare singles and remixes by SALEM on Soundcloud
I like “BetterOffAlone” + Their cover of Princes “IWouldDIe4U”
The Scientists “The Scientists” (1981)
//
David Newmann “Heathers” (1989 soundtrack)
+
Tangerine Dream’s Scoring of William Friedkin’s “Sorcerer“ (1977)
+
The score / soundtrack of David Lynch’s “Lost Highway” (1997)
Lou Reed’s cover of This Magic Moment is my most listened to song of the year
//
Some Movies:
Secretary (2002) I have an orchid obsession
Curse- Dir. Kurosawa (1997) My bestfriend in my hometown set up his monitor for us to watch this in his new APT cause there was no television
Party Girl – Dir. Daisy von Scherler Mayer (1995) My favorite manager ever said I reminded him of Parker Poesy / I almost considered pursuing a library science degree at the time /
Oedipus Rex – Dir. Pasolini (1967) / for Jocasta’s eyebrows alone
Fright Night – Dir. Holland (1985) One of my many childhood VHS tapes
Red Rooms – Dir. Plante (2024) This was probably helped by my recent reading of Kafka’s ‘The Trial’
The Rapture Dir. Tolkin (1991) that ending ……
Hey Dennis,
It’s been a while since I dropped in here. Weird. My mom died a year ago and I ended laying low and processing that I guess. So cool you like Claire Rousay’s album. She’s so special. Dunno if you know but she is a fan of yours.
How have you been? Do dish. I’ve been good, I’m centimeters away from finishing my next book, and Oscar and I are well into a script that I feel is really special, so feeling good about that. Also Erin and I adopted a puppy and I love the anarchy they bring into the house.
My fave albums of 24.
Phil Niblock and Biliana Voutchkova: Looking For Daniel
Anysia Kim: Truest
Jlin: Akoma
Actress: Statik
Duster: In Dreams
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: Wild God
Claire Rousay: Sentiment
Max Richter:In A Landscape
Charlie XCX: Brat
Aphex Twin: Music From The Merch Desk
Take Care,
Meg
Thank you so so much again for featuring Phallic Symbols on this incredible list! I’m excited to eventually get all the other poetry books on here. Or at least as many as my funds will allow haha. I haven’t made an end of year list yet but a lot of my favs I got from the blog such as the Flanagan poems and Berrigan collected poems. I also checked out Satoshi Kon after his post and enjoyed Paprika and Perfect Blue. I’d say they were some of my favorites I watched this year. I asked for SHAME from infinity land for Christmas so fingers crossed. Happy holidays. Hope you and everyone here has a great Monday.
Dennis! Immense gratitude for putting Casey Anthony… in with such excellent and admired company. Thank you so much dear sir.
Now for lists…
Most of the books aren’t 2024 releases, just things I read and loved in 2024 (excluding any duplicates of yours above, of which there are several, and also your book – which would certainly be on any list I’d give to someone else). I’m forgetting and excluding too much, as we all are here. I’m so stoked to read (and see /hear)some of the ones you mention above that I’ve missed.
Film (a few of these originally came out in 2023 but the American proletariat like myself didn’t have access until 2024)
Problemista
Tuesday
The Boy And The Heron
The Substance
Exhuma
Monkey Man
The Zone Of Interest
Fiction
Notice – Heather Lewis (Semiotext(e) )
Phototaxis – Olivia Taperio (nightboat)
Tell Me I’m Worthless – Allison Rumfitt (Tor Nightfire)
About Ed – Robert Gluck (NYRB)
Paradais – Fernanda Melchor (New Directions)
Poetry –
The Comedown – Justin Marks (Publishing Genius)
Atopia – Sandra Simonds (Wesleyan University Press)
Listen To The Golden Boomerang Return AND Amanada Paradise (recommended paired reading)- CA Conrad (Wave Books)
A Renaissance With Eyelids – Connor Fisher (Schism Neuronics)
Thumbsucker – Kat Giordono (Malarkey Books)
In Her Jaws – Rosamund Taylor (Banshee Press)
Seeking Frozen Sound:Postcard Poems – Clark Lunberry (Tofu Ink)
Music
Fucked up – Who’s Got The Time & A Half?
Amly & The Sniffers – Cartoon Darkness
Red Scare Industries 20 Years of Dreaming and Scheming Compilation
The Chisel – What a Fucking Nightmare
Bridge City Sinners – The Age Of Doubt
Hey Dennis,
It’s Charlie Zacks.
It’s cool you included my blog. Thanks.
Sent you a few emails. Just read Period and My Loose Thread on a flight. i always end up reading you on planes. Huh.
THE SIXTH SENSE
I cried watching The Sixth Sense the other day on a flight to Costa Rica.
My grandpa died this year. Grandma doesn’t want any of his biological kids getting his fortune, so she took us, his step grandkids, on a trip to this five star resort in the clouds.
I cried watching The Sixth Sense because no one believes the little boy when he says he sees dead people. There’s a small waterfall here about two miles from the edge of the resort property. Maybe twenty feet tall. They call it “La Pequeña Virgen”. The Little Virgin. There’s a small idol of the Virgin Mary at the very top. I tried to take a picture but we were driving by too fast.
I went to the doctor the other day and they took my blood. The tests said it’s all normal. Just blood.
It’s sad Bruce Willis can’t speak anymore. He must feel trapped like the kid in the movie when the bullies lock him in that closet at the top of the spiral staircase. But Bruce Willis can’t scream for his mom. Bruce Willis can’t say anything at all.
So I cried watching The Sixth Sense on the airplane flying over Mexico because the kid reminds me a lot of Ziggy from your book “Try”, and myself.
Yeah, I’m in love with a ghost. Wish I could send a photo of that. Gonna buy a gun and shoot it at the sky.