I’ve added the six movies that Rose Byrne picked in her Criterion Closet appearance:
An Unmarried Woman
Mulholland Dr.
Paris, Texas
Secrets & Lies
The Piano
Trainspotting
Rose Byrne made no original picks. This is why my Master List of Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet is so valuable.
The system of checks and balances among the branches of the US government has recently broken down. First we’ll look at how the Supreme Court has been imbalanced over time:
Associate Justice: Clarence Thomas, born 1948, Catholic, George H.W. Bush nominated, seated 1991
Chief Justice: John G. Roberts, Jr., born 1955, Catholic, George W. Bush nominated, seated 2005
Associate Justice: Samuel A. Alito, Jr., born 1950, Catholic, George W. Bush nominated, seated 2006
Associate Justice: Sonia Sotomayor, born 1954, Catholic, Barack Obama nominated, seated 2009
Associate Justice: Elena Kagan, born 1960, Jewish, Barack Obama nominated, seated 2010
Associate Justice: Neil M. Gorsuch, born 1967, Catholic, Donald Trump nominated, seated 2017
Associate Justice: Brett M. Kavanaugh, born 1965, Catholic, Donald Trump nominated, seated 2018
Associate Justice: Amy Coney Barrett, born 1972, Catholic, Donald Trump nominated, seated 2020
Associate Justice: Ketanji Brown Jackson, born 1970, Protestant, Joseph Biden, seated 2022
At the beginning of each year I make a playlist with 365 songs that I like, adding one a day until year-end. It’s available as a public playlist on Spotify that I’ve sorted chronologically from the most recently released songs to the earliest released songs. My musical taste is not only astonishingly good, but also incredibly eclectic. Enjoy!
I’ve added a year marker in bold to delineate every five year break before 2020.
Here are the selections for 2025, Artist | Song
Yuuf | Alma's Cove — 2025
The Circling Sun | Evening
spill tab | Assis
Soothsayers, Julia Biel | Love Is Still The Answer
Say She She | Shop Boy
Mae Powell | Tangerine
Little Barrie, Malcolm Catto | Electric War
Ken Pomeroy | Pareidolia
Kali Uchis | Sunshine & Rain...
John Glacier, Sampha | Ocean Steppin'
Ino Casablanca | DIMA RAVE
Hollie Cook | Shy Girl
Enji | Eejiinhee Hairaar
Emma-Jean Thackray | Where’d You Go
Dylan Earl | Broken Parts
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek | Yüz Yüze
Warpaint | Common Blue — 2024
Saya Gray | SHELL ( OF A MAN )
Pale Jay | The Simple Days
Okvsho | Con mis perros en la niebla
Nanna Millano | Can't Translate Saudade
Nancy Harrow | Dear Max
Kate Bollinger | Running
Jessica Pratt | By Hook or by Crook
Hermanos Gutiérrez | Sonido Cósmico
Charlotte Day Wilson | Dovetail
Zaho de Sagazan | Je rêve — 2023
The Faithful Brothers | Dance My Hurt Away
Nusantara Beat | Kota Bandung
Marta Del Grandi | Eye of the Day
Joe Yorke | Hopeless
Jenny Lewis | Puppy and a Truck
Jalen Ngonda | Give Me Another Day
J.E. Sunde | Glory, Gloria
Elli Ingram | Bad Behaviour
Bella White | Among Other Things
Vieux Farka Touré, Khruangbin | Diarabi — 2022
SZA | Kill Bill
Sababa 5 | Lizarb
Fai Baba | Rägeboge
Little Simz | No Merci
Jake Xerxes Fussell | In Florida
Danielle Ponder | Some Of Us Are Brave
Olivia Dean | Be My Own Boyfriend — 2021
Natalie Bergman | Home at Last
Meskerem Mees | Blue and White
Joy Crookes | Feet Don't Fail Me Now
Jorja Smith | Burn
Ayra Starr | Rush
Son Little | about her. again. — 2020
Pip Millett | Ava
Joy Denalane | The Ride
Fiona Apple | Ladies
Lianne La Havas | Can't Fight
Leyla McCalla | Me And My Baby
Arc De Soleil | Got Caught in Amsterdam
Jaz Karis | Petty Lover
Altın Gün | Goca Dünya
Portugal. The Man | Feel It Still
Julian Lage & Chris Eldridge | Greener Grass
Her's | Marcel
Pi Ja Ma | Radio Girl
Lake Street Dive | So Long
Mother Funk | Sunshine — 2015
Melody Gardot | Morning Sun
Ray LaMontagne | Ojai
Metronomy | Love Letters
Arctic Monkeys | Do I Wanna Know?
First Aid Kit | Emmylou
Willie Wright | Nantucket Island
The Budos Band | Nature's Wrath — 2010
Neko Case | People Got A Lotta Nerve
Dent May | College Town Boy
Youn Sun Nah | Jockey Full of Bourbon
Vampire Weekend | Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
Lightspeed Champion | Back To Black
Fleet Foxes | White Winter Hymnal
Black Kids | I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You
Richard Hawley | Tonight the Streets Are Ours
Moriarty | Jimmy
M. Ward | Chinese Translation
Lily Allen | Knock 'Em Out
James Hunter | No Smoke Without Fire
Camera Obscura | Lloyd, I'm Ready To Be Heartbroken
Amy Winehouse | Some Unholy War
Karim Baggili | Racset siti — 2005
Franz Ferdinand | Take Me Out
Alicia Keys | If I Ain't Got You
Feist | Mushaboom
Dido | White Flag
Soulive,Dave Matthews | Joyful Girl
Norah Jones | Nightingale
Morcheeba | Otherwise
Molly Johnson | Melody
Rufus Wainwright | Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk
Wu-Tang Clan | Gravel Pit — 2000
Titi Robin | L'amour s'envole
PJ Harvey | You Said Something
Eminem | Just Don't Give A Fuck
Pearl Jam | Last Kiss
The Magnetic Fields | I Don't Want to Get Over You
The High & Mighty, Mad Skillz, Mos Def | B-Boy Document '99
Shivaree | Goodnight Moon
Lemon | Mr Bongo, Pt. 1
Manu Chao | Bongo Bong
R.E.M. | Daysleeper
The Field Mice | Emma's House
Fatboy Slim | Praise You
Buena Vista Social Club | Chan Chan
Elliott Smith | Between the Bars
Thievery Corporation | Interlude
Janet Jackson | Together Again
Ernest Ranglin | Surfin'
Belle and Sebastian | Get Me Away from Here, I'm Dying
Erykah Badu | On & On
Björk | It's Oh So Quiet — 1995
Foo Fighters | Big Me
Tricky, Martina Topley-Bird | Hell Is Round The Corner
Soundgarden | Black Hole Sun
Brandy | I Wanna Be Down
Nas | N.Y. State of Mind
Portishead | Glory Box
Mazzy Star | Fade Into You
The Breeders | Cannonball
Cypress Hill | Hits from the Bong
Jeff Buckley | Hallelujah
Naughty By Nature | Hip Hop Hooray
Jimmy Scott | Someone to Watch over Me
Blind Melon | No Rain
Barenaked Ladies | Brian Wilson
Nirvana | Come As You Are
The La's | There She Goes — 1990
Urban Dance Squad | Deeper Shade Of Soul
De La Soul | Me Myself and I
Etta Baker | One-Dime Blues
Chris Isaak | Wicked Game
Morrissey | Dial-a-Cliché
Talking Heads | (Nothing But) Flowers
Lucinda Williams | Passionate Kisses
Tracy Chapman | Talkin' Bout a Revolution
Suzanne Vega | Tom's Diner
Pat Metheny Group | Last Train Home
Cyndi Lauper | Girls Just Want to Have Fun
The Bangles | Walk Like an Egyptian
Paul Simon | Gumboots
The Smiths | This Charming Man — 1985
Tears For Fears | Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Madness | Madness
Felt | Southern State Tapestry
Harold Faltermeyer | Axel F
The The | This Is the Day
Nena | 99 Luftballons
Michael Jackson | Billie Jean
Marvin Gaye | Sexual Healing
Grandmaster Flash, The Furious Five, The Sugarhill Gang | The Message
Elvis Costello & The Attractions | You Little Fool
The Stranglers | Golden Brown
The Psychedelic Furs | Pretty In Pink
The Police | Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Soft Cell | Tainted Love
The Buggles | Video Killed The Radio Star — 1980
The Blues Brothers | Shake a Tail Feather (feat. Ray Charles)
DEVO | Whip It
Blondie | Call Me
The Crusaders | Street Life
The Clash | London Calling
The B-52's | Planet Claire
Spyro Gyra | Morning Dance
Rickie Lee Jones | Chuck E's in Love
Christopher Cross | Ride Like the Wind
TOTO | Georgy Porgy
The Cars | Good Times Roll
Dire Straits | Sultans of Swing
Cheryl Lynn | Got to Be Real
Valerie Carter | O-o-h Child
Peter Gabriel | Solsbury Hill
Mink DeVille | Spanish Stroll
Iggy Pop | The Passenger
Fleetwood Mac | Dreams
Chuck Mangione | Feels So Good
Billy Joel | She's Always a Woman
Stevie Wonder | Pastime Paradise
Mighty Diamonds | Right Time
King Tubby, Augustus Pablo | Stop Them Jah
Chuck Senrick | Dreamin'
Patti Smith | Redondo Beach — 1975
Paco de Lucía | Entre Dos Aguas
Hot Chocolate | You Sexy Thing
Francis Bebey | Tiers Monde
Ed Bruce | Mama's Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
Burning Spear | Marcus Garvey
10cc | I'm Not In Love
Tom Waits | (Looking For) The Heart Of Saturday Night
Ken Boothe | Let's Get It On
Average White Band | Pick Up the Pieces
Ace | How Long
ZZ Top | La Grange (2005 Remaster)
The Hollies | The Air That I Breathe
The Doobie Brothers | Long Train Runnin'
Sensational Saints | How Great Thou Art
Pink Floyd | Money
Jim Croce | I Got a Name
Frank Zappa | Dirty Love
Dr. John | Such a Night
Bob Marley & The Wailers | Burnin' And Lootin'
Barry White | You're The First, The Last, My Everything
Van Dyke Parks | John Jones
Tim Buckley | Buzzin' Fly
The Staple Singers | I'll Take You There
Steely Dan | Only A Fool Would Say That
Nancy Sinatra,Lee Hazlewood | Big Red Balloon
Lou Reed | Walk On the Wild Side
Little Richard | Money Is
Laura Lee | As Long As I Got You
Johnny Nash | I Can See Clearly Now
Jimmy Cliff | The Harder They Come
Jethro Tull | Thick as a Brick - Edit #1
Hot Butter | Popcorn
Elton John | Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)
Carpenters | Top Of The World
Betty Wright | Clean up Woman
Baden Powell | Ate-Eu
Al Green | How Can You Mend a Broken Heart
The Doors | Love Her Madly
Santana | Oye Como Va
Lynne Ann Kingan | If You Love Me - Hate Me
Joni Mitchell | California
John Lennon | Oh Yoko!
John Hartford | In Tall Buildings
David Bowie | Life on Mars?
Air | Mr. Man
The Melodians | Rivers of Babylon — 1970
The Box Tops | The Letter
Rodríguez | I Wonder
Pete Jolly | Seasons
Marion Black | Who Knows
Linda Perhacs | Sandy Toes
James Taylor | Mexico
Grateful Dead | Ripple
George Baker Selection | Little Green Bag
Fela Kuti | Ako
Ennio Morricone | Allegretto Per Signora
Derek & The Dominos | Layla
Yusuf / Cat Stevens | Father And Son
Cass Elliot | Make Your Own Kind Of Music
Carl Dawkins | I'll Never Be Blue
Black Sabbath | Paranoid
The Stooges | 1969
The Meters | Cissy Strut
The Archies | Sugar, Sugar
Sly & The Family Stone | Everyday People
Roberta Flack | The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Pentangle | Light Flight
Norman Greenbaum | Spirit In The Sky
Nick Drake | Day Is Done
Neil Diamond | Sweet Caroline
Karen Dalton | Little Bit Of Rain
Joe Cocker | With A Little Help From My Friends
Janis Joplin | Maybe
Harry Nilsson | Everybody's Talkin'
Crosby, Stills & Nash | Helplessly Hoping
Creedence Clearwater Revival | Fortunate Son
Bob Dylan | Lay, Lady, Lay
Toots & The Maytals | Pressure Drop
Scott Walker | Black Sheep Boy
Scott Fagan | The Carnival Is Ended
Otis Redding | Security
Jimmy McGriff | The Worm
Canned Heat | Going Up The Country
Aretha Franklin | Think
Van Morrison | Brown Eyed Girl
Tim Hardin | Black Sheep Boy
The Velvet Underground, Nico | I'll Be Your Mirror
The Turtles | Happy Together
The Spencer Davis Group | Gimme Some Lovin'
The Paragons | Island In the Sun
Sam & Dave | Soul Man
Love | Alone Again Or
Judy Collins | Both Sides Now
Jimi Hendrix | Little Wing
Jerry Reed | U.S. Male
Frankie Valli | Can't Take My Eyes off You
Buddy Rich Big Band | The Beat Goes On
Bobby Blue Bland | Shoes
Bobbie Gentry | Ode To Billie Joe
The Supremes | You Can't Hurry Love
The Lovin' Spoonful | Summer in the City
Miriam Makeba | Ha Po Zamani
Michel Polnareff | Love Me, Please Love Me
Fred Neil | I've Got A Secret (Didn't We Shake Sugaree)
Donovan | Sunshine Superman
Cream | I Feel Free
Albert King | Born Under A Bad Sign
The Mamas & The Papas | California Dreamin' — 1965
The Impressions | People Get Ready
The Byrds | Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season)
The Beatles | Nowhere Man
The Animals | We Gotta Get Out Of This Place
Sonny & Cher | I Got You Babe
Petula Clark | Downtown
James Brown | Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
Chet Baker | Easy Living
The Zombies | She's Not There
The Kinks | You Really Got Me
The Drapels | Wondering (When My Love Is Coming Home)
The Beach Boys | Don't Worry Baby
Nat King Cole | L-O-V-E
Lord Kitchener | Doctor Kitch
Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass | Mexican Shuffle
Dionne Warwick | Walk on By
Buddy Holly | (Ummmm, Oh Yeah) Dearest
Roy Orbison | In Dreams
Johnny Cash | Ring of Fire
Betty Everett | You're No Good
Barbara Lynn | You'll Lose A Good Thing
Astrud Gilberto, Antônio Carlos Jobim | Ãgua de Beber
The Contours | Do You Love Me
Patsy Cline | She's Got You
Mel Tormé | Comin' Home Baby
Link Wray & The Wraymen | Rumble
Françoise Hardy | Le temps de l'amour
Davy Graham | Angi
Connie Francis | Pretty Little Baby
Chet Atkins | Man Of Mystery
Ben E. King | Stand By Me
Willie Nelson | Crazy
The Weavers | Which Side Are You On
The Tokens | The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Wimoweh)
Gloria Lynne | Young and Foolish
Del Shannon | Runaway
Barbara Lewis | Hello Stranger
The Ventures | Perfidia — 1960
The Platters | Only You (And You Alone)
Nina Simone | You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To
Etta James | A Sunday Kind Of Love
The Shadows | Apache
The Mills Brothers | Rockin' Chair
The Dave Brubeck Quartet | Take Five
Paul Anka | Put Your Head On My Shoulder
Marty Robbins | Big Iron
Marge Dodson | Someone to Watch over Me
Bobby Darin | Beyond the Sea
Barrett Strong | Money (That's What I Want)
The Fleetwoods | Come Softly To Me
Peggy Lee | Fever
Eddie Cochran | Summertime Blues
Annie Ross, Gerry Mulligan Quartet | I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face
Jerry Lee Lewis | Great Balls Of Fire
Ike Turner | She Made My Blood Run Cold
Elvis Presley | All Shook Up
Blossom Dearie | Everything I've Got
Sam Cooke | Just For You
Milt Buckner | The Beast
Louis Armstrong | Mack the Knife
Harry Belafonte | Banana Boat (Day-O)
Gene Vincent | Be-Bop-A-Lula
Carmen McRae | Even If It Breaks My Heart
Sanford Clark | It Ain't Nothing to Me — 1955
Helen Merrill | Falling In Love With Love — 1955
Louis Jordan | Let The Good Times Roll — 1946
Frank Sinatra | You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To — 1942
Dooley Wilson | As Time Goes By — 1942
Billie Holiday | God Bless The Child — 1942
Jimmie Davis | You Are My Sunshine — 1940
Mildred Bailey | Lover, Come Back To Me — 1938
I’ve added the eight movies that Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson picked in their Criterion Closet appearance:
Rushmore
Klute
Funny Girl
Being There
Inland Empire
Brief Encounter
Hobson's Choice
My Darling Clementine
Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson made no original picks. This is why my Master List of Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet is so valuable.
I’ve added the ten movies that Guillermo del Toro picked in his Criterion Closet appearance:
The Red Shoes
Notorious
Black Narcissus
Salesman
All That Heaven Allows
The Wes Anderson Archive
Roma
Casanova (mentioned, not a Criterion movie)
Roma (2018)
The Age of Innocence
Au revoir les enfants
Guillermo del Toro made no original picks, but you can check out his picks from his first visit. This is why my Master List of Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet is so valuable.
In Russian. 96 minute running time so the perfect length. This is a Soviet propaganda movie at its finest. I watched the whole thing and enjoyed it and recommend it. Rating: 4.
No one explicitly picked this as a Closet Pick in the Criterion Closet, but several people mentioned it in passing, usually in the same breath as The Cranes Are Flying (which was not as good as this).
“Sergei Stepanovich. You’re tired.” (then she shakes her head so slightly)
In French. 123 minute running time so 23 minutes too long, but I watched all of this and enjoyed it and recommend it. It is yet another Holocaust movie, but it’s actually watchable and dare I say it, entertaining. Horrifying too of course, but really well made. Joseph Losey knew what he was doing. The opening scene was stunning, it made my jaw drop just like the opening of Diamonds of the Night (yes, another Holocaust movie). Rating: 4.
Once again my method of finding hidden gems proves its value: only one person recommended this as his Closet Pick in the Criterion Closet, so that’s how I discovered it. Thank you, Ari Aster, for the recommendation, but shame on you for making Midsommar, which was unspeakably awful in every way.
We've been French and Catholic since Louis XIV!
105 minute running time so five minutes too long, but I watched all of this and enjoyed it and recommend it. Tough kids living a tough life in Brooklyn. The movie wouldn’t have worked at all without the star, Michelle Rodriguez, who knocked it out (of the park). Boxing. Friendship. Family. Competition. Love. Rating: 4.
Once again my method of finding hidden gems proves its value: only one person recommended this as his Closet Pick in the Criterion Closet, so that’s how I discovered it.
So what's it like in Gowanus?
In French. 117 minute running time so 17 minutes too long, but I enjoyed this and recommend it. Truffaut imitating Hitchcock. Sexiness of jet air travel and hotel rooms in foreign countries. Mirrors. Probably Truffaut’s best movie, and next to no one has seen it. Rating: 4.
Once again my method of finding hidden gems proves its value: only one person recommended this as his Closet Pick in the Criterion Closet, so that’s how I discovered it.
