Best of 2025: Music, TV, Movies, Comedy, Books and more
(Nearly) everything I loved in 2025
I know that a year-end list is, in many ways, quite arbitrary. What’s the difference between something that comes out in December of one year and something that comes out in the January of the next? Not much, really, besides a calendar switch. And yet, art-pop critic that I am, I am inexorably drawn to such a yearly ritual and derive great pleasure from it.
I’d like to think that I have great taste, and that one of the things you like about me is that I Give Good Recommendation. So here’s the list - what I listened to, watched, read, laughed at, ate and otherwise loved in This Year Of Our Lord 2025. No top tens, no top 20s - just all the things I thought were notably cool. The second I hit publish I will remember 15 things I forgot to add to this list. That’s a guarantee!
PS: I realize that almost nothing in this list is Maine-based. Hey, it’s my newsletter! I can fudge it now and again. Don’t like it? You can speak to the manager (the manager is me).
Music
Now that I’m officially a middle-aged elder millennial, in recent years I’ve found it really difficult to keep up with new music - at least, compared to the voracity with which I sought them out and listened to them through my 20s and most of my 30s.
I have a propensity these days to spend weeks sucked into different scenes from decades past. This fall, I listened to “Music for 18 Musicians” for a week straight. Over the spring, I was on a big Philly soul kick. This Italo Disco playlist is on in my house a lot. Last year I reached the end of the year and realized I only actually listened to like four or five new albums. At that point, I might as well start really getting into golf or World War II or decoupage or something.
I’m now firmly ensconced in the Substack universe, however, and routinely get great recommendations from all sorts of different places, including, most notably ‘stacks like New Bands for Old Heads and Fluxblog from OG music blogger Matthew Perpetua, both of which have been exceedingly helpful in getting me up to speed on what’s new and exciting. I feel cool again, everybody!
To that end, here’s my playlist of my favorite songs from 2025. Some of these songs are from my overall favorite albums, too, like the ones from Rosalia, Cate Le Bon, Geese and Viagra Boys. Others are singles or album tracks that I simply cannot get enough of (Lady Gaga, I can’t help myself). There’s plenty more I haven’t heard yet that I’m sure I’ll discover next year or in five years or whenever. The music industry is a mess, I’ve only been to a handful of live shows this year, and Spotify is horrible but I am in too deep with all my playlists. Long live rock n’ roll.
Television
Goddamn did I watch a lot of TV this year. Too much, probably! But watch it I did, with great enjoyment and excitement and even, at times, a sense of wonder. I suppose we are past the “golden age” of TV, but that’s fine. I had a good time watching. Didn’t you?
“Stranger Things,” season five: It’s not even all out yet! But man, I was so amped up by the end of the first volume of four episodes that I don’t even care if the remaining four episodes are a let down. I don’t think they will be, despite the looming specter of a “Game of Thrones”-style botched finale. I am too invested in these kids - now adults - to trouble myself with that worry. This was an outrageously fun, funny, emotionally truthful and fantastically imaginative ride to go on, and I do not regret a second of it.
“Severance,” season two: I remain riveted by this weird puzzle-box of a show, and enchanted by Tramell Tillman and Patricia Arquette’s performances. I’m glad there’s room for thoughtful sci-fi - and it is sci-fi, in its purest sense - in today’s crowded TV landscape.
“The Pitt,” season one: A vision of competence and compassion set in the nightmarish world of the U.S. healthcare system - a world we all know and loathe. This is how you take the format of network-style TV drama and elevate it for the modern viewing audience. Justice for Dana. Great representation for neurodivergence, too. Noah Wyle can get it.
“The Lowdown,” season one: As I’ve said before, I think Sterlin Harjo is a genius. I love a shaggy dog story, and this is the shaggiest of shaggies: a terminally irresponsible journalist trying to do the right thing and causing chaos in his wake. Harjo paints an incredible picture of Oklahoma and all the people he sees in it, equal parts noir, indie comedy and affectionate father-daughter tale. It’s a great year for Ethan Hawke.
“Slow Horses,” season five: Gary Oldman rules.
“The Righteous Gemstones,” season four: It really sucks that this show has received zero accolades and now it’s over, because it makes me literally LOL multiple times on every episode, and it’s an absolutely brutal satire of evangelical Christianity that still manages to not be mean-spirited. We quote it constantly in our house. It’s my favorite Walton Goggins role, by far.
“Andor,” season two: Speaking of exciting viewing, holy mackerel. You can draw your own parallels to the real world. It’s the only Star Wars content that truly matters. It’s been a great year for Stellan Skarsgard.
“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” season three: Continues to be the best Star Trek since “Deep Space Nine.” As a nearly lifelong Trek fan, it’s pure pleasure.
“Murderbot,” season one: I don’t want people to sleep on this series. It’s so rare to get a sci-fi show that’s at heart a comedy, and this one in particular was incredibly original and entertaining. Am I obsessed with the Skarsgards, Alexander, Stellan and Bill? Yes, I am.
“The Gilded Age,” season three: This show is just dumb and soapy enough to actually be highly entertaining, while still retaining the cleverness and high production value of a prestige drama. I am too cynical for “Bridgerton,” and too easily bored for most British period dramas, so “The Gilded Age” hits right in the sweet spot.
Comedy
We’re not in the golden age of TV anymore, but we are in the golden age of comedy. Truly an abundance of riches, on so many different platforms and from an exciting array of perspectives and formal approaches. These are my favorite comedy specials of the year. I’ve watched a lot of them.
“Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor”: There were multiple moments during this that I thought I might die laughing. I will be Team Coco for all of my days.
“Marc Maron: Panicked”: Marc and I go way back - I remember him on “Short Attention Span Theater” on old Comedy Central - and I can confidently say this is the finest hour of stand up he’s ever done.
“Dusty Slay: Wet Heat”: I just think he’s ridiculous and clever and fairly singular in his own way.
“Roy Wood Jr: Lonely Flowers”: God, this special was great. He is so intelligent and perceptive about human nature, and his delivery is second to none.
“Rosebud Baker: The Mother Lode”: Fearless. The conceit of swapping between being pregnant and not-pregnant pays off. Dark humor with all its humanity fully intact.
“Gianmarco Soresi: The Thief of Joy”: He is babygirl. Theater kids aren’t all just annoying! Some of us are annoying AND funny.
“An All-Star Live Reading of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi”: You have to be a comedy nerd, a Star Wars nerd, or both to enjoy this. If that’s you, you’re in for a treat.
Movies
“One Battle After Another”: Now that, readers, is a movie. Wowie wow wow. Everybody in it was truly incredible - especially Chase Infiniti, who I was blown away by. And although I hate to single anyone out - especially a highly honored actor - Sean Penn played an instantly iconic movie villain. A total blast, from start to finish.
“Sinners”: Seeing this film in the theaters was such a feast for the senses. It was so sensual, visceral and kinetic that I’m surprised you couldn’t smell or feel it, too. Did everyone fall in love with Wunmi Mosaku after this movie? I know I did.
“Frankenstein”: I’ve had mixed feelings about Jacob Elordi, but I guess all he had to do was disappear under full-body makeup, physically and emotionally inhabit one of the most iconic literary characters of all time, and put himself in an outrageously gorgeous Guillermo del Toro movie. Now I’m a fan.
“Superman”: I had fun, dammit! I like James Gunn!
“The Perfect Neighbor”: A profoundly upsetting and formally inventive documentary about guns, racism and Florida. A hard but necessary watch.
“Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted”: What did I say about shaggy dog stories? This is that in music documentary form. What a lovable tribute to a cult favorite musician who never gave up on his dreams.
“Secret Mall Apartment”: The documentary inspired me in many real, tangible ways, and stands as a steadfast rebuttal to our awful, homogenized monoculture now poisoned further by AI. Art matters, and community matters.
“Pee-Wee As Himself”: I cried with love for Paul Reubens, and raged at the assholes that ruined his life. What a gift to the world he was.
“Mr. Scorsese”: This five-part docuseries about Martin Scorsese made me so excited about movies.
Books and articles
“The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” - Stephen Graham Jones (fabulous Indigenous historical horror-fantasy; listen to the audiobook)
“All Consuming” - Ruby Tandoh (excellent essays on food and life; read her brilliant New Yorker essay on her stint on “The Great British Baking Show”)
“Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves” - Sophie Gilbert (I love a deep dive on the sociology of pop culture!)
“Actress of a Certain Age” - Jeff Hiller (I loved him on “Somebody Somewhere” so much and his book is a delight; listen to the audiobook)
“Essays of E.B. White” (not from 2025, of course, but reacquainting myself with the master)
This insane ProPublica article about a guy who went undercover with militia people and Oathkeepers. Riveting and terrifying and incredibly brave.
This New Yorker article about the scholars attempting to trace fundamental human stories as far back as they can. For someone like me that could sit and imagine about these things all day, it’s like really fun drugs.
All my feminist coworkers and friends could not stress enough how much this piece by the great Anne Helen Petersen resonated with them.
An exhaustive feat of research and reporting on an incredibly important topic: the taxonomically impossible bird featured in the 2000 movie version of “Charlie’s Angels.”
Miscellaneous
Everything Marshawn Lynch does. He is also babygirl.
Jinkx Monsoon on Ziwe being iconic.
My husband Zach and I being lightly competitive with each other on these stupid YouTube album cover quizzes.
The homestyle chicken sandwich at Paddy Murphy’s.
The Fedco tulip bulbs I bought and planted last fall that bloomed this spring and turned out to be the most luscious technicolor deep fuschia-pink I’ve ever seen. Truly saturated psychedelic color. Spectacular.
This recipe for Ginger Garlic Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, now a staple in the Sunday dinner rotation that is even better on the next day and lends itself easily to variations on ingredients.
This Portland Leather medium crossbody bag in orchid, which is big enough for all my everyday shit but small enough to not be cumbersome
This Disturbia mid-length shirt dress, which I have now bought in two different patterns and which is incredibly flattering and comfortable and scratches my goth girl itch.
The TikTok creators doing God’s work in letting my brain have a little junk food when shit gets too real.