Best of List 2009

For those of you who know me... or know at least one male, it shouldn't surprise you that I/we painstakingly like to compile, categorize and rank all the meaningless drivel we spend our free time accumulating and consuming. Frankly, these lists are the only way I can justify the amount of time I spend not making myself smarter, more fit or more accomplished. If it weren't for these lists, I might start feeling like a loser. Enjoy.

20 BEST MOVIES of 2009
(56 movies in the theater as of 12.26.09, 61 total )

20. It's Complicated
19. Julie & Julia
18. Paranormal Activity
17. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
16. Avatar
15. The Informant!
14. It Might Get Loud
13. Earth
12. Star Trek
11. Drag Me to Hell

10. Zombieland
09. The Hangover
08. Funny People
07. Up In the Air
06. Up
05. The Fantastic Mr. Fox
04. I Love You, Man
03. The Hurt Locker
02. Where the Wild Things Are
01. Inglourious Basterds



TOP 20 SONGS of 2009

20. Know Your Enemy - Greenday
19. The Great Escape - The Rifles
18. Run This Town - Jay-Z (feat. Rihanna and Kanye West)
17. The Midnight Rose - Willie Nile
16. The Girl Got Hot - Weezer
15. 1901 - Phoenix
14. 4 Songs and a Fight - The Sounds
13. Let Your Love Grow Tall - Passion Pit
12. Folding Chair - Regina Spektor
11. Winter Calls - The Rifles
10. Kickdrum Heart - The Avett Brothers
09. I And Love And You - The Avett Brothers
08. Seventeen - JET
07. Audience - Cold War Kids
06. Victoria - The Kooks
05. There Are Maybe 10 or 12 ... - A.C. Newman
04. The Last Carnival - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
03. The Static Age - Greenday
02. Tripping Down the Freeway - Weezer
01. Death - White Lies

TOP ALBUMS of 2009

10. I And Love And You - The Avett Brothers (1.692)
09. The Blueprint 3 - Jay-Z (1.733)
08. The Great Escape - The Rifles (1.75)
07. Changing Horses - Ben Kweller (1.80)
06. Street Sweeper Social Club - Street Sweeper Social Club (1.82)
05. Cosmic Egg - Wolfmother (1.88)
04. 21st Century Breakdown - Greenday (1.89)
03. House of a Thousand Guitars - Willie Nile (2.08)
02. Working On A Dream - Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (2.25)
01. Raditude - Weezer (2.30)


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To see my previous rankings, visit the 2008, 2007 or 2006 links.

Best Ofs 2008

For those of you who know me... or know at least one male, it shouldn't surprise you that I/we painstakingly like to compile, categorize and

rank all the meaningless drivel we spend our free time accumulating and consuming.

Frankly, these lists are the only way I can justify the amount of time I spend not making myself smarter, more fit or more accomplished.

If it weren't for these lists, I might start feeling like a loser.

Enjoy.

Top 20 Movies of 2008
(59 movies total)

20.Rachel Getting Married (3.0, October)
19. Tropic Thunder (3.0, August)
18. Cloverfield (3.0, January)
17. Leatherheads (3.0, April)
16. The Changeling (3.0, November)

15. Stepbrothers (3.0, July)
14. Funny Games (3.0, April)
13. Hancock (3.0, July)
12. Slumdog Millionaire (3.0)
11. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (3.0, April)

10. Ironman (3.0, May)
09. Wall-E (3.5, June)
08. Frost/Nixon (3.5)
07. The Wrestler (3.5, December)
06. Milk (3.5, December)
05. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (3.5, December)
04. Burn After Reading (3.5, September)
03. Revolutionary Road (4.0)
02. Doubt (4.0, December)
01. The Dark Knight (4.0, July)


Top 25 Songs of 2008

25. Jack Killed Mom - Jenny Lewis
24. Lost+ - Coldplay (feat. Jay-Z)
23. Gamma Ray - Beck
22. The '59 Sound - Gaslight Anthem
21. Geraldine - Glasvegas
20. Mr. Pitiful - Matt Costa
19. Pork and Beans - Weezer
18. Viva La Vida - Coldplay
17. Go Square Go - Glasvegas
16. M79 - Vampire Weekend
15. New Years Day - The Caesars
14. The Iron Wheel - The Nightwatchman (feat. Shooter Jennings)
13. We Are Winning - Flobots
12. Ottoman - Vampire Weekend
11. Oxford Comma - Vampire Weekend
10. California Girls - The Magnetic Fields
9. The Wrestler - Bruce Springsteen
8. Hold Up - The Raconteurs
7. Troublemaker - Weezer
6. Don't Forget Sister - Low vs. Diamond
5. Too Drunk to Dream - The Magnetic Fields
4. Handlebars - Flobots
3. Campus - Vampire Weekend
2. NYC - Gone, Gone - Conor Oberst
1. Salute Your Solution - The Raconteurs


TOP 10 ALBUMS of 2008


10. Stay Positive - The Hold Steady

If you like Springsteen, you'll like The Hold Steady, mostly because the Hold Steady really like Springsteen and Springsteen really likes the Hold Steady. Logically, the Hold Steady and Springsteen really like you too, which is nice. Big ups to bar bands. (1.91 rating)

09. Here We Stand - The Fratellis

There weren't any bad songs on The Fratellis' last album "Costello Music," just as there aren't any bad songs here. The Fratellis don't really make bad songs, they just seem to make fewer awesome songs with each new album...at least so far. (1.91 rating)

08. Acid Tongue - Jenny Lewis

Remember Jenny Lewis from "Mr. Belvedere?" Jenny Lewis was totally in "Mr. Belvedere" and although I haven't yet listened to "Bob Uecker Sings Tom Waits Songs," I'm pretty sure this album is the best record from any former member of that show. Also, Elvis Costello's choked voice makes a cameo, which people my age have told me is pretty great. (1.92 rating)

07. Distortion - The Magnetic Fields

You'll hear no better collection of ironic songs about hating beautiful girls, loving the slutty life or how much better being drunk is than being sober. Nuff said. (2.00 rating)

06. Glasvegas - Glasvegas

These Scottish dudes really like Phil Spector, the f-word in their choruses, The Raveonettes, feedback, Jesus and the Mary Chain and The Ramones. And you know what? So do I. (2.10 rating)

05. The Rhumb Line - Ra Ra Riot

It's a good sign that seemingly more bands are embracing more orchestral sounds on their albums. This light was ignited with Coldplay and Arcade Fire and seemingly continues with Vampire Weekend and here with Ra Ra Riot's second album. The liner notes for Vampire Weekend's album thanks Riot. Good enough for me. (2.10 rating)

04. Fight with Tools - Flobots

I've heard this album described as conscientious flow for a more responsible youth movement and I've heard this album described as pretentious hip-hop for laymen CNN viewers. At times it's both, but it always provides images to think about and an orchestral heartbeat that thumps this album past all others of its kind this year. (2.17 rating)

03. Weezer (The Red Album) - Weezer

The cover of Weezer's sixth album appropriately informs its content: familiar design, goofy posing. The good news is the band sticks to the familiar (a bunch of short geek-rock songs, rhyme dictionary-infused lyrics and one long form opus that graces most Weezer albums). The bad news is that I'm older and a little less tolerant of it all than I used to be. (2.30 rating)

02. Consolers of the Lonely - The Raconteurs

There are only a few musicians or groups that innately mirror my own music philosophy and emotional direction. Jack White has been that for me for more than a year. I know little about him personally, but aurally, White's influence over every group of which he's a part has greatly informed my musical vocabulary. (2.50 rating)

01. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

With a rock lineage tracing back to the Kinks and especially Paul Simon, this deceptively named Ivy League prep band orchestrated song after marvelously intricate song, without having to write a single sensical lyric. (3.00 rating)

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To see my previous rankings visit the 2007 link and the 2006 link

Best Ofs 2007

As we stand halfway finished with 2007, it is time to start compiling my best of lists. For those of you who know me... or know at least one male, it shouldn't surprise you that I/we painstakingly like to compile, categorize and rank all the meaningless drivel we spend our free time accumulating and consuming.

Frankly, these lists are the only way I can justify the amount of time I spend not making myself smarter, more fit or more accomplished.

If it weren't for these lists, I might start feeling like a loser.

Anyway, I'm still burned out from that 2-part "Sex and the City" blog and I needed something to enter here this week. Like it or not, this totally counts!

It only counts for two weeks though, then I'm closing it down until January, where then, you'll be able to get the full depth of my neurotic dorkiness.

Enjoy.

Top 20 Movies of 2007

20. Charlie Wilson's War (3.0, December)
19. Grindhouse (3.0, April)
18. Hairspray (3.0 July)
17. Lions for Lambs (3.0, November)
16. The Hoax (3.0, April)
15. An Unreasonable Man (3.0, February)
14. 300 (3.0, March)
13. Atonement (3.0, December)
12. Ratatouille (3.0, June)
11. Juno (3.0, December)
10. The Simpsons Movie (3.0, July)
09. Once (3.0, September)
08. Beowulf (3.5, November)
07. Knocked Up (3.5, June)
06. No Country for Old Men (3.5, November)
05. Sicko (3.5, July)
04. Super Bad (3.5, August)
03. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (3.5, October)
02. There Will Be Blood (3.5, December)
01. Michael Clayton (4.0, October)



Top 25 Songs of 2007

25. TOOK OUT A LOAN - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Honestly, the song as a whole is only moderately kickass, but the buzz bass breakdown halfway through is enough to make me want to challenge each of you to a street brawl.
24. SPLIT ME WIDE OPEN - The Bravery. I wish more people would rip off U2 so that maybe Bono could just be a crusader full time and we wouldn't have to watch him attempt to keep rhythm on stage anymore.
23. HOMECOMING - Kanye West (feat. Chris Martin). It's getting to the point where there just isn't any duet that's "crazy" anymore. Irony fucks everything up.
22. TIMEBOMB - Beck. Best scientologist song of the year. We'll see if Will Smith has a follow-up to "Switch" for 2008.
21. COMFY IN NAUTICA - Panda Bear. Y'know it's weird. I was just thinking how neat it would be if some dude utilized massive amounts of echo on his voice to sound like Brian Wilson after Brian Wilson became insanely depressed. POOF! Panda Bear.
20. CAN'T BELIEVE A SINGLE WORD - VHS or Beta. If I had a synthesizer, Zak could sing and Jason could play the drums, this is probably the song the three of us would have chosen as our first single.
19. HOP A PLANE - Tegan & Sara. Ohmigod, what is Adam doing? Does he know that he has a penis? Perhaps he got rid of his penis? Has Adam become a "vagatarian?" Doesn't he remember the Decemberists fiasco of 2005? If Little Steven says they're okay, that's good enough for me. Question: Does lesbianism make two female singers better or worse on principle?
18. IF THE BRAKEMAN TURNS MY WAY - Bright Eyes. In a year where everyone from The Nightwatchmen to Arcade Fire were ripping off Springsteen, this is the best of 'em all (discluding any Springsteen ripoffs that actually involved Springsteen).
17. ONE TWO THREE FOUR - Feist. I'd like to get a job as part of the marketing division at Apple, but then I'm pretty sure I'd fuck things up and we'd no longer have a steady diet of brilliant commercials with little known musical gems.
16. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS (YOU JUST DO AS YOU'RE TOLD) - The White Stripes. I like trying to figure out if Jack was singing about Meg or Rene Zellweger.
15. EMILY JEAN STOCK - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I had to put this on here to maintain my scenster credentials. The final two minutes of this pretty much tells the listener to "turn the radio up," which is a cheap and easy way to get me to put your song on my favorites list.
14. FALLING SLOWLY - Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. If you need further proof that this is a good song, consider the fact that I just spent five minutes making sure I had the spelling correct on the names of the performers. Don't laugh, it cost Mott the Hoople several spots on my lists over the years.
13. NO ONE - Alicia Keys. It never fails. Keys puts out a single, I like it, I listen to the album, the rest of the songs suck. It's like she's a one-hit wonder every three years. Which is confusing, but nevertheless true.
12. ICKY THUMP - The White Stripes. I think this song came from space. I can't wait to play this song against alien abductors in 'Guitar Hero 4.' You heard it here first.
11. GIRLFRIEND - Avril Lavigne. The natural thing to do here would be to defend myself, but fuck that. I've got a sweet tooth for pop music. With Blink 182 gone, something's gotta fill that void. Might as well get filled with knee-high socks and blonde streaks.
10. SAME OLD DRAG - The Apples In Stereo. This band is kind of odd because they mostly sing about happiness and space exploration and shit. I forgive them on this track because of solid use of the wah. For those of you keeping track at home: the wah overrules space travel.
9. IN THE MODERN WORLD - Jesse Malin. There are some songs that you just know you're going to like within the first three seconds of hearing it. The beginning just rips into awesomeness that you just can't imagine it going DOWNHILL. I call it the "Chuck Berry Effect." Listen to "Johnny B. Goode," "Won't Get Fooled Again" (which is certainly not by Chuck Berry, but has the same result), or this song.
8. BROKEN RADIO - Jesse Malin (feat. Bruce Springsteen). The only "slow" song in the top 10. It's saving grace is that Springsteen shows up in the track to trade verses. A good year for "Radio" songs involving Springsteen.
7. 7 STARS - The Apples In Stereo. I know what you're thinking and yes, I DID only rank this at seven because of the song title. If half of you can list 3/4 of the 'Into the Wild' soundtrack on your lists I can rank songs according to number connectedness.
6. LIVIN' IN THE FUTURE - Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band. This is the best ripoff of 'Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out' I've ever heard, which caused me to struggle with where to rank self-plagiarism. Spoiler alert: I ended up ranking self-plagiarism sixth.
5. 15 - Rilo Kiley. What people like best about Dusty Springfield or Nancy Sinatra, I like about this song. Best use of horns in 2007.
4. I STILL REMEMBER - Bloc Party. This is the power of a rippin' hook. Although no synthesized hook - no matter how good - gets a song into the top 3.
3. RAG & BONE - The White Stripes. Jack and Meg go junkin' for rich people's unwanted goods. Okay, but does it have overdrive and and heavy snare? Excellent.
2. FLUORESCENT ADOLESCENT - Arctic Monkeys. This is the best song about an aging woman not getting as much ass as she used to. That's a fairly narrow song theme, but if you're gonna sing about it, might as well make it the best ever.
1. RADIO NOWHERE - Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band. I too just want to hear some rhythm and anyone who doesn't, clearly has a foreign object lodged into the part of their brain controlling both reason and logic.


TOP 10 ALBUMS of 2007

10.Neon Bible - Arcade Fire.
9. The Stage Names - Okkervil River.
8. Calling the World - Rooney.
7. New Magnetic Wonder - The Apples In Stereo
6. Under the Blacklight - Rilo Kiley.
5. Glitter in the Gutter - Jesse Malin.
4. Sawdust - The Killers.
3. Person Pitch - Panda Bear (2.14 rating)
2. Icky Thump - The White Stripes (2.53 rating)
1. Magic - Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band (3.00 rating)

Special Recognition: Costello Music - The Fratellis. (rating: 3.00)

I believe this album to be the best album released in America in 2007. Unfortunately, this album was also released in the UK in the Fall of 2006, I heard it in December and can't claim not to have had access to it before the start of the New Year.

This is a clear-cut-case of an album falling through the cracks of my own stupid rules.

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For last year's Best Ofs click here.

The Best Ofs 2006

Best Albums 2006

10. The Rise and Fall Of... - Butch Walker & The Let's-Go-Out-Tonites (1.62 rating)
09. Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards - Tom Waits (1.73 rating)
08. Streets Of New York - Willie Nile (1.86 rating)
07. Everything All the Time - Band Of Horses (2.00 rating)
06. Boys and Girls In America - The Hold Steady (2.00 rating)
05. We Don't Need To Whisper - Angels & Airwaves (2.10 rating)
04. Shine On - Jet (2.50 rating)
03. Ben Kweller - Ben Kweller (3.09 rating)
02. We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions (American Land Edition) - Bruce Springsteen & The Seeger Sessions Band (3.11 rating)
01. Sam's Town - The Killers (3.27 rating)


Best 20 Songs 2006
20. Black Shoes - The Films
19. Leave Me Alone (I'm Lonely) - P!nk
18. Hideaway - Rock Kills Kid
17. The Adventure - Angels & Airwaves
16. First Night - The Hold Steady
15. Rip It Up - Jet
14. Bethamphetamine (Pretty, Pretty) - Butch Walker & The Lets-Go-Out-Tonites
13. God's Gonna Cut You Down - Johnny Cash
12. The Funeral - Band Of Horses
11. This River Is Wild - The Killers
10. Ain't No Other Man - Christina Aguilara
09. Samson - Regina Spektor
08. Magic - Ben Kweller
07. How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live - Bruce Springsteen & The Seeger Sessions Band
06. Hips Don't Lie - Shakira (feat. Wyclef)
05. I Gotta Move - Ben Kweller
04. Conventional Wisdom - Built To Spill
03. Fidelity - Regina Spektor
02. Old Dan Tucker - Bruce Springsteen & The Seeger Sessions Band
01. When You Were Young - The Killers

Top 20 Movies 2006
20. The Prestige (3.0, October)
19. Jackass 2 (3.0, September)
18. The U.S. Vs. John Lennon (3.0, September)
17. The Three Burials of Malquiedas Estrada (3.0, February)
16. The Devil Wears Prada (3.0, June)
15. Bobby (3.0, November)
14. Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby (3.0, August)
13. Children Of Men (3.0, holidays)
12. An Inconvenient Truth (3.0, June)
11. The Last King of Scotland (3.0, holidays)
10. Lady In the Water (3.0, July)
09. Borat (3-stars, November)
08. Casino Royale (3.5, November)
07. United 93 (3.5, April)
06. The Departed (3.5, October)
05. Little Miss Sunshine (3.5, August)
04. Stranger Than Fiction (3.5, November)
03. Last Kiss (3.5, September)
02. The Pursuit of Happyness (4.0, December)
01. The Boys Of Baraka (4.0, January)