Marisa's '09 Favorites

Hi all. I dedicated my 2008 Paulies entry to painstakingly dissecting the merits of the year's top Project Runway episodes, but I'll spare everyone that again and try to write a more traditional list for 2009. Here are my favorites of '09 amongst not just music but also books, film, television, and fashion.

ALBUM: Hands down, top album of the year honors go to Fever Ray. Karin Dreijer Andersson, the sister half of the brother-sister Swedish electropop duo The Knife, released this self titled album in the beginning of '09, and talk about prayers being answered. While this is a solo album, Andersson distorts her voice in both low and high pitches to create three distinct voices layered on top of each other, all of which are so awesomely creepy they make your spine tingle upon listening.

CONCERT: I was also fortunate enough to see Fever Ray live in October, cementing my vote for concert of the year as well. Andersson performed the entire album (no more, no less) behind a curtain of thick fog penetrated sporadically by laser light beams, which had the effect of making her virtually invisible except for an outline of the enormous fur headdress she was wearing. I felt as if an alien Eskimo had been beamed into Webster Hall for a night to bring us secret messages from her distant planet, via synthesizers.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Animal Collective/Merriweather Post Pavilion: I know when I dust off my old MP3s from this album in ten years, they're going to bring back distinct memories of 2009. Particularly enduring a bitterly cold January and February by listening to "Summertime Clothes" on repeat.

Dan Deacon/Bromst: Not to be confused with the soundtrack for Alvin & the Chipmunks--The Squeakuel.


BOOK: Keeping with the Scandinavian theme here, my vote for best book of '09 goes to Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Played with Fire, by a loooooong shot. I can't recommend this book enough. Be forewarned that if you start it, be prepared to clear the next two weeks of your schedule and explain to loved ones/bosses why you'll be unreachable. The follow-up to 2008's bestseller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, this intelligent thriller surpasses its predecessor by maintaining an action-packed pace, supported by intense character development, throughout all 500+ pages. And unlike The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, this one steers clear of rape-dungeons and incest themes, making it a lot more palatable. Looking forward to the third and final book to round out this thriller trilogy (thrilology?) in 2010: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.


MOVIES: I was pleasantly surprised by 2009's yield of several semi-mainstream fashion films: Valentino: The Last Emperor, The September Issue, and three (!) biopics of Coco Chanel: Coco before Chanel with Audrey Tautou, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, and the made-for-TV movie Coco Chanel, staring Shirley McClain as the couturier in her later years. I'd like to imagine that this upsurge is due to an increased general interest in fashion and fashion history, but in reality it's more likely a result of the current obsession with the lives of celebrities. We've simply run the gamut of the more famous celebs, and now are forced to delve deeper into more obscure and niche names to satiate our desire for the exposé--for better or for worse.

A note on The September Issue--I loved this documentary, and would definitely recommend it as a top movie of 2009. (As an aside, can I just remark on how so few movies stood out this year overall, especially compared to '08?). While The September Issue was marketed as an inside look into the inner world of in/famous Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour, it is less E! True Hollywood Story and more just a captivating behind-the-scenes study of how a large scale--yet incredibly fleeting--project comes together. I came away from it fascinated by how much creative energy goes into creating a single issue of a magazine. It's also eye-opening to see how much power a single person (and just an editor, at that) wields within an entire industry.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: (500) Days of Summer: Much to the chagrin of a certain Paulies administrator--ahem--I want to note how much I loved this indie rom-com for so skillfully portraying the modern dating scenario: one plagued by indecisiveness, unwillingness to commit, and a reluctance to slap labels on relationships. Ok, maybe that's just MY modern dating scenario. Still. And a Hall and Oats dance sequence--come on!

Two Lovers: With some wonderful acting from pre-bearded, pre-crazy Joaquin Phoenix, this Brooklyn-based film came out at the beginning of the year amidst all the Oscar hoopla and was widely overlooked. If nothing else, watch it for the completely implausible sex scene at the top of the McCarren Pool facade. In winter. Brrr.


TV: I started watching Mad Men and Battlestar Galactica on DVD this year, which are both stellar shows but essentially yesterday's news. So to be slightly more topical, I want to give a shout out to It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia for producing some hilarious moments in its fifth season, i.e. Kitten Mittens. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look it up on Hulu and laugh your ass off.


FASHION: Yeah, I know, fashion is cyclical, and since we've spent the past four years or so revisiting the '80s its only par for the course that early-'90s grunge is the next trend. But can we PLEASE scale back on the flannel shirts? A trip to to H&M, Uni Qlo, or Top Man now feels like I'm attending a hipster lumberjack convention. On a more positive note, kudos to Target for continuing its Designer Collaboration project and signing on Anna Sui and Rodarte to produce some really beautiful and original pieces this year. I'd love to see Target spreading the love a little and getting a high-end menswear designer to create a line for the store. I'm thinking Paul Smith for Target in 2010? That could really help stem the collateral damage of the impending flannel epidemic.