My blogging continued to decline yet again this year...but I can't seem to avoid doing my top five list. It seems to be the one reason that I still have this blog...to spout about all of the things I loved last year to the five people who will really look at this...a random blog post that took me hours to do because even though I know no one's really going to see it, I need to take some time to reflect upon all of my pop culture loves of the past year.
I've also decided just to take a note from Stephen King's "Top" lists in Entertainment Weekly and point out that not everything came out in 2012...but if I discovered it in that year, I figured it counted (thus The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo gets a spot on my list as I saw it on New Year's Day of 2012). Other things I discovered got a spot on the "Oldies, but Goodies" list...which makes everything kind of topsy-turvy, but as this is my Top Five list, you can get over it. I also decided that some favorites got to share numbers when it was too hard to choose between two loves. During the course of writing this, I also had a few change of hearts, so the graphics displayed in each category aren't always accurate (see TV and Idols).
So let's do this. Ready, set, go...
Top 5 Movies
5. The Dark Knight Rises
The final installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy was fantastically done. He also gets major kudos points for filming quite a bit of it in Pittsburgh.
4. The Campaign / Pitch Perfect
These two comedies were extremely difficult to choose between.
On one hand, you have the genius of both Zach Galifianakis and Will Ferrell battling it out in a film that fit nicely into an election year.
On the other hand, you had Rebel Wilson singing competitively with a cast that used some fantastic mash-ups.
This one had to be split. There was no other way about it.
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I love David Fincher. LOVE him. I love his films. I love the way they're shot, the way he doesn't flinch away from topics that could be considered "too dark" or unconventional. His take on a fantastic, but cold book was incredibly well done. Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara were both pretty damn fantastic as well. Can't wait for the follow-up. I really, really hope that Fincher helms it...
2. The Hunger Games
Oh The Hunger Games. You could have gone the extremely cheesy route that the Twilight movies did, but thank God, you didn't. With a brilliant Jennifer Lawrence at the helm, this movie was really well done and stayed pretty true to the books (which are also brilliant...as I'll discuss below).
1. The Cabin in the Woods
Oh Joss Whedon. Can you really do anything wrong? In a year where I know that "The Avengers" will top many a "Top Five" list, this was your real gem for me. It took the horror genre, spun it on its head and really impressed me. Plus the unicorn? Seriously? Most bad ass killing sequence in a movie in years.
Honorable Mentions: 21 Jump Street, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Prometheus
Top 10 TV Shows
10. The Big Bang Theory
(Number 7 in 2011, Number 1 in 2010)
I love this show, I really do, but I've missed so many "new" episodes due to its time slot, until I can really get back into it, it suffers.
9. Downton Abbey
Years ago, I hated this period drama stuff. I didn't understand it and it bored me. I don't know if it's maturity or my love of all things English since my Study Abroad experience or what...but I'm loving British television. Downton is at times, completely absurd and wacky, but I love it anyway. And the fashion? Good God, the fashion is to die for.
8. 2 Broke Girls
(Number 10 in 2011)
I think 2 Broke Girls tends to get the short end of the stick. It's called racist and while I suppose I can see it, I have a hard time figuring out if people really think it's racist or if they just don't like it when the people cracking the jokes are females. While it can push the button at times, at face value, it's hilarious.
7. RuPaul's Drag Race
This is the year that I started to wish that I could be a drag queen. It looks like an absolute blast. Drag Race pretty much replaced Project Runway for me this year as it's PR and Top Model on crack. I wish RuPaul was my godmother.
6. Sherlock
(Number 2 in 2010)
This
kicked American Horror Story out in an eleventh hour victory. Honestly,
how I could have forgotten about new episodes of Sherlock in 2012, I
don't know. It's blasphemy. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are so fantastic in this show. And Steven Moffat? Kills me. Every. Damn. Time.
5. How I Met Your Mother
(Number 4 in 2011, 2010; Number 3 in 2009; Number 4 in 2008)
I'm loving this show more and more the closer that we get to the end game. Even though the viewer gets flash forwards into what's going to happen, they still know how to surprise the audience.
4. New Girl
(Number 3 in 2011)
To me, the guys on this show are better than Zooey Deschanel and she's pretty damn brilliant. The guys have really come forward and stolen the spotlight.
3. Friday Night Dinner
This current UK show is ridiculous. Focusing on a Jewish family's dinners every Friday night, they always wind up with something absolutely awful occurring. Plus Mark Heap as their creepy neighbor terrified of his own dog? Even better.
2. Awkward
(Number 5 in 2011)
Last year, this show impressed me for the mere fact that it was on MTV and didn't involve people living at the Jersey Shore or people putting themselves in drunken situations. It's super well written and genuine to the core. Plus the season ending? Pissed me off. Can't wait for more.
(Number 2 in 2011)
The Walking Dead fell into the talking curse last season. Everyone wanted to talk...and there wasn't much all that interesting to say. Getting off the farm was the best damn thing that ever happened to The Walking Dead. This season has been so fast-paced, in your face, and bloody good. Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes only gets more attractive the dirtier and grimier he gets...and Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon? Love him.
Honorable Mentions: American Horror Story (Number 1 in 2011), Bones (Number 8 in 2011, Number 5 in 2009), Dexter (Number 5 in 2010, Number 1 in 2009, Number 1 in 2008), Episodes, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Number 6 in 2011, Number 4 in 2009, Number 2 in 2008) The Middle, Project Runway, Raising Hope (Number 9 in 2011), So You Think You Can Dance.
Top 5 Albums
5. Lana Del Rey - Born to Die
I vaguely heard about Lana Del Rey in the start of the year following her SNL "meltdown" but I've never watched said performance. I pretty much put it in the back of my mind and forgot about it until around September when I was listening to a Pandora station and one of her songs came on it. I still have yet to see any of Del Rey's live performances, but I love this album. It's haunting and sad. It listens like an old 1940s film. Really different from other things released this year.
4. Fiona Apple - The Idler Wheel
Oh Fiona. You represent all the sad parts of me. Tidal and When the Pawn... played for me in college like soundtracks. Extraordinary Machine was a long time coming...and this album, really does not disappoint. It plays even better live.
3. Dragonette - Bodyparts
This year was all dance for me pretty much (with the exception of the Fiona) and for the most part, it was all UK driven dance music...but Dragonette was one of the few exceptions. This album is more dance than the last few and comes across as European minus the ever-popular-these-days dubsteb (and I love dubstep as much as the next kid). "My Legs" is a particular standout from this album, along with its lead single "Let It Go."
2. Cheryl Cole - A Million Lights
Cole's second album "A Million Raindrops" was not as fantastic as her first ("3 Words"). It did have some standout hits, but otherwise, for me, it wasn't as fun as the first. With "A Million Lights" she broke that trend and came back better than ever. The album is a slow jam of dance songs that work really well together. Love the feel of the album art too.
1. Marina and the Diamonds - Electra Heart
This was a runaway for me for Marina. This album was the one that I played the most. I mean over and over and over. Marina really took a different direction from her debut...which makes me love her first album even more now, because they can be enjoyed as two entirely different entities. Marina took on a whole new persona for this album and moved to the States to craft it. It was worth it. I can't wait to see what direction she decides to go in next.
Honorable Mentions: Ellie Goulding - Halcyon
Top 5 Singles
5. "Scream & Shout" - will.i.am feat. Britney Spears / "Something New" - Girls Aloud
(Britney Spears had the Number 1 Single in 2011 for "I Wanna Go")
These two singles could really be tied together. Britney's working with will.i.am again and he's been a huge guiding force for Cheryl Cole of Girls Aloud's career.
"Scream and Shout" plays in Eurotrash fabulousness. After "Big Fat Bass" on Brit's last CD, I wasn't sure that I really wanted the two of them to collaborate again. I'm really glad they proved me wrong. This song is sly.
Girl's Aloud made their 10 Year Anniversary one to remember with "Something New." Part of my problem with GA is when they're on, they're solid, but at times they still have that manufactured girl group sound about them. "Something New" was exactly that for them. It was a bold way to come back and it worked.
4. "Headphones" - Little Boots / "Time Bomb" - Kylie Minogue
These two songs were my Saturday night repeat songs for a few weekends in a row. Due to the fact that I couldn't play one without the other, they feel like they belong together to me now.
"Headphones" is a fantastic new single for Little Boots. I burnt myself out on her last album, but this song pulled me out of it. I love the idea of wearing headphones to a disco and dancing there to the beat they play and not what the DJ is. It's doing your own thing and it's a liberation.
Likewise, "Time Bomb" marked a new greatest hits album from Kylie Minogue, who to me, is the real Queen of Pop (passing said title along to my girl Britney). She's been solid her entire career and hasn't gotten weird the way that Madonna has. She sticks to what she's good at: dance tracks. She doesn't need to make big political statements. She knows what she's best at.
3. "Call My Name" - Cheryl Cole
The debut single off of Cole's newest album did not disappoint. Plus the dance in the video? Fabulous. Cheryl Cole is the only person who could wear what she does in that video and not look like a child from the 80s. This song still wakes me up every morning all these months later.
2. "Let It Go" - Dragonette
I feel like Dragonette is at their best when they do dance tracks, as their collaboration with Martin Solveig proved (plus "Fire in Your New Shoes" = total fun). It's not possible to sit still when you listen to this song. The video is just as awesome. Plug it in and let it go.
1. "Primadonna" and "Power and Control" - Marina & the Diamonds
(Number 4 Single in 2011 for "Radioactive" / Number 1 Single in 2010 for "Oh No")
Marina Dimandis is one of a kind. These songs were pure perfection. Plus the cohesive storytelling for the whole album played really well. Marina deserves more credit here in the States for this...but as she tends towards tongue-in-cheek subtlety, I can understand why people here just haven't caught on yet.
Honorable Mentions: "Anything We Want" - Fiona Apple, "Born to Die" - Lana Del Rey, "Skyfall" - Adele, "Stand Behind the Music" - Anjulie, "Want U Back" - Cher Lloyd
Top 5 Artists
5. Alkaline Trio
I rediscovered Alkaline Trio's "Damnesia" this year and fell in love with it all over again. This, of course, led to me pulling out all of my Alkaline Trio albums and converting to my life from 17-20.
4. Britney Spears
(Number 1 Artist in 2011)
Oh Britney. You proved everyone so wrong this year on the X-Factor. They expected a trainwreck and you gave them a mature, businesslike model proving them all wrong. Love it.
3. Cheryl Cole
(Number 4 Artist in 2011)
Cheryl put out a fantastic album this year, showed up for a cheeky interview on Graham Norton, and reunited with Girls Aloud. Plus, she sued the producers of the US X-Factor for not paying her after they fired her last year. I'm still sore about that...but good on her for not letting them fuck her over.
2. Fiona Apple
Fiona is still proving that the only person who needs to be satisfied with Fiona Apple is Fiona Apple. She's releasing music on her terms and she's doing it how she wants to. It's good to see someone that genuine.
1. Marina & the Diamonds
As is clear by Top Album and Single, Marina's the person I was most impressed with this year. From the direction of the albums and the videos and how she holds herself up, she really impressed me. I wish, even at 26, that I could be Marina Dimandis.
Honorable Mentions: Lana Del Rey
Top Concert
Fiona Apple
Fiona was the only live concert I saw this year.
And that was totally fine with me.
Between her awkward dancing and erratic piano playing, she put on a hell of a show.
I've wanted to see Fiona in concert for roughly 8 years now and she did not disappoint.
Honorable Mentions: So You Think You Can Dance Tour
Top 5 Books
5. "Reflected in You" - Sylvia Day
In a year where "50 Shades of Grey" dominated, this book kicked its ass. As someone who caved and read "50 Shades" and couldn't get over the atrociousness of the writing (which needed a serious editor), this book proved contemporary romance can still work. Plus the sequel to it? **Spoiler Alert** Ballsy. Christian may tell Anastasia he'd kill for her, but Gideon really does kill for Eva.
4. "Life After Death" - Damien Echols
Finally we get some depth from Echols about everything he's been through and how he feels about his longtime-coming freedom. I got a little bummed out reading about how he and Jason no longer talk after disputes with movies, but they both still remain an inspiration.
3. "Broken Harbor" - Tana French
French's fourth novel about the Scotland Murder Squad was worth the wait. It made me feel paranoid, plus the hole in the wall storyline creeped me out. I swore, while I was reading this, that I could hear things in my walls.
2. "Defending Jacob" - William Landay
Landay's courtroom novel had a huge twist at the end, which was unexpected, but intriguing nonetheless. The characters in this book pulled me in from the start. Heartbreaking, but a fantastic read.
1. "Gone Girl" - Gillian Flynn
Flynn started to get blurbs in Entertainment Weekly and I was intrigued after looking this book up on Amazon. I couldn't wait for its release and when it FINALLY came out, it was worth all the anticipation. I would read this book whenever I had time and could not put it down. Full of twists and characters whom I despised, but could not stop reading about, this book has really stuck with me.
Top 5 Idols
Britney Spears (yet again proving the haters wrong), Chelsea Handler (for being as hilarious as she was years ago), Cheryl Cole (for proving that you can get kicked down, but rise again against the turned tide), Fiona Apple (for being completely genuine), Jennifer Lawrence (for being one of the most honest leading women of my generation who at her heart is real and normal), Kate Middleton (for handling everything with grace), Lily Allen (for sinking into the background to live the life she always wanted to), Marina Diamandis (for being a genuine breakout who can create a character, but not come across as a fame-seeking faker).
Top 5 Boys
5. Jason Segel
(Number 1 in 2011, 2010, 2009, Number 5 in 2008)
Oh how the mighty have fallen...after three years at the top, he falls to the bottom (but not completely) off my Top 5 list. It must be because he avoided all those marriage proposals. A girl can only take scared silence for so long before she moves on.
4. The Boys of the Inbetweeners
How I missed these boys before now, I have no good excuse for. As far as ensemble casts go, this one is stellar. Plus, look at them. You could sandwich me between Blake Harrison and Joe Thomas any day.
3. Andrew Lincoln
The dirtier and crazier he gets on The Walking Dead, the more attractive to me he gets. Plus, he finally took off the stupid sheriff's uniform, which made him three times more attractive. He's also British...so that's more points in his direction.
2. Norman Reedus
(Number 2 in 2011)
The more interviews and TwitPics I see of Norman, the more I wish the zombie apocalypse would happen so that he could take care of my pathetic ass. Loved him in Boondock Saints...really love him on The Walking Dead. I'm so glad they took a chance on him and made a character just for him that has become the breakout character of the show.
1. Michael Fassbender
But good Lord, this man got to me the most this year and I still don't know how exactly it happened. First of all, he's a red head, which is so not my type, but on him, it works. Secondly, he played Mr. Rochester in Jane Eyre last year (we all know how I am about Matthew McFayden who played Mr. Darcy) and he's from the UK. And before you go there, this kid still has yet to watch him in all of his glory in Shame. He gives a fantastically hilarious interview and seems like a pretty normal guy. He also has nice teeth. The end.
Honorable Mentions: Beau Mirchoff, Charlie Day (Number 3 in 2011, Number 4 in 2010), Christian Bale, Jon Hamm, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Number 3 in 2010), Michael Phelps, Ryan Adams (Number 2 in 2010, Number 4 in 2008), Ryan Gosling (Number 4 in 2011), Will Arnett
Top 5 Oldies, But Goodies
5. Fiona Apple - "Extraordinary Machine"
I started listening to this album again shortly after seeing her in concert and it plays as well as it did over five years ago.
4. The IT Crowd / Spaced
God Bless You, Netflix. Even though you have (and are) removing these two shows from your instant streaming service, I still got to enjoy them.
The IT Crowd is a socially awkward show with the brilliant Chris O'Dowd in all of his gloriousness.
Spaced has Simon Pegg in all of his genius and has yet another version of Mark Heap for me to enjoy.
3. The Hunger Games Trilogy
As a Masters Student in Library and Information Services, I find myself reading YA novels now with purpose. I'd love to help kids find books to fall in love with, but that wasn't the reason I finally caved and read the hunger games. To be honest with you, the premise alone had me. These books are really well written and introduce a heroine that teenage girls can finally look up to (I haven't felt that since I read Megan McCafferty's Sloppy series). Unlike Bella from Twilight, Katniss is more focused on what she can do to save her family and protecting others than she is about falling in love. A real heroine that girls can look up to.
2. Gillian Flynn's Other Novels
"Gone Girl" is a fabulous novel, but Flynn's first two novels are not to be missed, especially "Dark Places." After I read the blurbs for "Gone Girl" before it was released, I made sure to go back and read these two novels first. "Dark Places" is haunting and sad and scary all at the same time. For someone who people say is pretty normal, Gillian Flynn certainly has a fantastically sick mind. Thank you.
1. The Inbetweeners
I love this show. Love it. Love everything about it. The cast. The TV show. The movie. The writing. The music. Can't wait till they make another film.
Honorable Mentions: Alkaline Trio, Cake, Wings
Ted Bundy True Crime Award
Columbine
I really didn't know what I was going to choose for this until the past month when I started reading through all of the Columbine info that I have. One of my goals for 2013 is to read through "Columbine" by Dave Cullen again, especially now that I've read the 900 page document which includes journal excerpts and papers from the boys. I also watched "Zero Day" which was a faux-documentary created in response to the The Basement Tapes.
Whenever things like this happen, people always want to know why and it's always interesting to me to listen to the media and what they're reporting for the first few days, because, as this book proves, 90% of that first information reported is incorrect.
To anyone looking for a read, I suggest "Columbine" all these years later.
Time's review of "Columbine" gives the best reason for giving the book a chance:
"What can we learn from Columbine, which is now the most
convincing, authoritative narrative we have of the massacre? If it fills
in the meaning of that senseless atrocity, what is it? Harris' story
doesn't help us any. It's familiar and unilluminating: he was wired to
kill. If there is a lesson here, it lies in Klebold's story, which is
the more disturbing because he was, at heart, like us. He was capable of
love and sympathy, and he discarded them. Some killers are natural
born. Klebold was made."
