Best of 2024

It took me a while to get around to it, but here’s my roundup of my best moments and favorite things from 2024.

Music

Albums

My favorite album of 2025 was Hovvdy’s self-titled record, Hovvdy. Hovvdy is an indie pop duo from Austin, Texas consisting of Charlie Martin and Will Taylor. This album definitely has a folksy twang to it. I think the first two tracks are mostly forgettable, but from track three (“Jean”) on, it’s a fantastic record.

My favorite tracks are “Jean,” “Shell,” “Til I Let You Know,” “Every Exchange,” “Portrait,” and “Bad News.”

Concerts

Green Day were one of the formative bands for my music taste. I was too young to be aware of Dookie when it was released, but I discovered it in middle school, and it blew my mind. Despite loving their music, I’d never seen them live.

At least until my brother snagged tickets to their show in Los Angeles in September. 2024 marked the thirtieth anniversary of Dookie’s release, as well as the twentieth anniversary of American Idiot. So even though the tour was technically for Green Day’s newest album, Saviors, Green Day played both Dookie and American Idiot through in their entirety. We also got to see the Smashing Pumpkins as an opening act.

I’m not a big fan of arena or stadium shows, but I was impressed. Billie Joe Armstrong is an incredible front man, and the band’s energy was contagious. It helped that the entire stadium knew basically the words and was eagerly singing along. The show gave me a renewed appreciation for Green Day’s music, a blast of nostalgia, and an awesome opportunity to spend time with my dad and my brother.

Movies

A quick disclaimer: I didn’t see many of the most critically acclaimed films of 2024. Of the movides I did see, my favorites were A Real Pain and Thelma. A Real Pain, written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, is a buddy dramedy about two cousins on a tour of Poland to explore their family history. It’s funny and emotional and original. Eisenberg is great, but Kieran Culkin is fantastic.

Thelma is also a comedy-drama, about an elderly woman who is scammed out of thousands of dollars and embarks on an adventure to get it back and prove to her family that she’s still capable of living independently. The movie is a lot of fun, and it also manages to be a beautiful meditation on aging. It stars June Squibb, who’s been a Hollywood fixture since 1990, but almost exclusively as a character actor. At age 94, she took on her first starring role in Thelma and did a fantastic job—which is its own incredible statement about aging.

Television Series

I was late to the party, but my favorite show that I discovered in 2024 was Mythic Quest. It’s a workplace comedy about the team that develops an online role-playing game. The jokes about software developers and video games are hilarious, and the acting and writing are great.

Books

The best book I read this year was Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson. The story is told from the perspective of an elderly Norwegian man who is moving to a cabin in a remote part of Norway. Most of the story is in the form of flashbacks to his experiences during World War II.

Photos

When I visited Japan, I was lucky enough to stay in the stunning HOSHINOYA Fuji resort. Nestled in the forest above Lake Kawaguchiko, the hotel boasts breathtaking views of Mount Fuji. I took a shot of the mountain at night with the starry sky above the peak.

Another incredible moment from the trip was at Arashiyama Bamboo Forest near Kyoto. The forest is beautiful, and I was able to snap a great shot of the sunlight filtering through the bamboo stalks.

I also got to spend the Christmas and New Year’s holidays in Hawaii. On Christmas Eve, Kīlauea began erupting. We got to go see it, and we spent an incredible hour watching and listening to the volcano.

Travel

My favorite trip of the year was a truly remarkable three weeks in Japan. The people were friendly, the country was beautiful, and the food was outstanding (more on that below). From the sprawling metropolis of Tokyo to the remote mountain village of Shirakawa-go, everything about the country was fascinating.

Culinary Experience

Another year, another amazing birthday dinner. This time it was in Kyoto, where we celebrated at Kobe Beef Steak Mouriya Gion. The beef, of course, was fantastic, but the rest of the meal—soup, fish, and fried rice—was all outstanding. A close runner-up was Uemura, a farm-to-table restaurant run by Satoshi, an organic farmer who sources his ingredients from his own farm and his favorite local ranches and seafood sellers. His kobe sashimi and tempura vegetables were the highlights.

We also got to sample some awesome drinks in Japan. I especially enjoyed Folklore, which specializes in cocktails featuring sake and shochu. Those Japanese spirits aren’t typically used in mixed drinks, but Folklore does a remarkable job making them creative and delicious. We also had a blast at L’Escamoteur in Tokyo. It’s a bar with a steampunk/magic theme, where many of the drinks require magic or alchemy to make. The magic is a lot of fun and the drinks are tasty.

Goodbye, 2024

A lot happened in 2024, some great and some not so good. Here’s to a great year in 2025!