AWKSD’s best albums, books, and movies of 2020
Plus new Awkward merch!
Before we get to the list, I’m very excited to show you this new merch.
I call this the AwkwardSD Tendencies hat since it’s inspired by punk band Suicidal Tendencies’ iconic “SUICIDAL” hat. AwkwardSD Tendencies is the perfect holiday gift for you, and/or the cool-as-hell dirtbag in your life. These are scientifically proven to double your street cred.
I have a very limited number of these made, so if you want one, let me know ASAP.
To get a hat, please Venmo $20 to @Ryan-Braddford-2 (I also do Paypal: avclub.bradford@gmail.com). If you live outside San Diego, or prefer receiving it in the mail, please add $5 for shipping. If you live in SD, I’m happy to deliver these in-person if it’s not too far of a drive.
Thank you!
THE BEST ALBUMS, BOOKS, AND MOVIES OF 2020
We did it folks. We’ve entered the homestretch of the darkest year in history. I know that time is a human construct and that a deadly virus does not observe the Gregorian calendar, but I’m looking forward to hitting the figurative reset button when the clock strikes midnight New Years—even if it’s just a feel-good placebo.
That said, it’s not like this year has been completely devoid of goodness. Lots of great art has come out of 2020, and even though I spent the majority of the year watching all of The Sopranos for the first time (which, uh, I don’t know if you’ve heard, is pretty good), I did find some things that I liked a lot.
So, here’s my little year-end list.
Best San Diego albums
The Havnauts - Real Good Now
San Diego punks The Havnauts were like a life-preserver for me during this hard year. Real Good Now is eight perfect tracks of catchy, emotionally-driven rock that often teeters toward chaos. Like most great punk albums, it feels simultaneously fun and dangerous.
Carrie Feller - Damage Orbit
Hexa frontwoman Carrie Feller returned to her roots as a solo performer with this brooding, stunning EP. Damage Orbit is a giallo film soundtrack with drum machines. Yet, despite the icy tones, it features some of the most personal and intimate songwriting of Feller’s catalog.
Neutral Shirt - DAISYWORLD
I’ll always love earnest indie pop, and it’s been a long time since I’ve heard a band as pure as Neutral Shirt. DAISYWORLD has the same bright-eyed optimism—and catchiness—as Weezer’s debut album. It’s also full of San Diego references, which rules.
Miss New Buddha - The Situation is Excellent
Abrasive, angular and smart—Miss New Buddha’s debut full-length everything I want from a post-punk record. The songwriting on The Situation is Excellent is, well, excellent, and I’m constantly in awe (jealous) of how the band accomplished this feat.
Really Bad Music For Really Bad People
Tribute albums are usually more novelty than novel, but Three One G’s tribute to The Cramps takes exciting and bold risks with the source material. It’s hard to compete with the raw danger of The Cramps, but some of these covers (e.g. Retox’s “Garbageman” and Child Bite’s “TV Set”) actually make them scarier.
Best other albums
clipping. - Visions of Bodies Being Burned
Hip-hop group clipping. put out my favorite album this year. Visions of Bodies Being Burned is fucking terrifying. The songs—many of which reference horror movies—sound like they were conjured from a haunted Ouija board. “Check The Lock” is the smoothest song about paranoia ever written.
Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher
I’m gonna go ahead and say Phoebe Bridgers likely saved 2020. We were all feeling sad, but then Destroyer came out and made it okay to feel sad.
Destroyer - Have We Met
I feel super cool and pretentious when I listen to Destroyer, which is a way better feeling than mopey helplessness. Whenever I found myself doomscrolling, I would throw on “It Just Doesn’t Happen,” and negative emotions just felt, like, beneath me.
Best movies
The Nest
There are few horrors as potent as domesticity-gone-bad. When smooth-talking businessman Jude Law uproots his family and moves them to a dilapidated mansion in England, the fissures in his marriage erupt. Actress Carrie Coon steals the show as Law’s wife, whose descent into IDGAF recklessness is both horrifying and darkly funny.
The Sound of Metal
No movies this year affected me as much as this movie about a drummer who begins to lose his hearing.I reviewed this for San Diego Union-Tribune, so go read that.
Host
I’m still amazed by Host. Set during the pandemic (!), the hour-long film follows a group of friends who hold a virtual seance over Zoom, and it’s the scariest film I’ve seen in a long time. Sorry for using the cliche, but Host is a fantastic example of artists turning lemons into lemonade.
Best Books
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
I read a lot of gnarly literature, but no book has made me flinch like Jones’ tense novel about revenge, redemption, and killer deer women. At one point while reading it, I actually gasped. Buy it here.
The Return by Rachel Harrison
When Julie disappears, her three friends believe that she’s dead. Two years later, she returns with no memory of what happened to her, and the gang celebrates by booking a trip at a strange, secluded hotel (as you do). The book is very spooky and gets delightfully gross at the end, but it’s also an understated and pointed look at how friendships evolve and erode as we get older. Buy it here.
This Is The End of Something But It’s Not the End of You by Adam Gnade
This touching, poetic novel is like if Kerouac focused on Southern California. Gnade’s writing is big-hearted and makes me happy to be alive. Buy it here.
Kent State by Derf Backderf
Backderf’s comic My Friend Dahmer is one of my favorite books of the past 10 years, but I might like Kent State better. The thoroughly-researched epic puts human faces on the tragedy that, in many ways, mirrored what we saw happen regarding police violence during the BLM uprisings this summer. Essential reading. Buy it here.
The Kelping by Jan Stinchcomb
Super weird (in a good way), and very engaging. It's like reading an R-rated Goosebumps. Loved it. Buy it here.
Got a tip or wanna say hi? Email me at ryancraigbradford@gmail.com, or follow me on Twitter @theryanbradford. And if you like what you’ve just read, please hit that little heart icon at the end of the post.
Julia Dixon Evans edited this post. Thanks, Julia. Go follow her on Twitter.