The fire alarms in my building are going off as I write this, but that isn’t going to stop me from fulfilling that most sacred blogging tradition: the end-of-year list:
Best Movie I Saw: WALL-E Pixar’s tale of a solitary robot living among the ruins of an abandoned, ecologically wrecked Earth is dazzling in both visual and narrative terms. The artists manage the impressive feat of using ordinary objects, like a fire extinguisher, to create moving scenes of beauty. WALL-E’s lonely existence, and his inability to fully recognize that loneliness until someone shiny and elegant comes along and captures his attention, is a well-worn theme. But the best movies make those themes feel fresh and relevant.
Best Album I Heard: In Ghost Colors by Cut Copy Is it electronica? Electro-pop? Whatever you call it, these candy-glazed tracks finally make melancholy something you can dance to. Whenever I was in need of a mood boost, I blasted this album through my speakers or earphones. St. John’s wort has nothing on these lads from Australia.
Best Book I Read: Berlin Noir by Philip Kerr. The Nazis have been fed through the pop culture recycler so many times that they’ve become generic bad guys robbed of historical context. Kerr’s triptych of detective stories set against the rise and fall of the Third Reich are entertaining and tightly plotted, but he never allows the reader to forget that Hitler and his lieutenants are the true criminals. The corrupt moral universe of Kerr’s Berlin brings into relief the basic decency of Bernie Gunther, the flawed and cynical protagonist.
Best TV Show I Watched: The 2008 Presidential Election I mean, it had everything. The ornery war hero. The fresh-faced senator. Plumbers named Joe. The milf-y governor. It was like a really long season of Survivor, only with more mud and less dignity. And at the end, we all had the opportunity to vote.
Despite the absurd overuse of the word, 2008 really was a year of change for me. I hope 2009 brings you good things. And as always, thanks for letting me waste your time.
Ah Cut Copy…a good choice. Have you heard the albums this year from The Whip and The Presets? Those are also really good. You should check them out if you haven’t already.
Mark, Thank you… for sharing your experiences and opinions with us. You are a delight to read; insightful, inspiring, and with a touch of (slightly wicked) humour.
I wish you the very best for the coming year.
Cindy in Aus.
I wish you a good year Marc, a year full of real life which means some tears and some laughter, but then I wish you an abnormal share of laughter and fun. And more change for the good of course.