Inspiration: Every other "Best of" list
Created: Wed 11 Jan 2006 10:28
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2005 was a real year of ups and downs for me. But in amongst everything, I still had my trusty forms of entertainment to love and hate. Here's what floated to the top of the barrel for me during this tumultuous time.
Books
I love to read, but I'm pretty terrible at it. In 2005, I only managed to get through twelve books, and only three of those were released that same year. Still here's the books that I read in 2005 that left an impression on me.
Chronicles, Vol. 1 by Bob Dylan (2004)
A super dooper autobiography which impressed me in both writing style and content. I shouldn't have been surprised by the quality of either - after all, Dylan's had his fair share of writing experience, and his life isn't what you'd call boring. Chronicles made a big impression, and despite a slow bit in the middle, I was hooked.
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach (2003)
This one pandered right to my not-so-secret desire to get into the world of forensics. I don't read much non-fiction, but this was un-put-down-able. Roach's simple approach in describing some pretty macabre stuff is absolutely fascinating.
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I hadn't read The Hobbit before, and I should have. But I've done it now, and it was worth it. Not as all-time-classic as the Rings trilogy, but definitely makes it onto this list.
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (1997)
Another one I was a bit slow outta the gate with. I became momentarily disappointed when I discovered this was largely a work of fiction, but it's hard not to go with the crowd on this one and agree that it's a superb novel. Especially for someone like myself, who is, shall we say, fascinated with Japanese culture.
Smithereens by Sean Micallef (2005)
I both enjoyed and was irritated by this one. Micallef is great at what he does (what he does being stupid high-brow type comedy), but Smithereens starts to repeat itself a fair bit, which bothered me. Still, it was worth it for the gems of comedy scattered throughout its vast number of pages. Plus, it's Australian.
Dishonourable mentions go to two of the novels I read in 2005 that were actually released that same year: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling, which bored me stupid, and A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby, which I didn't warm to nearly as much as his earlier work, and ended up leaving me feeling very disappointed.
Films
I review all the films that I see on nofreelist, so it wasn't easy to sort out the wheat from the chaff here. Having said that, 2005 saw me watching less films than I have in the past couple of years, and my top five list is, in some ways, fairly unimpressive. Still, I'm fond of each of these. You can read my reviews for each by visiting the handy links attached to the film's title.
Howl's Moving Castle (2004 - released in Australia in June 2005)
What a surprise, I've put Miyazaki's latest at the top of the list. What can I say? He's awesome.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
This one comes outta left field, but it really blew me away at this year's Melbourne film festival. It's a special documentary, with rare footage that the filmmakers must have been thrilled to get their hands on. A fascinating story about a fascinating man. Johnston also rates a mention in my top five music list.
One Man Band
Mixing things up, I'm putting a short film into my list. Short films are difficult to compare with features, but One Man Band is a clear winner. Technically brilliant, and with a wonderful and pithily put together story, it's two thumbs up from me.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Coulda tanked, but didn't. This one probably reaches the list purely for sentimental reasons - it's a story I have loved for as long as I can remember, and I loved seeing a new twist on it. I didn't love everything about it, but it can't help but stick in my memory.
Sideways (2004 - released in Australia in January 2005)
Nothing wrong with a bit of fun, and that's how I took this film. It's got plenty of memorable moments, and it's fun for me to imagine Miles as a somewhat crazier version of my dad.
Note well the absence of any Australian films in the top five. Little Fish was my favourite, but there wasn't anything in this year's pile which matched the international films, I'm afraid.
Music
Just albums counted here - no EPs or singles. I've quite impressed myself with the different styles present in this list. Of course, it's all in the same look-at-me-I-like-indy-music vein, but you get that.
Come On Feel The Illinoise by Sufjan Stevens
Wow. This album rocks. Every song provides something new and different, plus I'm learning stuff! Stuff about Illinois. Seriously though, this album took me a little while to understand, but once I got there, I got there in a big way, and I couldn't take it out of my car stereo for a very long time. It still manages to sneak its way back in there surprisingly often. Stand-out tracks are John Wayne Gacy, Jr., which is genius, Chicago, the perfect summer tune, and The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!, which I love the lyrics to, and that's just the start.
Funeral by The Arcade Fire (released September 2004 - close enough!)
I find that this is less of a travelling album, and more of a bung-it-on-at-full-volume-and-it'll-cheer-you-up-while-you-do-the-housework album. Sorry, neighbours. You've heard more than your fair share of this of late. My love for this album snuck up on me, and I can only desperately check the local tour guides as I reckon it'd be bloody gold live.
I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and Digital Ash In A Digital Urn by Bright Eyes
What's with releasing two albums at once and charging us for both of them? You suck, Conor, you rich genius. I'm with almost everyone out there in thinking that Wide Awake is the superior of the two, but Digital Ash certainly has its moments; I Believe in Symmetry, for instance, is probably my favourite song of the whole lot (love love love the lyrics about the blind insect). If only I used some sort of software for the bulk of my listening, I could tell you how many times I've listened to these two albums, but I can guarantee you we're talking triple digits.
Broken Social Scene (limited edition version with bonus EP) by Broken Social Scene
Guess who is going to see these folks in a month or so? Me! Hooray. I love the feel of this album. The blending together of the many vocalists, the mish mash of instruments - it's a jumbled, happy cacophony. This album is guaranteed to put a grin on my face.
The Late Great Daniel Johnston Discovered Uncovered by Daniel Johnson and Various (also released September 2004)
Daniel Johnson's songs are weird, right? Disc two (the originals) doesn't get put in my rotation often, but bringing out a covers album was pure genius. Especially when it contains such awesome versions as Story of an Artist done by M Ward. The double album is worth it for that one tune alone, but the rest of the tunes are also great. Use this as a springboard to open up your horizons. Tender and truly fascinating.
It's impossible for me to limit my music selections to just five. So here's some bonus "nearly made the list" albums.
- Transistor Radio by M Ward - every M Ward album I get gets put on repeat until I know it back to front, and I never get sick of any of them. This one is no exception. The highlight is Big Boat which jumps out of the middle and reminds you what you're doing before settling back into its groove.
- I Am A Bird Now by Antony And The Johnsons - if I hadn't just received this for Christmas, it may have gotten higher up on the list - it's impressive that it's this high so soon. Ask me again in two weeks whether I'd still put it here.
- Six Feet Under Volume 2: Everything Ends by Various - more about a moment in time than the songs per se; this album evokes the feelings I had watching this completely genius television show. Everything has to end, but... whyyyy?
- Let It Die by Feist - one of the Broken Social Sceners goes out on her own and creates something fantastic. She has a great voice and a great style, and I'm looking forward to seeing her up on stage.
- The Evens by The Evens - back to my rockin' roots, I couldn't help but enjoy this latest venture by Ian MacKaye, aka Mr Fugazi.
TV
I'm still hooked on television. I watched more stuff than just what you see here, and a lot more of it was complete trash. I love trashy TV.
- Six Feet Under - this show was so amazing that it's not even possible for me to put any other dramas up in the same list as it. It's a cut above the rest, and I bawled my eyes out over the final episode.
- Rock Star: INXS - I'm such a sucker for reality television, and especially reality television made by Mark Burnett. The guy rules. What could be better than 15 wannabes doing their darndest to impress the aging rockers who make up INXS? The show was both hilarious, and entertaining.
- Survivor - this is still my favourite reality show, even after twelve seasons. The contestants for the 13th season were announced yesterday and I'm already excited. In 2005, we got to see two seasons' worth; Palau and Guatemala; both of which were great to watch, but both had disappointing endings.
- The Amazing Race - this year was jam packed full of The Amazing Race. Most of season six was in 2005, plus all of season seven (one of my favourite seasons - loved the Boston Rob and Ambuh "twist"), and the whole Family Edition (which really wasn't that great, because they hardly left the USA). If you couldn't get enough of the last series, check out the site, where you can watch second and third place getters battle it out for a car.
- GMA with Bert Newton - 2005 was the year of the PVR, so Jud and Nic started taping anything and everything. Watching a two hour GMA episode in ten minutes (skipping through the boring bits - sorry Moira) was a new way of watching TV, and there's no way I can go back now.
Honourable mentions? Well, there wasn't nearly enough reality television in that list, so I'll add to it by saying that I still enjoyed The Apprentice (we got to see season three and four), and for total laugh-out-loud (classically bad?) television, there was The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, which had the most anti-climactic ending I have ever been witness to. Nice work, Martha.
There you have it. A year summarised in just a few paragraphs. Wake me when this year is over.
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Commenting has been turned off because of my inability to cope with the ridiculous amount of spammage I was receiving. Sorry!
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Posted by Andrew on Thu 19 Jan 2006 18:39 #