The Top Cultural Finds We Consumed In 2025 – That Weren't New This Year.
Entering the holiday season, this is traditionally the season for lists. Many outlets have already begun publishing their comprehensive favorite selections for this year. At the same time, social media feeds overflow with individual playlist wraps, featuring recent features like a "listening age" that can reveal some surprising facts about our musical tastes.
However, there is certainly no shame in pausing away from the endless flow of fresh content to revisit several overlooked or celebrated creations originating in years past. Thus, this guide highlights some excellent non-2025 entertainment our contributors watched, heard, devoured or enjoyed during this year.
Movies
Fueled by a renewed passion for vintage movies through communities such as Letterboxd and popular podcasts, revival houses are having a significant moment. An exceptional cinematic trip was watching Jean-Pierre Melville's iconic film Le Samouraï, with the impeccably stylish French icon Delon navigating the streets of Paris in a cinema. Also remarkable was a first-time viewing of the acclaimed director's The Lost Weekend, a picture that's enjoyed a viewing bump due to recent Academy Awards triumphs.
This year that was notable for auteur Linklater, an insightful return was made to his early work Slacker felt necessary. This film offers a meandering walk through the Austin of Texas, featuring an array of defiantly odd yet idle characters. A movie truly cherished in one's younger days, the concern that the appeal could be lost turned out to be groundless. It remains totally captivating, creating a world you long to step into. GM
Small Screen
In a period dominated by a certain coming-of-age series, an encounter involved a classic show from the UK: Jake's Progress, the playwright's 1995 drama about a troubled middle-class household dealing with a pyromaniac child. Although decidedly of its era – featuring theatrical acting and an sweeping score – it remains highly gripping and true to the writer's Bleasdale's work, it avoids simple answers choosing instead something perceptive and real.
Additionally, while earlier deep dives have covered the rich library of historical documentaries accessible, a final slightly older film warrants a spotlight: the S4C doc Ffa Coffi Pawb! Technically aired mere days before the beginning of the new year, it provides an exhaustive and fascinating account of a DIY, fiercely independent Welsh language cultural explosion that arose during the eighties. The film also highlights the origins of musician a Welsh icon. Historical clips is fantastic, featuring live performances in small venues and charming youthful chat show moments. GM
Audio
Occasionally, a surprising places yield musical discoveries. Reading an article by an indie label boss about the struggles within the business introduced an excellent album from the label's early days: Drunk's A Derby Spiritual (from the nineties), a backwoods acoustic record existing somewhere between artists like Will Oldham & another cult act. A stark fact regarding the financial reality for obscure artists emerged: the album has reportedly earned a paltry amount from streaming over many years.
In other listening, the release from 70s icons Witch led to a deep dive into their earlier heyday. Their self-titled release before a stylistic shift is filled with superb, summery, psychedelic-influenced tunes. And, the most effective "needle drop" in a movie recently occurred in a popular movie, where Steely Dan's Dirty Work accompanied a very stoned individual attending a parent-teacher meeting. Given these choices, one's estimated "audio vintage" would surely be stuck around a bygone decade. GM
Reading
Lately at long last provided the chance to read Self-Help, the acclaimed literary work from American writer Lorrie Moore which established her critical acclaim. Wry, incisive and brilliantly witty, {Moore's collection|the book|
