I'm Manny, I'm Noah, and this is no such thing the show where we settle our dumb arguments and yours by actually doing the research. On today's episode, we are doing a year in review. We're gonna be talking about our favorite movies, music, and news events of twenty twenty four. There's no such thing, no such thing.
Such, thank.
Such, thank.
Such, thank you.
All Right, last week we were off for Christmas, and we're still kind of in that weird week between Christmas and New Year's where like no one's really doing anything. It's like a this work purgatory, and I think that's being reflected in our episode this week. We promise we'll be back with our regularly formatted episodes. Uh next week, We've got some bangers lined up, so stay tuned for that. But yeah, we're doing our year in review. We're talking
about our favorite stuff this year. I think we can just start with movies. Noah, what was your favorite movie of twenty twenty four?
So I was thinking about this, and there's still a few big ones I need to see now that they're finally all coming out at once.
Movies.
Yeah, basically I won't really be able to answer this till February probably, but my number one movie, and I'm not sure either of you have seen it is Between the Temples.
I have not even heard of this, but it's yeah.
So it's It's with Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane. She's an elderly woman trying to get bot mitzvud late in life. He's he works at a temple, but he's supposed to like lead the songs there, but he he can't sing, and he's dealing with a losing his wife and kind of horrible past.
Missus O'Connor, joh I know you, Ben Gottlieb. Benjamin Gottlieb, You're my music teacher. I worked down at the temple Sina.
I'm a canter.
So interesting because I'm in a query.
He's well odd canter and so it's kind of an odd couple sort of scenario.
But it's really funny.
It's sweet, but at the same time doesn't like pull its punches when it comes to kind of some uncomfortable moments. I kind of had no expectations going into it. Just saw it at BAM on a random day, and.
I was just so pleasantly surprised by it. And left feeling reinvigorated.
I'm not sure if everyone would be able to connect with it as much as me. Maybe, but I would recommend it.
What do you what'd you throw on there? For The Letterbox?
Now, I'd probably give it pretty high. I think i'd give it four point five star.
Wow. Yeah, it's up there an incredible film.
Well, it's your movie in a year. It's gotta be.
Oh. Not only not only that I like watching, but I think I would like watching it again, even if I watch it tonight, or if I watched it and I can see myself watching it years from now and enjoying it, which goes a long way.
I guess we don't want to spoil the The Letterbox episode to come, but the fact that made by how high your favorite movie of the year, it's pread.
Out honestly on a rewatch, I might even throw it a five. We'll see. Wow, I'm opening up my heart of it.
Wow, I gotta see this film. Yeah, I'd be curious to hear what you guys think about it and check it out. I've got like you'll have to bear with me. I've got like my highbrow pick and then my kind of more phone pick. The the high brow one. I don't know if you've guys seen Evil does Not Exist.
Mm hmm, yeah.
I really liked it so last was that last year or two years ago, was driving my car. It's like the same director. I thought that one was like, oh,
like fine, like I enjoyed it. It was super long, obviously, but uh, this time he's got this movie about this community basically that's affected by like the construction of like a glamping like social media site, and on the surface, that's the plot, but like, underneath that plot, it's it's more about, like I don't know, some of the same themes of the first the previous one, to human connections and like all the little nuanced ways that we affect
each other's lives, like how the decisions I make might affect Noah or Devin's lives, and how like really considering that is important because otherwise we're just robots, or we might as well be robots or these like inhuman kind of figures. It's streaming on Criterion Channel if you haven't
seen it yet. But then my kind of like more fun pick I really really enjoyed the furios of movie, the Mad Max movie, and I was I think it might have something to do with going into it with like really low expectations because they they did that movie a total disservice with the trailer, Like the trailers really positioned this film as like this Marvel extended universe situation where they're like all these like side characters and cameos and stuff. But so I was like, oh, this might suck.
But I went into it and I thought it was like really rad and doing a lot of cool things, and you've got the classic George Miller like we're gonna actually do the action scenes. And I left that movie being like damn, like this is what this is what movies are about. Yeah, I want to leave just like shocked, like wow, I can't believe they did that and it was and I thought it was incredible.
The question is I have it an you and I might get an epic.
But I will also say I didn't get to the movies that much this year. It was it was an off year for me. Yeah, like for that to be my pick feels a little off. But I gotta go see some movies before the before the year ends.
Manny, what would you rate your those two picks?
Oh?
Evil does not exist? You know, it wasn't like kind of like mind blowing, but it was like a solid three and a half. I think at least I could see it being a four if I were like an especially mood that.
Yeah.
I really liked that town hall scene. Yeah, yeah, I was locked in during.
That, leaned forward on the couch during that scene. And then Furiosa probably a three. Okay, okay, yeah, best movie of the year. Three favorite memorable.
Is already one where I was scrolling through just was on on cable the other day. That was on and I was like sat back for probably fifteen minutes watching Chris all right, Devin.
Yeah, we're still movies. Uh, you know, obviously it's there's the big ones of the year. I think guys are on everyone's list, like the Dune two's Challengers. Those are probably my two mainstream picks.
My challenges, my big, my big mainstream one.
Yeah, you know, it's it's incredible.
A lot of people have talked about that one, so I won't waste more talking about it, and we'll talk about it later, yes on NFT, but I'm gonna go with a different man.
So this is I don't know, have y'all heard of this.
Yeah, number two, that was like on my short list. I loved it.
So the way I think about it and I think I put in my letterbox review is like, this is like if Charlie Kaufman made The Substance. So so the premise is like this dude he has like a facial deformity and he can basically goes to like get a surgery to make his face look quote unquote normal.
But then a lot of things.
I don't want to spoil the movie because it's actually very interesting and it's like one of those things that as little as you know about it going into it, the better.
Piece of man, Why are.
Remember me? That guy's amazing?
How do you know about who is he?
He's meeting a double like in Australia.
But it's funny because I saw it maybe a day or two after I saw The Substance, and it felt like they would make a great like back to back screening, you know, sort of definitely in the same It's like a smart, much smarter version of the Substance. It's a much more layered and it's like I think sometimes you can be like, this is like a Charlie Kaufman version of this thing as like an insult.
But I thought this was like a.
Very good coughmin like world where it was like it's layered. Everything's a little bit off, everyone's a little bit weird, but it's also like you get the world pretty quickly.
Yeah, and it's not too hyper stylized or something where it still feels grounded and it yes, even though it What was pleasantly surprising to me was it pushed the story way further than I expected. Yeah, without saying too much, but yeah.
Yeah, what you were you think it's gonna go is over in like fifteen minutes, but then yeah, you know, it's like, oh, where are we going to go from here?
The thing has already happened.
So the two of you do you think it? You don't think it necessarily replaces the need for the substance. You just know it should be like a back today.
They're different enough, they're very different, like someone This movie is not as easy of a movie to contumee as as something like the Substance.
Gotcha. I think if I'm only gonna watch one of these movies, you you should.
Watch a different man. If you're only gonna pick.
One, knowing you what the hell does that mean that's a compliment in this case.
Knowing you're a dumb ass you got Yeah.
Different, man, I'm saying like, if I had to pick, like if you're if you're like between these two movies, pick something that like a mainstream audience is gonna like, I'm gonna pick the substance because it's a lot more.
It's different, Man's more interesting, Yes.
Got but it's also you know, you got to pay a little bit more attention. It's been more layered. You're gonna have a bit more questions. You know, probably show your mom this. I'm gonna show my mom either.
Money is but.
And especially Sam was great. He's he's had a great turn for me.
Yes, I'm I'm a fan.
Yeah, he seems like a seen.
The Trump movie yet, but I want to. I want to see him. You don't need to no shaking his head after what they did to my president. So I think that might conclude our movies portion of the episode. We can move on to music.
Now, Well let's start. Let's start with Manny because.
I was gonna say, yeahs not famously not a music listener either, Yeah, uh.
And doesn't listen to music.
So we we all we're the last three people on earth who still have Apple Music. Yeah, so our well, I don't even know what they called Apple music year and review rewind or replay rewind. We usually send it to the group and every year Manny's numbers get crazier year, Like, I'm like, I.
Don't even know your numbers are so to be.
Like sixty minutes, yes, like its top listen to the song of the year, it's like three plays.
I was like, is this correct?
My top listened to artists? Unsurprisingly was Drake how many? I listened to him for one hundred and forty two minutes.
That's that's like the album, Yeah, Scorpion from front to that.
Yeah, I don't know, I don't know.
I just artist of the Year is Future at sixty five minutes. There's not a Future album at sixty five minutes long?
Yes, I mean what do you do? Like, what how do you hear music?
You know, it's weird when they when they rank it that way, because I do, like if I'm at the gym or if I'm like at home cleaning or something, there is music on, but it's never like I never listen into the same thing again, Like it just keeps going and going, but just or something yeah, and so it doesn't end up ranking like you'll never see any like I never like Heart a song that I really liked. So I'm I know. I do know that I listened
to music way less frequently than the average person. But when you look at these ranks, it's like, Okay, I did only listen to Drake for one hundred minutes, but that doesn't necessarily paint the picture of how often I'm listening to music. But speaking of Drake, this is a
good segue. There was, you know, as we talk about our favorite music from this year, our favorite song, even there was a very high profile rap beef that happened earlier this year, and I don't think that this song is necessarily my favorite song of the year, but I but I don't think it gets enough credit. If I may be.
Just what I think it's gonna be.
I think so.
I think by far, the best song that came out of that beef was Family Matters, and I think a lot more people would agree if Kendrick hadn't been so smart to immediately snuff out the hype around it by putting by releasing his next song like that that strategy around it completely just belittled what the song was. But I think when you really go back and listen to it, like.
Barfest song, best song, as in like song you enjoy listening to, most effective song in the beat.
It's the most dynamic, It has the best rap bars in it.
Hey, kend you just open his mouth? Someone goll hand him on Grammy? Right now, where Jon put that? Because I want to tell to the man in the house West Coast niggas do phase right, kunget this has woo you want to take over forever? And Kung get his legacy out of my house.
It's got all the switch ups, which are fun. There's the layers of like how many people he's dissing in it as well, which is just like a fun exercise to listen to now not like us. Don't get me wrong, it's a gigantic song. Obviously, it's been played over and over for the entire year, especially in you know, because of what he's saying in the song. But and and that's part of the genius of the song, is like it coming out right after family matters and like no
one really talks about family matters. Uh, But yeah, I challenge any like rap head to like go listen to the songs back to back, read the pull up the rap genius, read the lyrics. Uh you like that's I do think that song is like better quality?
This is this is the this issue before during the push a T. Drake Beef, where I think you have a very different understanding of what is a good rap beef song than I do. Not like Us obviously is the.
Song, yeah, the year period we agree on.
Outside of the Yeah, I get it it's not your favorite, but you said it's the best song. And like we also had this conversation around the pusha T Song.
Story of that and on character. Let me keep with the facts.
You are hiding a child, but then boy come home did beat motherfucker playing Border Patrol.
And you're like, oh, the song isn't really that good. But it's like does it like we're not no one is into a rat beef to be like, I'm you know, I gotta you know, how structured is my song and like I gotta make sure that like it's cohesive. But I think like Us is a better song.
And that's about it. But here's the thing we're talking, like this are two different conversations. Right, We're like, I'm acknowledging that we're talking about rat beef. What's more effective in a rat beef? That's not like us by a mile. I'm just talking about you know, here's we get a chance in the NST podcast to pick a song that we think maybe didn't get enough spotlight. And I do think it's a better song. I don't think it means he won the beef, clearly, not that was like the
most lopsided beef in rap history. Maybe, but yeah, I think it's just such a I think I listened to it the other day. I'm like, god, damn, this guy was going crazy on this song and we don't talk about it. It's not like us dropped eight minutes later and that was it. Anyway, that was my pick. Okay, it's a good pick, Devin.
You want to go sure, I don't.
I'm not a huge singles guy. Yeah, I mostly I mostly listen to albums. So even looking at like my top songs of the year with this Apple Music review, it's just like it just becomes like, what are the albums I listened to? Yeah, yeah, And it's like, all right, here's ten songs from the album when You're twenty.
So my I'm not gonna do song, I'm gonna do.
My top album of the year, which is love Guess Who by this artist named Altrey Novall. It's funny because this year I was listening to a lot of the same artists I was listening to in like twenty sixteen, Like my top artists were mostly those artists Pine Grove, Pine Grove, Yeah, how to Dress Well, yeah, you know bone Beer back in there again album?
Well, that's you know, that's close.
But the Are One came out in November and it was my top played album of the year, which is kind of crazy. It Also, you know, I saw him perform that album. He hasn't performed in you know, like a long time, and I saw him perform the album the day after the election, which was pretty wild and kind of a weird headspace after also working for like two days after your president was elected. Uh noah, our president to be like, do I president want to go see a concert tonight? Is that really where I want
to go? And like to go see this man? Like this man performs and it's I don't know, I just felt like this year too, I saw a lot of concerts that I was just sort of like that was fine.
Yeah, I was curious if you had to hear a concert as sincere probably the most the biggest live music ahead of all of us.
Definitely, I don't just I don't know.
I feel like there's a lot of artists right now who are just showing up and playing songs, which is fine, but I like, I like to see an artist where you're like, I don't know if this person is going to finish this concert. You know, like they're going through it, like they're going through the elections of when I recorded
the first time. And I've seen that man play big spaces in like very small spaces and he always performs as if it's like Madison Square Guard and you know, body on the Line sort of stuff, and it's nice to see. It's like, yeah, that's why I showed up. I didn't show up for you to just sort of like here, yeah exactly, just like play just you know.
Quickly go through the album version. So that's be.
A standout song if you had one people to sample.
Let's play Uh, we've gotta do like they do in the podcast, like we're playing it. Yeah, let's play about to lose commalss theme.
So I got its feeling out about But then I don't ever want to make good to.
All right any other any other music notes Sevin.
I listened to probably about the same amount of music as I always listened to. This year, I had tough time connecting to music this year.
I don't know so much.
Yeah, I don't know how much of that was me or if the new stuff just wasn't that good, especially looking back, you know where I got my like Facebook memory shit popping up, and I was like, looking back on some of my old lists of like favorite albums and stuff, I was like, shit, I used to listen to a lot of new music and like not playing it once but like on rotation throughout the year, and this year I was just like it was tough to like there was there wasn't a lot of new stuff
that I connected with.
Yeah, I feel similarly.
I think next year I'm gonna try to be a bit more intentional about it because I think also it's like I fucking hate the Apple Music UI and it wait forced you to basically just listen to the last three things you listened to yeah, yeah, or something completely random. So twenty twenty five. My goal is to be more intentional about listening to new music.
So yeah, Similarly, I'm not really a singles guy, so that I was I was trying to see, like, Okay, do I have a standout song? But I did pick one that It's by a band called Speed from Australia who I saw in July. They're like a hardcore band, really heavy, but but I think kind of have a lightness or there's kind of a fun element to them where I think anyone who's at all open to like kind of loud rock could probably tolerate it. This is great for like a gym playlist. The song would be
the first test. It's on their new album. They incorporate flute in a way that isn't as gimmicky as I would have feared.
Lizzo heard about this No no, no, no no.
No, being like, all right, here's this hardcore band that's like screaming and mashing and stuff and they do flute stuff.
I was like, but I saw them live before.
I really I had heard them before, but seeing them live they were great and the flute stuff played really well, and it's like, you know, next time you're trying to get your pump on. Throw the song, see see how it feels next time, trying to pr at the Yeah. Yeah, just throw up somewhere in the middle of the playlist there and see see how you feel about it.
I'd i'd love to get your reaction.
I need, I need motivational music to even you know, get out there.
It's good, nice, Yeah, throw it on.
So that that's that's if I had to pick like one song, I was looking back because similarly to you, Devin, like, I'll check out what comes out every week, but a lot of stuff I just lose after that week because I'm either onto something new or most of what I listened to is if you look at my Apple rewind, it's just Bob Dylan like three thousand minutes or something, so it's yeah new at all.
It's funny to see, like what y'all listening to a week the week. There's a thing with Apple music, you see what other group listening to, but I see, I see you nos, and it's always like some random Bob Dale album.
Even prior to the Timmy stuff, he's an og.
Yeah.
This year for live stuff, I didn't see many things, but one kind of notable experience was this band's son, and it's these two guys.
It's like drone music.
So they come out in robes and they both have guitars and they'll just like strum a chord and hold it for like minutes, and it's the most incredibly loud thing I've ever That was that Lincoln Center, so it seeded a beautiful theater and like fog and weird lights and stuff, but it was like eight earplugs and thank god, but it's like my whole body was like wow, vibrating. It was crazy, and like like the first few minutes you're like getting used to it.
I was like, I don't know if I can sit through an hour or whatever of this, and then like you get used to it.
It was really pretty, and then you're just kind of like you really are just like zoning out.
But it was his sensory experience, Yeah.
It really was.
It was pretty crazy, all right.
I think we can move on to the news events. I'll be honest, I don't really know exactly what I was thinking with this category. I guess like some kind of thing that happened in the news that you think has implications for next year. We obviously just did the assassinations episode, so that doesn't count. The one thing that's been in my mind is when the Democrats finally scrambled together to replace Joe Biden on the ticket.
Good Day, We are coming on the air with significant breaking news and a critical moment in the presidential race. NBC News has learned President Biden will step aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee. He will suspend his bid for a second term, and instead he will pave the way for a different Democratic candidate to face former President Trump this November.
Well, we were together that day a fauldy. There's a huge day Sunday. Is it a Sunday hours, Yeah, it was Sunday.
Right, Yeah, I think it's a Sunday. We were getting together to do a photo shoot shout out Jordan Bowman for the podcast, and they just announced it while we were in there, or maybe while we were on our way there.
Yeah, because that was on my I was on a city bike and people from work were calling me and I was like I knew immediately what was happening.
And I was like, yeah, I got to pull over.
There had been for maybe two days like it might happen, and yeah, but the reason I chose that event is like I go back and forth because on one hand, it shows that like the Democrats, who I'm very you know, cynical about, do you have the ability to like get together and like do some big thing if they need to. But then obviously on the other hand, it was like, yeah, they chose the wrong person clearly, or like they could
have like it earlier in the year. They could have been doing this so that we could do it.
We could have done this two years ago the process.
Yeah, or look, it could have been right person. I think it's right person, wrong strategy. I think she could have won if they threw Biden under the bus. But yeah, see that's why at that moment frustrates me because it's like they were willing to do something, but not.
They're still scared.
Yeah. Yeah, that's what I go back and forth on. It's like, oh, it is good that they they they realized that they acknowledged how bad this was looking, and then they switched them out. And then it was like, but it's the same case to the same but like, don't worry, we're still it's like, god, damn it, and now look where we are.
Well, especially my frustration with that moment is like if you if Trump is such a big like he is this huge threat to democracy, right, you're telling people this may be the last election if this guy is chosen. So we're gonna we're gonna do something that's never been done before. We're getting rid of our candidate. Yeah, and then for that to happen, but then for you to be like, but we don't want the new candidate to
be mean to the old candidate. We don't want her to say anything not nice about the old candidate, Like how is that where we're drawing in the line.
She didn't have to be not mean about it. She could pay This is a different guy, different platform.
Just like the lack of any said he's the boss, so obviously I was going along with him.
But yeah, next year, it's gonna.
Be me in charge.
And here's what I would do. The most.
The most infuriating ship was they did the podcast with the pod Save America people, like all the people were in that campaign it's like a month ago, I think, and just like absolutely zero like self reflection, likething.
In the world.
Yeah, they just blame other people. Yeah, and so implications going you know, in the future. Like, I think it's nice that they can, you know, do this kind of like hit the emergency glass thing if they need to. But hopefully they learn from this because the four years of Trump. Not happy about that.
But it doesn't seem like they are learning from it based on.
Yeah, well hopefully at that point will be different people.
Yeah, yeah, there's time. Who knows, Yeah, there's time. That's a good pick. Maybe a nice hopeful pick, you know.
Yeah, yeah, my pick was not.
I didn't follow the rules of this.
Do you think I just picked what was an important moment to me this year around the world of media, which is uh. I found this TikToker who makes print calls. He goes by the name this is the funniest ship I've seen in quite some time. Goes by the name of Cassandra Bowman. I feel like print calls were such a thing when we were kids, like crank anchors. Yeah, of course, you ever do it with your friends print calls?
Maybe a couple of times. I was a good guy, yeah.
Because it was pre you know, we were like in the just like caller ID just becoming a thing, but you can still hide your number.
Stage of things.
And yeah, he has this TikTok where all it is is like he prank calls people. But my favorite thing that he does is like so it'll be like, Manny, you'll contact him and say, like, call my sister and tell her I put her down as a reference for a job, but like you won't tell your sister ahead of time. So he he'll call and be like, all right,
I'm calling. He does like this woman's voice. You know, man, you puts you down as a reference, Like, tell me how you work together in the cit Like obviously the people are lying.
Yeah, yeah, because they're trying to help their Yeah, they're helping out there.
Yeah, and the see like the hoops that people jump through, because you will be like oh actually, she like, they'll beake where did you work together, and they'll say something like random company and they're like, oh, actually have you down and working and they're like, oh yeah.
We Also, she said she was the chief operations officer of a mid sized startup and that you were the CEO.
Oh yeah, so we did theater together, my bud, that was a middle operation.
She said.
The the startup was about biotech.
Oh okay, now I'm.
A drum fire and we worked at the times. I'm sorry because I'm also entrepreneurs.
That's why.
So the biotech we did was we were pretty much had samples of different what was it, we had stamples of different hair products, and she said that this was.
About developing medical devices.
Hold on, give me sucking.
Okay, okay, I'm so sorry.
Yes, my dad, I'm just a little confused because you worked at a biotech company. You worked at the polls, he worked, you know, at the theater. I'm just a little lost, right now.
That's good.
It was on one hand, it's so funny, but like if I got that call about my sister, I'd be lying my ass like, yeah, we had a great time working at this company.
Well, the last ones I saw, the woman was.
Clearly like typing to try to like message to person and be like, what the fuck am I supposed to be saying?
What did you put me down?
Yeah?
And so she like the guy, he was like are you typing? What are you doing? And she's like, oh, no, I have a meeting. Like I'm trying to send an email. I'll share one of want of to tiktoks. But it's like I go to it maybe once a week to just like laugh out loud.
It is incredible.
I was at a loss thinking about big news events because I was just like, I can only think about the election and.
Like the Luigi stuff.
Yeah.
But then so then I was like, okay, let me just look at like a big list of news events. And I was looking and I found a story that I think everyone here is going to appreciate at least. I mean when I say everyone, I mean you to. And here's the headline from Reiters. This is in June, wild horses returned to Kazakhstans Golden Step after some two hundred years. So these are the only remaining wild horses and they've been returned to their incestral homeland in the
Golden Step. And I need to do some more reading, admittedly to catch up on it, but it sounds like things are going well and they're kind of rebuilding their you know, they started with a few and now they're rebuilding up to get more and more back living naturally. So hopefully, you know, two hundred years from now, there'll be plenty more wild horses standing in fear, standing strong, not running.
Probably you should send that article to ren the woman And I'm on this, yeah, yeah, but I think I've already seen it.
Yeah I did this actually, but yeah, I thought that was a nice positive story, which you know so much of these days. Anything else, so many other reflections that you're obviously launching No Such Thing was a huge moment for for me and the world.
Yeah, how can we forget what a couple of months ago, really at the end of the year, launching this podcast, and it's been so fun. Obviously we've gotten We're getting a lot of fun reviews and are super excited to keep it rocking in the new year. And as I just said earlier at the beginning of this episode, we are going back to regular episodes. Uh, starting what is that January seventh. I think the next episode is about whether it is okay to be on your bed with
your outside clothes. Uh, so very divisive. We're getting a lot of voice notes in from our listener, so stay tuned for that one. It's gonna be a fun one. No Such Thing is produced by Manny, Noah and Devin. The theme song is by me Manny. Be sure to subscribe to No Such Thing dot show, where you can find all of the music and movies and all the stuff we referenced on this episode, and we'll see you next week.
Touch bank, Touch Bang,