Yet Another End of Year List
It's that time again, lads.
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2022 has been quite the year, hasn’t it, lads? The Hyperfixate roster took some hits this year! But we move, regardless! So much has happened this year, therefore much was consumed this year. Much has consumed me this year! This list covers what I can remember, what I’ve enjoyed, and what I hope you’ll check out too. For funsies.
I was re-reading last year’s list and it begins with a preamble saying I’m trying to kick that feeling that I haven’t done enough. She really came for my throat with that one! But more of the same for next year. Just being nicer to myself going forward on top of that too.
Now, list time!
End-of-Year Reading Round-Up
A Bright Ray of Darkness by Ethan Hawke
This one was mentioned in last year’s list! It was the first book I read in 2022. I really enjoyed it, I was over the moon when I found out Ethan Hawke wrote books. Ray is self-referential, tongue-in-cheek, and cutting in ways I never expected. It’s about an actor doing a production of Hamlet written by an actor that was in a production of Hamlet. Do what you will with that information.
Bonfire by Krysten Ritter
I read a lot of books written by actors I love, it seems! The same occurred last year, shocker. Ritter is an incredibly gifted storyteller. I could not put Bonfire down even if I wanted to. She captures a small-town mystery rife with long-held secrets in a way that makes you want an HBO executive to throw money at her to option the book.
Luster by Raven Leilani
I picked up a copy of this at the Foyles in Waterloo Station right before I was meant to see my best friend. I finished it in two days and I still wanted more. Leilani puts us right in Edie’s head that’s somehow both fascinatingly tender and intrusive. It’s so, so good.
Liarmouth by John Waters
This was an impulse buy before a shoot because I was worried I’d never get my hands on a copy if I didn’t buy it right then and there! It’s apparently being adapted into a film (obviously by Waters, duh) and I am thoroughly terrified and intrigued at the same time. Liarmouth follows con-artists, contortionists, and some pretty fucked up dogs. It’s a riot and then some. (A book you should read immediately after this is David Cronenberg’s Consumed. They’re like sisters in my mind).
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
It took me over three months to finish reading this book because I had to take a lot of breaks. McCurdy’s honesty paired with her very sharp voice is a match made in heaven, and she’s sharing so much that I know resonates with a lot of people around the world. Lots of stuff resonated with me as well. It’s why I had to take so many breaks in the first place.
Someone Will Love You In All Your Damaged Glory by Raphael Bob-Waksberg
This is probably my favourite of the year. I love reading short stories. They just give me that buzz. And I love BoJack Horseman! I knew this book was going to tear my heart out and neatly place it back inside my chest once I was done with it, and I was correct. There’s a story in there called The Up-and-Comers which I really want to see adapted for the screen. Each story is gutting and beautiful in its own way, and I really enjoyed how Bob-Waksberg plays with form. It’s a slay.
Pure Colour by Sheila Heti
Another one that tore my heart out! I think the last two years had been so laden with grief for the whole world that we’re all struggling to find words for it. I think Heti comes really close, if not right on the bullseye.
Holy Smoke! by Jane and Anna Campion
This was the first book I bought in Vancouver! I got it used at a great secondhand shop after a less-than-promising house viewing. It’s the novelization of her 1998 film of the same name starring Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel. It’s hot, it’s steamy, and it’s the aftermath of a white girl after a trip to India. Campionheads, rejoice!
Bitch Planet by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Valentine De Landro
I’ve been doing this very Healthy thing of walking into a used bookstore and walking out with a comic book or graphic novel of some kind. I’ve always wanted to read Bitch Planet but just never got around to it. Volume One is excellent and I’ve tracked down Volume Two to a store I will return to in the new year. The art is crazy, the characters are super compelling, and all the bitches are bad bitches. What more could you want?
Batman: Knight and Squire by Paul Cornell
In the midst of my used bookstore daylight robberies (me going into credit card debt), I’ve also made it my mission to seek out some Batman titles that I’ve never heard of before. Knight and Squire was a bizarre little treat. It’s the British version of Batman and Robin with a silly yet hearty self-aware twist. It was almost too much fun.
Hyperfixate Wrapped
Honestly, that subheading is what this issue should be called in the first place. But I like it better here. It’s been a great year for music (for me anyway) despite my Spotify Wrapped continuing to embarrass me for reasons beyond my own comprehension. And I keep bringing it up! We get it, Ari, you’re dealing with some internalized Swiftogyny! I’m not going to rehash my Wrapped list but here were some music highlights from this year:
Cardboard Box was my number one most-played song on Spotify this year. I remember this one day when the music video was floating around Twitter and it had everything you could ever want; these three brilliant vocalists, their on-the-money reimagined noughties look, and this R&B sound we all thought would be lost to time forever. Their debut EP, The Lead, has been so refreshing, and their latest single, Losing You, is the slow jam anthem I didn’t know I needed.
To no one’s surprise, Beyoncé
I think nearly every single track on RENAISSANCE made it onto my Spotify Wrapped. I spent most of this summer going on walks set to HEATED. There was one night in Buster Mantis (this little hole in the wall in Deptford) where the DJ played BREAK MY SOUL and I lost my shit. Soundtrack of the summer for sure!
Oh Baby (Remix) by Cinta Laura
I find Cinta Laura Kiehl’s career very fascinating. She is one of the last truly entertaining Indonesian celebrities. The original Oh Baby came out twelve years ago, but this year she came out with a club remix of what I think is a classic in the Indonesian centil music canon. If you put centil in Google Translate, the closest it comes up with is ‘coquettish’—a word co-opted by TikTok that has probably lost all meaning in the process. It’s flirty, it’s fun, it’s girly, and with just enough of a provocative edge to tie everything together. It slays. That was just a long-winded way of saying the song is Slay.
Snoop Dogg’s Affirmations Song
I’m really late to the party on this one, but Snoop Dogg has an album full of children’s music for the 3D animated series, Doggyland, that he co-created. It’s brilliant. Affirmations Song went viral because it’s actually just really sweet. And I think we all need a little bit of Snoop telling us that we can control our own happiness. Uplifting! More of this please!
Ramin Djawadi covering Video Games on Westworld
Truly one of the highlights of my Television Year was the Westworld (RIP) Season 4 premiere where they revealed James Marsden’s return to the show (at this point we didn’t know whether or not he was back as Teddy Flood but he looked great so I didn’t care) set to an orchestral arrangement of Lana Del Rey’s Video Games. Ramin Djawadi also covered Frank Ocean’s Pink + White this season in a scene where Teddy and Christina (another version of Dolores) go on a date! Djawadi had a rendition of The Weeknd’s Wicked Games in Season 3 that burrowed its way into my mind and never left. He just gets me.
Lil Mamat is a Sundanese rapper that the lads I lived with this summer introduced me to. There is a whole world of Indonesian emo boy rap that I wasn’t aware of until my flatmates put me on. Bersepeda 2.0 is the song that’s made it onto a lot of my playlists this year. It’s both really funny and really well-produced.
American Teenager by Ethel Cain
I am very very late to the Ethel Cain party but I’m here now and I’m here to stay! This is another one of those “I saw the video first” situations and very quickly became obsessed with the song. It’s nostalgic, it’s fun, and it’s dripping in a different wave of Americana than Lana del Rey’s. We love to see it.
Step Back by GOT The Beat
I got back into KPop this year and for the entirety of January I didn’t listen to anything but this song. I watched the SMTOWN Live thing on New Year’s Day with my cousins and I’m not going to be able to do that this year. The girls were slaying. BoA is MOTHER! Despite the Pick Me ass lyrics, this song goes really hard. I don’t know if this supergroup will ever release another track, but I sure hope they do.
I like that there’s a new SZA album for me to age out of the DiCaprio Bracket to. My favourites of the album at the moment are Kill Bill, Smoking on My Ex Pack, Nobody Gets Me, F2F, and Far. I like the Phoebe one as well but it’s out of rotation for me at the moment. Slay boots!
Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd? by Lana Del Rey
Ocean Blvd just sounds like Classic Lana. It’s like she’s meeting us halfway between Norman fucking Rockwell and Born to Die. That’s my sweet spot.
Some playlists that soundtracked my year, if you were curious: here was my summer one, my autumn one, and my current winter playlist.
Film and Television
I don’t think I watched that many films this year, I think life was just happening a lot and whenever I did watch a film, it was something I had already seen because I wanted to feel Safe and Secure in my umpteenth rewatch of We’re the Millers. However, these were some of my favourite new releases of 2022:
NOPE - definitely my favourite of the year. I still desperately need that The Jesus Lizard tee Keke was wearing in the film.
Tár - what an absolute riot of a film that ends with Cate Blanchett doing Filipino Star Wars.
Decision to Leave - Let Park Chan-wook be goofy! He is a stellar craftsman but also a GOOF!
The Banshees of Inisherin - I’m sorry that we all had to endure that Martin McDonagh/Taylor Swift conversation but Banshees was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. I saw it with my housemates (three of whom are Irish) and one of them grew up spending a lot of time on the island where they shot the film. It was lovely seeing the film through her eyes. Also, friendship break-ups are hard! We should talk more about that!
Fire Island - I have never violently sobbed to a more uplifting film. MUNA’s cover of Sometimes definitely shook me to my core. Shoutout to Marisa Tomei!
Apollo 10 1/2 - this was an unexpected one. I’m not the biggest Linklater fan, I think his best film is School of Rock and I’ve gotten enough flack when I was at Uni for not liking the Before Trilogy. I saw this with my nine-year-old cousin and loved the look in his eye when he saw the little kid get in the space simulator.
The Fabelmans - another screening I violently sobbed at. I love The Movies and so does Spielberg! I am a sentimental little biotch! Let me live!
Bodies, Bodies, Bodies - “your parents were upper middle class!!!!” More films should have an Azaelia Banks needle-drop in them.
Barbarian - always double-check your Airbnb booking.
The Batman - I’ve seen this film three times this year. That is nine hours of my life I’ve dedicated to Robert Pattinson in eyeliner and Paul Dano wearing the same glasses I have.
And now, Television:
The Rehearsal - I am an absolute whore for this show. I made my mum watch it with us every week. I’m so glad it got renewed for a second season and am so worried for Nathan at the same time. Vancouver’s favourite son, he is!
Abbott Elementary - Never failed to put a smile on my face! I’m still thinking about Janine and Gregory in the club! And Vince Staples too!
Sex Lives of College Girls - If we’re being real, this is probably my favourite show of the year. Mindy Kaling, you brilliant bastard, you’ve done it again! I’m deeply jealous of her and her writing staff and I can’t wait to see Season 3. I’m not on board with this Kimberly/Canaan thing just yet but I’m willing to see what happens.
Severance - Apple TV coming in with THEE heaviest hitter on the list. I wish they had a Severance procedure at my day job. It would make keeping track of my hours easier.
Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? - I did only see this for Will Poulter looking absolutely stunning but ended up getting roped in for the ride! I love a good whodunit in the countryside!
Westworld - gone but not forgotten. I will avenge you someday, Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy!
Andor - I can’t believe I’m putting Star Wars on this list but it’s probably the best entry in the entire franchise. It very literally hijacked my brain. Slay. Wig. Etc.
For All Mankind - I binged two seasons of this with one of my housemates this summer and it’s truly one of the most fascinating pieces of television Apple has put out. I’ve been a little obsessed with the Space Race this year, I guess. Joel Kinnaman can act, you guys! I’m just as surprised as you are!
The Second Annual Hyperfixate List
And now for the main event! Last year’s first seed is notably absent from this year’s list despite making several appearances throughout the newsletter. The lesson here is hot people should not have podcasts and keep their mouths shut. It’s why I only put out three podcast episodes a year. Without further ado, 2022’s Hyperfixate List:
Oscar Isaac and Charlie Cox
The two of them are definitely tied for first place. It’s been a Short King year! Charlie is much taller than Oscar and yet he has a Short King swagger that I cannot explain. Congratulations to them both!
Nathan Fielder
I’m so obsessed with Nathan that I bought myself a windbreaker from Summit Ice for my birthday and moved to his hometown. Take that, Kanye West.
Steven Yeun, again
Jordan Peele had to put him in a little cowboy hat! I can’t stop thinking about him! During The Walking Dead finale event, his little video message showed up and I cried! How embarrassing!
Jack Quaid
famously my Boyfriend-in-Delusions and my personal nepotism baby of the year, Jack Quaid has done a marvelous job on Season 3 of The Boys. He was recently seen in the Oppenheimer trailer. Thank you, Christopher Nolan for employing my man!
All four new SNL cast members
I’m in love with every single one of them, I’m not even joking. (Marcello, call me.)
The Riddler (Both Versions)
The Riddler (Dano’s Version) and The Riddler (Taylor’s Version)!
Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal, tied
Pedro Almodovar will agree with me.
Matthew Gray Gubler
This is the one I’m most embarrassed by, really. I really was going through some shit to be rewatching Criminal Minds as often as I was! The new reboot is stellar, by the way. He isn’t in it, but I’m kind of relieved he isn’t. He’s a goof that one. I love a good goof.
Lydia Tár but not Cate Blanchett
The lack of women on this list is astounding, and the fact that I not only put a privileged EGOT-er but a woman with massive allegations against her? Oof!
George Costanza
I’ve had quite the George year. Next year will be more George in The Opposite, hopefully. Also, this specific TikTok to no surprise to anyone has made it on the list. (I take it back, this entry is the one I’m the most embarrassed by).
Annual Reflection Section
I’m trying to end the year on a positive note. 2022 feels like the third season of 2020 where they let the writers do whatever the hell they want but slash the budget right before they start shooting. Like every year, there are ups and there are downs. I think I came out of this year pretty lucky, all things considered. I’ve moved to a new city in a new country for probably the fifth (?) time in my life, and I’m doing another degree. I’m working two jobs right now and continue to be precariously employed as a Creative Person. I had surgery in April for two ovarian cysts that I didn’t know about until March. I started acting. I got to see all my lovely friends and make new ones! A skill I thought had atrophied! You surprise yourself sometimes.
I had a great time talking to Petros about Bewitched, and Matt & Daryl about a very obscure Paul Dano film. There were new four episodes of ADTLM this year! Four! Maybe next year we’ll go for five! I also got to do stand-up in person again for the first time since the pandemic hit which was truly a joy I am so grateful for.
I also helped my cat give birth earlier this year, but we lost our beautiful boy Glenn last month. Ups and downs.
It’s really easy for me to minimize things that happen to me, regardless if they’re ‘good’ or ‘bad’. I think my New Year’s Resolution should be to stop compartmentalizing. And just, like, vibe. I don’t know. That wasn’t much of a reflection. Good or bad, I’m still here (to my own surprise). And that’s more than enough for now.
Here’s to 2023. May we celebrate and enjoy whatever shenanigans we get ourselves into.
All my love,
Ari.
It’s like our brains are being hijacked by the same troll playing videos of Oscar Isaac or Charlie Cox on repeat. I loved this recap and reading your substack this year! Can’t wait to see if 2023 brings us more synchronous obsessions.