Hello! I used to work with Paul at the Harvard Coop. I also beat Paul in 2006’s Oscar Pool by picking the Three 6 Mafia’s “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp” to win Best Song. Speaking of the Oscars, I'm concerned about how the strike will affect the annual screaming, yelling, artichoke dip, violence, and cookies that have been the hallmarks of my Oscar night.
MUSIC
Favorite Albums: (in no particular order)
1. Robert Plant & Allison Krause –Raising Sand (My first of two Led-related mentions, fitting since their first concert since 1980 took place in 2007!)
2. Feist – The Reminder
3. Radiohead – In Rainbows
4. The National – Boxer
5. Interpol – Our Love to Admire
6. The New Pornographers – Challengers
7. Jay Z – American Gangster (This would be the first Jay Z album to ever enter my home. It made me want to move to Harlem and start pushing H.)
Paul asks: “Will No One Defend..”
Interpol – “Our Love to Admire”?
I have an odd, sentimental attachment to “The Heinrich Manuever,” which initially had me very jazzed about this album’s release. However, I’ve found that if you listen to it while contemplating ‘Antics’ or ‘Turn On The Bright Lights,’ you’ll feel a little let down. The trick to enjoying this album (and it is enjoyable) is to pretend that it’s not Interpol, to forget the irritation that comes with oft-discussed bands on pedestals. ‘Cause you know, they’re actually good.
New Pornographers – Challengers?
You people are whack for not liking this album. I love the refrain of “Who cares you always wind up in the ci-ty!” in “Myriad Harbor.”
Bright Eyes – Cassadaga?
No. I won’t defend this; Bright Eyes always has the prettiest album art, and the titles sure are cute, too..
but that’s the only positive stuff I have to say; I’ve never seemed to “get” the appeal of his voice; but I do get the appeal of his songs. It’s almost like when I lived in Allston and saw that chick Ari, that Ani DiFranco-look-a-like, sing a Bob Dylan song at Herrell’s and I felt guilty because her version was slightly more pleasing to the ear. Not that I’m saying an Allston hippie is better than Bob Dylan, of course..
Feist – The Reminder?
My favorite album of 2007! OK, so “1,2,3,4” was a bit overplayed because of Starbucks/iTunes but c’mon, listen to “Sea Lion Woman” – that song should suck with that title, but it’s great.
Tegan & Sarah – The Con?
Definitely not going to defend this, either. And geez, on Grey’s fucking Anatomy not a horrible episode goes by that doesn’t seem to be accompanied by either Tegan & Sarah or that guy who sang the “How to save a life” song. For female vocals to accompany a girly internal monologue I’d rather listen to Azure Ray or Bats for Lashes.
TELEVISION
Was anything good in 2007? 30 Rock- Alec Baldwin and..
.. Hilarious.
Some beefs I have with TV:
- The last season of Scrubs? Disappointing. Watch the DVDs of the first 2 hilarious and innovative seasons and you’ll want to strangle Bill Lawrence for becoming so lazy.
- I thought Pushing Daisies had potential but all the cleav’ shots and bobbling boobs are distracting. Like, more than regular television distracting. What is that all about?
- The Office? Not really doing it for me, especially with those one-hour episodes. Why make 100 episodes where 20 are good instead of just making 15 amazing ones? Shame on you, NBC; obviously the Brits know better on this one.
BOOKS
I didn’t read a single book that came out before 1970 in 2007. Did I miss anything good? Oh wait, I read “You Don’t Love Me Yet” by Jonathan Lethem. As far as fiction goes, it was yuck; he should stick to essays that revolve around his self-aggrandizing, addictive personality.
I was lucky enough to meet Grace Paley this past summer shortly before she died. She’s amazing and I read many of her short stories and poems in 2007.
MOVIES
I agree with Gilberto that it’s impossible to put together a comprehensive list for 2007 till around Oscar-time and that it’s definitely worth noting that I haven’t yet seen several movies that look promising: I’m Not There, Margot at the Wedding, The Diving Bell & The Butterfly, Sweeney Todd, etc..
Here is my list so far, in ascending order of awesome-ness:
(5.) Juno
Holy crap was I surprised at how much I liked this movie. I used to be anti-Jennifer Garner but I thought her performance was exceptional; it’s hard to pull off a truly empathetic and likeable yuppie/square.
(4.) The Savages
Sure, it’s not as great (and definitely not as comical) as the near-perfect-if-not-perfect Slums of Beverly Hills, but it was definitely one of the best movies of 2007. How awesome is Tamara Jenkins at Keeping It Real? Very awesome!
(3.) Zodiac
People I know think I’m a freak for having seen this movie 4 times since it came out on DVD. (I guess I’m a Fincher-holic. I definitely went through a phase where I watched Fight Club over and over again when I was 18, thinking both the movie and book spoke to me.) I sort of understand the complaints about the length, but the soundtrack, the cinematography, and the cast kept me going for all 160 minutes.
(2.) There Will Be Blood
I saw this in the theater last Saturday and thought about it the whole walk home. Then on Sunday I stared at a wall while eating breakfast and thought about it till Monday. In one of the scenes where Paul Dano is preaching, several audience members were audibly affected: gasps, “Oh my gods,” etc. Who would have thought the guy from Little Miss Sunshine would be able to hold his own so well against Daniel Day Lewis?
(1.) No Country For Old Men
I almost peed on myself during this movie, a sensation not before experienced in a theater, at least as far as I can remember. And speaking of urine, I was surprisingly not pissed with something at the end that several people I know are pissed about. (The vagueness is in case any of you haven’t seen it.) One of Tommy Lee Jones’s “soliloquies” had me in tears, my only tears-in-the-theater experience in 2007.
MISC
Honorable mentions:
- Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose. Sure, the movie followed the typical “bio-pic” format, but – much like the Judy Davis bio-pic on Judy Garland - it did so really, really well.
- Sidney Lumet making excellent use of Ethan Hawke’s aura of douchebaggery in Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead. That’s really turning a Kit Kat into a chocolate soufflé.
The debate over No Country vs. There Will Be Blood:
Which is better?
Why? During the first 10 minutes of There Will Be Blood, I thought about Daniel Day Lewis, I thought about Johnny Greenwood, I thought about how exciting it was to see the new PT Anderson movie, and I thought about the sandwich I brought with me to eat. Then the movie sucked me in once the dialogue kicked up. With No Country, I was sucked in immediately and remained so till I left the theater. I never thought for a second about the Cohen brothers or Tommy Lee Jones or whether or not I remembered to pay my cell phone bill; my mind was completely immersed in the world of the movie.
Things That Should Have Blown My Mind But Didn’t:
- Spoon – Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
- Rilo Kiley – Under the Blacklight
- Bjork – Volta
Things That Did Blow My Mind:
- Conan O’Brien’s beard (2008, but started growing in 2007..)
- Across the Universe being a good movie
- Eddie Vedder making good music for both Into the Wild and I’m Not There
Things That Blew My Mind In 2007 That Were Not Released In 2007:
- Mr. Airplane Man – C’mon DJ- The Wire - Season 1
- Led Zeppelin – The BBC Sessions
Things To Look Forward To In 2008:
- ‘Election keggers’ which Tom Brokaw described and endorsed on Conan last night.
-Sex & The City – The Movie. Based on the still photographs of Kim Catrall and Sarah Jessica Parker looking their actual age yet still dressed as teenagers, I think this movie could be a huge disaster. Yet it’ll still be a guilty pleasure for females everywhere, not just the gals who wear flip flops with martini glasses on them and think ‘The Secret’ was a good read.
- Magnetic Fields - Distortion. You know 2008 is the best year to get dumped by your lover if the Magnetic Fields have a new album. “I Don’t Want To Get Over You” – at just 2 minutes and 22 seconds – is perhaps the funniest and most human break-up song I’ve ever heard and I can only anticipate Distortion to be filled with similarly cathartic and amusing tunes.
Thanks Paul, as well as everyone else involved! As always, it's been a blast!
-Kate Miles
