Best: Music
Deadbeat by Tame Impala – Alexandra Lasser
Tame Impala’s latest album, Deadbeat, introduces hypnotic beats and bold electronic psychedelia. The album opens with “My Old Ways,” where Kevin Parker, the musician behind Tame Impala, laments his inability to progress and evolve, instead sinking into his old habits and mindset. This song introduces the strange pessimism that pervades the album as Parker emphasizes feelings of loneliness, isolation, and being an outcast. Instead of being ashamed of this, he wears his perceived lowly status as a badge of honour, with the track “Loser,” proudly and repeatedly labelling himself as such. Deadbeat contrasts vulnerable lyrics with Parker’s usual aloof beats and synthesizers, creating his signature, unique effect of distant sensitivity.
In the five years since his last album, Parker produced pop hits for Dua Lipa, wrote for various movie soundtracks, and worked as a DJ. Deadbeat reintroduces Tame Impala as a solo artist and songwriter, delivering an immersive experience of self-affirmation through Parker’s musical style.
Mark William Lewis by Mark William Lewis – Annabella Lawlor
Have you ever longed for a little more harmonica in your life? With a metallic sharpness and a sonorous hum that resonates loudly atop every melody it encounters, Mark William Lewis’ self-titled record from this September is the record to turn to. The project is both vibrant and mellow, cruising through its jiving soundscapes with tender lyrics and disposition.
London-based Lewis became the first artist signed to A24’s music label in June, marking the artistically ambitious production company’s new ventures into music entertainment. Embedded in London’s sounds of dark, avant-garde grooves, his latest record is a remarkable work that drips in style. You can feel the brisk chill of these English nights on the terrific “Tomorrow is Perfect” and a cavernous hunger for memory on “Silver Moon.” Having had the chance to see Lewis play these tunes at L’Esco on Nov. 12, I’ve never cheered louder for someone playing a little metal box.
Best: Film & TV
Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos) – Annabella Lawlor
A thrush of symphonic bees looms outside an unassuming American suburbia. Beneath its quaint architecture lies a secret: The kidnapping of pharmaceutical corporation CEO and culturally renowned girl-boss, Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone). Cousins Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and Don (Aidan Delbis) hold Fuller captive in their dank basement, accusing her of being an Andromedan, an alien occupying Earth to destroy the human race.
Bugonia is a glorious and unflinching film: Disturbing in its moments of torture, heart-wrenching in its exploration of Teddy and Don’s familial past, and startling in its uncompromising vision of our reality. Director Yorgos Lanthimos, known for films like Poor Things and The Lobster, produces a perturbing spectacle of life.
Stone, Plemons, and Delbis deliver stunning embodiments of their characters. Ranging from calculated composure and cruel outbursts to heartbreaking misery, Plemon’s performance is the most unbelievable feat of the film. Bugonia’s marvellous encapsulation of our contemporary cultural anxieties makes it one of the most unforgettable films of the year.
Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc – Bianca Sugunasiri
Based on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga Chainsaw Man, this animated Japanese film tiptoes the lines of horror and romance in a devastating dance. Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc followsReze and Denji as they are ripped from innocence and mutilated into weapons. Groomed by the Soviet Union to capture his heart, Reze entraps Denji in her affections, only to falter as her own fragmented upbringing is reflected in his gaze. Whilst extorted for their militarized abilities, Reze and Denji flounder in their mislaid affections.
The film’s animation is boundlessly talented, capturing a breathtaking cacophony of explosions at one moment, and the stillness of a quiet pool punctuated by muted laughter at another. However, it was the score that came alive, plunging into my chest and squeezing until my tears flowed freely. Soft, haunting piano keys caressed like whispers of a childhood never to exist beyond moments submerged underneath the rain. Aching pulls at violin strings barely allowed me to take a full breath. Quivering notes held every word unspoken, echoing long after the theatre was empty.
Worst: Popular Culture
First AI artist on the Billboard Charts – Alexandra Lasser
Xania Monet, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) singer created by Telisha Jones, hit No. 30 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart in the first week of November with the song “How Was I supposed to Know.” The artist amassed 1.4 million listeners on Spotify and is now signed with Hallwood Media in a $3 million USD record deal. Monet demonstrates the profitability of AI artists, having already released two albums and countless singles since her creation in July. This milestone represents the threat of AI technology to authenticity in the music industry.
Jones insists, however, that there is humanity behind the music, using Suno to create songs around her poetry. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek defended his decision not to label AI music, noting it makes music production accessible to beginners. Monet’s success signals a new era for music listeners, who will need to be consciously aware of the music they consume. AI as a tool for self-expression or as a profitable alternative to real artists remains a central question in discourse around AI music.
Worst: Music
The Life of a Showgirl by Taylor Swift – Norah Adams
Taylor Swift dropped her 12th studio album this past October. Before the release of The Life of a Showgirl, she teased fans with images of herself adorned in jewels and feathers, her eyes shining pensively with reflection of her life.
The Swiftie community rumbled with anticipation, her longtime listeners eager to receive an album, expressing how both they and Swift have matured over the course of her career. Instead, what Taylor Swift gifted to fans was a disingenuous group of songs wrought with internet lingo and mentions of her meathead football boyfriend.
The pop star’s lyrics sound like an AI-generated imitation of her previously poetic songwriting. In “Cancelled,” she sings, “Good thing I like my friends cancelled / I like ’em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal.”
What sets this album apart from her others is that it is not just the public who dislikes it—as with her previous album, The Tortured Poets Department—but also Swifties. Her newest album has left us all wondering if maybe the show shouldn’t go on.
Worst? Best?: Popular Culture
Labubus – Norah Adams
Despite standing just 22 centimetres tall, the Labubu made massive waves this year. Designed by Hong Kong-born and Netherlands-based artist Kasing Lung, the fluffy keychain monsters gained popularity after Lisa from Blackpink was spotted with one clipped to her bag. Labubu quickly surpassed being a fun toy and reached internet fame.
TikToker Jungle Pops made a viral satirical video claiming to own “the one and only 24k gold Labubu […] the most expensive Labubu in the world.” With a $55 CAD price tag, many wishing to participate in the trend bought knock-off versions, and fast fashion brands began slapping the Labubu face on everything. Mounds of these items ended up in landfills after the trend died down.
Labubu is beneficial to us all this year, as it serves as a reminder of how quickly trends can become harmful. In a world where memes are not just funny jokes among friends, but prompts to consume, Labubu can teach us how to keep memes online and in conversation, and off our credit cards.
Love Island USA – Malika Logossou
Season seven of Love Island, a reality dating show, temporarily became the internet’s obsession this year. Contestants live in a secluded villa under constant camera surveillance and must repeatedly recouple to avoid elimination through viewer votes. Memes, TikTok edits, songs, and host Ariana Madix’s ever-changing outfits made the season a shared cultural experience. However, the premise of finding love was replaced by lust and performative drama, as contestants appeared more focused on winning voter approval than forming genuine connections.
Of the final couples—Huda Mustafa and Chris Seeley, who split during the finale, Pepe Garcia and Iris Kendall, Amaya Espinal and Bryan Arenales, and Olandria Carthen and Nicolas Vansteenberghe—only the last pair remain together. The winning couple, Espinal and Arenales, barely lasted one month in the real world.
