And the Oscar goes to...

As has happened before, my end of year wrap up sort of ran out of steam because I was pretty busy over the break. At least two artists still to write about, so look out for that sometime in the near-to-mid. Today, I thought I'd write a little bit about some of the films being bandied about as the Awards Buzz picks up.

The first one I saw, a couple of months back, was Rachel Getting Married. Though a lot of things were incongruous in the film, like the Indian theme of the wedding, I thought it was rather good. Although Anne Hathaway got all the plaudits, Rosemarie DeWitt's role as Rachel was less traditionally nuts, and therefore meant more to me. Also, since I am not responsible for choosing Oscar categories (...yet?), I would propose that "Best Supporting Actor that is a member of the band TV on the Radio" be awarded to this film.

Although it was only very loosely based upon the wonderful book, I loved Slumdog Millionaire. I went to an advance screening in Orlando, where I sat next to an older Indian couple, and we chatted in Hindi before the film started. The lady was impressed that Mr. India appeared in the movie, but the gentleman sounded disappointed that no famous Bollywood actresses were involved. Anyway, the film is ace - the opening chase scene through the slum is incredible, there are laughs, the ending is corny but appropriate, and it's almost perfect. My only, major, gripe - at the end, over the credits, there's a massive dance routine on the train platform, and that made me so mad. The whole film does SO WELL in making Indian films look more serious, as they're usually seen in the west as being silly and full of arbitrary dancing. So they avoided all the stereotypes for the whole film and then pandered at the end. Ugh. But seeing the young Jamal and Lathika dance was pretty cute. Also, if we're talking about Best Original Song nominations, how fucking amazing would it be to see 'O...Saya' performed at the Oscars? A.R. Rahman is the man.

Was looking forward to Frost/Nixon because I'm interested in history, and especially Watergate and all that jazz. Plus, the cast was pretty solid. Watched it, and it was good - well put together, well acted (esp. Frank Langella) and well, that's about it. Seemed like an Awards film, y'know? Didn't move me or make me think after it ended. Competent but nothing special. Although the use of 'I Feel Love' towards the end was completely unexpected. "Cheeseburgers".

On the other hand, Milk succeeded in actually connecting. It was moving, I did care, and yet it was very enjoyable. May have started dancing a little when 'Queen Bitch' comes on. Penn, Franco, Hirsch and Brolin all are great. It's a shame that Prop 8, etc, show that we haven't come all that far since then.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: I hate to go with the flow, but I feel like it was a film more to be admired than loved. Technically, it was amazing. The scope and scale are amazing. I am repeatedly assured by my better half that Brad Pitt - when he's on that motorcycle - looks more than amazing. But did it mean anything? The way it's framed, around Hurricane Katrina, doesn't do much, and it definitely drags in the final hour. Fincher for direction maybe? It did have more laughs than any of us could have expected - that was a nice plus.

Should mention a couple of older films (i.e. from the summer) that are still in contention. Watched Wall-E for the fourth time yesterday, and it's still lovely and moving and hilarious. And The Dark Knight, the biggest thing to ever happen to anyone at any time ever, is still running lukewarm, but Heath Ledger's apparent lock on the Best Supporting Actor award seems pretty fair. Man on Wire is great and should win everything including best foreign language film but you already knew that.

I am yet to see The Wrestler, though last night on Monday Night Raw, I was surprised to see that Goldust is still kicking it. Remember when he feuded with Val Venis? No? Why the hell do I?

There are some other films, which get mentioned a lot in these circles. There are a couple of movies about Nazis, one of them being The Reader, or as Patton Oswalt called it, "I FUCKED ILLITERATE HITLER BY PROXY." Once I found out that the film wasn't about Google's bonza RSS suite, I wasn't interested. Like Kate Winslet's other awards-tip, Revolutionary Road, I don't care - sorry! Seen the trailers, both films look technically sturdy, but... blarg. Apparently, the latter is not Titanic 2 after all. And I want Kate Winslet off of Titanic to win her Oscar. One day.

What's left? Can't get past Eastwood's delivery of "Get... off... my... lawn!" to see Gran Torino, something about Doubt makes me not interested, and I haven't seen, but would rather like to see, Vicky Christina Barcelona and The Visitor.

Fun Fact: This post took ten hours to complete, during which time I drove from Orlando to Gainesville to discover that my room smelt of rotten meat.

They can't all be 'Man on Wire'

Dumbest Documentary of the Year: Another three way tie? What are the chances?!

This one is tricky to choose. I wrote about Morgan Spurlock's horrid 'Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden' over the summer, so refer back to that one.

More recently, I caught 'Heckler', a documentary by Jamie Kennedy with as redundant a thesis as Spurlock's film. People that heckle at stand up comedy shows are annoying? No shit! It's nice to see some comedians I like (Mirman, Oswalt, Cross, Tompkins) offering their experiences, and some of the stories are pretty funny, but really, who cares? Just as nobody (nobody rational) really believes that ALL Muslims are terrorists - you don't need to see '...Bin Laden' to know that, nobody is standing up for the rights of hecklers, claiming that it's a valid art. So that whole thing was a little redundant. But after about half an hour, it takes a sudden turn, and becomes a film that ought to be subtitled: "Jamie Kennedy: Why didn't people like Son of the Mask?", a rant about movie critics, online and in print. Now, I'm aware of the irony inherent in me writing about this movie, but come on. Everyone gets bad reviews, not everyone goes crying to the reviewers about it. He talks to some internet guys and Richard Roeper and ends up looking kind of silly and thin-skinned. I felt bad for the critics having to explain their reasons to the man face-to-face. Only one of them was ballsy/confident enough to say "Your movies all fucking suck" directly to Kennedy. Even though I found the documentary almost entirely unnecessary, I agree that one particular critic should be stopped.

Finally, a few nights ago (not on Xmas Day) my parents and I watched Bill Maher's 'Religulous', an extended stand up routine interspersed with Maher yelling at people, many of whom didn't really deserve it. Sure, he interviewed plenty of kooks, but you can't only talk to people on the fringes and then say that they're representative of religion as a whole. One guy has his own business, where he makes devices to help orthodox Jews to use certain appliances, while still observing the Sabbath. Fair observation: "What, are they trying to cheat God?". Too often though, it's smug (imagine that), uses silly sound effects, and overbroad. No doubt, religion is at the root of a lot of problems, and there are plenty of people out there who use religion to line their own pockets, but Maher's approach is just to say "If you believe in any religion, you're a moron" and that's pretty hard to take.

A drink and some palaver

Fastest Workers - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

They wrote a song, based on radio listeners' lyrics, in like three hours! And it was a kickass song. And Stereogum linked to me for writing about it. That was nice of them. As if that wasn't enough, young Ted also took a stand against police brutality at the RNC and wrote a song in like two days, sending all proceeds to Foods Not Bombs and Democracy Now! I'm not going to put the song up here - buy it from Touch And Go, ya bums - but here's a live video. Jimmy, Steve, Violence and Ted: you slags are alright.

[download Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The World Is In the Turlet]

You were a champion in their eyes

Gig of the year: Kanye West

This category is getting lamer and lamer every year, with my declining concert attendance. This is absolutely true: I attended more shows in one week in November 2001 - including but not limited to Jimmy Eat World and Mogwai at different venues in the same night - than I did in 2008. How weak is that? Apologies to Teddy, BSP and Kimya, but this one is a no-brainer. Early May, K-West killed it (KILLED IT) in Tampa.

If you saw Kanye's appearance on SNL not long ago, you may recall that singing=not so good, but visuals=awesome. Well, the Glow in the Dark Tour was all visuals, no singing. Even though my hand got covered in glowstick juice at one point, it was still a whole spaceship-called-Jane-load of fun. Dancing, singalongs, Journey, lasers (probably) and Lupe Fiasco. I hope they hurry up and put out a DVD.

Sometimes actresses get slapped

The "Oh, I Get It!" Award: The Hold Steady

It's not that I ever disliked this band. I just... There's only so many bands you can listen to, y'know? And there's a lot of bands that get bigged up online. Every week there's a new one. So The Hold Steady I always lumped in as "one of those bands that a lot of people seem to love, but I probably won't get". Then I heard 'Chips Ahoy!' last year and thought "This isn't so bad" but didn't give them a second thought.

This June, there was a lot going on, and 'Constructive Summer' came out, and blew me away. Musically and lyrically and thematically and grammatically. Even though 'Stay Positive' - the album as a whole - didn't really sink in for a while, by November it was a mainstay. My lastfm page will verify this. By now, 'Stay Positive' is a staple for long drives. Woah-woah-woah! I like the horns and legal-jargon riffing on 'Sequestered in Memphis', the straightforward rocking of 'Magazines' and 'Yeah Sapphire', and especially the title track. And there's something about the Cassavetes tribute 'Slapped Actress' that always gets me. I guess they're really that good.

Christmas in adventure parks

Who Are You,You Are Awesome Awards (Three-way tie)

Here are three albums that came out this year which I liked, from acts about whom I knew very little at the time, and still barely know anything about. Other than that I like them. Obviously.

1. Surrounded - The Nautilus Years

These guys are from Sweden, and a solid review from DiS made me seek them out. They sound like Grandaddy with richer strings, fewer robots, and almost as many moments of heart-stoppage caused by sheer prettiness. There's a song towards the end that's like ten minutes long and just spends eight of those minutes slowly shuffling away, hands in pockets, as if after a great conversation with a long lost friend.

[download Surrounded - Safe Tomorrow Sun]
[Surrounded official / myspace]

2. Paris Motel - In the Salpêtrière

The internet tells me this one was actually released in October 2007, but I certainly didn't hear them til this year. I've believed for years that women's vocals + strings = perfection. And Paris Motel, who as the name implies are from London, get it just right. It's music that you'd want to see performed at the kind of place you have to dress up to go to. And you'd be seated. And it'd be magical.

[download Paris Motel - Three Steps]
[Paris Motel official / myspace]

3. Get Well Soon - Rest Now! Weary Head, You Will Get Well Soon

This is the only album of these three that I actually wrote about already. Konstantin Gropper nails a lot of styles on this album - all manner of instruments swell, and he's got a way with words too. Also, cover of 'Born Slippy'!

[download Get Well Soon - If This Hat Is Missing, I Have Gone Hunting]
[BONUS download Get Well Soon - It Must Have Been Love (Roxette Cover)]
[Get Well Soon official / myspace]

Fortunately for whining snotface...

Person I wish I was more like: Charlie Brooker

His show 'Screenwipe' is unmissable television - like 'The Soup' if Joel McHale was a trillion times more angry, his Guardian column is top-notch entertainment that makes me incredibly jealous of his writing abilities, and this year he even wrote a zombie series which I'm yet to see, but am promised is excellent. In the off chance that you don't know who Charlie is, here's what he had to say in his own end of year post, about Hole in the Wall, a television show that defies reason.

The WTF? prize goes BBC1's Hole In The Wall, the least dignified, most unashamedly imbecilic gameshow in living memory. Apparently conceived by a three-year-old, it consisted of K-list celebrities in spandex contorting themselves into puzzle shapes in order to avoid being dunked in a pool of water. They failed 95% of the time, but the show carried on and on regardless, like a Super Mario cutscene stuck in a loop.

And here's a clip from an older series of Screenwipe, where he goes to town on My Super Sweet Sixteen. Spoiler alert: not a fan. Spoiler alert 2: The phrase "squealing shitcake friends" is used. 

You never asked for an audience

Most unfortunately slept-on album of the year: Sons & Daughters - This Gift

It felt like 'The Repulsion Box' got some blog attention when it came out a few years back, and their U.S. tour with the Decemberists probably helped, but when S&D's second album was released in January, it barely registered. This is a real pity, since it was a really solid album. Not as gothic and and inward-looking as they were, this was a more concise, harder rocking set of songs from a group that's really finding its sound. The songs are compact, taut, radio-friendly (like the band gives a hoot about that), and like I said, just plain more shit-kickin' than ever. It's still dark - Adele is threadbare on the bathroom floor on the hot-as-hell title track - but this time you can dance to it.

[download Sons & Daughters - Split Lips]

[Sons & Daughters myspace / official]

Things that we all need to navigate

Since I have real trouble with putting a ranking on stuff I've liked this year - what does it mean to be the 7th best album, etc? - for the last couple of years, I've elected to come up with arbitrary awards to honour stuff that I've liked. And thus begins the AYGH 2008 retrospective!

The "Where the fuck did THAT come from?" Award: British Sea Power 

Last time I checked, British Sea Power were a weird looking, ok-ish indie outfit that sang love songs about Dostoevsky and had stuffed animals and kestrels onstage with them. Not a bad band, but still one lodged firmly in the periphery. But this year, they put out 'Do You Like Rock Music?', an album that aimed big and really achieved something great, despite what one "hilarious" rating may imply. Whether singing about light pollution, the influx of eastern Europeans into Britain, or a trip out (that'll be 'A Trip Out'), the record just sounded harder and more focused than anything they'd put out before. I could've done without the extra intro and outro on album highlight 'Atom', but kudos to whoever transcribed the lyrics here, and managed to convey the noises at the end as "the sounds of a crying baby being spat on." Their live show was fun, too, though possibly more for them than us towards the end. But overall, the transition from also-rans to still also-rans but also-rans that appeared on Letterman (and got bleeped!) suited them very well.  

[download British Sea Power - Lights Out for Darker Skies (live)]