Wednesday, January 26, 2022 — 5
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
2021 was the year artists pulled out the
big guns. Some of the industry’s heaviest
hitters released albums that will undoubt-
edly become classics in the years to come.
In addition, many new and lesser-known
artists exploded onto the scene last year
with groundbreaking releases. While in no
particular order, here is a short list of what
The Michigan Daily’s very own music writ-
ers believe to be the ten best albums released
in 2021.
— Kai Bartol, Music Beat Editor, and Rosa
Sofia Kaminski, Senior Arts Editor
CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, Tyler,
the Creator
After the career milestone of IGOR, hype
surrounding Tyler, the Creator’s newest
album was skyrocketing, and he certainly
did not disappoint. Guiding us through
another weird and wonderful world was his
newest alter-ego, Sir Baudelaire.
While not as fiery and passionate as
IGOR, Tyler takes on a more relaxed tone: In
a sense, he’s made it, and now he’s just flex-
ing. The features on the album show again
how Tyler is still one of the best collabora-
tors in rap right now: The standout track
“HOT WIND BLOWS” featured a shining
verse from Lil Wayne, one of his best in a
while. All of Tyler’s best qualities are pres-
ent in this album, with Tyler himself hav-
ing grown more mature and self-reflective.
Tyler already has a hell of a career to look
back on, and I can’t wait to see what he has in
store for the future.
— Jason Zhang, Daily Arts Writer
An Evening With Silk Sonic, Silk Sonic
In an era of pop music where artists often
seem content to rehash the best (and worst)
elements of the 1980s, Bruno Mars and
Anderson .Paak’s decision to look even fur-
ther backward and fully embrace the 1970s
immediately distinguishes An Evening with
Silk Sonic — their debut record together as
Silk Sonic.
Of course, Silk Sonic is also distinguished
by Mars and .Paak’s unparalleled vocal abili-
ties, which were showcased on the album’s
electrifying lead-up singles. But what makes
An Evening with Silk Sonic so special is the
quality of the project beyond those singles.
The whole album is masterfully produced
and features powerful backing instrumen-
tals that perfectly capture different emo-
tions, from the playful wah-wah guitar on
“Fly As Me” to the somber strings on “Put
On A Smile.”
Unlike Mars’s previous music — which,
let’s face it, tends to lose its impact once FM
radio stations and grocery stores start play-
ing it on loop — the little details of An Eve-
ning with Silk Sonic keep it fresh and make it
even better with each listen, just like the leg-
endary soul and funk music that inspired it.
— Jack Moeser, Daily Arts Writer
Red (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift
Red (Taylor’s Version) was one of the most
anticipated albums of 2021, and it lived up to
its expectations. Composed of re-recordings
from Swift’s 2012 Red plus ten bonus tracks
“from the vault,” Red (Taylor’s Version)
smashed streaming records, becoming the
most-streamed album in one day by a female
artist, with over 90.8 million streams on Spo-
tify.
“All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Tay-
lor’s Version) (From The Vault),” a fan favor-
ite off the album, also set the record for the
longest number one song on the Billboard
Hot 100, overtaking Don McLean’s “Ameri-
can Pie.” The celebration of Swift’s release
was felt everywhere, with watch parties for
the “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” short
film across the U.S. and even a shoutout from
the Empire State Building, which lit up red to
celebrate the album.
Red (Taylor’s Version), Swift’s second
re-recorded album in her mission to regain
ownership of her music, marks an important
shift in discussions of intellectual property
and record deals, giving hope to other artists
who have also suffered losses at the hands of
record companies.
— Kaitlyn Fox, Daily Arts Writer
Promises, Floating Points
When it was first announced that the
supergroup of Floating Points’s Sam Shep-
herd, Pharoah Sanders and the London Sym-
phony Orchestra would be colliding forces to
produce a record, there weren’t many people
without high expectations. For one, it would
be Pharaoh Sanders’s first album in decades.
Add to that Floating Points’s excellent recent
releases and the ingredients seem all laid out
for a high-quality project.
Even so, I’m not convinced there were
many people that predicted the heights that
the final product would reach. It doesn’t
feel right to call Promises a classical piece,
despite the prominent and climactic pres-
ence of the London Symphony Orchestra. If
anything, it acts more like an ambient record,
with each movement building off of the same
motif throughout. Even though Sam Shep-
herd’s compositional acumen was already at
a high level, the fact that he was also able to
unlock the fullest potential of his collabora-
tors truly speaks to his progression as a musi-
cal arranger.
The real star here, however, is Pharaoh
Sanders’s saxophone work, some of his
most challenging and legendary to date. He
effectively acts as the textural centerpiece
to the project, perfectly utilizing his signa-
ture discordant sound and even his voice
to puncture through the mystic serenity of
Shepherd’s production. This truly feels like
the final jewel in the crown for Sanders. In
any case, Promises certainly delivers on its
namesake.
— Drew Gadbois, Daily Arts Writer
I Know I’m Funny haha, Faye Webster
Atlanta musician Faye Webster harnesses
her sadness on I Know I’m Funny haha with
the smoothness of a summertime breeze,
charged with a golden mixture of warmth
and melancholy.
Underneath coaxing vocals and steel gui-
tar twangs, Webster’s lyrics are imbued with
subtle humor and a kind of unhurried hones-
ty you might find in a diary entry. She jumps
from tales of mind-numbing boredom at the
absence of a love interest on “Better Distrac-
tions” to the sting of unrequited romance
with professional athletes on “A Dream With
a Baseball Player” with unbridled vulner-
ability. Webster doesn’t just write sad songs
on I Know I’m Funny haha; she fleshes out
these moments of romantic conflict with full
understanding of love’s inherent awkward-
ness and unexpected joys.
Webster’s evergreen transparency is
refreshing and what makes this record a
mainstay in my rotation. She finds her fair
share of roadblocks and tears throughout
the project’s 11 tracks but never loses sight of
her own journey of self-growth. I Know I’m
Funny haha is a soulful navigation of love
and growing up, whose sincerity undoubt-
edly solidifies the album as timeless.
— Nora Lewis, Daily Arts Writer
Planet Her, Doja Cat
Doja Cat’s second album, Planet Her, was
the perfect record to solidify Doja’s spot as a
top artist in the music industry.
While viral songs like “MOOO!” and “Say
So” made Doja a household name, Planet
Her defined her as a talented singer, rapper
and performer, even without the memes and
TikTok dances. Songs like “Need To Know,”
“Kiss Me More” and “Get Into It (Yuh)”
trended on TikTok, but where most TikTok
trends tend to get old quickly, these tracks
remained just as good after they went viral.
Watching Doja Cat perform Planet Her at
various music festivals in the fall of 2021 was
mesmerizing; Doja knows how to control an
audience through being a raw, real person
and having a stage presence that can hypno-
tize anyone. Planet Her is a perfect mixture
of pop perfection and rap, and Doja’s eight
Grammy nominations for the record are
more than well deserved.
— Gigi Ciulla, Daily Arts Writer
The Melodic Blue, Baby Keem
Following two well-received mixtapes
in the past three years, Las Vegas-raised
Baby Keem’s debut studio album provides
an opportunity for the 21-year-old to assert
himself as one of rap’s future power players.
Keem definitely has the benefit of a little
bit of nepotism, as his cousin (and, in this
writer’s opinion, best rapper alive) Kend-
rick Lamar features on three of the album’s
tracks. The sheer talent of both artists is
apparent on these high-quality tracks, with
“family ties,” serving as a two-faced exercise
in brilliance with its dueling beats. Keem
makes great use of collaborators all across
the album, another highlight being Brent
Faiyaz’s saccharine verse on “lost souls.”
Keem doesn’t just lean back on his features,
though. His output on these songs either
matches or exceeds the quality of the other
artists, but his solo moments in the spotlight
shine as well, such as “16.” If rap fans weren’t
convinced before, The Melodic Blue should
be a sufficient signal that Baby Keem is com-
ing, and not much can stop him.
— Ryan Brace, Daily Arts Writer
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, Little
Simz
Little Simz has been in the music game
for quite some time, but Sometimes I Might
Be Introvert has solidified her place in the
industry.
Simz lets her listeners into her world, and
there are many intimate moments that allow
this album to shine. It listens like a memoir,
as Simz finds the balance between universal-
ity and specificity to her life experience. Simz
creates space for introspection on tracks like
“I Love You, I Hate You” while balancing it
through moments of gratitude and celebra-
tion on “Woman” and “Point and Kill.”
Sometimes I Might Be Introvert proves
that success and a standing ovation from the
world do not mean being in some grand per-
formance or character. Simz remains true to
her introverted self and creates an anthem
for all of us who would rather stay home all
day.
— Katy Trame, Daily Arts Writer
Vulture Prince, Arooj Aftab
Arooj Aftab’s Vulture Prince deserves a
spot on any “Best of 2021” lists. The album
from the Brooklyn-based Pakistani compos-
er spans an impressive number of styles and
influences while managing to stay cemented
in Aftab’s breathtaking vocals and impossi-
bly lush instrumentation.
She reaches out suddenly, as the first track
“Baghon Main” tunes our ears to a cham-
ber of plucking harps and the slow burn of
Aftab’s silky vocals, and holds you until the
very second the music stops. Without losing
our attention for a second, Aftab lulls us with
each track, bringing us to shattering peaks
and crystal clear lows. Her vocal range is as
impressive as the range of instruments and
musical traditions that make their way onto
the album.
The influences vary from Hindustani
classical, to minimalism, to vocal jazz, invok-
ing the likes of Billie Holiday and dub-reg-
gae on “Last Night.” The comfort, warmth,
chill, emotion and unrelenting charm of
Aftab as a vocalist only heighten the pro-
found moments of lyricism and composi-
tion. Devoted to the memory of her younger
brother, Vulture Prince is a confession of sto-
ries, of lost moments and of love. You would
be pressed to find music released this year as
captivating and as immediately beautiful as
this.
Last year, the slow return to movie the-
aters coincided with the Streaming Renais-
sance, making movies more accessible than
ever. From long-awaited returns from two
of Hollywood’s foremost Andersons (Paul
Thomas and Wes), to boundary-pushing
international features you may have missed,
to stage-to-screen adaptations (good and
bad), 2021 was a great year for movies. In
no particular order, here are the Film Beat’s
ten favorite movies of 2021.
— Jacob Lusk, Film Beat Editor and
Katrina Stebbins, Senior Arts Editor
“Licorice Pizza”
In the past few years of tumult, I have
wondered about change. I am changing, you
are changing, we are all new versions of the
people we’ve since discarded. All too rare-
ly do I think about the forces behind that
change — my own agency or just the world
slowly roiling to shit — nor do I sit down
and reflect, ponder how change happens or
where it has left me.
“Licorice Pizza” performed something of
a miracle in that it allowed me to experience
the course of my own enjoyment chang-
ing, welling up even moments after I saw
it. Maybe it’s just me, but this isn’t a very
pleasant film. It’s bright and loud and curi-
ous and maybe even a little hopeful at times,
but it’s tough and queasy and sour too. Only
after the credits rolled could I breathe a sigh
of relief and accept a kind of nostalgia that
can whisk away the darkness.
This is all to say: Maybe we have no
control over the people we will become
tomorrow or how content they’ll be. No
more control than Gary (Cooper Hoffman,
debut) as he watches his waterbed business
crumble as the oil crisis sends the cost of
rubber mattresses through the roof. That
isn’t to say there aren’t little joys all around
us worth celebrating. A hug from a crush,
or a friend, or someone complicatedly both.
The kinetic rush of a six-wheeler, out of gas
and trundling down the hilly Hollywood
streets. A kid actor, smashing a fluffy pillow
into the face of his obnoxious boss, live on
TV.
“Licorice Pizza” promises something I’ve
never considered: These flecks are invisible
to me right now. There is some happiness
that can only be uncovered when you look
back after the storm has beaten you down. I
hope you will look for them with me, some-
day.
— Anish Tamhaney, Daily Arts Writer
“West Side Story”
Adapting a classic is a tall order, but occa-
sionally you end up with the kind of film
that outdoes its source material. Following
the success of the 1957 stage production,
the original “West Side Story” screen adap-
tation has been beloved since its release
in 1961, but the film is also a relic of a time
when Hollywood’s greater vices, specifi-
cally brownface and whitewashing, ran
unchecked. In the 1961 film, the members of
the Sharks, the Puerto Rican gang in a turf
war with the white Jets, were primarily
played by white men in brown makeup; Rita
Moreno (“One Day at a Time”), who played
Anita and won a Best Supporting Actress
Oscar for her performance, recounted that
she was also given dark makeup despite
being Puerto Rican.
This new adaptation, helmed by Ste-
ven Spielberg (“Jaws”), offers a chance to
right those wrongs. It has all of the flashy
dance numbers and catchy tunes from the
original, but with new, thoughtful dimen-
sions to some of its previously overlooked
characters. Screenwriter Tony Kushner
(“Lincoln”) rearranges some songs to great
effect and gives stronger backstories and
purpose to members of both the Sharks
and Jets. Tensions between the gangs are
not framed as fundamental racial and cul-
tural differences; instead, the ever-looming
threat of the construction of Lincoln Cen-
ter and subsequent gentrification repre-
sent a wider sociopolitical context. The
Romeo and Juliet love story between Maria
(Rachel Zegler, debut) and Tony (Ansel
Elgort, “Baby Driver”), despite being a cata-
lyst for violence between the two gangs, is
less central to the film because the support-
ing characters are so engrossing. Ariana
DeBose (“The Prom”) in particular gives a
stunning performance as Anita: Don’t be
surprised if DeBose wins a Best Support-
ing Actress Oscar for Anita, 60 years after
Moreno won hers. This awards season
has already seen wins and numerous nods
for Zegler, DeBose and Moreno, as well as
Spielberg and Kushner.
Moreno is given a new opportunity in
the remake as Valentina, a replacement
for a peripheral character in the 1961 film.
As part of the change, Moreno’s character
sings the song “Somewhere” at one of the
emotional turning points of the film. While
the 1961 version of “Somewhere” is a lament
between Tony and Maria about their for-
bidden love, Moreno’s version is softer,
more universal — contemplating what
divides people, with the hope that someday
the world will change. It’s this energy and
reflection that makes “West Side Story” feel
like a more poignant, less problematic ver-
sion of the 1961 film, and that in and of itself
elevates it to one of the best films of the year.
— Kari Anderson, Daily Arts Writer
“Flee”
“Nary a more guttural noise has escaped
my lips.” I’m obnoxiously quoting myself.
That’s what I wrote about my reaction to
the film “Flee” when it premiered at Sun-
dance Film Festival last year, in regards to
the laughs and cries and laugh-cries the
film encouraged and carefully drew from
my lungs.
That was at the beginning of the year.
Many moons and many movies later and
“Flee” has not been ousted as the king of
kings of kings of movies this past year.
“Flee” reigns supreme and remains unflag-
gingly unique.
You’re more than likely unfamiliar with
“Flee,” for the simple fact that it has barely
graced the silver screen. Picked up by Neon
(they’re the guys that distributed “Para-
site”) after its smash premiere at Sundance,
it’s not yet available for streaming and is
only just making its way to theaters.
It’s got a number of things going for it. For
one, it’s a smashing story about real events
(the premise of trueness always ups the ante
a bit, eh?) in the life of Afghan refugee Amin
Nawabi — a documentary retelling of just
one example of what millions of displaced
and diasporic people have gone through.
And it’s this aspect of the film that justi-
fies its existence as not just a documentary
but an animated film. Amin Nawabi is a
pseudonym. Owing to his harried flight
from Afghanistan, his identity remains con-
cealed by the stylized touch of the animated
medium, simultaneously serving as a tool
to both obfuscate and augment the story as
it alternates between the rotoscoped-pre-
cision of a present-day Amin and the more
elemental renderings of his whiplashing
emotional state as his country-hopping past
is brought to life.
“Flee” is hitting the Michigan Theater
Jan. 28. Go see it.
— Jacob Lusk, Film Beat Editor
“Encanto”
As a proud Disney adult and admirer of
all things animation, “Encanto” became a
must-watch for me as soon as it was released
on Disney+. Like most Disney animated
films, “Encanto” features an incredibly
beautiful soundtrack with hits like “Sur-
face Pressure” and “We Don’t Talk About
Bruno” composed by Lin Manuel Miranda
(“In the Heights”). This, combined with the
colorful scenery of an animated Colombia,
makes for an experience that pleasantly
awakens all of the senses, and I didn’t want
it to end.
Watching the film on Christmas day
with my family reminded me of why movies
for all ages are so important (and difficult to
come by). “Encanto” pleases children with
its irresistible colors, music and a plot that’s
easy to follow. But it satisfies adults in a dif-
ferent way, with its ability to bring a fam-
ily together in one room and put a smile on
everyone’s faces. These shared experiences
are what, at least in my eyes, make films
special. “Encanto” is relatable to everyone
in some shape or form, reminding us that
there is something unique that makes each
person who they are. While it’s a strong
message for an impressionable audience of
younger children, it’s also a message adults
can benefit from after a year of more fre-
quent self-reflection than usual. We’ve all
questioned ourselves over the course of the
pandemic in some capacity as we look for
something hopeful to grasp onto. “Encan-
to” reminds us to keep searching. There are
always spontaneous moments of what feels
like magic embedded in our lives. We just
have to find and appreciate them.
— Laura Millar, Daily Arts Writer
“Titane”
I think of myself as something of a safe
consumer, a creature of habit. I know what
kinds of movies I like and I tend to stick
to them: coming-of-age tearjerkers, over-
blown period pieces, slow-going medita-
tions on everyday life, movie musicals. Most
of my favorite movies are ones I can sink
into slowly, that envelope me like a weight-
ed blanket.
But “Titane,” my favorite movie of 2021,
is absolutely none of those things. Direct-
ed by French filmmaker Julia Ducour-
nau (“Raw”) and last year’s winner of the
Palme d’Or, “Titane” is bold and audacious
and really fucking gross. Even if it’s also
strangely sweet at times, its goal is never to
comfort; it’s all sharp edges and emotional
whiplash, making it nearly impossible to
sink into (on the off chance you feel pos-
sessed to do that at all). Its main character
— a queer, binary-breaking anti-hero(ine) —
has sex with a car, becomes pregnant with
the car’s child, goes on a killing spree and
then assumes a new identity, all in under
two hours. It’s all gore and body horror and
unassailable weirdness, the kind of movie
you might watch, half shied-away, through
the spaces between your fingers, but find
impossible to fully turn away from. My jaw
dropped no more than fifteen minutes in,
and I couldn’t pick it up until well after the
credits rolled.
Take it from a self-proclaimed wuss
with a very low tolerance for gross things:
“Titane” is not for everyone. It can be a dif-
ficult watch, but it’s also a genius thing — a
forceful, raw confrontation of masculinity
and femininity, of family, of losing and find-
ing. It’s not for everyone but, then again, I
didn’t think it’d be for me. If I haven’t scared
you off completely, see “Titane” with an
open mind and know that whatever you’re
expecting won’t be even close to what you
get.
— Katrina Stebbins, Senior Arts Editor
“Annette”
“Annette” is the kind of film an artist
makes when they think they aren’t going to
make another. Leos Carax’s (“Holy Motors”)
latest masterpiece feels like a fever dream.
It is bizarre, depressing and intoxicating in
all the right ways. Where else can you see
a character singing while performing oral
sex, a cheesy parody of crass tabloid news
shows and a creepy wooden baby puppet
all in the same film? Adam Driver (“House
of Gucci”) gives one of the best perfor-
mances of his career, using his physicality
and presence to create a terrifying portrait
of a monster losing his mind. It’s the most
perfect post-“Star Wars” project he could
have picked — it destroys any notion that
he’s just Kylo Ren. Driver is one of the best
actors currently working, not just because
of his acting talent, but because he’s willing
to pick weird, challenging roles like this and
give them everything he has. Every choice
made in this film is a calculated swing for
the fences, and while some aspects don’t
totally work — like its uneven, nonsensical
plot — it is so refreshing to see a film go for it
all with such aplomb. People either seem to
adore or despise this film, and that’s really
the best compliment you can give it. It gen-
erates a strong reaction from its audience,
and it doesn’t care whether that’s good or
bad.
— Mitchel Green, Daily Arts Writer
The 10 Best Albums of 2021
The Top 10 Films of 2021
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