The best movies and music I saw/heard this year
A Read Max year-end roundup
Greetings from Read Max HQ, and welcome to our weekly roundup column! Usually in these newsletters I pick out some worthwhile and often overlooked books, articles, movies, and music to recommend to paying subscribers.
But this week we’re doing the first of two year-end round-up columns--this one focusing on the best movies and music I saw and heard this year, including:
The ten best movies I saw this year that didn’t come out this year!
22 of my favorite albums and EPs that don’t appear on the Pitchfork list!
The four stupidest movies I watched this year (complimentary)!
The best songs of 2025 featuring, produced, or co-written by Caroline Polachek!
A power ranking of Copenhagen Rhythmic Music Conservatory art-pop girlies!
The four movies I watched flying CDG-EWR on April 7, ranked!
If any of that sounds interesting--and if you want to support Read Max in its continuing mission of explaining the future to relatively normal people--please subscribe below. Subscribers get access to these weekly emails and to the comprehensive Read Max Master Lists of Good Movies to Watch and Good Books to Read--as well as preferred pricing on merchandise like the Read Max “EMAIL SUPPLY” caps. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you.
Now, the roundup:
