I’d like to share with you a playlist of my favorite songs from 2024. It was a year filled with outstanding new music. We saw major releases from legendary artists like David Gilmour, The Cure, and Nick Cave, as well as newer acts that have captured my imagination, such as the K-Pop girl group aespa. We even witnessed the unexpected comeback of Linkin Park. I’m curious to see if 2025 has even the slightest chance of topping this.
This playlist was compiled based on the statistics from my personal Apple Music account, automatically generated from the songs I listened to the most throughout the year. I must admit, I’m somewhat surprised by how much K-Pop has infiltrated my life, which in retrospect seems a bit hard to believe.
Listening to each of these songs again brings back so many memories of what I was doing when I first listened to them repeatedly. Here are some comments:
“Full Moon Full Life”, the main theme from the video game Persona 3: Reload, I think was my most cherished song of the year. It accompanied me through some very tough and personal moments. Listening to it again makes me vividly remember those times (and the game on PS5) in a very special way.
“unravel”, the cover by the incredible Ado of the popular song by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure, which I find brilliant. It might even surpass the original. Not only one of the best songs of the year but one of the most emotionally intense pieces I’ve ever heard in my life.
On the other hand, there’s “Conversion” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, which has such an intense ending that I feel like I’m entering a religious trance when I listen to it.
And then there’s “TIPI-TAP”, a somewhat silly K-Pop song that I discovered thanks to a comment on one of my Instagram posts. I have to admit, I really enjoy this song. It reminds me of the music from some JRPG video games.
Finally, “An Ocean Of Strange Islands”, by Nightwish was, by far, the most impressive song of the year for me, probably due to its complexity and arrangements.
Anyway, we’ll see what new music this year brings. For now, I have high expectations for some upcoming releases, like Lisa from K-Pop’s Blackpink with her solo debut album, and especially Dream Theater’s new album, which features the return of their original drummer, Mike Portnoy, after more than a decade away.
Happy New Year 2025!
