Best of 2013: Television

Each year I try to keep up with the shows I enjoy and add other new shows that might show up on my radar. I'm certainly not a professional critic but I often feel overwhelmed by the social responsibility to be current on the best shows on television (or in the case of this year Netflix). There's probably a dozen shows I had every intention of watching (Orphan Black, The Blacklist, Ray Donovan, Enlightened) or catching up on (Mad Men, The League, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) but just couldn't. Sometimes you have to remember that no matter how much you try or how much time you dedicate, you can't watch, read or listen to everything.

2013 marked the end of one of TV's best dramas but it also saw the debut of several fantastic shows. I feel bad for a show like Game of Thrones which had it's strongest season thus far and in some prior years might have been a top five show for me but because of the crowded field Game of Thrones along with Homeland just missed my list.

10) Brooklyn Nine-Nine

I was very excited for Brooklyn Nine-Nine based on the cast and creative team which was largely responsible for Parks and Recreation. I can confidently say that Brooklyn Nine-Nine has come out of the gate faster than it's predecessors The Office and Parks and Recreation. The ensemble cast has coalesced immediately and I laugh more in the first break of Brooklyn Nine-Nine than I do watching just about any other show.

9) Orange Is the New Black

I vaguely remember someone telling me Orange Is the New Black started slow but finished strong. I'd like to thank the person who gave me that tip because after about five episodes I almost gave up. The first half of the season was by no means bad but it felt like a guilty pleasure with no deep character development. However, the last few episodes were excellent and contained some very powerful and lasting scenes including the final scene of the season which was about as memorable as anything I saw this year.

8) Veep

The sharpest and quickest humor of perhaps any show on television. Veep is the funniest show that you haven't watched yet.

7) Justified

It was another solid season for Justified. It never pretends to be the most serious drama on television but it's well written, well acted and as entertaining as any other drama around. If you can name me a cooler character on television than Raylan Givens, I'd sure like to hear it.

6) Parks and Recreation

It might not have the laughs per minute of the aforementioned Veep but Parks and Recreation has the greatest group of characters for any television comedy since The Simpsons. Not only is it a very funny show but it manages to have more heart than any other comedy of television right now.

5) The Americans

The premise of Russian spies living in the United States with a new neighbor who happens to be an FBI agent sounds like a preposterous premise but creator and former CIA officer Joe Weisberg walks the tightrope of believability with impeccable balance.

4) Boardwalk Empire

Another fantastic twelve episodes from Boardwalk Empire in what was announced to be the penultimate fourth season. It was very difficult to replace character of Gyp Rosetti and the performance by Bobby Cannavale but increased roles from other characters helped pick up the slack. I'm disappointed this year's season will be the last but it good that it will go out while still one of the best shows around.

3) Hannibal

The tone of Hannibal is simultaneously psychologically disturbing and beautiful. It has the most beautiful cinematography of any series in network television history while also showing more blood and gore than any network program ever has. If you were ever frightened by Dexter in the least, then Hannibal will leave you with nightmares.

2) House of Cards

This wasn't the first original series on Netflix but this was the game-changer. Getting big names like Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright and David Fincher showed that they were serious but the stunning visual imagery and quality of the writing are what make this a phenomenally engrossing drama about a subject that is often very dull. House of Cards plays the small moments as well as any program in the medium.

1) Breaking Bad

It was a pretty easy decision when the best show of the last six years ended in spectacular fashion. It's a good sign when the biggest complaint from fans of the show was that the finale tied up all of the storylines too neatly. The writing, acting and cinematography stayed first rate which is what makes Breaking Bad quite possibly the best serialized drama in the history of television.

Honorable Mention:

Arrested Development
Bate's Motel
The Bridge
Comedy Bang Bang
Game of Thrones
Girls
Homeland
Key & Peele
Nathan For You
The Walking Dead

Best of 2013: Albums

I don't think I'm breaking a lot of new ground with this list but hopefully there is an album or two that you missed. To be honest this year wasn't quite as strong for new music as last year based on my recollection of constructing last year's list but I'm confident in the top ten I was able to come up with below.

10) Blood Orange - Cupid Deluxe

This isn't a make up pick but if I had heard the debut album from Blood Orange entitled Coastal Grooves when it was released in 2011 it almost certainly would've made my top ten list. Lucky for me, I didn't have to wait long for the latest effort Cupid Deluxe which is equally unique and pleasing to the ear.

9) Vampire Weekend - Modern Vampires of the City

Modern Vampires of the City is a great album. Don't take my word for it. In the past few weeks it's been named album of the year by Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, NPR listeners and many others. It doesn't have the same energy as the self titled debut but it is much more refined and has a terrific combination of melody and lyrics.

8) Daft Punk - Random Access Memories

The first studio album from Daft Punk since 2005 was a hit in every sense of the word. It received nearly universal acclaim from critics, has been nominated for an Album of the Year Grammy and the single 'Get Lucky' which was arguably the song of the year has sold over 7 million copies. All that being said, what's popular isn't always good but in this case they go hand in hand.

7) Russian Circles - Memorial

This late release almost slid under the radar as I gave it a listen or two when it was released in late October but coming back to it recently I was blown away by the tone, precision and heavy riffs on Memorial. It's the 5th album from the Chicago based instrumental rock band and it might be the best they've ever made.

6) Haim - Days Are Gone

Three sisters from Los Angeles fronting a band might sound like a gimmick but Haim's music is anything but. Haim started gaining traction last year with the release of a couple singles and their debut album Days Are Gone is chock-full of catchy tunes that propelled them onto Saturday Night Live and mainstream radio.

5) Queens of the Stone Age - Like Clockwork

Like Clockwork is the first album from Queens of the Stone Age in six years was worth the wait. It's the best pure rock album of the year and good from beginning to end.

4) Arcade Fire - Reflektor

After winning Album of the Year at The Grammys for The Suburbs it would've been easy for Arcade Fire to rest on their laurels but they certainly haven't done that. Whether you love Reflektor or hate it, you can't say it wasn't a departure. I happen to fall into the camp that loves it but that was thanks in part to a secret show at The Hollywood Palladium right after the album's release in which played almost the entire record. It's been in constant rotation ever since that show.

3) Typhoon - White Lighter

This was my favorite discovery of the year. Somehow, I stumbled upon the tremendous track 'Young Fathers' and it wasn't until a couple months later that I went back to listen to the entire record which blew my away. It was something very different but at the same time sounded like something I've been hearing for years.

2) Volcano Choir - Repave

Like most right thinking music fans, I'm eagerly anticipating the next Bon Iver album but Justin Vernon has been keeping himself very busy with several other projects, most notably Volcano Choir. He appeared on albums by Kanye West, Polica, The Shouting Matches and The Blind Boys of Alabama but it was the sophomore effort from Volcano Choir that stood out. It's difficult to describe the genre of music other than just calling it great.

1) The National - Trouble Will Find Me

The National has been a favorite of mine since I discovered them in 2007 after the release of their critically acclaimed album Boxer. This marks the third consecutive album of theirs to make my best of list but the first to come in at number one. I fell in love with Trouble Will Find Me after the first listen and after seeing them live at the Greek Theatre in August, my appreciation for the album only grew. Trouble Will Find Me doesn't have a single bad track and many of them are phenomenal.

Honorable Mention:

CHVRCHES - The Bones Of What You Believe
Daughter - If You Leave
Har Mar Superstar - Bye Bye 17
Junip - Junip
Kanye West - Yeezus
M83 - Oblivion (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Nine Inch Nails - Hesitation Marks
Pelican - Forever Becoming
Rhye - Woman
Youth Lagoon - Wondrous Bughouse

Belated mention (my favorite album from 2012 that I discovered in 2013):

Caspian - Waking Season

Best of 2013: Songs

The list of songs to pick from this year wasn't quite as long as last year but I still had to leave off about 10 truly great songs. Just like last year, you can listen to the Spotify playlist of my favorite songs from 2013 to hear them all for yourself. I've only included one song per band or album so the whole list doesn't fill up with my two or three favorite records of the year.

30) Nine Inch Nails - Everything
29) Kid Cudi - Immortal
28) The Ceremonies - Land Of Gathering
27) Bad Rabbits - Get Up and Go
26) Youth Lagoon - Mute
25) Charles Bradley - Victim of Love
24) Rhye - The Fall
23) The Shouting Matches - Seven Sisters
22) Dan Croll - From Nowhere
21) Sigur Ros - Isjaki
20) Houses - The Beauty Surrounds
19) Blood Orange - You're Not Good Enough
18) Junip - Line of Fire
17) Daft Punk - Doin' It Right (feat. Panda Bear)
16) The Appleseed Cast - Barrier Islands (Do We Remain)
15) Beck - I Won't Be Long - Extended Version
14) M83 - Oblivion (feat. Susanne Sundfor)
13) Queens of the Stone Age - The Vampyre Of Time And Memory
12) CHVRCHES - Recover
11) Foals - Inhaler
10) Vampire Weekend - Diane Young
9) Arcade Fire - Afterlife
8) Wise Blood - Alarm
7) Haim - The Wire
6) Har Mar Superstar - Lady, You Shot Me
5) Kavinsky - Odd Look (feat. The Weeknd)
4) The National - Graceless
3) Typhoon - Young Fathers
2) Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - Bird Ballons
1) Volcano Choir - Byegone

Best of 2012: Film

This was a strange year for movies. Over forty times I went to the movie theater and although I only saw a few terrible movies (Savages, The Campaign, Dr. Seuss' The Lorax) it wasn't a very impressive year overall. I can't remember ever having so many action films make my top ten list but they were some of the best films of the year. Without further ado, here are my ten favorite films released this year.

10) Sleepwalk With Me

A stand-up comedy routine turned one man show turned movie might sound like an odd choice for one of the best films of the year. However, Mike Birbiglia is very likable playing himself even if at times he's not doing likable things. It's a very keen self-examination and probably the most accurate portrayal of making it as a stand-up comedian that's been put to film.

9) Prometheus

With rare exception I'm not excited about a remake, sequel, prequel or anything that has been done before being revisited because it's usually just a cash grab. When Ridley Scott is involved it's a pretty good bet that it wasn't just a cash grab. More than thirty years after introducing the world to his vision of the future in Alien, Ridley Scott has revisited that world for Prometheus.

8) Skyfall

With Javier Bardem cast as the Bond villain  Roger Deakins behind the camera and Sam Mendes at the helm, it was going to be hard to screw this one up. That being said, all they did was make what in my opinion is the best James Bond film of all time. Skyfall was a critical and financial success that many people, including myself, thought was overlooked for a Best Picture nomination.

7) Jeff, Who Lives At Home

It's hard to recommend Jeff, Who Lives At Home on a general basis because I've never felt before like a movie was specifically tailored for me. The family dynamic is so close to mine in terms of members and age that it's frightening. Ed Helms and Jason Segel are great as brothers Pat and Jeff even if they physically don't like anything alike. Written and directed by brothers Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass, they do an excellent job of capturing a dynamic between two brothers who are jealous of each other's lot in life without seeing the turmoil beneath the surface.

6) Argo

Ben Affleck had a few swing and miss movies as an actor but so far as a director he's been three for three which each film getting better than the last. To show how far he has come as a director, Affleck not getting a nomination for Best Director at this year's Academy Awards was regarded as the biggest snub of the whole ceremony. In Argo, he seamlessly goes from edge of your seat tension to laugh out loud moments while continuing to move the story along. Not to mention staring in the film based on the real life events of CIA Agent Tony Mendez.

5) Moonrise Kingdom

Wes Anderson's interpretation of young love is exactly what you would expect it to be but that's not in the least bit disappointing. I was a huge fan of Fantastic Mr. Fox but felt that Wes Anderson's last two live action films left something to be desired following on the heels of Rushmore and The Royal Tenebaums. Moonrise Kingdom is a terrific return to form and the terrific ensemble cast including the two unknowns he cast in the lead roles were uniformly great.

4) The Raid: Redemption

I'd be hard pressed to think of a movie with more action per minute than The Raid: Redemption. That's exactly the movie that Gareth Evans has made. The story is very simple, which isn't to say it's bad, and explained in the first ten minutes of exposition which leads to 90 minutes of the most amazing fight choreography you'll ever see.

3) Zero Dark Thirty

The title Zero Dark Thirty is fitting for more than the obvious reason that it was the time when the mission that led to the death of Osama Bin Laden was carried out. It's fitting because from the opening scene of the film, it's a dark and unsettling subject. The controversy surrounding the torture scenes in Zero Dark Thirty have seemed strange to me because the director Kathryn Bigelow clearly doesn't endorse it and the central character Maya played brilliantly by Jessica Chastain is ambivalent about what is taking place. Even though it's a long film, there are no wasted moments and every scene helps make the payoff at the end that much more meaningful.

2) Looper

Looper is my favorite science fiction film since Gattaca and has cemented writer-director Rian Johnson as a filmmaker to watch for the foreseeable future. Joseph Gordon-Levitt continues to streak of picking great projects (I'm willing to overlook Premium Rush) as he re-teams with his close friend Johnson who cast him in his first film Brick. Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are both excellent as the same character at different points in his life who happen to meet.

1) Django Unchained

There is no mistaking a Quentin Tarantino film. It probably only takes a page of his script being read by a computer before you'd recognize that dialogue that isn't heard anywhere else. The experience of a Quentin Tarantino film is unlike anything else in modern film. I would make the argument that Christoph Waltz has now joined with Tarantion alum Samuel L. Jackson as the two actors who were born to read his dialogue. Jamie Foxx is the title character and is terrific but it is Waltz who again steals the show after winning an Academy Award for his last Tarantino role as Col Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds. Django Unchained is possibly too long and overindulgent but it is so well written and acted that it was still my favorite film of the year.

Honorable mention for the following films that almost made my list:

21 Jump Street
The Cabin in the Woods
The Dark Knight Rises
Friends With Kids
The Grey

Perks of Being a Wallflower
Searching for Sugar Man

Silver Linings Playbook

Ted

This is 40

Best of 2012: Television

There are a few glaring omissions this year on my best of television list. The truth is that I got behind on Mad Men and still haven't caught up. It's a great show and I'm sure would land in the middle of this list but I don't want to include it without having seen the full season. I know some of you are fans of Louie, Son of Anarchy and Downton Abbey but those are shows I've yet to really delve into.



10) Modern Family

Modern Family has managed to increase viewership in each of the first three seasons. After I felt the show had been resting on its laurels over the last year or so, it's been as good as ever in its fourth season.

9) The Walking Dead

Another show that's seen a dramatic rise in viewers each season is The Walking Dead. Although still not the same quality drama series it was in the first season with Frank Darabont at the helm, it has been highly entertaining over the last year since they freed the audience of the Sophia storyline. Even if the show is flawed, we still tune in every week to see how Rick and his group of survivors get out of one predicament after another.

8) Girls

Writer, creator and star Lena Dunham has been at the center of controversy since the first episode of Girls hit the air- whether it was people upset that the cast of a show about four white girls in New York wasn't diverse enough or the amount of nudity by Dunham herself. The show has silenced most critics and recently won a Golden Globe for Best Comedy Series. As Reggie Jackson famously said "They don't boo nobodies."

7) Community

While it seemed like NBC was actively trying to kill Community by delaying the second half of the third season then burning the last three episodes of the season on the same night, it still managed to air some of the best comedy on network television. While I concerned about the show moving forward after NBC fired its creator Dan Harmon, I'm optimistic the goal of six seasons and movie remain a possibility.

6) Veep

While Girls garnered all of the attention and awards, for my money, Veep was the best new comedy of 2012. The show's creator Armando Iannucci, the man behind the very biting political satire In The Loop, segued nicely into HBO's Veep which battles 30 Rock as the two shows with the most jokes per minute on television. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the cast that surround her as uniformly excellent.


5) Homeland

I was worried at the end of Homeland's first season that it would be impossible for the show to keep moving at such a frenetic pace. Halfway through this season it looked like there were going to be able to pull it off but then the plot became convoluted and they stretched the audience's ability to suspend disbelief. It's still highly entertaining but if it hasn't jumped the proverbial shark already, it's getting damn close.


4) Justified

Justified is the best show on television that you're not watching. Plain and simple. It was hard to top the second season which had a spectacular performance and character from Margo Martindale and Mags Bennett respectively. While the third season wasn't quite on par with that season, it did introduce another great villain and contained another 12 episodes of Raylan Givens as perhaps the coolest character on television.

3) Parks and Recreation

What makes a great series more than anything else is the characters. You can have great writing and terrific actors but without interesting characters to inhabit the fictional world, you've got nothing. Parks and Recreation is so strong each year because the characters are so well defined. It doesn't hurt that they have a terrific ensemble cast and an all star lineup of great comedy writers. What makes Parks and Recreation eclipse what has been done by so many other comedies is that you actually care what happens to these ridiculous people and they can play awkward for a laugh and not just for the sake of making their audience uncomfortable.

2) Breaking Bad

Since I watched the first three seasons of Breaking Bad in span of just over two weeks immediately before the start of the fourth season, it's hard for me to differentiate between the seasons. When a few friends told me they thought season five was the weakest of the series (which is in no way to say it was bad), it was hard for me to agree or disagree. I wish AMC had allowed the series to end with two full 13-episode seasons instead of two mini-seasons of 8 episodes each but it's so well done that I'll clearly take anything they will give me and can't wait for the final episodes starting this summer.

1) Boardwalk Empire

Placing Boardwalk Empire above Breaking Bad was the toughest decision on the list. That being said, I believe that Boardwalk Empire was the best television series of 2012. After killing off one of the show's major characters at the end of the second season, the future seemed unclear for Boardwalk Empire. However, the writers delivered a new indelible character that made the third season the best so far.


Other shows I've watched in the past year that I've enjoyed (at least somewhat):

30 Rock
Dexter
Game of Thrones
Key & Peele
The League
The Life and Times of Tim
Life's Too Short
The Office
Workaholics

Best of 2012: Albums

I'm not sure if it has more to do with the way I've consumed music over the past year but there haven't been nearly as many stand out albums this year than in past years. There were a ton of artists who released great songs but very few albums that I listened to from start to finish multiple times. After writing mini-reviews for about half of the albums I found to be much more monotonous than in previous years. So presented without justification or hyperbole, here are my 10 favorite albums from 2012.


10) The Life And Times - No One Loves You Like I Do

9) Daniel Rossen - Silent Hour/Golden Mile

8) Beach House - Bloom

7) Menomena - Moms

6) Tanlines - Mixed Emotions

5) Sea Wolf - Old World Romance

4) Geographer - Myth

3) Zeus - Busting Visions

2) Grizzly Bear - Shields

1) Twin Shadow - Confess

During my first listen to Confess shortly after it was released in July, I was pretty sure it was going to be my favorite record of the year. The entire album has a very specific and unique sound yet each song can stand on its own. As mark of most of my favorite albums, my favorite track has changed several times during my many listens but sums of its parts have stayed uniformly excellent.


Honorable Mention:

Chad Valley - Young Hunger
Deftones - Koi No Yokan

Electric Guest - Mondo
Father John Misty - Fear Fun
Grimes - Visions
Porcelain Raft - Strange Weekend

Vacationer - Gone
The Weeknd - Trilogy

Yellow Ostrich - Strange Land
The 1975 - Sex EP/Facedown EP

Best of 2012: Songs

This was much more difficult than I remember it being last year. I suppose since I had to narrow down the list from the 200+ songs on my 2012 Spotify playlist and once I whittled that list down to 50 songs it became increasingly hard to pick just 30 of them. As you'll see shortly, there is a big difference between the bands who released the best songs of the year and the best albums of the year. Same rules apply that I only picked one song per band/album.


30) The Big Sleep - Ace
29) Oberhofer - oOoO
28) Daughter - Youth
27) The Life And Times - Day Nine
26) Father John Misty - Only Son of the Ladiesman
25) New Build - Medication
24) Haim - Go Slow
23) Trailer Trash Tracys - You Wish You Were Red
22) Yeasayer - Henrietta
21) Anais Mitchell - Coming Down
20) Grimes - Oblivion
19) The Samuel Jackson Five - Ten Crept In
18) Orbital - New France (feat Zola Jesus)
17) Passion Pit - I'll Be Alright
16) Yellow Ostrich - The Shakedown
15) LP - Into The Wild
14) Perfume Genius - Hood
13) Sea Wolf - Priscilla
12) Torche - Kicking
11) Grizzly Bear - Yet Again
10) Japandroids - The House That Heaven Built
9) Schoolboy Q - There He Go
8) Twin Shadow - Five Seconds
7) Daniel Rossen - Saint Nothing
6) The XX - Chained
5) Tanlines - Not The Same
4) Alabama Shakes - Hold On
3) WZRD - Teleport 2 Me
2) Nada Surf - When I Was Young
1) Wye Oak - Spiral

Best of 2012: YouTube Videos

I still can't explain why I made this list last year. I'm sure there are other more comprehensive lists available online but here you go.

Top 12 Music Videos from 2012:

12) Gotye - Giving Me A Chance

11) Alabama Shakes - Hold On

10) Foals - Inhaler

9) Hot Chip - Look At Where We Are

8) Electric Guest - This Head I Hold

7) M83 - Wait

6) Menomena - Plumage

5) Ben Folds Five - Do It Anyway

4) Tanlines - Not The Same

3) The xx - Chained

2) Gotye - Easy Way Out

1) Grizzly Bear - Yet Again

Top 12 YouTube Videos from 2012:

12) Collective Soul Cat

11) Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth (Gotye - Cover)

10) PETE WEBER GOD DAMMIT I DID IT WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE

9) Mister Rogers Remixed

8) A Conversation With My 12 Year Old Self

7) World's Largest Rope Swing

6) Pepsi MAX & Kyrie Irving Present: "Uncle Drew"

5) Batman Chooses His Voice

4) This is SportsCenter - John Clayton

3) THE MOST AWESOME DRUNK VIDEO ON THE PLANET

2) Don Cherry's Piano Desk

1) Jon Dore Stand-Up 12/17/12 - CONAN on TBS

Here's the link to a bonus video that YouTube has taken down that's incredible.