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Tuesday, January 01, 2008

BEST OF 2007

Well, it's that time of the year again: my picks of the best television, film, and music of the year. So many good offerings to choose from but, alas, only one pick for each category.



BEST TV SHOW

Recovered yet from the last episode of The Sopranos? Many haven't. As the show abruptly ended to the strains of "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey, my heart sank as I thought, at the time, that an era had come to an end. Sure there are plenty of other great shows but there was nothing like The Sopranos.

And there never would be. I have to say that I really feel it is the best show of all time. The word "stunning" doesn't even come close to describing the final episodes of this wondrous show. So when it ended on June 10th, a strong sense of melancholy enveloped me. There would never be another show like this one. That lasted all of five weeks. Because on July 19, the heir apparent to The Sopranos debuted on AMC.

Mad Men is as good as The Sopranos. And, in many ways, it's cooler. So fucking cool! The show takes place in New York City, at a Madison Avenue Ad firm, in the year 1960. Can anyone say Kennedy Era Cool? Men were men and women were...well...they were sex objects. Many a hair has been pulled from my wife's head by her own hands due to the fact that the show is VERY historically accurate in regards to men's attitudes about women in that time period. Ah..the good ol' days......:)

Martinis, office romances, chicks, and groovy cats are combined with the same pathos and ethos that we saw on the Sopranos. That makes sense because Matthew Wiener, former producer on the Sopranos, is the creator of the show. Several Mad Men episodes have been written by Sopranos alum so it's no wonder that this show, just like the one in New Jersey, delves deeply into the human psyche and the nature of the beast. And that beast, folks, is lust. Yum! And it's against the backdrop of one of the coolest cities in one of the most mega times in our history.

Oh, and let's not forget Christina Hendricks (left). Words cannot describe the ass on this woman. Spectacular? Perfect? Direct from the Lord, our God? All of these do not do it justice. The episode "Babylon" (number 6 in a 13 episode first season) does a much better job of illustrating the glory and the power of Hendricks' booty more than any words of mine. This episode is also an excellent place to test the waters, if you will, to see if you like the show. Pause for a moment and check her out in the red dress above....holy friholies!!!! I love the cigarette...the look on her face....yeah, she knows that she is it....I-T....IT!!

AMC is currently re-running the first season on Mondays at 11pm. You can also download the show here on itunes. Do yourself a favor: fix a martini, work a little skirt (sorry, gals, I am in the moment and time period of the show) and check it out!

BEST FILM
Over the past three years I have always chosen serious films as my Best Film of the Year. This year, I thought it was high time to choose something a little lighter.

Knocked Up is the Best Picture of 2007. And it's not because it is fluff. Yes, it's funny, goofy, silly, and kinda light. But this film is truly an honest look at what it's like when you first learn that you are going to be a parent and what it's like when you are a parent. Ben (Seth Rogen) and Alison
(Katherine Heigl) (left) hook up, accidentally get pregnant, and have a baby. The story centers around the evolution in their relationship as these events progress.

Some people I have talked to about this film don't get the point. In fact, I recall a conversation with a female friend of mine at a volleyball open gym in which she told me, "If this is the best film of the year, then this year is sad." Clearly, she didn't get it.

As I watched the story unfold, I was catapulted back to the days of when I first became a parent. Even the supporting cast, Alison's sister and family, perfectly illustrate what it's like to be in a long term relationship and attempting to be intimate with a six year old and four year old running around. In other words, to have a family. While the film uses 12 year old boy-sex-and-bathroom-humor as a shtick throughout most of the film (throw up on the seat next to you-hilarious btw), it juxtaposes this with the honest emotions of romantic and family relationships. Quite simply, it is wonderful, hilarious, and dirtily honest...or honestly dirty.

And that's just the way good art should be.

BEST CD

This was a tough one for me. It was down to two CDs. The first was The Coral, Roots and Echoes, a gorgeous record, filled with beautiful music. Every track is great and, I have to say, really was my choice for CD of the Year until about a week ago.

I have always thought that music is a passion of youth. When we listen to it, we feel young again. We remember that first time we kissed someone and really meant it...and felt it. We think back to that time when something really cool happened. We connect with that part of ourselves that is non-linear and we, like Billy Pilgrim, become unstuck in time. For a moment we are there. Really there...and it is wonderful.

So, I turned to my youth...my children...and, while they love Roots and Echoes, they are insane about Costello Music by The Fratellis (above). I debated long and hard about this one because the CD came out in the UK in Nov 2006 and the US in March of 2007. Since I go buy the UK release date, was it an official 2007 release?

Well, I decided to relax my rules a bit because every track on this disc is great and the B-sides on all the singles are equally as mega. Plus, I think I played this CD every day in 2007. Wow! They sound like mixture of David Bowie, The Pogues, The Jam, and the Sex Pistols. Making them even cooler is the fact that this was the first band I took my kids to see. On July 29th of 2007, my son and daughter got to see their first show, an in-store at the Electric Fetus, the coolest CD store on the planet. Later that night my wife and I watched them perform at the Varsity Theater and it was fucking great.

Aside from the music, these three guys just have a lot of fun. They really enjoy what they do and pour all of their energy into their music. It really shows. I highly recommend picking up this disc and downloading all their B-Sides to their singles. Being a band from the UK (natch), they have songs on their singles that aren't on the album.

So those are my picks for 2007. What are yours? As always, comments are open.

3 comments:

Phil from Minnetonka said...

I feel honored to be the first to comment.

TV: With all due respect to Mad Men, which I haven't seen, and The Shield, which I still love, I'd have to say the best show of the year was The Office. And I say this not because it's the funniest show on TV. No, I say this because the characters are growing. Who can forget Michael showing up and buying Pam's art during her first and only showing? And Ryan's ascent to Corporate? I love this show.

Movie: Once. A mesmerizing musical. Gritty. Honest. True. You will not be able to get the songs out of your head (which should be the only measure of a good musical, by the way). I also must add that I don't get to see many grown-up movies, so I'm still looking for time to see No Country for Old Men, Juno, and Charlie Wilson's War.

CD: I usually don't pick one, but I'm going to go with the soundtrack to Once, just because I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT GET THESE SONGS FROM MY HEAD!

Anonymous said...

I say the Foo Fighters new one is the CD of the year. Best film is Transformers-great sfx. And TV show-House

Anonymous said...

Did you guys know that John Wayne got an Oscar for his role in True Grit? He didn't get that for any of his other movies.

True Grit!