A Hastily Thrown Together Best Of 2008 List

Since I spent the better part of December internet-less while in France and Italy, I never really got around to making my yearly best-of list. So here, in rushed fifteen-minute-late fashion, is my list of all the things that made 2008 better (or at least more interesting, anyway.)

Enjoy, and feel free to chime in with any comments.

Best Albums Released In 2008 (in alphabetical order)

-Conor Oberst, Conor Oberst
-Counting Crows, Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings
-The Dears, Missiles
-Dr. Dog, Fate
-Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes
-The Kills, Midnight Boom
-Metallica, Death Magnetic
-My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges
-Okkervil River, The Stand Ins
-The Streets, Everything Is Borrowed
-TV On The Radio, Dear Science

In a year of great singles, these albums were great all the way through. But my favorite one had to be Okkervil River’s The Stand Ins; it’s the most rewarding listening experience I had all year and one that I’ll keep revisiting for a long time to come. Dr. Dog’s Fate came in at a close second.

Best Reissues, Soundtracks & Compilations

-Juno Motion Picture Soundtrack (all right, it came out on Xmas 2007, but that’s close enough for me)
-Mission Of Burma, Horrible Truth About Burma/Signal, Calls, And Marches/Vs. (Remastered)
-Mogwai, Young Team (Deluxe Edition)
-Pavement, Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Edition
-The Replacements, Entire Catalog (Remastered And Expanded)
-The Smiths, The Sound of the Smiths
-Sonic Youth, Hits Are For Squares

Good Albums, But Not Up To Par To Previous Achievements (try harder next time, please)

-Death Cab For Cutie, Narrow Stairs
-The Magnetic Fields, Distortion
-Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Cardinology (all right, it was a rushed compilation culled from an aborted box set, but still….very uncohesive)
-Sun Kil Moon, April (maybe I was just never in the mood for it)
-The Walkmen, You & Me (get your voice under control, dude. It was all right for the first four albums, but now it’s just getting annoying)

Most Overrated Album

-Girl Talk, Feed The Animals (fun, but c’mon…..it’s still just an extended mash-up)

Biggest Gamble

-Kanye West, 808′s And Heartbreak (It really wasn’t that good, but I appreciate you trying, Kanye. Now please go back to making party anthems.)

Biggest Cause For A Collective Sigh Of Relief

-Guns N’ Roses’ Chinese Democracy finally came out, it wasn’t particularly good, but at least we can all just move on already. Especially Axl.

Best Singles Released In 2008

-”Gamma Ray” by Beck
-”Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” by Beyoncé
-”Something Is Not Right With Me” by Cold War Kids
-”Violet Hill” by Coldplay
-”See It” by Colour Revolt
-”Get-Well-Cards” by Conor Oberst
-”Los Angeles” by Counting Crows
-”Basso Profundo” by Devotchka
-”Jodi” by The Dodos
-”Hang On” by Dr. Dog
-”Veneration” by Elizabeth Grace
-”Ragged Wood” by Fleet Foxes
-”Foux Du Fafa” by Flight Of The Conchords
-”Sequestered In Memphis” by The Hold Steady
-”Come On Over (Turn Me On)” by Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
-”Acid Tongue” by Jenny Lewis*
-”What U Gonna Do” by Jim Noir
-”Heartless” by Kanye West
-”Cheap And Cheerful” by The Kills
-”Sex On Fire” by Kings Of Leon
-”A Milli” by Lil’ Wayne
-”All Nightmare Long” by Metallica
-”Highly Suspicious” by My Morning Jacket
-”For Our Elegant Caste” by Of Montreal
-”Lost Coastlines” by Okkervil River
-”Machine Gun” by Portishead
-”Gettin’ Up” by Q-Tip
-”Living Well Is The Best Revenge” by R.E.M.
-”Five On The Five” by The Raconteurs
-”Aly, Walk With Me” by The Raveonettes
-”Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” by She & Him
-”Gobbledigook” by Sigur Rós
-”Gardenia” by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks
-”I Love You More (Than You Like Me)” the Streets
-”Swagga Like Us” by T.I., Kanye West, Jay Z & Lil’ Wayne
-”Stork And Owl” by TV On The Radio
-”A Punk” by Vampire Weekend

*How good was the song “Acid Tongue” by Jenny Lewis, you ask? Let me tell you. It was so good that one day I listened to it five times back to back, and I never do that. What can I say, she makes me do weird things.

Best Display Of Racism In Song

-”Arab Money” by Busta Rhymes (and that dance is kinda lazy, too)

Best Saturday Night Live Digital Short Which, Incidentally, Also Describes My Reaction To Listening To Jenny Lewis’ “Acid Tongue”

-”Jizz In My Pants” by The Lonely Island

Best Concert

-Tom Waits, July 5th, at the Fabulous Fox Theater in Atlanta.

Sure, I went to a few other shows this year, but this one was the only one that mattered. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again –he’s a national treasure and should be treated as such. He’s also probably the coolest motherfucker on the planet. And his band fucking kills live.

Best Live Use Of An All Star Tambourine Choir

-Rebecca Loebe, May 6th, 2008, at Smith’s Old Bar in Atlanta (I might be a little biased).

Best Movies

-Cloverfield
-The Dark Knight
-Iron Man
-Juno
-No Country For Old Men
-Quantum Of Solace
-Religulous
-There Will Be Blood (also starring my favorite actor)
-Tropic Thunder
-Wall-E

Movies I Suspect Would Be On The Preceding List Had I Actually Seen Them

-The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
-Milk
-Rachael Getting Married
-In Bruges
-Son Of Rambow
-Gran Torino
-Slumdog Millionaire
-Synecdoche, New York (maybe?!? I heard mixed things)
-The Wrestler

Best Movie To See Before Spending The Night At A Strange House Where Strange Things Might Happen

-The Strangers

Best Television Programs

-Entourage: Season 5 (HBO)
-Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO)
-True Blood: Season 1 (HBO)
-Weeds: Season 4 (Showtime)
-Dexter: Season 3 (Showtime)
-30 Rock: Season 2&3 (NBC)
-The Office: Seasons 4&5 (NBC)
-Survivor: Gabon (CBS)
-The Daily Show With John Stewart (Comedy Central)
-The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
-It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia: Season 4 (FX)
-No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain (Travel Channel)
-The Soup (E!)
-Top Gear (BBC)
-IFC Media Project (IFC)
-Pardon The Interruption (ESPN)
-Top Chef: Season 4 (Bravo)
-Attack Of The Show (G4)

My Celebrity Girlfriends

-Padma Lakshmi
-Mary-Louise Parker
-Tina Fey
-Kaitlin Olson
-Olivia Munn
-Heidi Klum
-Selma Blair
-Katy Perry
-Jenny Lewis
-Adriana Lima

My Celebrity Boyfriends (a few, just to be fair)

-Jon Stewart
-Anthony Bourdain
-Charlie Day
-Conan O’Brien
-Stephen Colbert

Wow, I guess I really like a guy who can make me laugh…..

Best Blogs

-The Big Picture
-Boing Boing
-Daily Kos
-Defamer
-Engrish
-Garfield Minus Garfield
-Gawker
-Gizmodo
-Idolator
-Jezebel
-Passive Aggressive Notes
-PostSecret
-Sleeveface
-The Superficial
-Tuesday Morning Quarterback
-Wonkette

Best Blogs By People I Actually Know

-Black Century
-Caren Explains It All
-Cole’s Rambletown
-Fear Of Arthropods (although lately, Julia’s busier with Paste:Local Atlanta)
-grandweerachael
-Insert Witty Pop Culture Reference Here
-Isle Of Everything
-More Adventurous (tsk, tsk….hasn’t been updated in a while)
-The Stace Place

Best Way To Keep Your Out Of Town Fans Engaged

-The Tennessee Titans start 10-0 and ultimately end the season at an NFL best 13-3 (Now, let’s make some waves in the playoffs, please).

Best Reason To Move Along In Your Naturalization Process

-America shocks the hell out of itself (and me) by electing a competent, cool headed man as president instead of an old curmudgeonly grouch and a dangerously wacky dingbat for once. Congratulations, America. We’ll make something out of you still.

All right, that ought to do it. My psychologically pleasing urge to list things is over for now. See you in about a year.

Best Of 2007

Hello friends,

It’s the end of the year so it’s an obvious, psychologically satisfying time to list all of the best that 2007 had to offer in music, movies and television (in my not-so-humble opinion, anyway). Disagreements are to be expected, so feel free to post any comments or your own picks below. Just know that you’re probably wrong and that I am, in fact, always right.

“How can it be bullshit to state a preference?”

Rob (John Cusack) in High Fidelity

Best Records (in no particular order)

-The Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
-Wilco, Sky Blue Sky
-Feist, The Reminder
-Radiohead, In Rainbows
-Menomena, Friend And Foe
-Elvis Perkins, Ash Wednesday
-Kanye West, Graduation
-Avett Brothers, Emotionalism
-Jay-Z, American Gangster
-Okkervil River, The Stage Names
-Sondre Lerche, Phantom Punch
-The White Stripes, Icky Thump
-Ryan Adams, Easy Tiger
-Iron & Wine, The Shepherd’s Dog
-Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha

Best Reissues, Soundtracks & Compilations

-Elliott Smith, New Moon
-Various Artists, I’m Not There O.S.T.
-Elvis Costello, My Aim Is True Deluxe Edition
-Eddie Vedder, Into The Wild O.S.T.
-Counting Crows, August And Everything After Deluxe Edition
-Sondre Lerche, Dan In Real Life O.S.T.

Good Albums, But Not Up To Par To Previous Achievements (try harder next time, please)

-Bright Eyes, Cassadega
-Modest Mouse, We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
-Band Of Horses, Cease To Begin
-Pinback, Autumn Of The Seraphs
-Devendra Banhart, Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon

Best Japanese Psychedelic Pop Album

-4 Bonjour’s Parties, Magpie Will Peck A Hole In My Plaster Cast

Best Comedy Album

-Patton Oswalt, Werewolves And Lollipops

Most Overrated Albums

-The National, Boxer (Somehow it still made it to 1 on Paste’s list; I tried to stop them…)
-Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam (Not *actual* music!!)
-Panda Bear, Person Pitch

Albums That Would Have Made The “Best Of” List Had I Actually Listened To Them All The Way Through More Than Once

-Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
-Rogue Wave, Asleep At Heaven’s Gate
-The Shins, Wincing The Night Away
-José González, In Our Nature
-Beirut, The Flying Club Cup

Best Albums I Haven’t Heard Yet

-PJ Harvey, White Chalk
-Wu-Tang Clan, The 8 Diagrams
-Ghostface Killah, The Big Doe Rehab

Best Songs

-”Intervention” by The Arcade Fire
-”1234″ by Feist
-”Young Folks” by Peter Bjorn and John
-”You Are My Face” by Wilco
-”Two” by Ryan Adams
-”All I Need” by Radiohead
-”Roc Boys (And The Winner Is…)” by Jay-Z Featuring Kanye West
-”Myriad Harbour” by The New Pornographers
-”Smile” by Lily Allen
-”Girls In Their Summer Clothes” by Bruce Springsteen
-”Lake Michigan” by Rogue Wave
-”Good Life” by Kanye West featuring T-Pain
-”Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe” by Okkervil River
-”Plaster Casts Of Everything” by Liars
-”You Know I’m No Good” by Amy Winehouse
-”The Underdog” by Spoon
-”Rag And Bone” by The White Stripes
-”The Heinrich Maneuver” by Interpol
-”Sinking Soon” by Norah Jones
-”Florida” by Modest Mouse

Guilty Pleasures (I must be getting pretty secure in my tastes ’cause I could only come up with a few that I truly feel guilty about this year)

-”Umbrella” by Rihanna (Enjoy it while eating paella, ella ella eh eh eh. Or while watching Cinderella, ella ella eh eh eh)
-”Walk It Out” by Unk (I actually had to look up who did that song; now I know)
-”Crank That” by Soulja Boy (I still don’t understand a single word of it)
-”Makes Me Wonder” by Maroon 5 (This one I feel really guilty about)

Best Cover Songs

-Elliott Smith, “Thirteen” (Big Star)
-José González, “Teardrop” (Massive Attack)
-Alison Krause, “Trampled Rose” (Tom Waits)
-Devendra Benhart, “Little Boxes” (Malvina Reynolds)
-Regina Spektor, “Real Love” (John Lennon)
-Jeff Tweedy, “Simple Twist Of Fate” (Bob Dylan)
-The White Stripes, “Conquest” (Patti Page)
-Sondre Lerche, “Let My Love Open The Door” (Pete Townshend)

Best Mash-Up

-DJ Axel, “Guns N’ Hovas” (Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City” v. Jay-Z’s “Dirt Off Your Shoulder”)

Coolest Aging Alternative Icon I Met This Year

-Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips at the Echo Project in October. He’s slender and quite handsome. He was also wearing a bitching custom suit.

Band That I Once Loved But Should Have Stayed Broken Up For Its Own Good And The Good Of Humanity

-Smashing Pumpkins (Billy, just stop and let me still enjoy your first three albums in peace)

Best Singer-Songwriter That I Drove To A Gig In My Car Through Atlanta Rush Hour Traffic From The Paste Offices

-Josh Ritter on November 1st; we talked about Dylan and girls walking in the sunshine (he’s weird)

Best Movies (I didn’t see that many movies in the theater again this year so forgive me for my crappy selection)

-The Darjeeling Limited (probably my favorite)
-Knocked Up
-300
-Sicko
-Superbad
-Ocean’s Thirteen
-Grindhouse: Planet Terror & Death Proof

Movies I Really Wanted To See But I Probably Won’t Until I Can Netflix Them

-Zodiac
-Eastern Promises
-Lars And The Real Girl
-Into The Wild
-The King Of Kong
-Sunshine
-American Gangster
-Control
-Shoot ‘Em Up
-Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
-I’m Not There

Movies I’m Going To See For Sure In The Next Two Weeks

-Juno
-Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
-No Country For Old Men

Worst Movie To See In A Theater Full Of Teenagers Who Feel Compelled To Talk On Their Cell Phones And Scream Advice To The Actors On The Screen Without Considering The Fact That It Might Ruin The Experience For Other More Mature Moviegoers

-Rob Zombie’s Halloween (never again!)

Best Television Shows

-Entourage: Season 4 (HBO)
-The Sopranos: Season 6, Part 2 (HBO)
-Big Love: Season 2 (HBO)
-Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO)
-Flight Of The Conchords (HBO)
-Weeds: Season 3 (Showtime)
-Dexter: Season 2 (Showtime)
-The Office: Seasons 3&4 (NBC)
-Survivor: China (CBS)
-It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia: Season 3 (FX)
-The Henry Rollins Show (IFC)
-Iconoclasts (Sundance)
-No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain (Travel Channel)
-Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares (BBC, not the shitty FOX Version!)
-Gordon Ramsey’s F Word (BBC)
-The Soup (E!)
-Best Week Ever (VH1)
-Pardon The Interruption (ESPN)
-Top Chef: Season 3 (Bravo)
-Attack Of The Show (G4)

Best Excuse To Get Digital Cable With DVR

-Being able to have a life that is not dictated by television schedules. That, and to instantly replay people getting hit in the nuts on American Funniest Home Videos. Oooh, and fast forwarding through commercials; watching an hour long show now only takes 41 minutes!

Best Unabashed Display of “Scarm” (Scar + Arm) On Television

-Padma Lakshmi on Bravo’s Top Chef; disfiguring scars have never been so damn sexy.

So there you have it, I hope this list will inspire you to draft your own selections or perhaps encourage you to pick up an album or watch a show you otherwise wouldn’t have.

See you next year!

Year’s Best List

All right, I guess the time has come to do a best of the year list. Why, you ask? Because as a superficial, pretentious jerk I believe that people are basically defined by the things they like. And I want to share some of the things I liked so that you will in turn like me more; you know, ’cause you’re a superficial, pretentious jerk too. Which, c’mon, we all know you pretty much are….

Top Records (in no particular order)
-TV On The Radio, Return To Cookie Mountain
-Thom Yorke, The Eraser
-Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Show Your Bones
-Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere
-Eef Barzelay, Bitter Honey
-Forget Cassettes, Salt
-Sean Lennon, Friendly Fire
-Cursive, Happy Hollow
-Pearl Jam, Pearl Jam
-David Bazan, Fewer Moving Parts
-Belle & Sebastian, The Life Pursuit
-Calexico, Garden Ruin
-Loose Fur, Born Again In The USA
-Arctic Monkeys, Whatever People Say I Am
-Mogwai, Mr. Beast
-Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan, Ballad Of The Broken Seas
-Cat Power, The Greatest
-Johnny Cash, American V: One Hundred Highways
-Jeremy Enigk, World Waits

And yeah, I feel the need to omit Tom Waits, Orphans because I technically haven’t gotten it yet; but c’mon, I already know it belongs on the list. I don’t have to listen to it to know I’m gonna love it.

Guilty Pleasure Pop Singles Of The Year
-Beyoncé, “Check On It”
-Justin Timberlake, “My Love”
-Chamillionaire, “Ridin Dirty” and to a certain extent Weird Al Yankovic, “White & Nerdy” is way better
-Prince, “Black Sweat”
-Jay-Z, “Show Me What You Got” (wait, I don’t feel guilty about this one at all)
-Fergie, “London Bridge”
-Christina Aguilera, “Ain’t No Other Man”

I won’t publicly admit to loving these songs ever again (however, I may start dancing and singing along uncontrollably) so I ask that you forget what you just read and go back to believing that I only listen to things that I pretend to like only to impress other elitists.

Top Movies (I really didn’t see that many this year, but here goes it)
-Little Miss Sunshine
-Running With Scissors
-Borat
-Jackass 2
-Thank You For Smoking
-Talladega Nights
-Superman Returns
-Strangers With Candy

Seriously, those are like 90% of the movies I saw in the theater this year. I must really know what I’m going to like or otherwise I’m really lucky (not to mention that I don’t get out to the movies much). I may have to also mention “Me And You And Everyone We Know”, not because I particularly liked it but because Adrienne and I constantly quote it. Especially the scatological perceptions of sex from the seven year old boy in it; we can relate.

Top Shows On Television
-Dexter: Season 1 (Showtime)
-Weeds: Season 2 (Showtime)
-The Sopranos: Season 6, Part 1 (HBO)
-Big Love: Season 1 (HBO)
-Lucky Louie: Season 1&2 (HBO)
-Project Runway (Bravo)
-Top Chef (Bravo)
-Survivor: Cook Islands (CBS)
-Six Feet Under (reruns on Bravo)
-Intervention (A&E)
-No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain (Travel Channel)
-Flavor Of Love 2 (VH1)
-Best Week Ever (VH1)
-The Soup (E!)
-Pardon The Interruption (ESPN)
-Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

Yeah, I watch a lot of TV. It’s become pretty apparent at this point. But with shows like this on I can definitely justify my $80 monthly digital cable bill (with DVR, bitches!). And who says that TV can’t be an educational, transcendent experience? I’ve learned a lot from Flavor Of Love. Like to never get between twenty skanks and their (mildly retarded) man; the puncture wounds from fake nails and six inch heels are not worth it.

So there it is, my year’s picks. Disagree? Screw you, write your own damn blog!

Albums Of The Year

I’ve been seeing lots of top ten records of 2004 lists everywhere so here’s mine in no particular order:

Elliott Smith – From A Basement On The Hill
The Arcade Fire – Funeral
PJ Harvey – Uh Huh Her
Autolux – Future Perfect
Jimmy Eat World – Futures
The Blood Brothers – Crimes
The Good Life – Album Of The Year
TV On The Radio – Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
Interpol – Antics
Hot Water Music – The New What’s Next

These were the albums I listened to the most and never got sick of. I could list fifty other amazing, wonderful albums that came out in 2004 but that wouldn’t really qualify as a top ten list, now would it? Don’t be stupid…

If you would like to post your own top ten, be my guest. Mi Blog es su Blog.