You may notice that the site's colors are much gaudier than usual. Do not adjust your monitor, these changes are intentional. Just felt like a change, and I thought bright blues and greens were a welcome contrast to my former autumnal brown and orange.
In the meantime, I've been thinking more lately about the music I listen to than the music I watch, so over the next few weeks I'm going to talk extensively and nerdily about some of my favorite musicians, very few of which I think even still perform anymore. I haven't completely decided how it will be done, so stay tuned for those changes as well.
The shortest month of the year has the shortest roundup, go figure. Actually, I'm working arduously on a four-part analysis of 2008, plus getting ready for April's 2nd Annual Netflix Twelve-Month-iversary. Actually, I just didn't watch that many movies this month, so what can you do?
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Directed by David Lean, Produced by Sam Spiegel Starring Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Alec Guiness and Anthony Quinn
Ah, what to say about Lawrence of Arabia that hasn't been said a thousand times before? Alexander Walker wrote: "Here is an epic with intellect behind it, an unforgettable display of action staged with artistry. A momentous story told with moral force... A revolutionary film in possessing an epic hero whom it doesn't hero-worship." For me the most telling aspect of the film is that T. E. Lawrence is such a brilliantly complex character, whose accomplishments grow to delusions of grandeur, epitomizing the notion of pride before the fall. Lawrence's successes against the Turks could only result in his overall failure; he found himself locked in a winless endgame with all sides pulling and pushing him to the inevitable finale. For all his bravado and self-doubt, the final shot predicts his reckless death shown in the opening sequence of the film.
The Naked City (1948) Directed by Jules Dassin, Produced by Mark Hellinger Starring Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff and Don Taylor
Before director Jules Dassin was blacklisted in the 1950s and forced to relocate to France, he made a series of groundbreaking films that set the gold standard by which future police procedurals and noir films would be judged. The Naked City, or "Law & Order: Dubbed Trousers," feels incredibly familiar on a first viewing because I've grown up with television and films that follow its format for years. The film follows NYC Detective Lt. Dan Muldoon (Fitzgerald) as he investigates the murder of a young woman found in her apartment by the housekeeper. As the investigation moves forward, the detectives discover she may have been involved in a larger robbery ring, and when another body surfaces in the East River the tension mounts. (Sound familiar yet?) I really loved this one, but then, I've always really enjoyed police procedurals and rarely have any issue with a whodunit set in Manhattan.
Unfortunately, the only thing I can say about this film is that the dubbing could have been done a bit better, although it's still enjoyable. All of the filming was done on the streets of New York, not in a studio, so there was no way to truly capture quality sound and lighting. Even so, The Naked City won two Academy Awards, one for Best Cinematography Black-and-White and one for Film Editing. It's impossible not to see its influence everywhere these days, and after seeing this film and Dassin's Night and the City, I'm looking forward to seeing more, particularly Rififi, an early take on the heist film he made in France in 1955. (The below clip is the final scene in the movie, so spoilers beware and such.)
Logan's Run (1976) Directed by Michael Anderson, based on the novel by William F. Nolan & George Clayton Johnson Starring Michael York, Richard Jordan, Peter Ustinov and Farrah Fawcett
An absolutely hilarious and thrilling piece of '70s sci-fi, Logan's Run has to be seen to be believed. In the future, life is full of hedonistic pleasures until your 30th birthday, at which time you're sent off to be "reborn." Enter Michael York as Logan-5 (star of Cabaret, which I also watched later that day), a "sandman" who patrols for "runners" -- those who will do anything to escape the rebirth ceremony, which might not exactly be on the level. Logan-5 is charged with finding the hideout of all the escaped runners by pretending to be a runner himself, a goal which evolves over time into a life-and-death pursuit to get back to the ruined outside world. Too far-fetched to work as a cautionary tale, Logan's Run falls more under the category of TRON than Soylent Green or A Clockwork Orange, but still damned entertaining.
West Side Story (1961) Directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise, based on the musical by Arthur Laurents Starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer
Despite being one of the greatest American musical films of all time, West Side Story eluded me for all these years. I've written before about my growing respect for the musical, and after my girlfriend and I saw Chicago at the Oriental Theater in, well, Chicago, the timing seemed right to keep the theme going. West Side Story was darker than I thought it would be, although I was reasonably familiar with its plot. Leonard Bernstein's music was terrific but Stephen Sondheim's lyrics were obtuse as usual, and I found myself siding with the Sharks simply because they had better songs (I mean, c'mon, "Cool" or "America" -- there's no contest). I was more engaged in this film than I have in other musicals, even ones I enjoyed, like Meet Me in St. Louis or White Christmas. Writer/director Jerome Robbins' outstanding choreography also makes the film; it's no easy task making a dance sequence look like a convincing knife fight.
Directed by Sam Peckinpah, based on the novel by Gordon Williams Starring Dustin Hoffman and Susan George
I was reluctant to watch Straw Dogs after how disappointed I was in Peckinpah's sorta-Western The Wild Bunch, which was a little too random and violent for my tastes (not to mention my previously written of reservations about Westerns). But since I already knew the plot-- and was anxious to see Dustin Hoffman kick some ass-- I queued it up. As far as violence goes, Straw Dogs is perhaps worse than The Wild Bunch, but the violence isn't as senseless because we see the steady shift in Hoffman's character from mild-mannered astrophysicist to guerrilla combat extraordinaire. About halfway through there's a disturbing, squirm-in-your-seat rape scene that sets the wheels in motion for the film's bloody but triumphant third act. Fun Fact: Straw Dogs is getting a remake, planned for release in 2010, that will be directed by Rod Ludie, creator of the short-lived Geena Davis-is-president TV drama Commander in Chief-- how could it fail!
Top Hat (1935) Directed by Mark Sandrich, with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin and Max Steiner Starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers
The more I watch classic films, the more musical comedies I will inevitably see. Last month I saw a few holiday-themed films that I didn't write about -- most notably the Bing Crosby vehicles White Christmas (1954) and Holiday Inn (1942) -- both of which I certainly enjoyed. So in keeping with the tradition I queued up Top Hat, which was one of my mother's favorites and an early Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers tapdancing flick. I can't say that I loved the movie, or even found it especially engaging. In fact, the best moment in the film is the much lauded Irving Berlin song "Cheek to Cheek," which makes its debut here in a particularly romantic scene. The essence of the movie is the dancing, of course, and not its plot or exposition, much of which centers around typical screwball mixup zaniness with just enough chemistry between Fred and Ginger to keep giving the characters opportunities (and floorspace) to tap around in. My resistence to musicals may be wearing down, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to sacrifice memorable characters (like you'd find in White Christmas or Meet Me in St. Louis) or a terrific premise (as in Holiday Inn).
Bonus: The DVD also contains the short Bob Hope film Watch the Birdie, which was not very funny, as expected.
To Catch a Thief (1955) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the novel by David Dodge Starring Cary Grant, Grace Kelly and John Williams (no, not that John Williams)
I hadn't seen a "new" Hitchcock movie since the summer, so I was excited when To Catch a Thief showed up in the mail. I typically have mixed feelings about Cary Grant, a traditionally well-loved actor I've never particularly warmed to, but To Catch a Thief is the last of four Hitchcock films in which he starred that I hadn't seen (the others being Suspicion, Notorious, and North by Northwest). I had actually thought Cary Grant and Grace Kelly must have done more films together, Hitchcock or otherwise, but To Catch a Thief was actually their only major studio picture together. A quality mystery of the definite Hitchcock variety, Thief tells the story of a former jewel thief (Grant) trying to catch the copycat burglar who has been thwarting his attempts at establishing a new reputation. What's worth commenting on is how cardboard Grace Kelly is in this one, which actually doesn't surprise me given the director's record of treating his female characters either as damaged, helpless antagonists or as simple, helpless stand-ins. Kelly has some fun with the character but ultimately doesn't get enough screen time to have an effect.
The Hustler (1961) Directed and produced by Robert Rossen, based on the novel by Walter Tevis Starring Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie and George C. Scott
I received The Hustler for my birthday last year as part of a Paul Newman catch-up effort, and it took me until this month to actually sit and watch it. It's a reasonably long movie -- just over two hours -- but despite a few issues with pacing I found the film and its direction exceptional. The Hustler was up for nine Academy Awards, including a famously declined Supporting Actor nomination for George C. Scott, but only received two, in the black and white set direction and cinematography categories. In the film, a still-green Paul Newman plays 'Fast' Eddie Felson, a pool hustler from California who sets out to challenge and beat the famous Minnesota Fats (Gleason) to prove he's the best. Unfortunately it's ego and foolishness that keeps him from achieving his dream, and it's only after a series of painful personal experiences that Eddie is able to rise transcend his game and become truly great. Roger Ebert wrote that The Hustler is "one of the few American movies in which the hero wins by surrendering, by accepting reality instead of his dreams."
I completely overlooked this last month. Hardcore cinephile paradise They Shoot Pictures Don't They updated their annually compiled list of the 1000 greatest films of all time. You can peep the list along with blurbs from critics, last year's ranking, and a YouTube clip (which is new this year). The top 50 really didn't move around that much, which is sort of disappointing, and there's an obvious leaning to classic films, particularly from the 1950s; the most recent film to make the top 50 is 1982's Blade Runner at #46.
Check out the top 50 below. Entries in bold indicate ones I've personally seen, and links will take you to the entry in this blog if I've written about it.
50. La Strada (1954) 49. North By Northwest (1959) 48. Modern Times (1936) 47. Rear Window (1954) 46. Blade Runner (1982) 45. It's A Wonderful Life (1946) 44. The 400 Blows (1959) 43. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) 42. Jules et Jim (1961) 41. Andrei Rublev (1966) 40. Persona (1966) 39. Dr. Strangelove (1964) 38. L'Avventura (1960) 37. The Night of the Hunter (1955) 36. Chinatown (1974) 35. Apocalypse Now (1979) 34. Ordet (1955) 33. Breathless (1959) 32. Psycho (1960) 31. Les Enfants du Paradis (1945) 30. The General (1927) 29. Sunset Blvd. (1950) 28. Taxi Driver (1976) 27. The Gold Rush (1925) 26. La Dolce Vita (1960) 25. La Grande Illusion (1939) 24. The Third Man (1949) 23. City Lights (1931) 22. Some Like it Hot (1959) 21. Touch of Evil (1958) 20. The Godfather Part II (1974) 19. Rashomon (1950) 18. Raging Bull (1980) 17. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) 16. L'Atalante (1934) 15. Casablanca (1942) 14. The Bicycle Thief (1948) 13. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 12. Sunrise (1927) 11. Singin' in the Rain (1952) 10. Tokyo Story (1953) 9. The Seven Samurai (1954) 8. Battleship Potemkin (1925) 7. The Searchers (1956) 6. The Godfather (1972) 5. 8 1/2 (1963) 4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 3. The Rules of the Game (1939) 2. Vertigo (1958) 1. Citizen Kane (1941)
FINALLY! I've been meaning to finish this list for months, and now I can finally publish it with confidence. Those who know me (and even those who might not) know that I have been a dedicated fan of Woody Allen's works for a while, considering him my favorite director, above even Hitchcock or Kurosawa. And since I have seen by now essentially every film in the director's œuvre, I can honestly say the below list represents my 15 favorites.
Woody Allen has averaged about a film a year consistently since 1969, and therefore has a rich but foreboding body of work for anyone interested in starting to get to know him. Fortunately, there are obvious places to start, and while this list might not be terribly diverse, I believe this represents a solid point of reference.
Since I limited such an enormous volume of work to 15, many good-to-great films did not make the cut. These runners-up include: the fashionable, brainy Celebrity (1998); the clever mock-umentary Zelig (1983); the criminally-ignored romantic comedy Anything Else (2003); the side-splitting Take the Money and Run (1969); and the lauded but underwhelming Mighty Aphrodite. And just to be nice, here's an even more in-depth Woody Allen primer from the good folks over at the AV Club.
15. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) Starting off our list is perhaps one of Woody's more overlooked early films, a mostly hilarious series of stories about, well, sex. Based loosely on a 1969 book of the same name, some of Everything's segments are better than others -- high points being "What is Sodomy?" in which Gene Wilder falls madly in love with a sheep (full clip below), and "What Happens During Ejaculation?" where Woody plays a lowly sperm in a military-style environment.
14. The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) At the end of the day, The Purple Rose of Cairo is a sad but touching movie and not much more. Magical premise aside, it's actually Mia Farrow's portrayal of Cecilia, a quiet, shy cinemaphile who uses the movies as an escape from her lonely life during the Great Depression, which makes the film remarkable. When Jeff Daniels' character leaps off the screen and devotes himself to poor Cecilia, her wonderful sense of timing and display of emotion is heartfelt and honest. I found myself wanting to crawl through my screen in the reverse to enter her world.
13. Husbands and Wives (1992) It's been a while since I've seen the clever but flawed comedic drama Husbands and Wives, but my memory of it is still strong. Told through a series of documentary interviews and arguments, the film shows the slow and painful decline of a marriage made all the more poignant by its timing, coming right around the same time as the end of Woody's relationship with Mia Farrow. Husbands and Wives received some Oscar nominations but no wins.
12. Match Point (2005) The buzz created by Match Point upon its release was natural: Woody hadn't made a film with any critical success since 1997's Deconstructing Harry, and Match Point was so much different from the comfort zone the director seemed to settle into during the better part of that last decade. Whereas his previous efforts existed somewhere on the spectrum between "slightly entertaining" and "awful," Match Point was something new entirely, a dark, sexy thriller with a great cast and clever directing. Despite my initial reservations about the script, the timing of Match Point's release is essential to its appreciation. Its nominations and popular success may have opened an entirely new generation up to a vast and engaging body of work.
11. Play it Again, Sam (1972) Criminally overlooked today, Play it Again, Sam gave the public their first inkling that Woody's scope as a writer was capable of stretching far beyond slapstick and visual comedy. Sam is the only film on this list not directed by Woody but was in fact helmed by Herbert Ross, who also directed the fantastic Neil Simon adaptation The Sunshine Boys a few years later. Equal parts quirky love story and homage to the great on-screen romances of our time (especially, obviously, Casablanca), Sam is almost like a prequel to Annie Hall. Well worth the time to seek it out.
10. Interiors (1978) If Stardust Memories was Woody's nod to Fellini, Interiors is his nod to Bergman. Released right on the heels of the breakthrough comedy Annie Hall, Interiors was a bucket of ice cold Scandinavian water: a bleak, quiet drama about family and regret. At times both poignant and frustratingly vague, the film is challenging but rewarding, if for no other reason than it was Woody's first drama. He would hone his dramatic skills over the next three decades, but his true masterwork remains this subdued and moving film.
9. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) Newer fans who first encountered Woody Allen's work through Match Point will find thematic similarities in Crimes and Misdemeanors, a brilliant film that effortlessly weaves two stories together, exploring concepts of faith, morality, and justice. Outstanding performances by Mia Farrow, Anjelica Huston, and Martin Landau are the obvious highlights, as well as the contrast between the lighter story of Woody and Mia's love affair and the darker, more tragic one between Huston and Landau. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards but ultimately received none.
8. Deconstructing Harry (1997) Based loosely on Bergman's phenomenal 1957 film Wild Strawberries, Deconstructing Harry is a hilarious meta-comedy in which an aging writer takes stock of his life through his characters and evaluates his own actions and their consequences. The narrative is fragmented with flashbacks and vignettes like the out-of-focus actor played by Robin Williams, mirroring the slow but inevitable fragmenting of Woody's character's psychie. It becomes difficult to determine where fiction ends and reality begins, and that's precisely Deconstructing Harry's point, inferred from its title.
7. Love and Death (1975) It's tempting to think of Love and Death as nothing more than a transition film between the comedic spectacle of Sleeper and the subdued, cerebral Annie Hall (well, more cerebral than Sleeper, anyway). But dismissing Love and Death completely would be a mistake, with its rich parodies of themes found in Russian drama and Western philosophy, plus a lot of big laughs. One of Woody's only period films, his giddy lampooning of all things Tolstoy might be over the heads of some casual viewers, but those with even passing background in its literary and theatrical references should be pleased. This movie also contains one of my favorite Woody Allen lines: when the countess asks him if he will "perform" sex with her, he responds, "I don't think I'm up for a performance, but I'll rehearse with you, if you like." [Edit: I was reminded that this line is actually in Sleeper, I was confusing it with another one. Thanks, Joe.]
6. Sleeper (1973) Along with Bananas and Love and Death, Sleeper fills out the trifecta of Woody's slapstick period. A hilarious social commentary wearing the clothes of science fiction, Sleeper's vision of the future is both scary and hilarious, buffering Orwellian paranoia with Marx Brothers timing. Long stretches without dialogue are reminiscent of the 1958 Tati film Mon Oncle, which explores similar themes of science and society run amok. The visual comedic elements are epic in scope; somehow perpetually slipping on a banana peel is much funnier if the peel is 100 times larger (below).
5. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Some might criticize the high placement of this film, but Hannah and Her Sisters has always been one of my all-time favorites. The exceptional pacing; the characters' interactions with others, themselves, and their emotions; the use of music and urban imagery to move along the narrative: Hannah might be Woody's most visually engaging film since Manhattan. Michael Caine charms as a man fumbling with his conflicting feelings and his own self-perception, and Woody himself breathes new life into his (by this time) tired cliché as a neurotic loner obsessed and terrified of death. This is a gorgeous film that serves as a warmer companion with Crimes and Misdemeanors.
4. Bananas (1971) One of Woody's "early, funny movies," Bananas is only the second full-length film which he starred in, wrote, and directed. The film is entirely slapstick and mock political commentary, not quite to the extent of Sleeper but certainly in the same vein. Woody's character Fielding Mellish goes from nervous, love-crazed office worker to nervous, love-crazed revolutionary leader in a Central American country in a glorious farce which, while incredibly dated, still manages to delight and entertain. Those who are only familiar with what Woody became might be surprised to see him the way he began. Also, wasn't Howard Cosell annoying?
3. Stardust Memories (1980) Like many of the films on this list, I saw Stardust Memories for the first time back in high school, about a year before I saw Federico Fellini's 1963 masterpiece on filmmaking 8 ½. The similarities are intentional, as Stardust Memories is essentially a re-imagining of Fellini's film (see the opening sequence, below), told from the perspective of a director facing noticeably similar criticism to those Woody was facing at the time. Fresh off his '78-'79 combo of Interiors and Manhattan, critics were whining for Woody to go back to his "early, funny movies" (see above) in very much the same way that Woody's character, Sandy Bates, is criticized. Because of this, Stardust Memories came at a key time in Woody's career, after an enormously successful decade and the beginning of a new, less consistent one. It's indulgent, it's glib, it's narcissistic, and it's one of the greatest moments in the Woody Allen filmography.
2. Manhattan (1979) My mother hates Woody Allen for the same reasons a lot of people do: his personal life and affair with Soon-Yi Previn in 1992. Many people only saw "relationship," "daughter," and noticed the age difference, ignoring the reality of the situation (which, admittedly, is still firmly in "icky" territory) and deciding to despise the man and his body of work. Since I saw my first Woody Allen movie a few years after these events, I was surprised to find that Manhattan was so well-respected, in which a 40-year-old Woody dates a 17-year-old Mariel Hemingway with endearing results (to some, anyway). The actual story of Manhattan doesn't matter as much as the setting; think of it as Woody's love letter to the city he adores, as he shoots the streets, the buildings, the sights and sounds. This is evident right from the opening sequence, where the black and white shots of the city are played behind Woody's dialogue and Gershwin's essential "Rhapsody in Blue." He also drops names left and right — Mahler, Bergman, Louis Armstrong, Sol LeWitt, Gershwin, Diane Arbus — openly making a statement about his influence and his appreciation, intellectuals be damned. Manhattan might be the first "art film" I ever watched, though I'll leave it to you to debate whether it even qualifies as an art film.
1. Annie Hall (1977) Usually when I make lists like this, I prefer to have my #1 pick be something other than the standard #1 answer. But in the case of Annie Hall, not only would I call it my favorite Woody Allen movie (Roger Ebert once said it was "just about everyone's favorite Woody Allen movie"), it's probably my favorite movie of all time. Seeing Annie Hall for the first time was like a hundred thousand floodlights exploding on at the same time, showing me a world beyond the standard Hollywood movies I had grown up with and thought I enjoyed. In other words, Annie Hall is perhaps single-handedly responsible for this blog (scary).
What makes Annie Hall special isn't necessarily the story it's telling — a humorous and often wistful look back at the entire arc of a relationship — but the way Woody tells it. Take the opening scene, in which Woody, our narrator/star/writer/director, appears, staring directly at us and telling us a joke (below). The film begins and ends this way, using jokes to make statements of some profundity concerning life and love, which gives it a sense of timelessness, of closure. The story moves along a comfortable but non-linear path, often using verbal or situational cues from one anecdote to segue into another. In a way, this erratic approach to the narrative makes Annie Hall feel a little bit different every time you watch it, which is ultimately more rewarding than a standard narrative would have been.
So if you're going to "get into" Woody Allen, this is obviously the place to start. While the rest of my list might be a matter of debate, I don't think anyone can argue that Annie Hall isn't Woody's signature work, and one that I will still be watching a long time from now.
Just a quick check-in to the blog, to remind myself that it's here. I've been busy lately trying to get a few non-blog projects off the ground, including—gasp—serious writing. Also, I'm preoccupied with catching up on all the 2008 movies I missed and compiling a half-assed non-ranked Best-of-the-Year list, which I probably won't even finish doing until spring so it doesn't really matter.
In the meantime, here's a quick recap of 4- and 5-star films I watched since I last posted:
Man on Wire (2008) James Marsh's semi-inspirational documentary of Phillippe Petit, who walked a tightrope across the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974 (among other things), was charming and pleasant without trying to pressure you into anything. He let the parties involved and the acts speak for themselves, cutting between archive-looking recreations and actual archival footage and photographs to explain the events leading up to and immediately following what Petit accomplished. Should nab the Oscar for best documentary easily.
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) The older I get, the more appealing I find the classic musicals. (It also helps that my girlfriend is an avid fan and wants to watch and re-watch these films as much as I do.) Meet Me in St. Louis made the rounds around the holiday because of Judy Garland's wistful "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," which constitutes the climax of a festive third act. And I absolutely adored little Margaret O'Brien's macabre fantasies about death and dismemberment, and her terrifying attempt to "kill" the mean neighbor with flour on Halloween.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) I saw this movie a long time ago but didn't remember the bulk of it; after reading Roger Ebert's review for his Great Movies column, I had to see it again, and I'm glad I did. If the worst economic predictions end up coming true, I'll be watching the headlines for my generation's Bonnie and Clyde, champions of lawlessness, selfishness, and freedom.
Elevator to the Gallows (1957) A brilliant, dark crime noir from France that just predates (and foreshadows) the pending New Wave, Louis Malle's debut film was a terrific story, brilliantly told with memorable performances. It's a story about murder, lust, and circumstance, with a soundtrack composed and performed in Paris by Miles Davis-- what more could you want from your French movies?
The Last Picture Show (1971) Equal parts Fast Times at Ridgemont High and The Graduate, The Last Picture Show fared well at the Academy Awards and earned accolades for much of its top-notch actors. A brilliant coming of age film set in a small Texas town in the 1950s, director Peter Bogdanovich gave us a tale of intersecting lives with plenty of guilt and consequence.
Corpse Bride (2005) Despite my love of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton's recent stumbles prevented me from ever seeing Corpse Bride, which was a mistake. Predictable story (and casting) aside, I enjoyed this at least as much as Nightmare, which is to say that I loved it and ended up watching it 3 times before I returned it. Check out composer Danny Elfman's enthusiastic performace as "Bonejangles," a skeletal jazzman who fills us into the titular character's backstory through song.
Night and the City (1950) Another pretty enjoyable noir from French director Jules Dassin, which was actually filmed in London and is noticeably not in French. The movie is about Harry Fabian, a small-time hustler who takes on a bit more than he can chew as he tries to climb his way into the big leagues. What was unique about Night and the City is that the audience is filled in on a lot of what will eventually go wrong, typically knowing a lot more about the real danger Harry is in well before he does.
After a 2007 in which I became buried (and briefly trapped) under a metaphorical avalanche of completely awesome new music, 2008 seemed like creativity took a vacation. It's unfortunate, really, because even though I, unlike most of the Internet, take time to actually listen to an album before declaring it the best-of-the-year, I don't take quite this long, and by about mid-March I was ready to start listening to new releases.
So in order to recap this year, I'm not even going to bother ranking anything -- songs nor albums -- and just talk a little about what I actually did find noteworthy and whether I think I'll still be listening to it in the future.
Biggest Disappointments Kings of Leon :: Only by the Night TV on the Radio :: Dear Science Now, by "disappointment" I mean simply that while these albums are good, they're not nearly as good as I had expected, based on how much I had enjoyed their previous releases. Take the much-maligned Kings of Leon, who manage to be huge in Europe while maintaining only a passable fanbase stateside. Because of the Times, KoL's 2007 album, was a tight, exploratory mini-epic full of surprises, like the U2-inspired opener "Knocked Up" or the road-weary Zuma outtake "Arizona." Based on that album, I was hoping the boys would hone those influences into something unique and personal, and for the first few songs I thought they were on to something. Unfortunately, Only by the Night, despite its moments, falls hard fast. Tracks like "Manhattan" and "Notion" are some of the most tepid songs I heard this year, and certainly didn't get any better with repeat listens.
Fortunately, Dear Science, the hotly anticipated new album from TV on the Radio, is still quite good, even if it isn't anywhere near as good as anything else from the band. Never will I criticize a band for choosing to grow, and if that's what I honestly though Dear Science was, I'd be more understanding. But how does a band go from "Satellite" or "I Was a Lover" to "Dancing Choose?" A majority of the songs on Dear Science sound like lesser cuts from their previous albums, with the exception of the sinister "DLZ," which sounds like the Apocalypse. Of course, this all works out to TVotR's advantage, since they've been given quite a bit of leeway by their fans to put out whatever kind of album they want, even if that album means dance-rock and singalongs. I can at least say with relief that the songs on Dear Science translate quite well live, with non-programmed instruments getting people out of their seats.
Most Pleasant Surprises Bloc Party :: Intimacy Usher :: Here I Stand I admit, I might be in the extreme minority, but I happen to think Bloc Party is actually getting better, not worse, with each new album. Silent Alarm had some good songs, but didn't really seem much different from all the other Gang of Four spin-off bands of this decade. But when A Weekend in the City hit my ears, I fell in love with it, or at least half of it. I listened to songs like "Song for Clay," "Uniform," and "Hunting for Witches" on repeat, but I skipped more than a couple that seemed like filler. In the months before Intimacy — the band's third and a concept album in tone with Tragic Kingdom or, um, something by Dashboard Confessional — fans were treated to a radically different sound in singles like "Flux" and "Mercury," full of thumping bass, electronics, and chopped up, remixed vocals. (Needless to say, these were received with mixed reactions.) I happened to really like "Flux," but was still hoping for a more traditional sound once Intimacy finally hit. To my delight, the bulk of the album seems to be a carefully thought-out marriage of the jarring post-punk of their debut with the more fluid, forward-thinking sounds of last year's Weekend. With the exception of the blaring, chopped-and-screwed opening two tracks, Intimacy is a solid and ultimately successful offering from a highly enjoyable group.
Meanwhile, Usher's Here I Stand is every bit as good as any of this decade's classic modern R&B albums, like No More Drama or Chocolate Factory. The only catch is that you have to rework the tracks a little bit: cut bummer tracks like "Love You Gently" and "Before I Met You" in favor of free 'net singles like "Echo" and "Dat Girl Right There" (and grab a few choice "Love in This Club" remixes while you're at it). I've been enjoying this one all year and it hasn't grown stale, and in a year painfully lacking in really noteworthy hip-hop and soul, it's nice to have something this good to rely on.
Album with the Most Really Amazing Songs Lil Wayne :: Tha Carter III "Mr. Carter." "Got Money." "A Milli." "Playing With Fire." Oh, and then there's the Deluxe Edition tracks from last year's The Leak EP, "I'm Me" and "Gossip." Between Weezy's studio output and hit mixtape freestyles, I'd understand anyone who picked him as their desert island artist. While Tha Carter III is easily Wayne's best official album to date (and overall best hip-hop album of the year), aficionados always seem to point out that some of his best work is done in street mixtapes, like the recently dropped Dedication 3 (which I haven't actually heard yet). As Wayne goes forward, though, I'd like to see less lazy, smarmy autotune (that goes for just about anybody in the rap world, come to think of it) and more progressive work in the studio, combining his unique and too-clever-for-his-own-good-or-anyone-else's wit with smart production. Oh, and jams. Definitely more jams.
Probably Album of the Year if I was Actually Going to Rank Them (I'm Not Though)
Fleet Foxes :: s/t Fleet Foxes is what you might call "a grower," which means that the first time I heard the highly-praised "White Winter Hymnal," I dismissed it as a bunch of neo-hippies with beards ripping off The Band and My Morning Jacket, harmonizing and strumming their instruments on some Northwestern college campus. (Many listeners never did get past this really obvious mental image.) As more people started listening to the group's self-titled debut, however, I heard it in different places -- Caribou Coffee, my friend's car -- and fell for it pretty hard. Ultimately, it's not the individual songs on Fleet Foxes that make the album enjoyable (although a song like "White Winter Hymnal" or "Blue Ridge Mountains" is outstanding in any context). Instead, the album is an overall listening experience, one that manages to be both communal and deeply personal, vague in its directions and yet stoically focused, somber and resigned yet eternally hopeful. A recent interview on Pitchfork with the band says that they're eager to go back into the studio and record a follow-up, and believe me when I say I'm as eager as anyone to hear it.
Favorite New Bands Foals :: Antidotes Vampire Weekend :: s/t Dead Confederate :: Wrecking Ball Three terrific new artists grabbed (and actually held) my attention this year, and not surprisingly each of them sound radically different from the others. First, there's the jagged UK group Foals, whose full-length debut Antidotes is a nervous, surreal mix of songs that might be about something if they didn't completely ignore lyrical content. One gets the sense listening to a song like "Olympic Airways" that vocalist Yannis Philippakis uses his voice as just another layer to the songs and doesn't really give a damn about what he's saying.
Foals are in stark contrast with New York's ubiquitous Vampire Weekend, who sing about towns, people, college, parties, and all sorts of things that complement their sort of "prep-rock" sound. Despite giving you the distinct impression they probably aren't all that cool to hang out with unless you're members of the same yacht club, the songs on their self-titled debut are terrific pop nuggets, from the bouncy single "A-Punk" to the baroque-pop of "M79."
Finally, Athens' Dead Confederate don't really write songs so much as walls of grey, fuzzy sound, equal parts alt-country and post-grunge rock. Remember back in the early 90s, everyone went back and started calling Neil Young the "Godfather of Grunge?" Well, this is what he would have sounded like if that was actually true. The closest thing Dead Confederate has to an traditional song is "The Rat," which appears on their full-length debut Wrecking Ball as a re-recorded (but not really modified) version of the one from last year's self-titled EP. Wrecking Ball might be my most-listened-to album from this year.
Folkiest Folk Bon Iver :: For Emma, Forever Ago She & Him :: Volume 1 At the close of the '00s — a decade full of autotune, 8-bit Nintendo sounds, and (ugh) "blog-house" — there was a surprising-and-yet-totally-unsurprising movement of Americana- and folk-inspired balladeering. Fleet Foxes of course fall into this category somehow, but give a listen to Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago, in which scruffy Justin Vernon locks himself away in a Wisconsin cabin for 3 months (how indie cred!) to record a beautiful, heartbreaking record and make us all learn how to love again, or something. Track 1 "Flume" will probably find a good home on year end lists (see here) but the album itself is something special.
Now, Zooey Deschanel and M Ward, aka She & Him, released an album that's not exactly folk but serves the same purpose (and that purpose is winning Album of the Year from Paste Magazine). It's impossible to overstate how adorable these songs are, fusing vaudevillian chamber-pop and '60s soulful pop, and lyrics like "Whoa whoa, I never realized / What a kiss could be / This could only happen to me / Can't you see, can't you see" (awwww...). As dance music gets dancier and T-Pain's top hats get bigger and bloggers turn into producers and turn back into bloggers like so many pumpkin/chariots, it's almost predictably refreshing (but refreshing nonetheless) to hear something written with so much pink-cheeked innocence.
Best T.I. Album T.I. :: Paper Trail Another year, another T.I. album. Last year's would-be double album T.I. vs. T.I.P. was a hit or miss affair with some really amazing songs on it. Paper Trail follows that same formula as T.I. straddles the line drawn by Jay-Z between street-wise hustler and platinum-selling superstar musician. The one-two punch of "Whatever You Like" and "No Matter What" are a perfect demonstration of the split persona T.I. is forging: the first is a bouncy hip-hop template about bling and ice and private jets, and the latter is the T.I. Mission Statement, signed and notorized, 2008 version (last year's was "Big Shit Poppin'"). The low point are the grating (and unfathomably successful) collaboration tracks like "Live Your Life" with Rhianna, and "Slide Show" with John Legend, in which T.I. tries to wander outside of his comfort zone and pisses us all off in the process. Swizz Beatz is still one of my favorite collaborators, though, and "Swing Ya Rag" is a solid track from the pair. Ultimately, though, I'm disappointed in Paper Trail, and will probably end up cherry-picking tracks and discarding the rest — like I've done every other T.I. album to date.
Album I Couldn't Stop Listening to at First and then Kinda Stopped for No Readily Apparent Reason
Gnarls Barkley :: The Odd Couple Why isn't The Odd Couple the best album of the year? Or, perhaps a better question, given the surprise landfall success afforded to 2006's St. Elsewhere, why isn't it the worst album of the year? A "sophomore slump" was feared for Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse, but they came through and put together a solid group of songs that stay true to the basic concept of Gnarls Barkley without attempting to write "Crazy, pt. 2." "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" is perhaps Cee-Lo Green's masterpiece (from a singer-songwriter standpoint), with the opening couplet "Got some bad news this morning / Which in turn made my day" letting us know that dichotomy is heavy on dude's mind. And there are other really terrific songs, from the kicky "Run" to the ominous "Open Book"; yet, somehow, The Odd Couple remains simply a pretty good album with some pretty good songs, and ultimately doesn't stand up to some of the other better releases this year.
Also Awesome The Hold Steady :: Stay Positive Coldplay :: Viva La Vida The Killers :: Day & Age Kanye West: 808s & Heartbreak Death Cab For Cutie :: Narrow Stairs I listened to the above 5 albums dutifully, and they rounded out my 2008 musical experience. Stay Positive was a loud, exciting example of the Hold Steady doing what they do best, and even took a stab at eclecticism (via the harpsichord). Coldplay's latest Viva La Vida was all over the radio, and rightly so: it's probably their best album to date. Day & Age is a good-not-great offering from the Killers, a consistently entertaining band with a flair for pomp and drama. Speaking of drama, Kanye's new throwaway emo-tune project 808's & Heartbreak isn't as bad as it sounds, if it does wear pretty thin — let's just be patient for the next proper album of actual songs he put time and effort into. And finally, the inexplicably huge Death Cab for Cutie returned with Narrow Stairs, whose high points include an 8-minute jam and some album cuts like "Long Division," which rank among the year's best. In all, it was a decent year, but not exactly one that made me too excited to even put this list together.
That being said, enjoy the list below, which serves as my "best songs of the year kind of" list for 2008.
2008 Playlist: Select Songs I've Enjoyed This Year (In No Particular Order)
01. Love in This Club - Usher ft. Young Jeezy [Rock-a-Fire Explosion video] 02. Mr. Carter - Lil Wayne ft. Jay-Z [stream] 03. Who's Gonna Save My Soul - Gnarls Barkley [video] 04. DLZ - TV on the Radio [stream] 05. Got Money - Lil Wayne ft. T-Pain [video] 06. Whatever You Like - T.I. [video] 07. Shawty Get Looks - Lil Mama vs. MSTRKRFT [mp3] 08. Cobrastyle - Robyn [video] 09. Royal Flush - Big Boi ft. Raekwon & Andre 3000 [stream] 10. Put On - Young Jeezy ft. Kanye West [video] 11. Love Lockdown - Kanye West [mp3] 12. The Arm - Islands [stream] 13. The Rat - Dead Confederate [video] 14. Constructive Summer - The Hold Steady [stream] 15. Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon [video] 16. Olympic Airways - Foals [video] 17. Top Drawer - Man Man [stream] 18. A-Punk - Vampire Weekend [video] 19. White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes [video] 20. Dancing Choose - TV on the Radio [video] 21. Halo - Bloc Party [stream] 22. Jealous Enemies - Dark Captain Light Captain [video] 23. I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab for Cutie [video] 24. Spaceman - The Killers [stream] 25. What Up, What's Haapnin' - T.I. [video] 26. Lost+ - Coldplay ft. Jay-Z [video]
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