Year-end best-of lists for music, movies, TV, books, and games, plus a running tally of the best restaurants in Austin.
This was the year where all of my number ones seem to be created just for me. There was something about them that was so specific to what I like that it was uncanny.
This is just right on the button of everything I love. Outlandish action, funky music, expressionist stylization, and an unhinged sense of sensuality. Everything was dialed up to 11 and I couldn't be happier. I was open-mouth grinning in awe for about 90% of the film.
Absolute ripper of a movie, bristling with propulsive energy. I was entertained start to finish. I loved the over the top characters and the awesome performances that they pulled out of this incredible ensemble. My favorite portrayal was definitely Sean Penn who did not get enough love for the absolute freak of a character he portrayed.
This was another turbo banger. This movie is a sensory masterpiece with all of its IMAX shots and beautifully performed blues music. I loved the gorgeous visuals of the southern plantations, the charming leads, and of course, my favorite single scene of the year when Preacher Boy plays a literal barn burner.
My first impression of this movie was kind of middling, but after a lengthy post-movie discussion, came to the conclusion that it's actually really smart. Once we worked out some of the more obtuse symbolism it became clear that it was successful at accomplishing its goals. Also the ending of this movie is worth the price of admission alone.
Season 2
Nathan Fielder is operating on a level no one else in TV is even attempting. Genuinely one of the most ambitious, uncomfortable, and brilliant things I've watched in years.
Season 3
I love the breakneck pace, grotesque sense of humor and multimedia style of this show. I think it got a bit too comfortable relying on adult comedy tropes towards the end, but the good outweighs the bad.
Season 1
An intense medical drama that's only occasionally a little patronizing. The cast all do a really good job and the practical effects are fantastic. It does lean awfully hard on being relentlessly bleak, though.
Songs
Albums
McKinley Dixon
Insanely skilled jazz rap.
Clipse
The comeback needs to be studied.
Geese
I done told y'all when 3D Country came out and now the music scene won't shut up about them!!
Aesop Rock
Aes really on his game here. The sound feels a little more Malibu Ken which I loved.
Viagra Boys
This album has great energy. So scuzzy and funny.
Navy Blue
This album is so my vibe. Big chillin poetry rap.
Wednesday
This album is pretty.
JID
JID is always good.
Mac Miller
Very different production on this one but cool album.
Tame Impala
I think a lot of people aren't feelin this one but it hit for me.
I completed 38 books this year. Here are the best ones (4 star and above).
Cormac McCarthy
This book is often called "McCarthy's magnum opus", and "One of the great American Novels". These are not exaggerations. I was floored by how brutal and cruel a book could be. The judge is one of the greatest villain characters ever written. His acts of violence go so far beyond the pale that they are almost comical. The stories of this book are also burned into my brain with a sort of manic energy. Who could forget the harrowing first clash with the native Americans, or everyone pissing on the gunpowder on top of a mountain, or those deeply horrifying final pages? This book is an endeavor, but it is worth it. It's listed at 350 pages but the density of the prose and the difficulty of the vocabulary distort that brevity.
Cormac McCarthy
Yes, number two is another Cormac McCarthy western. This is kind of like Blood Meridian but far more accessible. It's still beautifully written and a powerful Western story, just nowhere near as hard to read, and much less cruel and horrifying. An amazing story with a very Texas-coded lead overcoming all sorts of trials with honor and grit. It also has some of the most beautiful descriptions of the night sky ever written.
John Steinbeck
This is another great American masterpiece. I think this book succeeds in two main ways. One, it has the richest characterization I've ever read. Every time a new character gets introduced you're getting like a minimum of ten pages outlining their hopes, dreams, upbringing, pivotal life choices and more. This is great because this is a generational epic where so many characters are connected to each other. Everyone feels so vivid. Two, the affixing of itself to Genesis adds another layer of importance to the whole thing. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the story of Cain and Abel. I like that the book is not just a reconstruction of that story, but that it is also in active meta conversation with it.
Dale Carnegie
I didn't learn a ton that I didn't already know, but I love the simple way that this book frames being likeable. It's literally just about being interested and understanding other people's perspectives. I now recommend this book to any young professional.
Aldous Huxley
I loved this book. The world is so unique and detailed. The story is powerful, and the actual dystopia is much more aligned with our current trajectory than most others. I also love that the resolution is not just "we killed the big bad" and is instead a frank discussion of the morality of the book. If I was in this world I would be a fiend for the scent organ.
This is obviously one of the greatest games ever made. It's enormous, the art is insane, the gameplay is lightning fast and incredibly satisfying, and the story is epic and beautiful. Hollow Knight was cool but didn't quite hit for me because I felt the combat was too simplistic. Silksong delivered some of the best 2D action combat I've ever played.
It's wild how deep this puzzle game goes. A puzzle box within a puzzle box within a puzzle box. There is truly nothing like it.
I buy way too many roguelikes, play them for an hour, and then put them in the dustbin. This one actually captured my attention all the way to the end. Stylish, fun and addictive.
It is so fun to play a fighting game as a duo. That idea just rips. I also think this game feels really good. The simplification of controls isn't a baby mode toggle. Instead it shifts the burden of execution to timing and creativity. Looking forward to playing it more in '26.
South Lamar
Still the benchmark for Austin sushi. Sit at the bar, let them feed you, don't over-order the hot items.
Multiple
Best breakfast tacos in town, full stop. Migas on a flour tortilla, salsa verde, done.
East 6th
Order the suadero tacos and whatever agave cocktail they're pushing. Loud, fun, always delivers.