Best of the Year

On one of the blogs I read/browse almost daily, Pop Candy, USA Today's Whitney Matheson writes a post every Friday where she recaps her favorite items of popular culture from that particular week. Her favorite tv show, movie, book, song/album, etc. It's almost like a serious version of VH1's Best Week Ever (is that show still on the air?). I could probably pull off writing a similar post every Friday, but I don't think I'd be able to include the favorite book portion because sometimes it takes me over a month to read a book and sometimes I am not reading a book at all. Obviously she can, though, because it's her job. I get that.

On a related note, I don't know how many of you watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but you should. Either way, he has 4 guests on his show each week (M-Th) and more often than not they are promoting a book. I don't know how, but I'm pretty sure that he reads all of them before the authors appear on his show. I'm half baffled half amazed at how he pulls this off. Back in my hey day (2nd grade) I could read faster than just about everyone in my grade, but now I'm starting to think that I'm a slow reader.

Well if I can't pull off this post on a weekly basis I sure as hell can make it work for the year. The only difference that I foresee in utilizing this concept for the year is that Whitney gets to comment on specific tv episodes whereas I think I have to consider entire series'.

And now without further ado...

Favorite movie that I saw- Inception



Now granted I have yet to see Black Swan, The King's Speech, and The Fighter, but Inception was one of the few, if not the only, "drop what you're doing right now and head to the closest movie theater" movies of the year. Director Christopher Nolan is quickly becoming a rockstar in the movie industry because of his ability to churn out action/adventure films that have ridiculous special effects as well as highly developed characters. Now as great as the special effects in Inception were, and they were great, it was the plot that really drove the movie. The story was constantly intriguing, even months after you left the theater (did the top stop spinning? was it all just a dream?), and the storyline (excuse the pun) had so many layers. The best part about this was that even if you were confused about how some of the things in the film transpired you could still follow the general story arc. In that aspect this film was truly remarkable. It was accessible and easy to understand while at the same time multi-dimensional and unclear.

I can't believe I've gone this far and haven't mentioned the amazing cast. You all know that I have a man crush on Leonardo DiCaprio (and really, who doesn't?), but this film also showcased two up and coming stars in the film industry. Both Josh Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page have really come into their own as actors that can handle mutliple roles and this film was further evidence of that. Last, and certainly not least, Inception lived up to the hype. I didn't see it until about a month and a half after it was released and in that time I heard nothing but rave reviews. My friends told me that it was a must see, that it was Oscar worthy, etc., etc. Needless to say by the time I entered the theater I had high hopes for this film. Normally when I have these sort of lofty expectations the film in question doesn't come close to meeting them, but Inception certainly did.

I also enjoyed- The Town, The Social Network, and Hot Tub Time Machine


Favorite song that I heard- As mentioned in my previous post, I've sort of fallen out of touch with the music industry. I rarely listen to the radio (outside of sports talk), haven't been to a concert in years, and only bought 2-3 CDs in the past calendar year. Due to my sudden lack of knowledge in this area, here are two different top 10 lists of the year that will serve as my guide as I make my decision.

Billboard Top 10 of 2010

1.) Ke$ha- Tik ToK
2.) Lady Antebellum- Need You Now
3.) Train- Hey, Soul Sister
4.) Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg- California Gurls
5.) Usher featuring will.i.am- OMG
6.) B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams- Airplanes
7.) Eminem featuring Rihanna- Love The Way You Lie
8.) Lady Gaga- Bad Romance
9.) Taio Cruz- Dynamite
10.) Taio Cruz featuring Ludacris- Break Your Heart

I've actually heard all of these, which I guess means that I'm not totally out of touch. FYI- Bad Romance was released in 2009, but it remained on the Billboard charts well into 2010.

Rolling Stone's Top 10 Singles of the Year

1.) Kanye West featuring Pusha T- Runaway
2.) Cee Lo Green- Fuck You
3.) Sade- Soldier of Love
4.) Katy Perry- Teenage Dream
5.) Arcade Fire- We Used to Wait
6.) Mavis Staples- You Are Not Alone
7.) Vampire Weekend- White Sky
8.) Janelle Monae featuring Big Boi- Tightrope
9.) Broken Bells- The Ghost Inside
10.) Kanye West featuring Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, and Bon Iver- Monster

I've now heard all of these songs, but I had only heard four of them beforehand. This list is obviously much different than the Billboard list because the Billboard list was strictly based on popularity whereas this list had a multitude of factors.

For my song of the year I'm going to go with Arcade Fire's "We Used to Wait"
I also enjoyed- Eminem featuring Rihanna- Love The Way You Lie, Sugarland- Stuck Like Glue (my favorite country song of the year), Usher featuring Pitbull- DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love, Vampire Weekend- Giving Up The Gun, Selena Gomez and The Scene- Naturally, and not that I'm a huge fan, but I feel like it needs to be mentioned- Cali Swag District- Teach Me How to Dougie.


Favorite book that I read- The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin



I wrote about this book back in March and for the sake of being lazy and for not including a link that none of you will click on (I'm new to the smartphone game and I now totally understand why links don't get clicked on) I will just copy and paste my words right here.

From my March 29th post titled, "Enter Sandman":

"As I've mentioned time and time again on various platforms, it was the first time since August of 2000 that I had read a book written by a female author ("Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire"). I'm a little disappointed that I didn't make it a full decade, but "The Happiness Project" was well worth the read. The novel falls into the recently dubbed genre of stunt non-fiction. Stunt non-fiction is when the author does something for an extended period of time (usually a year) with the intention of writing a book about the experience. In the case of "The Happiness Project", Rubin dedicated a year to becoming a happier person. She called it, "My year-long quest to be happier by changing my life-without changing my life."

In the book Rubin highlighted specific areas of her life that she wanted to improve. Each month she attempted a handful of stategies in the hopes of improving her happiness with regards to one of these areas (her energy, marriage, work, parenthood, friendships, etc.). Naturally some of these strategies worked and some of them completely backfired. For example, in her attempt to boost her energy she decided to go to sleep earlier, excercise better, remove the clutter from her life, write and complete an extensive to do list including all of the nagging tasks that people consistently put off, and simply to act more energetic. Overall the book provides the reader with ample suggestions on how to become a happier person even if they already consider themselves to be happy."

If you feel like you've fallen into a routine and you don't necessarily have any major problems with it, but you want to feel that renewed sense of life again, read this book.

I also enjoyed- Eating A Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman, How Soccer Explains the World by Franklin Foer, and A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O'Reilly. Also, I feel like I need to mention The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini even though I read it in 2009 because I don't write about books too ofent. This is an amazing story about friendship, loyaltly, and redemption and just as a warning, it's a tear jerker.


My favorite tv show that I watched- I usually don't like going with the clear cut favorite, but how can I not pick Mad Men? When a show's dialogue prompts me to stop my DVR player to write down a handful of lines throughout the season you know the show is fantastic. Just like I've previously written about my favorite book I've also written about my favorite tv show.

From my October 21st post titled, "All Aboard":

"Let me be blunt. If you don't watch Mad Men, you're crazy. It's without a doubt the best drama on television (back to back Emmy wins). The Season 4 finale aired this past Sunday and although there was no "they tied up all the loose ends" closure-like feel or textbook cliffhanger going into next year's Season 5, I am more than satisfied. It was a very complete season. Perhaps the show's best since Season 1.

Here's a few reasons why you should Netflix (has Blockbuster gone bankrupt yet?) Seasons 1-3 and anxiously await Season 4's release.

1.) In case you're not aware (and it's almost impossible for you not to be), Mad Men is set in New York in the 1960's. The name of the show is a reference to the occupation of the characters. They work in the golden age of advertising on Madison avenue. Now this is all fine, but why should you care? Well, because the historical context of the show gives us twentysomethings a look at the world that our parents grew up in. The stories and situations offer a fleeting glance as to how they were raised, shaped, and molded. If you aren't at least mildly intrigued in discovering clues at to why your parents and grandparents are the way that they are then maybe Mad Men isn't for you.

2.) Men and women alike can enjoy the show because they will no doubt be able to resonate with one of the characters.

For men- Don Draper, the show's protaganist, is an alpha male. Women want him and men want to be him. He drinks all day (literally), sleeps with whoever he wants, and still crushes it in the boardroom. He is a creative genius who understands people better than they understand themselves. For his many strong, useful attributes, he is also very flawed. The drinking is just the half of it. He also has a dark past that haunts him constantly.

For women- There is a strong female character in secretary turned copywriter Peggy Olsen. She is a young, motivated woman trying to make it in a man's world. Her struggle for acceptance in the world of advertising is symbolic of the women's rights movement. You know, Rosie the Riveter, Betty Friedan, and all that mumbo jumbo.

In fact, Don and Peggy have the best male/female (platonic) relationship on television. It's part father/daughter, part creative counsel, part genuine friends, part reflection of self, and part teacher/pupil.

3.) Granted I'm probably more of a deep thinker than most, but this is the only show that has made me actually pick up a pen and paper to write down some of the dialogue (this started during Season 4). Some lines are just that well put and thought provoking.

"Is that what you want? or is that what people expect of you?"

"Since when is forgiveness a better quality than loyalty?"

"People tell you who they are, but we ignore it because we want them to be who we want them to be."

"When a man walks into a room he brings his whole life with him."

"You always say, "If you don't like what they're saying about you change the conversation."

"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know. That's the best part, right? I've got the rest of my life ahead of me. And so do you."

"There is no fresh start. Lives carry on."

I also enjoyed: Modern Family, 30 Rock, The Bachelorette, The Bachelor Pad, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, The Colbert Report, The Challenge: Cut Throat, and I'm currently loving Top Chef: All-Stars.

List-o-mania

This is one of my favorite times of the year for a multitude of reasons. One of which is the abundant amount of "Best of" lists that you start to see all over the internet. Last year afforded me the opportunity to provide you all with my own "Best of the decade" lists and this year I figured that I could use the same concept and come up with any number of the "Best movies/songs/etc. of 2010." Well in the past week I stumbled across a "Best 60 Songs of the Year" list and a "Best 75 Songs of the Year" list. I figured that these two lists would be a good starting point for my own personal "Best Songs of the Year" list, but I soon realized that I had never heard of most of the songs on these lists. Honestly, I had heard of maybe 4 or 5 songs tops on each list. Clearly I'm out of touch with the music world.

Although I was derailed from my (not so) original idea I decided to give many of these songs a listen and boy am I glad that I did. In case you aren't aware, the indie rock craze is currently off the charts (or maybe the two lists I scoured were from trendy websites/publications). Either way, I've been on an indie rock binge lately like you wouldn't believe. Don't be surprised if I look like one of these guys the next time you see me.



As I've grown to appreciate the indie rock movement in the past few weeks I've taken a particular liking to five bands. Of the five two are British, one is Canadian, one is French, and one boasts members that all hail from the land of the home and the free.

So consider this quick list of my top 5 indie rock bands the consolation for my inability to provide a top 10 songs of 2010.

(in no particular order)

1.) Manic Street Preachers- This British group is a bit on the older side. They formed in 1986 and have since released 10 albums. My favorite song of theirs is their most recent single "(It's Not War) Just the End of Love."




2.) Phoenix- I had actually heard of this French band before my binge began, but I'm not even sure if they qualify as an indie rock band. They won a Grammy earlier this year for Best Alternative Music Album for their most recent album, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix", but indie rock is Alternative, right? Either way I know they've hit it big because not only have the played on all the late night talk shows, but they were even an answer/question on a recent episode of Jeopardy. My two favorite Phoenix jams are "1901" and "Lisztomania" (which has been used in countless movie trailers, tv shows, etc.).

You've probably heard "Lisztomania" already anyway and there's no way I'm going to embed a video of just the lyrics, so click the link if you want to hear the song.


3.) Vampire Weekend- You may have heard of them. They seem to be quite popular from what I can tell. My favorite part about this band of former Columbia students is that they've been named the "whitest band" going by the guy that created the website stuffwhitepeoplelike.com. Also, they've appeared on The Colbert Report so they're good in my book. My favorite Vampire Weekend songs include "Giving Up the Gun", "Holiday", "Cousins", and "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa".






4.) Mystery Jets- This five piece English band was formed by a father, son (who has a spinal condition that prevents him from really walking- he uses crutches), and the son's best friend. They have since added two members and have released a total of 4 albums. Their most recent, Serotonin (this is commonnly known as the "happiness" hormone), features two of my current go to tunes in Dreaming of Another World and Show Me the Light. I also particularly enjoy their song "Flash a Hungry Smile".






5.) Arcade Fire- If I had marginally heard of this Canadian band then you probably have too. They are led by a husband and wife duo, which is kind of cool, and have been nominated for a number of Grammys including 3 this year. My favorite Arcade Fire songs are "We Used to Wait" and "Intervention". Surprisingly I'm not a fan of their song "Wake Up" which has been used by the NFL in 2010 Super Bowl commercials and also by The Dan Patrick Show.

The Best _____ _______ of all time

The other day a buddy of mine mentioned (in an email chain) that the new Jake Gyllenhaal/Anne Hathaway movie Love and Other Drugs is "the best chick flick of all time," which of course got me thinking about what the best chick flicks of all time actually are. Now I have yet to see this film, although I will say that it is 1 of 4 movies that either have been recently released or will soon be released that I want to see (the others being How Do You Know (another chick flick), The Black Swan, and The King's Speech), so I can't include it on these rankings just yet, but I have a feeling it will compare very favorably to a few of the following.

As far as chick flicks go, the criteria to be considered one is pretty ambigious. I'll let Wikipedia explain, "Generally, a chick flick is a film designed to have an innate appeal to women, typically young women. Defining a film a chick flick is, as the New York Times has stated, more of a parlor game than a science. These films are generally held in popular culture as having formulaic, paint-by-numbers plot lines and characters. Some frequent elements of chick flicks include having a female protagonist, thematic use of the color pink (along with metaphorical allusions of the color), and romance and/or dating based storylines. Longtime producer Jerry Bruckheimer has remarked about the plots as "How do you cope with money and love?"

For our purposes I've decided to not include any movies that have garnered attention from the Academy Awards. Those movies (I'm looking at you Titanic) are dramas.

And now, without further ado, the top 10 chick flicks of all time that guys could easily put up with/might secretly enjoy.

1.) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)- An intriguing plot where a magazine columnist (Kate Hudson) dates a guy and does everything imaginable to get dumped in 10 days, but little does she know that the guy (Matthew McConaughey) made a bet that he could get her to fall in love with him in 10 days.

Also, not for nothing, Kate Hudson looks phenomenal in that yellow dress. As I've previously written, normally guys aren't overly impressed with a dress because if a girl is good looking she's going to look good in just about any dress, but this yellow dress was perfect for Kate Hudson.

2.) Definitely, Maybe (2008)- A soon to be divorced father (Ryan Reynolds) tells his daughter about three of his past relationships, including the one with her mother, and soon after the story is over the plot shifts to the present (a la Forrest Gump) as his unresolved feelings for a woman from his past come to the forefront.

I think what makes this chick flick so entertaining is that the protaganist is a male. The plot involves plenty of female emotions, but you see them from a male perspective.

3.) (500) Days of Summer (2009)- To be honest, I'm not even sure if this one counts. I've seen it referred to as a "male chick flick", so we'll go with that. Either way the plot centers around a male 20 something (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who tries to figure out where things went wrong with a girl (Zooey Deschanel) that he dated.

As I've repeatedly stated over the past few months, Zooey Deschanel is my current #1 celebrity crush and I can almost guarantee that she will be yours as well once you're done watching this movie (and Yes, Man).

4.) Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)- This is a bit of a throwback and it did garner an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, so I'm breaking my own rules, but I feel like it's a movie that not too many people have heard of. Maybe because it's British. Anyway, as the title indicates this movie tells the story of two people (Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell- a something about her/sneaky hot type of girl) that fall in love over the course of four weddings and a funeral.

5.) Love Actually (2003)- This is almost like the British version of Crash (2004), but it's set around Christmas time. There are 5 or 6 storylines that seem to weave together. It's basically like a bazooka to the face of Christmas spirit. Incredibly heartfelt and hard not to like. I know at least 3 girls who say that this is their favorite movie of all time.

6.) When Harry Met Sally (1989)- It's been called the ultimate date movie and I threw it on here mainly because of that. Not to mention that there aren't too many chick flicks that I've seen and enjoyed (surprising, I know). The movie is about a guy and a girl (Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan) who drive to New York together from Chicago and seemingly can't stand each other, but they become friends as they keep running into each other over the years in NYC and eventually fall in love.

7.) Raising Helen (2004)- A young, career-first socialite (Kate Hudson) is tasked with raising her sister's 3 kids (the oldest played by a young Hayden Panittiere) after she and her husband die in a car accident. As the title infers, Kate Hudson's character Helen matures through this experience of raising her sister's children.

I know it sounds like a brutally painful movie to watch, but it's actually heartwarming and borderline enjoyable.

8.) The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)- I thought this movie was semi-worthwhile mainly because I didn't fully grasp the rules to this time travel. Basically Eric Bana jumps through time and pops up at different stages of his life. Whenever he goes to another point in time he always shows up without any clothes. If you think that's bizarre, it's get crazier. He starts showing up at different points of this girl's childhood (Rachel McAdams) and eventually they "fall in love" and get married (as if she had a choice- this guy kept showing up and practically told her that they were destined to get married), but he keeps disappearing for stretches and she is forced to deal with the reality that her husband will never fully be there for her.

Maybe I enjoyed this film (sort of) because I'm a big Rachel McAdams guy, but I will say that girls ate this movie/book up big time.

9.) Serendipity (2001)- Hopefully you know what you're getting into when you see Cusack and Kate Beckinsale on the cover. This film reinforces the largely female notions of "everything happens for a reason" and "if it's meant to be, it's meant to be."

10.) The Proposal (2009)- The plot is a bit ridiculous, but the movie isn't horrible. A female CEO type (Sandra Bullock) is getting deported (she's Canadian), so she forces her male assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to marry her so that she can stay in the country. They go away to his hometown for a long weekend and, you guessed it, fall in love.