My 2024 Cultural Highlights

I honestly did not dream that I would ever be recommending a TV adaptation of a Jilly Cooper "bonkbuster" but honestly what's not to enjoy about this incredibly entertaining dramatisation.   David Tennant and Danny Dyer star in what is now apparently a "period drama".  Fantastic 80s clothes, terrible 80s hair, a social satire for the ages.  

This one is kind of crime crossed with sci-fi.  Set in a dystopian future at the end of the world, the attempt to solve a murder unveils all sorts of secrets about how the world ended up as it is.  I love Stuart Turton's books - they are always interesting and clever with some kind of play with genre or twist of some kind (see also The Devil and the Dark Water or The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle).  Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I love listening to a podcast when I'm out walking the dog - and The Imperfects has been one of my favourites this year.  You wouldn't think that three Aussie blokes sitting around talking to a lot of sports stars would lead to real epiphanies about mental health, resilience, reframing success and creating a happy life.  But it does - because they are interested mostly in resilience, empathy and gratitude as the foundations of a healthy life.  And they don't only have sports stars.  One of the most memorable episodes of the year for me was when the three hosts got together and discussed the epidemic of violence against women - they didn't come with any answers, but wanted to have an imperfect conversation about it.  Because men don't really talk about it otherwise.   Here's to men supporting women, and imperfection being the norm.

There was a whole load of the Paris Olympics that (for me) didn't really work.  I'm not sure for example, why Snoop Dogg was so involved.  I still love the Olympics though - there's something special about watching people at their peak achieve their dreams.  Watching that moment when it all pays off is the original version of those videos on tiktok or instagram where someone surprises their loved one with something.  For a brief moment you get to see pure unfiltered emotion.  It's magic.

I was a little bit cynical about this film adaptation of the stage musical.  Mainly because I generally don't buy into the "I know - let's make it 2 parts!" argument.  I am very pleased to say that they did a fantastic job - I loved it and will be looking forward to going back to the cinema for a repeat visit in the next few weeks.  I think they'll have a tough job with part two though - all the fun stuff is in part 1!

I recently came back from a trip to Sydney where I went to see The Killers play, in what must be one of the most inconveniently located stadiums in Australia.  My friend and I had been discussing on the way what a pain it was to get to and how much it put us off getting tickets to see things because of the trek to the stadium.  At the end of the first song she leaned over and said "totally worth it".  What a fun night this was.  It reminded me how much I love live music.

Since the pandemic I am finding reading anything that is too "real" a little stressful.  And it turns out that crime fiction is the antidote to that - there might be a horrible murder but there's a nice person who figures out who did it and stops them ever doing it again.  If only the real world was like that.  Isolation Island is a bit like a cross between "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" and Agatha Christie's "And then there were none".  A group of celebs enter a tv show where they have to live on a remote island and complete challenges for a really fantastic prize.....  And then someone is murdered!  Highly recommend this one.

Speaking of live music - I am excited to have tickets to see Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats play when they tour Australia in January - they have been one of my favourite bands to listen to over the last few years.  They are a bluesy rock band and this is the album that came out this year.  Spotify tells me I am in the top 0.01% of listeners worldwide.  I think that is mostly because I had it on a loop while I slept on a couple of plane rides as much as anything - I can't argue that it is my most played album of the year though. 

Best song:  "I Would Like to Heal"

Marina Hyde has long been a favourite writer to read - her columns in the Guardian newspaper are often hilarious and so clever and quick witted - and she was one of the first high profile female writers I remember writing about sport on a regular basis.  Imagine my delight when she paired up with Richard Osman - host of one of my favourite quiz shows (Pointless) AND writer of the brilliant Thursday Murder Club series.  This podcast has surpassed all my expectations this year - Marina out-nerds me in terms of film knowledge, and Richard's astute commercial lens on everything is fascinating.  Most enjoyably they spent a lot of time discussing how to organise book cases and which is the best of the quality street.  Marina is correct on both counts (by genre and toffee pennies).

If "South of Here" is my album of the year, then this is my song of the year.  Yes, Espresso was the one that was played everywhere but this one is pretty close to the perfect pop song - you listen to it once and you are singing it all day.   But if you like pop you have already listened to the whole album haven't you?

Ok ok ok ok ok..... I know this was released in 2023.  But I only came across it in 2024.  She did an amazing concert recording at the Royal Albert Hall which I attach below for your viewing pleasure.  If you haven't seen it yet you are in for a treat....: