I like music, but I tend not to follow the trends and get into things years after they first appear. I only got into Pavement a few years ago, yet I'm already digging the skewed, irreverent attitude of Das Racist and blasting Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Go figure. I guess I'm selective. This tendency carries over into other areas of our vast pop-cultural landscape, and with the Internet and DVDs making it ever easier to catch up on things both new and old, a year end list can quickly become a "Man oh man was I late to join the party" refrain. This is list is somewhere in the middle, highlighting the things I was into this grand year of 2010.
Biggest Disappointment: Seeing Wu-Tang Clan live
I was so, so unbelievable hyped for this show you would not believe. My excitement could have single-handedly made Wyclef Jean president of Haiti AND made peace between him and Sean Penn. With this much riding on it I was bound to be disappointed, and I was, but the first 25 minutes were fucking banging. Hit after hit off of Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), the whole crowd enthusiastically rapping and jumping along, energetic performances from the clan (minus RZA and Method Man who were MIA). Why did they have to get heavy into their solo stuff? No one knew it as well, and despite various efforts to amp up the crowd, the energy seeped out the room, leaving behind a bunch of idle bodies waiting to leave.
Best Show: Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Tour Chrimbus Spectacular
For those of you who don't know, Tim Heidecker and Eric Warheim of Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! are two weird dudes. Their humor lies in cringe-inducing silences and awkwardness and shoddy post-production effects reminiscent of public access shows. And for those of you who do know Tim and Eric, you're perhaps wondering exactly what I was: How the hell would their show work in a live setting? Suprisingly well, it turns out. Tons of videos, costumes, sketches (including Jim and Derek!), and songs--the highlight being the Ted Nuget-esque "Gumbo Wumbo," detailing how to make a killer titular meal--made for a fantastic show. Idiosyncracies aside, these two know how to give a good show.
Best Thing I Got Into Way Late: Howard Stern
The man has been on the air for 35 years, and for good reason too: He's fucking hilarious, and one of the few people whose reputation completely, and unjustifiably, overshadows them. Sure, Stern can be dirty, and crass, and blue, and incredibly vicious, but he can be equally charming, insightful, caring, and intelligent, and always funny. No thought goes unspoken, and his candor is like the one bright light in a string of dead ones that refuses to give out. Why chastise a man for that?
Best Read: "The Legend of Pig Eye" by Rick Bass and World War Z by Max Brooks
Pig Eye is a short story I read in my creative writing class last spring about a boxer and the unusual, almost tortuous training regimen his trainer puts him through. The writing has a boxer's rhythm, with long, winding sentences and sharp, colorful language, that really packs a punch (pun intended). WWZ is an oral-retelling of the international zombie apocalypse. Funny sounding premise, yes, but this book is straight up serious. Brooks recounts how it spreads and overtakes the world, and ultimately how the human population gets back on top, but what really makes this book shine are the stray, little moments. Black market organs coming to shores and bodies already infected, a swindler making a fortune selling a bogus zombie cure (and governments' cooperating to calm the masses), zombies being forever stuck in cars (lacking the cognitive abilities to open doors). It's scary how no details are spared.
Best Movie: A Prophet, Black Swan
Totally different films, both tonally and thematically, but each highly entertaining in its own way. The former is a French film about a young man who goes to jail and learns how to come out on top in the prison hierarchy. It's well-worn territory, but its ace direction and performances cast a new light on a familiar story. The latter, meanwhile, is a psychological, cerebral tale about a ballerina who struggles to become her latest role, the dual White/Black Swan in the famed Swan Lake. More than just struggling for one's art, it's about the trials and insecurities we face trying to grow as selves. Kind of a cheesy and new-agey statement, I know, but this one really stuck with me. Like Ed said, you gotta take risks.
Best TV Shows: Parks and Recreation, Breaking Bad, Terriers
Best comedy, drama, and new show, respectively. All excellently cast, written, and performed, each with memorable characters with a true sense of shared history and camaraderie. The only thing wrong with them is that they're not on TV right now. Parks and Recreation comes back later this month, Breaking Bad returns in July, and Terriers, sadly, is no more. At least there's DVDs to keep us company.
Best Meal: Chicken Pad Thai at the Thai House, followed by dessert at Diddy Reese LA, CA
I don't know how to write about food. My palate isn't that refined, and the number of taste buds on my tongue leaves me in the 'non-taster' category (the other two being 'taster' and 'supertaster' according to food scientists). The little taste buds that I do have, however, were ecstatic when they encountered the pad thai at the Thai House and the cookies and ice cream sandwiches at Diddy Reese. They were so good my mouth came, which I didn't even think was possible.
Biggest Waste: Netflix
Don't get me wrong. Netflix is pretty cool. Holding a DVD as long as you want with no penalty and streaming an ass load of movies and TV shows for an abysmally cheap price is more than cool; it's revolutionary. The least that can be said is you get the most bang for your buck, yet this is predicated on one crucial thing: use. If you're like me, who holds movies for weeks at a time, and generally doesn't stream, that monthly fee of nine bucks goes straight down the tube. To date, I've watched eight movies and streamed about five things--and I've had this since July. Still, I'm gonna keep it; it's too good to pass up. giped
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
