As Tori Amos once sang, it’s been a Pretty Good Year, 2025 – for me at least. The highlight would have to be the trip I took to Europe with my sister Glenys in October. But I would have to say, it was pretty stressful at times. I was the planner, the navigator, the tour guide, and it took its toll. I had a good time (we both did), but have to admit I was relieved when it was over. On the homefront, I’m still enjoying my job in the field of library work, which gives me such a sense of satisfaction and completeness. But I’ve realised lately that sense of satisfaction is making me lazy. There are a lot of projects I want to do, and haven’t been doing them. Maybe a New Years resolution will be I have to try. On a related note, this was the year I put a halt to my weekly diary entries in this blog, which seemed like the right thing to do. I felt like I’d achieved my purpose with them and it was time to move on. So I freed up some time and, apart from work and the Europe trip, didn’t do a whole lot. I just wanted to be. You might say it was an existential year for me. Which is not to say there wasn’t a whole lotta pop culture goodness to explore; because there was. And I did. Here’s some of the best of it.
Films
The surprise breakout hit of the year was surely Kpop Demon Hunters. I of course latched onto it early because of its Twice connection, and once I saw it I couldn’t stop recommending it to friends and colleagues. But it wasn’t for everyone. I remember one such colleague, Juliet, who’s a heavy metal fan, saying it was probably too ‘wholesome’ for her. She eventually saw it and, yep, it was. (“That’s two hours of my life I won’t get back,” she complained.) But most, uh, sensible people succumbed to its charms, which included a banging soundtrack and top notch animation. Wake Up Dead Man, from the Knives Out franchise, was a surprise late hit for me. Ingenious Agatha Christie-like plot, and Daniel Craig completely obliterating our memories of his turn as James Bond. On the flight over to London I got to see the Ya Boy Kongming! Movie. It was fun, but a little so-so, have to admit. But jet lag 
might have had something to do with that! Just a week after seeing Twice in concert I got to see the documentary Twice: One In a Million, which was a celebration of their tenth anniversary together. I was surprised it even got a cinema run, but admittedly it was a short one (three days). I joined a handful of Onces in a cinema for the opening night, and we had a ball. Jurassic Park Rebirth was basically rubbish with one of the worst opening scenes I’ve ever seen. But the story was straightforward, it didn’t hammer the moral too much (ie: genetic experimentation not a good idea, guys), and the dinosaurs knew (mostly) who to eat (ie: the bad guys). What can I say? I like dinosaurs and Scajo.
- Guilty Pleasure: Jurassic Park Rebirth
- Personal Obscure Pic: Twice: One In a Million
- Objective Best of Contenders: Kpop Demon Hunters, Wake Up Dead Man
- In Flight Special: Ya Boy Kongming! The Movie
Music
I’ve enjoyed many fabulous music releases this year, especially in Kpop. My favourites, Twice, have put out three full albums this year, plus a wonderful solo from member Chaeyoung, and kicked off their world tour, which I saw in November! All four Blackpink members released solo albums or EPs this year, and I think they were really good. In fact I enjoyed them more than their Blackpink material. Aespa had a fairly quiet year with just a couple of singles and the Rich Man EP, but it had some nice tracks. But I would say Nmixx had the best 
year of all. They had commercial success with Blue Valentine and critical acclaim with High Horse, which topped a few critics polls for best song. I even saw them in concert this year. I can’t really pick a best album of the year, but I will narrow it down to Twice’s This Is For, Chaeyoung’s Lil Fantasy and Nmixx’s Blue Valentine. Best song was Seesaw, an unassuming little track at the end of Twice’s This Is For, with a killer melody that I couldn’t get enough of. But it wasn’t all Kpop. The Kinks released the comp The Journey Part 3 this year, which contained a terrific concert disc Live At the Royal Albert Hall, 1993. Particularly great version of I’m Not Like Everybody Else, and Ray (Davies) is so funny. Then Stereolab released a great album, Instant Holograms on Metal Film. It was their first new album in over fifteen years, and may well be their best. (I’ll be seeing them live soon). Then we got a new Robert Forster album, Strawberries, yet another gem from the ex-Go Between. Completing the Australian connection, there was also the three LP compilation set As Seen On TV by Jack Frost that I bought at the concert. A deep dive of indie goodness.
Albums
- Lil Fantasy Vol One, by Twice Chaeyoung
- Blue Valentine, by Nmixx
- Fe304: Forward, by Nmixx
- This Is For, by Twice
- Enemy, by Twice
- Ten: the Story Goes On, by Twice
- Kpop Demon Hunters Soundtrack
- Rich Man, by Aespa
- AlterEgo, by Blackpink Lisa
- Ruby, by Blackpink Jennie
- Amortage, by Blackpink Jisoo
- Rosie, by Blackpink Rose
- Nebula Romance, by Perfume
- Longing, by Dusty Springfield
- The Journey Part 3, by The Kinks
- Instant Holograms On Metal Film, by Stereolab
- Strawberries, by Robert Forster
- As Seen On TV – Jack Frost
Songs
- Seesaw, by Twice
- BF, by Chaeyoung
- Ribbons, by Chaeyoung
- Blue Valentine, by Nmixx
- High Horse, by Nmixx
- Options, by Twice
- Just Two Girls, by Wolf Alice
- ATM, by Twice Jihyo
- Dive In by Twice Tzuyu
- Message, by Misamo
- What It Sounds Like, by Huntrix
- Takedown, by JiJeongChae
- Two Years, by Blackpink Rose
- Your Love, by Blackpink Jisoo
- Rapunzel, by Blackpink Lisa
- Seoul City, by Blackpink Jennie
- Thunder, by Blackpink Lisa
- Start a War, by Blackpink Jennie
- Dirty Work, by Aespa
- Rich Man, by Aespa
- This Is For, by Twice
- Human Factory, by Perfume
- Angel #48, by Aespa
- To the Girls, by Aespa
- Glow, by Twice
- Like One, by Twice
- I’m Not Like Everybody Else, by The Kinks
- La Coeur Et La Force, by Stereolab
- In the Winter, by Dusty Springfield
- Providence, by Jack Frost
- Such a Shame, by Robert Forster
Concerts/Theatre/Video
Just a few weeks after the Europe trip I saw Twice on their This Is For tour at Rod Laver Arena – my second time seeing them there. They were, as usual, fantastic. I even got to see them do their sound check – and about half of the stadium was already filled, just for that! The only down side was Chaeyoung couldn’t make it due to illness. There were other great concerts, too. Another Kpop group I love, Nmixx, I saw at Festival Hall earlier in the year. 
And I finally got to see symphonic metal band Within Temptation live at the Knotfest festival, along with Baby Metal from Japan. It was epic. It was just a pity I missed out on the solo show they did after at Max Watts. On the local scene, I saw Steve Kilbey of The Church doing a special Jack Frost gig at the Brunswick Ballroom. I’m seeing him with The Church next year. I saw Justin Hayward, of the Moody Blues, in Cardiff. It was part of his Forever Autumn tour and may be 
his last. Just a few days before the gig I got word about the death of his Moody Blues bandmate, John Lodge. Justin acknowledged this and his other bandmates who had passed during the concert. I also checked out a fabulous cabaret called Crazy Horse in Paris. I found out about this one when Blackpink Lisa performed in it last year. Very cool – much cooler than Moulin Rouge! And I’d been dying to see the theatrical production of Wicked, and got to see it at the Victoria Apollo in London. Best video wasn’t a music video but a Youtube documentary featuring Nmixx visiting Australian member Lily’s hometown of Marysville in Victoria. This was filmed the day before the concert in Melbourne and I loved it to bits, especially the visit to Lily’s old Primary School where the children got to hug the members. Plans are afoot for visits to the other members’ hometowns. I can’t wait.
- Within Temptation/Baby Metal
- Nmixx
- Jack Frost
- Justin Hayward
- Twice
- Wicked
- Crazy Horse Cabaret
- Nmixx Welcome To Lilyland
Books
A very mixed bag of reading this year. As usual, there was way too much non fiction and manga. I finally got to read JG Ballard’s Concrete island, a book I bought at the Portobello Road Market. It was my main reading for the entire Europe trip and somehow managed to echo my own sense of dislocation about where I was. When I got my hire car in London I considered driving to the concrete island where the main character is stranded for a look, if it still existed, but time and our plans were against me. Another fascinating Ballard book. Gael Baudino’s Spires of Spirit collection introduced me to the idea of modern elves and I really liked her concept of people being latent elves. Her writing reminded me of the next author, Ursula Le Guin, whose classic A Wizard of Earthsea got a 
fantastic graphic novel treatment by Ben Fordham. This was awesome, beautifully drawn and interpreted, and I hope Fordham gives a similar graphic novel treatment to at least the next two books in the series. I read another James Bond novel, Diamonds Are Forever, which was okay, but it’s the female James Bond, namely Modesty Blaise, whose first novel I enjoyed more. Whereas Bond is a loner, Modesty is linked to Willie Garvin, and that amazing relationship grounds her and gives her more humanity. I finally completed my Urusei Yatsura manga collection this year (all 34 volumes!) and read the final volumes, which were wonderful. Lum didn’t get her wedding to Ataru, but mangaka Rumiko left us in no doubt that the two were gonna remain together for quite some time. The two Your Name mangas I read were very interesting alternate takes of the Makoto Shinkai film, filling in the gaps between what happens on screen.
- Spires of Spirit – Gael Baudino
- A Wizard of Earthsea (graphic novel) – Ben Fordham
- Modesty Blaise – Peter O’Donnell
- Concrete Island – JG Ballard
- The Watchmaker of Filigree Street – Natasha Pulley
- Urusei Yatsura (manga) – Rumiko Takahashi
- Your Name Vols 1, 2 (manga) – Jjunya Nakamura/Makoto Shinkai
- Falling In Love With the Future – Rob Hopkins
Epilogue
On the political news front, it was fun to see the Labour Party completely demolish the idiot opposition Liberal Party in the Australian election. It was also fun to see the MSM’s bewilderment at the result. Both the Libs and the MSM haven’t realised it, but the rest of us have moved on. We’re not buying any of their conservative, climate science-denying, pro-Zionist bullshit. Elsewhere, in Trump’s America and Gaza and Ukraine and other places, things weren’t such fun. I worry about the future. With the US sabre-rattling over the coming loss of its hegemony to China, the rest of the world wondering which side to take, and the prospect of AI growing ever stronger in the background, the future doesn’t look great. I’m reading a book called How To Fall In Love With the Future. The author Rob Hopkins has written it to foster some sense of positivity and optimism about the future. I want to believe it, I long to travel to that better future he speaks of, but I don’t know if we can get there. We can only hope, we can only long for it. You know, Dusty Springfield recorded an album called Longing in 1974. It did not get released at the time because she didn’t think it was good enough. It finally got released this year. And it was good.
