2008 According to Kate M.

"Anything's possiblllllllllllllllllllllllle!"


Well, anything except me not being the last person to finish their Paulies submission.

It appears I differ from a lot of you folks and think '08 was a fabulous year for music, a dreadful year for movies, and I think it might have been a good year for books. (But who knows since who the hell can afford hardcovers these days?)

So let's hit it!

MUSIC:

1. Fleet Foxes – s/t: There isn’t any praise I can give this album that hasn’t already been given by every music listener and critic on the planet; so basically, if you haven’t listened to the entirety of the album, you should do so now. It’s like, the music version of “The Wire” - everyone who knows it loves it.

2. The Walkmen – You & Me: I wasn’t too much of a fan of The Walkmen since “The Rat” drove me nuts when it was played all the time back in ’04 or ’05. But now through the magic of Pandora, I’ve realized The Walkmen are great, and You & Me goes down like good scotch from track 1 to the end.

3. Basia Bulat – Oh, My Darling: It was released internationally in 2007, but not released in the US till 2008 so is therefore on this list. I listened to it via a recommendation from Amazon. (Who ever really does that? Apparently I do now.) I think the album cover appealed to me, her 70s movie star good looks plus floppy hat made me wonder, “Is she Neko Case-ish? Joni Mitchell-ish? Will this album make me buy a baby blue pick up truck and work on an organic farm?” Her voice is so pretty that I can’t even really devote much time to contemplating whether or not her songs are original enough, if they’re too similar to folksy queens like the aforementioned songbirds, so I say give it a try because as Keith Olbermann said of the RNC, “If you like this sort of thing then this is the sort of thing you’ll like.”

4. Cut Copy – In Ghost Colours: If you’re resolving to exercise more, this album will make doing so feel like a treat! Each song will cause you to uncontrollably shake your groove thang.

5. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago: Holy smokes is “Skinny Love” ever a good single. You’d think such a weepy album would be boring, but no, it's magical!

6. She & Him – Volume 1: It’s sort of like the music version of Season 1 of Flight of the Conchords. It is so drenched in (deserved) love and devotion that if Volume 2 doesn’t come out soon, I will barf from Volume 1 overkill.

7. Okkervil River – The Stand Ins: I like how this album puts a swing in my step. And I like their versatility since “For Real” from Black Sheep Boy makes me want to weep while in the fetal position.

8. Jolie Holland – The Living and the Dead: Her voice is so awesome; it’s like Feist and Jenny Lewis had a baby or something. This album didn’t knock my socks off the way 04’s Escondida did, but it’s still a Top 10 quality album.



9. Sigur Ros - Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust: In ’04, one of the only parts of Life Aquatic that I enjoyed was when they played “Starálfur” – who doesn’t listen to that song and get lump throaty? Who would have thought that same band would create such a cheerful, perfect summer album?

10. Beach House – Devotion: For you kids that listen to All Songs Considered, you might be familiar with Beach House, but if you’re not, you should check them out. I have no idea how to describe their sound; it’s unique and Devotion is as good/better than their self titled debut from 2006.



Honorable mentions / non-2008 stuff I listened to a lot:

*Sun Kil Moon – April (So, Mark Kozelek/Sun Kil Moon/guy from Red House Painters makes new stuff pretty much every year yet doesn’t get nearly as much press as say, Blitzen Trapper. Is this because the former has a pot belly and is in his 40s and doesn’t have the requisite beard and rectangular glasses that male indie rockers must have? Are we really that snobby?)
*Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – Lay Down in the Light
*Judas Priest – Screaming for Vengeance
*Ola Podrida – Ola Podrida
*Portishead - Third
*Magnetic Fields - Distortion
*Paul Davis - misc (He died in April of '08, so what better time to reacquaint yourself with his whole catalog?):



MUSIC THAT SUCKED:

Guns n’ Roses – Chinese Democracy: The thing that makes me really hate this album is that you can’t beat Rock Band 2 until you can play “Shackler’s Revenge” on hard. Bulllshit!

Devotchka - A Mad & Faithful Telling: It didn't really suck-suck, but the only track I liked was "New World," which I now can't listen to because it was played in so many damn NBA Finals commercials. Devotchka being played in NBA commercials? That's about as ridiculous as Cat Power being played in a car commercial. Oh, wait..

BEST MOVIES: (This list is intentionally incomplete since, like most of you, I haven’t yet seen all the movies from ’08 that I’d like to see.)

1. Revolutionary Road: I’m concerned that this movie might be hard to appreciate if you haven’t read the book first, (i.e., “Into the Wild”). Having read the book twice, I had to bite my tongue from squealing in delight at how true to the book Sam Mendes was in his execution. Kate Winslet is such an insanely intense actress that all the other actors turn in amazing performances as a way to keep up with her. (Leo’s screaming ability is fantastic, and surprisingly enough Michael Shannon and David Harbour get past the Leo/Kate fanfare in supporting roles that are both hilarious and authenetic.)

2. The Wrestler: I was super sad when this movie was over. Mickey Rourke, your heart is as big your knoggin'. And Aronofsky, I thought you were only good for movies that would traumatize the bejesus out of me and keep me off the drugs.

(Speaking of drugs, give a listen to my favorite single from '08 - "Vanished" by Crystal Castles. It's like, the only song on my iPod that fills the same craving that Depeche Mode would fill. Just don't watch the video, it's stupid, unless you're on drugs..):



3. Milk: Dammit, James Franco, I tried to get over my love for you by watching less Freaks & Geeks. Now between Milk and your dorky Fresh Air interview, I guess I’ll have to start crashing MFA classes in NY.

4. The Dark Knight: In the next one I’d like to see Bale be a bit more of a badass and have some more personality, like when he was Laurie in Little Women..

5. Synecdoche, New York: Yeah, there were times during this movie when I wanted it to be paused so that I could try to process what was going on, but I guess that disoriented feeling is Kaufman’s intent. Either way, PSH is again a genius.

6. Slumdog Millionaire: I liked how it was one of the only “feel good” movies I saw this year. (And honorable mentions to Tropic Thunder and Role Models, which are nothing like Slumdog but definitely 'feel good.')

7. Snow Angels: Sam Rockwell is amazing; too bad he didn’t get more screen time in Frost/Nixon.

MOVIES THAT SUCKED!:

Sex & the City: This was absolutely the worst movie of the year. Talk about a movie that’s insulting to females, ambitious people, and the movies in general. I have never seen such cheap drama, such horribly self-referential and vain characters, and such ridiculously juvenile humor. It made me embarrassed to have had so much respect for the show and Michael Patrick King between 1998 and 2004.

Cloverfield: It could have had that Blair Witch Project “I’m so-so scared” thing if you weren’t rooting for all the stupid characters to get killed as quickly as possible. I find myself in rare agreement with Manohla Dargis who thought the 9/11 imagery was tacky as hell.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Really, David Fincher? You really think this movie is any good when you're the same guy who made Zodiac and Seven? And Brad Pitt, are you really taking the whole "I'm Brad Pitt and can make a successful movie no matter what" thing this far? Shame on both of you!

TV:

I kind of missed the boat on TV this year because I was distracted by election coverage. (What is this Mad Men? Wait, you’re telling me The Shield ended like THAT?) Obviously Season 5 of The Wire gets the #1 spot; 30 Rock gets a disappointed wag of the finger, they need to stop gazing into their Emmys and remember how to write funny stuff (how the hell do you make an episode with Steve Martin boring?); The Office gets my surprise at being so consistent as well as a high five for adding Amy Ryan (from THE WIRE) to the cast; I think it’s awesome that Rachel Maddow has her own quirky show that caters to its younger audience by explaining the Middle East conflict with colorful maps and cute, young experts that make me feel unsuccessful; and everyone I know who has seen Keith Olbermann’s Prop 8 speech consider it one of their favorite moments of the election season. Now I want to check out the book, The Big Show, and Sports Night on DVD.



Top 5 Best Moments:
1./2. Barack Obama’s victory/the Celtics championship win over the Lakers (tie)
3. Eli Manning providing the Patriots, Tom Brady, and cocky, obnoxious fans all over New England with the biggest “OH SNAP!” moment of 2008
4. SNL Digital Short: Iran So Far
5. Blagojevich! (And we were worried that 24 hours news and Jon Stewart wouldn’t have any material after the election..)

And if you didn't catch the quote from the top of my post, take a looksee here:


And on that optimistic note, I'll leave you till next year! Happy 2009!