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Friday, February 06, 2004
Before we get too far into '04, figured I'd finish out my lists of favorite things about 2003. The best-of music post from awhile back was easy to pull together, but these ones needed a little more thought (plus, there was that whole moving thing, y'know). This is more to entertain my future self than anyone else (I dig looking back at old lists), so in no particular order, here's my best of 2003 ...
Boston Area Rock Shows ... A great year of shows, marked by new discoveries and old favorites. The reunion of Camper Van, the Muses, and the original Joe Jackson band, the return of Mark Gardener, a special weekend in Vermont thanks to Fort Apache, and a blindsiding show by British Sea Power were highlights. As comparitively old as I can feel in the rock-show crowds, being there helps keep me kid-like. Comics ... My weekly visits to the comic shop have turned into monthly ones, but there are still a few serials that keep me from 'waiting for the trade'. Demo has lived up to, and surpassed, the promise of it's premise... especially with new issue #3. I'm loving The Losers (an action flick on paper). Y the Last Man lost some steam, but I'm hanging in there. Bendis pulled off a brilliant backstory for Powers detective Christian Walker. Fables (and especially "The Last Castle") completely transported me. Ed Brubaker got added to my 'writers to follow' list. And we finally got a couple new issues of Planetary. Keep 'em coming. Books ... A couple music-related histories, some detective fiction (well, mostly-fiction), two bonafide classic (one new, one old), some brilliant political satire, and the bumpy ride of Saturday Night Live. I may not have read as much as I wanted to, but at least I kept it varied. My one stab at fantasy last year frustrated the hell out of me. Attention Robert Jordan: Get on with it, already! He's been milking his Wheel of Time series for far too many years, and upon finishing his latest massive volume, I was a little annoyed to realize nothing. happened. And what does he do for a follow-up? A prequel. Which is the expansion of a story he already told. Oy. I've got too many hours into the series to bail on it... I'm chained to this train until (well, if) it reaches the end of the line. Or runs off the rails. Watch... next he'll do another silly Conan book. Movies ... The popularity of Bend It Like Beckham is still a mystery to me. At best, it's an afterschool special with marginally better acting. It's this year's "Greek Wedding"... something we were conned into seeing by recommendations and good reviews, but which left us shaking our heads at it's blandness and lack of originality. Meh. With that out of the way, it sure ended up being a damn good year for film. It was so tough to narrow down the faves that I had to throw in some runner-ups. Sure, the top five were easy (Station Agent, Return of the King, Lost in Translation, Winged Migration, 21 Grams, Triplets ... oh, wait, that's six... nevermind), but the rest could easily have been swapped out for the also-rans. Such a varied list... from touching personal stories to epic ones, from french animation to the best superhero movie since the first Superman. Well, until Hellboy, I hope. It turned on itself, and it turned within us, to bring you and I together in this dream." - Sean Penn, quoting "a Venezuelan poet", 21 Grams TeeVee Shows ... It was the Year of the Office. More laughs out of that one show, those 12 episodes, than anything else on television. Hard to believe it's over so fast, but they went out at the very top. Even if the American 'conversion' works at first... they'll run it into the ground before they bow out gracefully. Mark my words. Arrested Development was also a revelation, and I hope it sticks around for a long while. (It's on Fox, so my hopes aren't high... *cough* Firefly *cough*). Amazing Race remains the best so-called reality show on television (I know, not saying much... but trust me, it's damn good), the Wire is still the best episodic drama, and the Adult Swim shows (Sealab & Brak specifically) continue to crack me the hell up. Such sad news that Harry Goz (Capt. Murphy on Sealab) passed away, but new episodes keep comin'. The Daily Show peaked and stayed there... they've got it figured out and rarely fail. New cartoons were great out of the gate... both Teen Titans & Justice League deliver the best in half-hour regression. Carnivale? You lost Amie with your lack of answers, but you've got me for awhile. The 2nd season had better start dishing on the mystery. Alias? Stayin' solid. Angel? On shaky ground, although this past week's episode redeemed months of mediocrity. Hope it's the start of a streak. - Harry Goz as Captain Murphy (1932-2003) Oh, and to the Brak Show: I'd still like to hear the rest of this poem ... "In an ancient castle, ruled by romantic apes, wearing sexy headgear, and scented capes..." - Dad, The Brak Show Video Games ... I didn't have near as much time this year to play videogames, at least until my Call of Duty obsession started. It's so good, I can't even remember what Medal of Honor was like... there's just no better first-person WWII online game. XIII was a great idea that mostly worked... but their flawed 'save-game' functionality (or lack thereof) nearly ruined it. I may have finished otherwise. The Midway collection helped when I needed mindless, minute-long old-school arcade nostalgia trips. Buffy was alright, but was brushed aside by the Simpsons and it's virtual Springfield. Once I drove the Monorail around town, there was no going back to Sunnydale.  |
 neil halstead live in cambridge, ma on november 14th, 2008 previously: joy formidable - boston 2011 recent posts on the 'nac... on the nightstand boston-area music bloggers
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