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Best Album
Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago: This album will never get old for me. It’s so simple and beautiful … or simply beautiful!
Girl Talk – Feed the Animals: I love nostalgia and so much of this album was a trip down memory lane … just fused with this year’s radio hits. Plus, anyone that can mix Jay-Z with Radiohead and not fuck it up deserves some cred.
MGMT – Oracular Spectacular: Is this not on anyone’s list?
Calexico – Carried to Dust: My first taste of Calexico and I was super impressed. I love the variety of influences and styles you hear in their songs.
Lykke Li – Youth Novels: It really didn’t take much for me to get into Lykke Li. I heard “Tonight” and instantly wanted more. It’s been love ever since.
Best Song
Kings of Leon – Closer: This is probably one of my most listened to songs of 2008. I only wish it wasn’t the opening track to their album cause it made the rest of the album pale in comparison.
Calexico – Man Made Lake: Perfect example of how Calexico should be writing music for soundtracks and are just extremely talented overall.
Bon Iver – Flume: This song is proof that you don’t need much more than a simple acoustic guitar rhythm and beautifully piercing vocals to write a great song. Heck, your lyrics don’t even have to make sense!
TV on the Radio – DLZ: There is so much I love about this song: the drums, the vocals, the lyrics—everything! Clearly why it’s on my top five songs of the year.
Coldplay – 42: Definitely my favorite track off Viva La Vida. Great lyrics and perfect music that’s as emotional as the lyrics.
Best Movie
Be Kind Rewind: This movie pays homage to some of the best but does so in a quirky/fun and totally Gondry way.
Cloverfield: It’s more the shock at how much I enjoyed this that made Cloverfield land on my top 5. I was expecting a mediocre movie at best, but found that it was tastefully done for a movie about a huge monster attacking New York City. I’m just glad I didn’t see it in theatres otherwise all the shaking might have made me vomit.
Dark Knight: Does this even need to be justified?
In Bruges: I can’t believe how much I liked this movie as well. I honestly went into it barely knowing anything and left it thinking: that was awesome! It totally made me develop a new found respect for Colin Farrell and was one of my most highly recommended movies of 2008.
Step Brothers: This was like the new Dumb and Dumber to me. And Dumb and Dumber is about as funny as it gets (sort of).
Half Note is a guest-blogger here on PMA. Read her blog, The Daily Eargasm for her other music picks.
Tags: Bon Iver, Calexico, Coldplay, Girl Talk, kings of leon, Lykke Li, MGMT, TV On The Radio
You’re more or less spot on with the music, but it’s the movies that kill ya.
Your “Best Movies” list is utterly uninspired. I don’t know if you just didn’t watch any/many good movies this year, or if your music taste is just that bad.
Yeah, the Dark Knight is sort of a given, sure, but the other four are big “what the fuck?”-s.
I have a huge list of movies for you to watch miss Half Note, if you’re interested.
Yeah, the Dark Knight is sort of a given, sure, but the other four are big “what the fuck?”-s.
I have a huge list of movies for you to watch miss Half Note, if you’re interested.
haha you should check out the movies on my list
in bruges was pretty good though.
sorry, but my feelings are the same as these two guys… you need to watch some of the better movies of 2008.
Maybe start with: Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, Revolutionary Road, Wall-E (but who hasn’t seen that?), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and I would also recommend The Wrestler.
oh my god, i hated Be Kind, Rewind so much. its that passionate hatred. I probably only hated Cloverfield more.
This isn’t a good sign.
Enough has been said about the movies — watch the list “anony!” gave you…
but the music is pretty solid and this IS a music blog after all… good job
I sort of wish you went beyond your Top 5, but solid picks. I completely agree with you on Girl Talk. It’s so good!
If you didn’t see ‘In Bruges’ this year, then you have missed one of the best movies of the year, some of you are so mindless to find good movies for yourselves. Just so any of you know, Cloverfield was one of, if not the most original movie this year. I’m so tired of all these d0uches that go to the Oscar website and spam everybody’s best of lists with their “you should watch this…”. Great lists Ana!
funny because the oscars haven’t announced any of the nominations yet. even if they did — the oscars showcase the best movies and overall performances of the year. you should probably watch some of those and find some TRUE originality. Cloverfield ORIGINAL? are you kidding me. it was a terrible mix of Godzilla and the Blair Witch Project.
And I agree, In Bruges was good. But definitely not that good.
and what the fuck is this about being mindless for not finding movies ourselves? what does that even mean? how can you FIND a movie? do these things just materialize out of thin air? every movie anyone watches originated as a reference at one point. let it be a review, word-of-mouth, an online trailer, or an oscar nomination.
Lol Micheal is spot on. I actually watch A LOT of movies but they’re usually older ones I rent on Netflix. That means I probably saw somewhere around 10 movies released in 2008. I am anxiously waiting to watch all the movies on Anony’s list on DVD. Except Benjamin Button, I think I’ll cough up $15 or whatever it costs to see a damn movie these days.
Hey half note — before you rent on netflick… “preview” them!
http://isohunt.com/
http://utorrent.com/
We’re just trying to improve your american cinema knowledgibility. (that NEEDS to be a word! xD)
Dude, when you can find a film that has a personal videocam viewpoint turned Blockbuster then you can reply to me. A movie isn’t only about a story, its about how you tell a story that matters the most. Also if that were the case, it would be pointless to have an award issued for original picture, because technically nothing would ever really be that original.
Also what you said in the last part about being mindless. Ever thought about going to a store and say “oh you know that dvd looks interesting, maybe I should check it out”. That really was a dumb question, you should think before you post crap. How would it sounded if I said “how do you find [x] person?” do these things just materialize out of thin air? I guess so.
Cloverfield isn’t the only movie I’ve watched this year, I also watched the likely candidates for the Oscars as well and to be honest its like the same story year after year about Love, War and Peace. The Dark Knight was definitely a breath of fresh air. But if people like a certain movie and you don’t, you should just fuck off and move along. Your IQ appears to be sub par so I will try to ignore you if possible.
I think I might refrain from making a Best Movies of 2009 list next year. =P
Michael don’t be such a snob taste is a matter of opinion.
haha, last time i checked Cloverfield was a flop. A Hyped flop. It opened at #1 with $40M, but its only made $80M overall. I think a “blockbuster” would at least break the $150-200M range.
Yes, because the MAJORITY of people do that…. “Anonymous” has a point, most people watch a movie because it was referred. I don’t see how his pointing that how give him a sub par IQ? And if you’re tying to ignore him, why the fuck is your comment to him the longest one here?
You guys are being ridiculous. It seems Jason is into big budget money-makers (i.e. Cloverfield, the Dark Knight) and not into movies that get deep into human emotion like Revolutionary Road, The Wrestler, and Milk (although DK did do some awesome work with the Joker’s psyche).
That isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
@ Rich, I don’t understand why you agreed with what I said and then continued to say “Anonymous” has a point. I didn’t really understand what you wrote. So, I apologize if I came off as insulting.
Anyway… Luis is literally the last person I would be rude to here so what I meant by blockbuster was that it is the highest grossing film of any January release. Also thanks a lot Jen, you’re right actually. Considering how V for Vendetta, Blood Diamond, and The Lord of the Rings among others happen to be in my Top 5 of all time.
ARGUMENTS!
LOUD NOISES!!
THE END!