Review of the Year, Part I
You know I don't go in for this kind of thing. Top tens, for example. Because there rarely is a top ten. My top ten CD releases of 2004 are Tambourine by Tift Merritt and Green Eyed Soul by Lari White. Play each one five times, there's your top ten.
Neither of them are strictly country records, you'll be surprised to learn. Country artists in general did not have a vintage year. There was too much Jesus and mawkish sentimentality on Martina by Ms McBride; and Tim McGraw, in spite of the odd cracking song on Live Like You Were Dying doesn't seem to operate any sort of quality control. There are a lot of tracks on the album, and quite a few of them are awful. Keith Urban's record is pretty good... but kind of anonymous after the first couple of tracks. Usual problem of good guitar and cliched lyrics.
Anyway, on to films. The top 10 films of the year are... well, I haven't seen any. I'm afraid I've become one of those middle-class fuckers who only goes to see one film a year. Only I haven't seen mine yet, and wouldn't presume to name it "film of the year" on that basis. It's still true to say that, even in the absence of some of the real classics, television is still better than the movies. So your top ten films of the year are any two episodes of the following, watched back to back: Alias, The OC, CSI, CSI Miami, Without a Trace, ER, Buffy, The Sopranos, NYPD Blue, Boomtown... Yes, some of these shows are old shows, cancelled shows, but only recently got a terrestrial airing.
Top 10 TV shows of the year: see films.
Top 10 books of the year: let's keep this one to ourselves, eh? I will point out that one of the most enjoyable books I read this year, Way Station, by Clifford D Simak was first published in 1963. So that was definitely one of the best book of the year in 1963, and I'm prepared to wait 40 years to judge this year's offerings.
Games: don't play games.
Gadgets. I've realised that although I love some technology and what I can do with it, I'm not much of one for gadgets. I've got my Mac and my pro tools rig and my guitars etc., but I do not own a hi-fi, or an iPod. My DVD player is pretty old, Region 2 only, and I still record things onto a VCR, for the time being. Even my digital camera is over 2 years old. I don't know who even brought up the subject of gadgets. I am officially a Late Adopter.
Neither of them are strictly country records, you'll be surprised to learn. Country artists in general did not have a vintage year. There was too much Jesus and mawkish sentimentality on Martina by Ms McBride; and Tim McGraw, in spite of the odd cracking song on Live Like You Were Dying doesn't seem to operate any sort of quality control. There are a lot of tracks on the album, and quite a few of them are awful. Keith Urban's record is pretty good... but kind of anonymous after the first couple of tracks. Usual problem of good guitar and cliched lyrics.
Anyway, on to films. The top 10 films of the year are... well, I haven't seen any. I'm afraid I've become one of those middle-class fuckers who only goes to see one film a year. Only I haven't seen mine yet, and wouldn't presume to name it "film of the year" on that basis. It's still true to say that, even in the absence of some of the real classics, television is still better than the movies. So your top ten films of the year are any two episodes of the following, watched back to back: Alias, The OC, CSI, CSI Miami, Without a Trace, ER, Buffy, The Sopranos, NYPD Blue, Boomtown... Yes, some of these shows are old shows, cancelled shows, but only recently got a terrestrial airing.
Top 10 TV shows of the year: see films.
Top 10 books of the year: let's keep this one to ourselves, eh? I will point out that one of the most enjoyable books I read this year, Way Station, by Clifford D Simak was first published in 1963. So that was definitely one of the best book of the year in 1963, and I'm prepared to wait 40 years to judge this year's offerings.
Games: don't play games.
Gadgets. I've realised that although I love some technology and what I can do with it, I'm not much of one for gadgets. I've got my Mac and my pro tools rig and my guitars etc., but I do not own a hi-fi, or an iPod. My DVD player is pretty old, Region 2 only, and I still record things onto a VCR, for the time being. Even my digital camera is over 2 years old. I don't know who even brought up the subject of gadgets. I am officially a Late Adopter.
posted by Anonymous at
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
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