My Year In Lists

As promised previously, here is my mythical and always highly anticipated Best of the Year lists!!!!

(The extra exclamation points are there to emphasize my complete awesomeness.)

Now, normally, I would expound at length on each entry of each list, or at the very least on the choice for number one. As it stands, though, I am loathe to do so at this time, because I can't quite verbally quantify my feelings for some of the entrants on these here ladders of excellence. And so, I expound not at all. (Except here, because that is how I roll. Deal with it, America!)

In any event, these are my favorites of this past Year of Someone's Lord, Two-Thousand and Eight. Notice I do not say "Greatest" or "Best", because one's mileage may vary. (Though why anyone would think to disagree with me, I'll never know. I am right and good in all things. Like Ghandi.)

So yes, so anyway, here's a list of things. Links where appropriate. Maybe a picture. Enjoy it. Add comments at the end, let's see what some of yours are.

FILMS

1. The Wrestler
2. The Dark Knight
3. Wall-E
4. Cloverfield (I wrote about this here. You should read it.)
5. Iron Man

ALBUMS

1. Los Campesinos! - Hold On Now, Youngster... / We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed (They put out two full albums this year. I'm counting both, as both are amazing, though each has a slightly different feel.)
   
2. Thrice - The Alchemy Index, vol 3 & 4: Air & Earth
3. the Killers - Day and Age
4. Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
5. Stars - Sad Robots EP
6. Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins
7. Atmosphere -When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
8. Paddy's Well - First Friday (this is my dad's band!)
9. Alkaline Trio - Agony & Irony
10. Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer?
    

SONGS (links lead to downloadable versions of the songs. I cannot guarantee the links will last forever.)

1. Baskervilles - "A Little More Time"
2. the Decemberists - "Valerie Plame"
3. Los Campesinos! - "We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed"
4. Okkervil River - "Calling and Not Calling My Ex"
5. Chairlift - "Bruises"
6. the Killers - "Spaceman"
7. Ben Folds - "You Don't Know Me (feat. Regina Spektor)"
8. Alkaline Trio - "Help Me"
9. Amanda Palmer - "Astronaut (A Short History Of Nearly Nothing)"
10. Los Campesinos! - "Broken Heartbeats Sound Like Breakbeats"
    

COMICS (specific issues highlighted): creative team

1. Casanova Vol 2. (issue #14): Matt Fraction, Fabio Moon
   
2. All-Star Superman (issue #10): Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely
   
3. Pax Romana (4 issue miniseries): Jonathan Hickman
   
4. Final Crisis (issue #5): Grant Morrison, JG Jones, Carlos Pacheco
   
5. Aetheric Mechanics (a graphic novella): Warren Ellis, Gianluca Pagliarani

TELEVISION

1. The Venture Brothers season 3
   
2. Doctor Who season 4
   
3. The Venture Brothers season 3
4. ok, so I don't watch a whole lot of television...
   

So there you go. Comment with your opinions. Otherwise, I'm just going to assume that all my lists are comprehensive and completely correct.

Excelsior! And never forget:

All glory.

I've been watching a lot of Simpsons and Futurama on DVD the past month or so, and I have established that the greatest character on either show is

The Hypnotoad.

He is a toad who hypnotizes people to do its bidding. And all it seems to do in its appearances on Futurama is: A) win a dog/assorted pet show, and B) star in a tv show called "Everyone Loves the Hypnotoad."

This, my friends, is GENIUS.

Anyway, in other news, I have (since my last entry) seen X-men 3 and Nacho Libre. The less said of X3 the better, since I don't think there's enough bandwidth on the Blogger servers to cover the length of the rant I would unleash about that pile of shite if I wanted to. But quite frankly, I don't have the energy and there's not enough time in the day to waste on it. Nacho Libre, on the other hand, is a concise piece of entertainment. While not quite the greatest motion picture ever conceived that I claimed when I first heard of it, the movie is sweet, and definitely in the same vein as Napoleon Dynamite, the director's previous film. (Though I still believe Jack Black as a Mexican wrestling friar is a genius concept.) It left me with a slight smile and warm feelings, and really, isn't that enough? Not every movie needs to change the world, nor be a huge blowout of epic proportions.


SO yes. I am currently: listening to the Decemberists, watching Futurama and Arrested Development, and reading The Baroque Cycle and Watchmen. As should all of you. And if you disagree, just remember

Grant Morrison is watching you.

Development Arrested.

Rest in Peace, Arrested Development. You were the best show on television, and apparently not enough people realized it while you were still here. FOX didn't exactly help that too much, either. In any event, I am sorry to see you go, and with your abscense, my television watching just decreased even more than it already has.

Buy Arrested Development Season 1 and Season 2 on DVD. I guarantee, you will laugh. A lot.