Things Ade Made (and Consumed) in 2024
My year end wrap-up and music/book recommendations
The end of the year is here and it’s time to reflect on things before starting a new chapter. When I do this I like to put things in two categories: things I made and things I consumed.
When you look back at the things you make it’s natural to look at the successes and downplay the things that didn’t work. My advice if you do this exercise is to appreciate everything (even if you don’t publish the misses in your public lists). Because we learn from every experiment and have very little control over how the world receives our work. We do it for OURSELVES first and let the “trees fall in the forest” when we’re done.
Let’s do this…
Part 1: Things I Made
About 100 Videos
I put greater emphasis on video this year. In fact between my shorts and longer format videos I posted about 100 in total. This will continue next year. Here’s my YouTube channel so you can watch me evolve.
Apple Slice Thermal Prints
This Instagram reel was a surprise breakthrough, gaining more views, likes, and followers than anything else I did all year. Here’s a link to the short, but there is also a 30 minute demo for anyone who really wants to understand the process.
Inner Demons Kickstarter
I launched my second Kickstarter, an art project where I used my thermal paper technique to create collages of assorted faces. The process was like a Rorschach test so I called the faces that emerged my “Inner Demons.” By the time it was done I had mailed out around 500 prints to friends and fans. Not a particularly lucrative project but that’s not why we do these things.
Copland-isqatsi
This was another surprise breakthrough. I was reading The Rest is Noise (see my book recommendations below) and there was a paragraph comparing a 1939 documentary The City with music by Aaron Copland to Koyaanisqatsi with music by Philip Glass. Before I knew it I was editing a mashup of the two films. You can watch Copland-isqatsi here.
User Zero Released for Free on Substack
I’m still experimenting with how to get traction for my self-published book, User Zero. Free is one strategy, and that’s why I released it on Substack over the course of 25 weeks. It’s available in print on Amazon but you can read it entirely online through Substack if you start here.
Etsy Store
I added more art to my Etsy store this year. I have been more focused on giving my prints away for free, but it’s nice to have a standalone store in case someone wants to buy something. This is currently the easiest way for people to own my original art.
Social Media
I finally accepted the changes in the social media landscape and have been adapting my strategy accordingly. It’s an algorithm-driven world. I don’t have to like it but if I don’t want to be invisible I can’t ignore it. This deserves a post by itself, but here are the places where I post things if you don’t already follow me.
YouTube
Instagram
X
TikTok (Ugh.)
That wraps up the things “Made by Ade.” Now on to the things I consumed…
Part 2: Things I Consumed
I am not going to give reviews of everything here. If it is on the list it’s because I like it. Your mileage may vary. To me the value of these lists is that they might expose you to something you haven’t heard of. So if you see something unfamiliar consider giving it a try.
I guess I should also mention that I didn’t put movies or shows on this list. It was hard to have the attention for full-length movies. Everything I watched was pretty much the same as everyone else so I don’t feel like I can add much. (Except for Ripley, which I tell everyone about because it is great).
New Music:
Oh Smokey by Clem Snide
Suntub by ML Buch
Ghosts by Hania Rani
Mahal by Glass Beams
Jubilee by Cindy Lee
Infinite Health by Tycho
Wall of Eyes and Cutouts by The Smile
Everything is Alive by Slowdive
Hadsel by Beirut
Rosemary Hill by Sixpence None the Richer
Old Music
My collection of tapes grew significantly this year. Here are some great thrift store finds and record store treasures that I found this year.
On Every Street by Dire Straits
Vulture Culture by The Alan Parsons Project
Glassworks by Philip Glass
Best of Bee Gees
Rarities by The Beach Boys
Spectres by Blue Oyster Cult
Life’s Rich Pageant by R.E.M.
There Goes Rhymin’ Simon by Paul Simon
About Face by David Gilmour
Blue Album by Weezer
Moondance by Van Morrison
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Non-Fiction Books
The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron
Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg
The Rest is Noise by Alex Ross
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
Your Erroneous Zones by Wayne Dyer
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay
Fiction Books
The Dark forest and Death’s End by Liu Cixin
The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
1984 (Audible dramatized adaptation) by George Orwell and Joe White
Side note: My secret for reading is a simple system. I listen to audio books on my bike rides around Loveland. There is also a mental hack at play here. I used to think audio books were cheating. And I’m cheap so it was hard to justify “paying extra” for audio versions. Once I intentionally forgave myself for both these excuses my reading output greatly increased. Try it if you wish you could read more.
With that let’s close the door on 2024 and get ready for great things in 2025. It’s really great to have you on my email list. If you have books/music/show recommendations I’d love to hear them. Thanks for reading. Stay creative.
Your friend,
Ade