And you don't stop...

Happy New Years Everyone.

After editing the employee top ten list at work for four years or so, I got burned out and gladly handed over the reigns last year. I came to find them obnoxious. Though ostensibly a buying guide for customers, they came off more as a hipness barometer. This was perfectly exemplified to me the time I noticed an employee had listed a certain re-issue box set on their list. A month or so later when I was contemplating purchasing the box set in question, I asked the employee about the audio quality of the recordings. "i dunno. i haven't heard it yet." I honestly don't think they even remembered having put the damn thing on their list in the first place. But damn, it sure made them look cooler.
So, this isn't a top ten list. These are just the things that I really liked this year, and if I come across as obnoxious or tragically hip, I come by it honestly.

BAND OF THE YEAR
Bishop Allen
A year ago at this time, I had never even heard of these guys. They'd released one record that I never heard and there was no reason that i would ever hear them. just another band in a long list of indie also-rans. And then last January, I stumbled on a blog posting about how they were embarking on an experiment. To get the creative juices going, they would be writing and recording a four song EP a month, for the entire year. The first one, JANUARY (obviously) was already out and was only $5. What the hell. It was only five bucks. A week later the first CD arrived and I was hooked. Four songs worth of Pop gold. Now the prospect of having to write and record four songs a month might seem simple, but add that up. That's more than 40 songs (yes, I know the exact number is 48, but AUGUST was actually a full length show where they performed an entire set of EP songs) The thing is, they didn't blow the load early. The songs have actually gotten better as the year has progressed. Now that DECEMBER is out, I feel a little empty. Nothing to look forward to. On the bright side, their website promises a SXSW tour. Since they're a real indie band, that means they have day jobs, so they didn't tour outside the East coast last year, so a SXSW show is a plus.

SONG OF THE YEAR
Flight 180 - Bishop Allen
This was definitely a case of love at first listen. and second listen. and third listen. And I kept hitting repeat on the CD Player. When was the last time that happened? I have the attention span of a cocker Spaniel, and I'll even change a Ramones song in the middle because I got bored half way through its 2 minute running time. But still I came back to this song time and time again.
Starting with just a bass playing on the high strings, guitar feedback and a muffled kick drum, tension starts to build inside the song like a jack-in-the-box playing a less sinister melody. But at the 1:50 mark, instead of a thunderclap, a piano and violin part the clouds and the warm summer rain starts falling. The tension becomes forward momentum. By the time the drums come in full force at 2:40, the rain is a downpour. It becomes a baptism with the kids running around in the street. And then, almost suddenly, at 4:24 it comes to an abrupt end. Repeat...

FILM OF THE YEAR
Stranger Than Fiction
Sure THE DEPARTED was a better film and JACKASS 2 was funnier, but STRANGER THAN FICTION was far and away my favorite movie of the year. Sure, Sean Burns of the Philadelphia Weekly said "Finally, a Charlie Kaufman movie for people who are too stupid to understand Charlie Kaufman movies." but that just misses the point entirely. Kaufman's movies aren't smarter than the audience. People just reference Kaufman's movies to make themselves seem smarter. His films value pretense and premise over substance. However, it is impossible to talk about STRANGER THAN FICTION without referencing Kaufman. STRANGER THAN FICTION, however, was more like a Charlie Kaufman movie that wasn't in love with itself. And it had the one commodity that all of Charlie Kaufman's films, with the exception of his best script ETERNAL SUNSHINE, seem to lack. Heart. Sure, that might be an undervalued item nowadays, but just because it isn't in demand, doesn't mean it isn't in need. Will Ferrell's Harold Crick is the everyman embodiment of all of the little people leading lives of quiet desperation, looking for a dare-to-be great situation to give their day meaning. In the end proving that "you're never too old for Space camp, dude".
The movie's lack of cynicism was most on display when Harold Crick picks up Ana's guitar and thinking that he's not being watched, closes his eyes and starts to sing Wreckless Eric's "Whole Wide World". I couldn't find a clip of that scene, but I found the next best thing...


Other Points of Interest...

DOCUMENTARY
The Devil And Daniel Johnston
You didn't have to be a fan to be moved by this portrait that was by turns poignant and tragic. When his father relates the story of how Daniel turned off the engine and threw their airplanes keys out of the window while they were still in midair, they romantic image of the mad genius goes out the window as well, and you're left with the reality that mental illness leaves real casualties in it's wake.

SERIES FINALE
Six Feet Under
Sometimes brilliant, sometimes tedious (most of Season 3), Alan Ball's Six Feet Under was one of the most engaging shows on television. The characters resonated with a sense of realism that few others could approach. Brenda was girl you just couldn't get out of your head no matter how bad she was for you, or how bad you were for her. Claire was everyone's sister, growing from meth smoking teenage fuck up, to beautiful young woman with a lifetime of potential (fulfilled potential, as the finale showed us). And in a better world, David and Keith would continually top every list of the greatest couples in television history. And in the end, the show went out reminding us of it's central premise, that everyone dies.

TV SERIES
The Office
Was it when Dwight took Ryan the temp out to the turnip farm to haze him? Or when Michael used a marker to tell his date apart from the other Asian girl in the room. No, it was the look on Ryan's face when Kelly ran into the room to celebrate the fact their branch wouldn't be closing and they wouldn't be transfered to separate towns. That was the same look a cat sees on a mouses face before he goes in for the kill. That was the moment that I knew that this was still the best show on TV. Sorry Battlestar. You'll have to settle for second place.

MOST UNWELCOME SERIES DEMISE
Deadwood
Even the mighty Al Swearengen stood powerless as an external force blew into town and had his way with just about every man woman and child in the camp. And in the end, we are just as powerless to change the fact that HBO chose to discontinue another candidate for the title of Best-TV-Show-Ever. They mean to pacify us with two TV movies that will tie up the loose ends, but it just isn't the same...Cocksuckers.

DVD REISSUE
Seven Samurai Criterion Collection
One of the best films ever made gets the deluxe treatment that it deserved with this 3 disc reissue featuring a making of documentary and a two hour conversation with "The Emperor" himself Akira Kurosawa. Worth every penny I spent on it.

BIGGEST DISAPOINTMENT
Outkast - Idelwild (The Album and Movie)
The downward spiral continues as this duo that is more than the sum of its parts decides to play apart once again. One or two songs aside, the only thing more trying than the unspectacular album was the nearly unwatchable movie that started as an HBO project until the egos-that-be decided than a theatrical run would be a better idea. Bad idea.

And that's it for now. Hope everyone is doing well tonight. See you next year.