Top SIX Musics

These things I listened to pretty consistently for the entire year or at least as much as possible since they came out and I have not tired of any of them! That is saying something. Something good, about them all.

1. Best Coast - Crazy For You. I listened to this SO MANY TIMES THIS YEAR. It came out in 2010 but how often can an album released in actually get enough play and attention to make it to a best of the year list? I don't need you to answer that. I am telling you, RARELY. This is probably my most favourite summer album ever. Except that I also played it all through winter too? So.. Best!

2. Jay Z & Kanye - Watch The Throne. Oh way to contradict my same year theory right away. There is so much good in this album. Otis still KILLS me after fifty billion listens and through the enthusiasm of #thronebomb king T. Fidler I have come to love Lift Off more than I originally thought I could. It is pretty rare I will listen through an entire hip-hop or rap album without skipping songs or getting bored but this one nearly always ends before I even know it.

3. All things by Phosphorescent. I think maybe Phossy might be my favourite singing dude ever hey. There is just something about that Willie Nelson covers album that I cannot dismiss. Also was Here's To Taking It Easy my top album of last year? I THINK SO. Lordy. It could pretty easily still be #1 this year. Just sayin.

4. The 1st three songs on the Drive Soundtrack. The rest of this soundtrack is preeeetty boring unless it is just background or something but the first three songs, man.. they confuse me. I am pretty against most things from the 80s or trying to be from the 80s but these songs.. I don't know. It probably has something to do with how I feel about the movie but I have only seen it once and the songs I have listened to a lot. They make me feel efficient? Unstoppable. UNSTOPPABLE! OUT OF MY WAY, EVERYTHING! YOU'RE A REAL HEROOOO, LIFE! ETC.

5. Arcade Fire - The Suburbs. Also a 2010 release but who is keeping count? Stop it. This is a good album.

UPDATE! 


6. Oh heck I can't believe I forgot Gillian Welch's The Harrow & The Harvest. I am so sorry. This and Dave Rawlings Machine's A Friend Of A Friend are so perfect apart and together and everything in between. The Rawlings album is from 2010 but I only found it this year and it is so excellent! These two are an amazing supercouple. There's an excellent Fresh Air interview with them both from this year too, they're just lovely.

It seems unfair that probably the music I listened to the most were off various soul and motown compilations so they don't really show up in lists of number of listens but easily the #1 song of my year was You and Me by Penny & The Quarters. Putting Blue Valentine aside, it is an awesome song and has this great story to accompany it. Yaaaaay!

2011 TV: The Worst!

The things that I watched that I did not love as much as everyone (humans, internet) said I would:

Game of Thrones: At first I was like ohhhh good, there is not as much dragon wizards as I expected, and then it was SO BORING I wanted more dragon wizards. And then there were dragons, and it was still boring! Why do people like this so much? Oh there was one good death I didn't see coming, that was alright, you know the one. But mostly, ugh, no thankyou.

Luther: Oh BBC stop making these things. I do not even know how I feel about Stringer Bell anymore after watching this. Look what you have done.

Downton Abbey: Ughhhh these too, whatever channel made this. Cut it out.

Big Love: I watched all five seasons of this?? The extreme religion and cults is pretty interesting to me but I'd rather have watched a documentary about that instead of seeing so much naked Bill Paxton and annoying Chloe Sevigny.

New Girl: Haha okay nobody said this would be good. And they were right.

Bonus Round: Cake Boss. Ha! I only tried this so I would know what Dave Shumka was always talking about. This is seriously the worst, I do not understand how it has so many seasons? NOTHING HAPPENS AND EVERYONE IS THE PITS. Hang it up, Cake Boss.

The Best Lists In Town

When it comes to end of year lists, everything should be probably just be ignored except for this guy.

David Rees' Year-End Lists

As he himself says:

Ignore all other lists: These are “the only lists you need” to “get ahead conversationally” at your “too many cocktail parties.”

2011: Top 4 Internet Youtubes

4. Dumb Sleeping Baby You Are Just So Sleepy!



3. Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger.



2. Tacooooos! I can't get enough of em.



and number one (Nuuumberr ooooooone!)



Amazing work, Youtube.

2011 TV: Runners Up

I was maybe a little hasty in saying there was nothing else good around. Worthy runners up (but take note there is a pretty large gap in my heart between #1 and the rest of these...) that mostly just continued to be really good:

Breaking Bad (Okay this was actually super excellent. A strong #2 contender)
The League 
Louie (That Afghansistan episode? This guy is just the best)
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia
Parks & Recreation
The Inbetweeners (Which I only got onto this year)
Top Chef Masters (If only to make us all love Curtis Stone. He is great! Who knew!)

& actual new in 2011 entrants Fresh Meat & Bob's Burgers.

2011 TV: The Best!

1. Friday Night Lights

Did you know this only ended in February? It feels like SO LONG AGO. So long in fact that I thought it was last year and was getting all sad about not being able to include it in a list of Best TV of 2011/EVER but the internet saved the day. Thanks, internet! This show was the greaaaaaaatest. I encourage you to skip season two because CRAZY but the rest is so amazingly special it makes up for it. Aghhhhhh I have no sensible words about this.

There is nothing else in my list of Best TV in 2011. Some already great comedies mostly continued to be great, the end.

Texas Forever, you guys.

2011 Movies, Shorty

I went to the cinema 17 times in 2011. There were three main lowlights:

1. Somewhere. Such a bad start to the year. It still makes me angry now just picturing all of their stupid faces.

2. The Hangover 2. This was so bad it has led me to think Hangover 1 was also the worst? I thought it was funny at the time. Was it? I don't even know anymore. I think maybe this should actually be #1 on 2011 Worsts. Congratulations, Somewhere.

3. Thor 3D but really that was to be expected hey.

There were also really good things, though!

DRIVE. I have been wondering if I will look back at this film and think huh everyone went a little too bonkers over this? I hope not. I liked the lengthy silences and the surprise super violence and the soundtrack and well the cast obviously too. It was fun. And it looked good. People I work with didn't like it and I found myself taking their incorrect opinions really personally, it got stressful. 

Midnight In Paris. Ok I only saw this last night but I think it will hold up. There is not much I can think of to say that hasn't already been said, it is lots of fun and it is so pleasing to see a great Woody Allen film again and Owen Wilson is just the greatest and so on. Great it was just great and stress-free yay!

Bridesmaids was a really solid comedy with or without the whole FEMALES BEING FUNNY argument, geez louise, enough already. I remember enjoying every second of this film and didn't even find the overly charming irish character annoying which I usually would, because Irish, not usually as charming as they think they are, stop talking so much. But that guy was good and also everyone else, A+.

This year I got around to watching Zodiac and Cyrus for the first times so I will include those here too in my top 5. Especially Cyrus. Everyone in this was excellent. It made me happy and sad and uneasy and I guess that is just something that I like in a film. Also, Duplass Brothers, the best.