2021 was a decent year overall, and a year of great change and fluctuation. He’s a little post to reflect and recap the year that was 2021.

The quick personal reflection

From the get-go 2021 was uneven, and it never really seemed to get stable. A lot of this was lingering anxiety, frustration, and mixed signals related to COVID. Sadly, 2022 is off to a similar start. But we can only control what we can control, and just as with 2021, we’ll do our best. For me, I saw a year with great strides at work, a stable personal life, progress towards some small nagging health issues, and quite a bit of creative growth. Yep, you can still grow and learn and improve, even after 50. :)

I had planned on writing a lot more here on this blog, but…yeah, I’m just not all that interested anymore. With anything “online” if I’m being honest. I’ve done a ton of writing, a fair bit of photography, making, etc. but sharing that crafting is just not a priority.

I hardly did anything related to social media this past year, and I think I’m just about done with it aside from the occasional peak and share. I hate to say it, but it’s just all the half-baked opinions I can’t deal with. So much is shared without even a second thought, and even the things I agree with I find annoying. So, yeah, not for me anymore. I do miss friends, and much of 2021 was pretty lonely, but the online interactions I used to get a little thrill from just frustrate me or feel half-hearted and shallow. So, yeah, miss me on all of that and hit me up IRL if you want.

2021 in my ears

The first song to make it to my 2021 rolling playlist on Spotify was “Heavy Covenant” by the ever-prolific The Hold Steady, who put out another terrific album in 2021. My favorite track off of which was probably, “Unpleasant Breakfast”—but the whole thing is great.

One of the best things 2021 had going for it was the return, albeit uneven, of live music. I didn’t see many shows and had more things canceled than I was able to attend, but I did get to revisit the band I saw just before the pandemic wrecked everything—IDLES—and it was amazing. Their new album is solid as well.

Overall 2021 was really great for new music, and I think I’ve got a lot of discoveries to point out. Let’s start with a song and video that brought me a ton of joy this year. “Scratchcard Lanyard” from Dry Cleaning. Their album, Strong Feelings, is stellar, but this video? Just watch. So good.

2021 was terrific for both newer discoveries and some old favorites that put out new stuff. I really loved new music from Quicksilver, AFI (really), Cloud Nothings, Clowns, Frank Carter, Maximo Park and so much more more.

A few new (to me) standouts, listed here in no particular order aside from the general chronologic I found them in.

First up, oh boy, Billy Nomates and Sleaford Mods, both of which were on regular and repeat pretty much all year. I’d never heard of either and spent a fair bit of time acquainting myself with their work.

Next up, the mellow funk of The Goon Sax. They’ve got an oddly compelling groove that strikes me as slightly depressing yet fun to listen to. They’re like random rain on a sunny day. It’s sort of weird, but I love it.

The first show I saw this year—the first one back—was a fabulously eclectic line up of fabulously eclectic bands headlined by The World Is A Terrible Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die who I thoroughly enjoyed and really want to see again. There was a lot to take in with every song, and the whole show was a little overwhelming. In a good way.

Speaking of overwhelming, the opener for that show was Bent Knee, and they were awesome. But also probably the loudest band I’ve seen in many years. You can’t really tell it from “Queer Gods” but, believe me, they almost knocked the house down.

Last I’ll mention two albums I listened to more than most and share cuts from them. First up is I won’t Care How You Remember Me by Tiger’s Jaw, a refined-yet-still-essentially-midwest-emo hit parade. Such a great album. Next was the latest from Delta Sleep, Old Soul, which helped me fill a gap left by Minus The Bear’s retirement.

Want more, check out the whole playlist on Spotify, there is a lot of great music in there, I promise.

2021 in Books

I read quite a few books this year. I think I got over sixty and they were a mix of old classics and new. As usual, most of them fall into the “speculative fiction” genres, but I did pick out a few biographies and read a decent share of books on writing and other non-fiction. Here’s a sampling of my favorites this year.

• The Sun Eater series by Christopher Ruocchio. I’ve done a longer review of the first book in this epic series, Empire of Silence, but the gist? These are sneaky great and I think they’re classics in the making. They check all the boxes for me and are highly recommended if you’re into science fiction.

• The Storyteller by Dave Grohl. What can I say about this book? It’s fun. Dave Grohl is a terrific storyteller and has some terrific stories to tell. I loved it.

• Consider This by Chuck Palahnuik. Fun fact: I’ve never read one of his novels. This is kind of hilarious because this might be the best book on writing I’ve ever read. Sort of makes sense in a mad sort of way.

• The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. I said a lot more about it here, but…this damn book was so good.

• The Fall of Babel by Josiah Bancroft. I’m not sure The Fall of Babel was the best book I’ve read this year, but this series is easily one of the best I’ve EVER read. It’s so unique in a variety of ways and it really stands out as something everyone should try.

2021 in TV, Movies and Games

I’m having a really hard time thinking of other media I enjoyed this year, with the exception of a few standouts. I didn’t watch many movies, didn’t have much time for gaming, and spent most of my TV time watching the Warriors play or picking up older “easy” shows like Lucifer and Doom Patrol. Here are the standouts.

• Arcane. For me, this was the best show of the year. I loved the artful animation and the story was fantastic as well. Loki and Wandavision were also favorites, so fun. I enjoyed Wheel of Time. I liked the books and, frankly, thought the changes were more than fine. Ted Lasso was solid, as was Succession and Mare of Easttown. I still need to catch the latest season of The Expanse and would like to check out Foundation.

• Dune was great. I’m not sure I saw much else that really stands out.

• Returnal (PS5). This game was way, way too hard for me, but I still managed to play the hell out of it. Fantastic concept and execution. I didn’t really get into much else…maybe just some Destiny 2 grind here and there, but just didn’t have much time for gaming this past year. Womp.

That’s all I have for 2021. I think it was a good year overall and I have high hopes for 2022. Let’s get after it!