you can tell the difference between a professional who takes their website really seriously (e.g. sets and sticks to deadlines for pieces they want to write) and someone like me who occasionally finds himself only going through the motions for posterity’s sake. just look at every other site who did a ‘best of’ list, then look at a calendar and see how long it took me to get around to it.
even though looking back, i always seem to be about a month late, this time i’m totally phoning it in. no fancy popups or album covers/movie posters/etc., partially because i feel like i didn’t buy enough albums or see enough movies this year to be a proper judge. my social life cost lots of time and money in ’05, and what can i say other than it was totally worth it. not that i’m saying i always phone it in, just that i’ve seen plenty of other places that did a totally adequate job of telling you what you should have spent your time consuming this year entertainment-wise, and this is only really for my own personal records at this point, with no commentary. a shame, i know, but nonetheless…
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10. the informers – bret easton ellis
9. the fountainhead – ayn rand
8. the last samurai – helen dewitt
7. hocus pocus – kurt vonnegut
6. emporium – adam johnson
5. broom of the system – david foster wallace
4. still life with woodpecker – tom robbins
3. the moviegoer – walker percy
2. how we are hungry – dave eggers
1. sex, drugs, and cocoa puffs – chuck klosterman
also:
— best comic: batman: year one – frank miller
— biggest letdowns: ellis’ lunar park made me think he should keep writing like himself and not try to write like stephen king, and klosterman’s killing yourself to live made me think he works much better in essay/article format since he’s so tangential anyway, the narrative really just gets in the way.
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10. sarah silverman’s jesus is magic
9. wedding crashers
8. the animation show 2005
7. ong bak: the thai warrior
6. star wars: revenge of the sith (i know, shut up)
5. 40-year-old virgin
4. crash
3. batman begins (as much as it hurts not to put at #1)
2. sin city
1. good night, and good luck
also:
— purposefully absent: i’m sorry, but the ending to war of the worlds sucked, king kong was long and kinda boring, i probably don’t need to see walk the line more than once in my life where i’d watch all the above again in a second, and well, i missed a lot of other big ones this year.
— best netflix rentals of the year: the first two seasons of six feet under, which is amazing, and probably vertigo, which was so good i should have seen it ages ago. also shaun of the dead and primer, which both blew my mind.
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best albums:
5. get behind me, satan – the white stripes
4. a certain trigger – maximo park
3. silent alarm – bloc party
2. the sunset tree – the mountain goats
1. picaresque – the decemberists
best shows:
5. david byrne/arcade fire @ the hollywood bowl jun 26
4. lcd soundsystem @ the avalon, oct 15
3. mountain goats @ the echo, feb 10
2. decemberists @ henry fonda theatre, sep 13
1. arcade fire @ the troubadour, jan 16 (faux pas to have them twice but they’re rad live and i didn’t see enough bands this year)
also:
— best song that gets played too often on kroq: ‘jesus of suburbia’ by green day. that song rules even if the album came out last year.
— best song i shouldn’t like: ‘since u been gone’ by kelly clarkson. i know, me and everyone else, right?
— best non-rock album i listened to lots: the mouse and the mask – dangerdoom. sorry kanye, you lose this one.