Well how bizarre, I just looked at last year’s post to see how I’d formatted it and such and I saw the total shows I watched of 149 – this year’s according to the list is 148, hehe. Anyway, it goes without saying that I haven’t posted as much as I’d like in this section over the past year, but we can only move forwards and hope for better

This is just me going through that list and picking out the things I gave five stars to.

1. Outnumbered – one of the best things I have watched on TV ever. Ramona Marquez could save the world.

2. A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All – expectations were through the roof and it completely trumped them.

3. Summerhill – like BBC Four was reading my mind all over again. Couldn’t be timelier.

4. The Sarah Connor Chronicles – more and this and Summerhill here

5. Dead Set – “Does this mean we’re not on telly anymore?” It’s sad that there are Big Brother fans who watched this, that calls them zombies to their very stupid faces, then probably went back as soon as the “celebrity” version kicked off this past week … but Charlie Brooker did it better than Peter Kay and in any case, if you strip away the reality TV element here, it’s frankly a better zombie movie than some that have been released in cinemas. This is one of the few TV productions this year that will last.

6. Sunshine – Steve Coogan is always brilliant, but he outdid himself here.

7. The Oscars – they got it right, they got it right, they got it right

8. The Olympics Opening Ceremony – fake but who cares? It made me feel like a kid.

9. The US Election – I guess everything related to it comes into this, so we get to include Colbert and Stewart (who, like South Park etc really go without saying as they’re always consistently must-see to me) ... but I really mean the night itself which I stayed up for, frankly wondering why I was bothering, but I’m glad I did. There are things to be cynical and skeptical of in this whole thing, but when Obama made his speech, it felt good, and I cried. And it has to be said that McCain’s speech was pretty good too.

10= Doctor Who – The Doctor’s Daughter (this is the episode I noted in my list but to be honest I don’t remember much of it – though I think it was the whole idea that the Doctor had caused deaths in his adventures etc, and the whole gun thing too)
Gavin and Stacey – The Christmas Special (just because it’s the freshest in memory but the second series was perfect too – I really didn’t think they’d keep it alive after the end of the first but they’ve outdone themselves)
iCarly – iHatch Chicks (if you ever want to watch just one episode of this great kids show, watch this one, lol)
Torchwood – VERY specifically, the episode “Adrift”. The series as a whole has gone down the toilet, but this episode was just fantastic. I don’t think I cried so much all year.
Trick or Treat – the one with the kitten. Again, there are things to be cynical and skeptical about, but this show isn’t the place for those things, lol – and that episode took my breath away.
Tribal Wives – this got dull in the end and I tuned out, but the first episode was wonderful.

Honorable mentions: Songbook, Lucy Davis in Reaper, Dom Joly’s Complainers, a number of other childhood related things on BBC Four, Marco’s Great British Feast, Harry & Paul, This American Life (I just didn’t get to watch it all yet), Lead Balloon, Massive and Elvis Costello’s Spectacle. Disappointments: sadly, most of what was on at Christmas, including Shooting Stars. Gavin and Stacey was genuinely the only treat there.

“Yes. When the dead walk the earth – you gotta call the cops.”

If I rated things based on expectations, this would honestly be nearly a 5 hearter for me.

In honesty, as expected, the 3D is hokey – admittedly this was a home viewing and that’s never been the best place for 3D. What often baffles me about these things is how some of the effects work while others fall flat. To me it seems brightly lit scenes fair best, as does more motion, particularly from left to right (I think that’s right). So, first off, this doesn’t quite fit a movie mostly set at night with (don’t get me wrong, for the sake of the genre, brava! but) slow-moving zombies, lol. But secondly, I guess I just wonder why the people who make these movies don’t figure out if the 3D effects will work before they commit them to the final cut, lol … I mean, I’m sure they do … it just, I don’t know, feels like they don’t

That said, I wasn’t totally unmoved by the gimmick – while the stoner character thrusting his spliff out into my face was just a doubled blur, the more subtle smoke ring he blows later works fantastically, and there’s a grisly moment involving the youngest character which is quite stunningly presented not only by pushing the 3D effect but also by freezing the frame. Even if the 3D works better on the big screen, however, let me just take the chance to say I don’t believe it should ever be regarded as more than a gimmick. Since digital effects and processing became so much easier film makers and goers alike have already begun to dishonor the art of the simple cut in making cinema … if we start viewing 3D as the next revolution I really think the art is doomed.

Yes. I seem to have become curmudgeonly.

The acting here, too, in honesty, is simply passable at best. It is, however, better than anticipated, and when you’re comparing it to Romero’s “classic” ... let’s just say the acting is the last thing you’re gonna turn to in arguing Romero’s was better. The stoner guy was funny, I loved Sid Haig, and could have definitely used more of Alynia Phillips – who, let’s face it, is here presented as the most blatantly sexy jailbait since the little sister in Slumber Party Massacre, lol (the best info on her age I can find pegs her as being in the 7th grade 3-4 years ago … I sure hope I haven’t just said anything too dirty, lol).

Add to all this that the whole endeavour is clearly kind of questionable from the off, moreso even than the usual remake misgivings. Make up wizard Tom Savini already remade this movie in 1990, doing pretty much the only thing you could do (aside from the aforementioned acting) to improve on Romero’s original, and that’s apply the gore that Romero’s own sequels were so awash with. The world barely needed a remake then, so to do one now with the only addition being the 3D seems kind of insulting in addition to a little pointless and plain unlikely to work.

But there’s still a lot here to love. It’s 80 minutes short – always a fantastic thing to see in any genre but most of all horror. It pays very respectful, very funny, in fact, homage to the original by having the dang thing play in the background for almost the whole first half of the movie – and this is before, joy of joys, it deviates from Romero’s original, and most importantly of all, doesn’t screw that up. From the moment Sid Haig re-enters at the end here, I was honestly pretty hooked. I love the whole backstory introduced here about the bodies meant for cremation and all – and within the same scene of Haig’s wonderful telling of this exposition, the stoner guy’s mind “clinging on” past death as he zombifies … it’s a scene that for me really made the movie worth watching. It returns to Romero’s story in the end, and, as even the most stoned character here knows, everybody dies … no, it doesn’t leave you with anything approaching the chill of the 60s original … but it is a far, far better watch than it has any right to be.

The first year I did this (“locking” my “top movies of all time” list at the end of the year) it seemed a little pointless, but this is the fifth time now and it’s proving to be as good a snapshot as any of who I was at a particular point in time – the number one has changed every time, just for instance, but tons have dropped out the bottom too, lol. I still don’t have reviews of all these, for shame, but it’s one of the lamer things on my personal “stuff to do before you’re 30” list so hopefully when I lock it up next year I’ll be able to fully explain my decisions

1. Harold and Maude Hal Ashby
2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show Jim Sharman
3. Almost Famous: Untitled Cameron Crowe
4. The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen William Friedkin
5. The Birds Alfred Hitchcock
6. The Bad Seed Mervyn LeRoy
7. La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc Carl Dreyer
8. Schindler’s List Steven Spielberg
9. The Fisher King Terry Gilliam
10. The Strawberry Statement Stuart Hagmann
11. The Wizard of Oz Victor Fleming
12. Buffalo ‘66 Vincent Gallo
13. Pieces of April Peter Hedges
14. Uptown Girls Boaz Yakin
15. Tarzan Kevin Lima, Chris Buck
16. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg Jacques Demy
17. Cinema Paradiso Giuseppe Tornatore
18. Magnolia Paul Thomas Anderson
19. The Ninth Configuration William Peter Blatty
20. The Rules of Attraction Roger Avary
21. Punch-Drunk Love Paul Thomas Anderson
22. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook
23. Once Upon a Time in America Sergio Leone
24. Brokeback Mountain Ang Lee
25. Natural Born Killers Oliver Stone
26. War of the Worlds Steven Spielberg
27. V for Vendetta James McTeigue
28. Whistle Down the Wind Bryan Forbes
29. Artificial Intelligence: AI Steven Spielberg
30. Lawn Dogs John Duigan
31. Tideland Terry Gilliam
32. Riding in Cars with Boys Penny Marshall
33. The Iron Giant Brad Bird
34. Once Upon a Time in the West Sergio Leone
35. A Home at the End of the World Michael Mayer
36. Man on Fire Tony Scott
37. The Innocents Jack Clayton
38. Moulin Rouge! Baz Luhrmann
39. Vol. 2 Quentin Tarantino
40. Palindromes Todd Solondz
41. Millions Danny Boyle
42. Fahrenheit 9/11 Michael Moore
43. The End of the Affair [1999] Neil Jordan
44. Felicia’s Journey Atom Egoyan
45. Girl, Interrupted James Mangold
46. Marnie Alfred Hitchcock
47. Carrie Brian De Palma
48. The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane Nicholas Gessner
49. Heavenly Creatures Peter Jackson
50. Mandy aka Crash of Silence Alexander Mackendrick
51. Lolita Adrian Lyne
52. Two for the Road Stanley Donen
53. Robin and Marian Richard Lester
54. Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle Eric Rohmer
55. Niagara Niagara Bob Gosse
56. Show Me Love/ Fucking Åmål Lukas Moodysson
57. May Lucky McKee
58. Limelight Charlie Chaplin
59. The Big Sleep [1946] Howard Hawks
60. Citizen Kane Orson Welles
61. Vertigo Alfred Hitchcock
62. The Godfather Part II Francis Ford Coppola
63. Les Yeux Sans Visage Georges Franju
64. Pink Floyd The Wall Alan Parker
65. A Clockwork Orange Stanley Kubrick
66. The Truman Show Peter Weir
67. The Big Lebowski Joel Coen
68. The Opposite of Sex Don Roos
69. The Horse Whisperer Robert Redford
70. Moonlight Mile Brad Silberling
71. Run Lola Run Tom Tykwer
72. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Peter Jackson
73. Edward Scissorhands Tim Burton
74. Ed Wood Tim Burton
75. The Girl on the Bridge Patrice Leconte
76. Bringing Out the Dead Martin Scorsese
77. The Ninth Gate Roman Polanski
78. Fight Club David Fincher
79. Vanilla Sky Cameron Crowe
80. Babel Alejandro González Iñárritu
81. Once John Carney
82. The Prestige Christopher Nolan
83. The Fountain Darren Aronofsky
84. Shame Ingmar Bergman
85. Yentl Barbra Streisand
86. Easy Rider Dennis Hopper
87. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Stanley Kubrick
88. Dawn of the Dead [1978] George Romero
89. Léon: The Professional Luc Besson
90. All That Jazz Bob Fosse
91. The Hudsucker Proxy Joel Coen
92. The Wicker Man Robin Hardy
93. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Michel Gondry
94. Breaking the Waves Lars Von Trier
95. I Am Sam Jessie Nelson
96. South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut Trey Parker
97. In America Jim Sheridan
98. Basquiat Julian Schnabel
99. Spirited Away Hiyao Miyazaki

1. Donnie Darko [Theatrical Cut] Richard Kelly

You can’t argue with where this movie is coming from, nor where it goes in the end. You can’t argue that the performances aren’t uniformly as fantastic as you’d expect, that the period production design isn’t almost creepily flawless in its authenticity, that the music isn’t beautiful – that, in short, all the elements are in place. But you can’t argue either, I think, that Gus Van Sant hasn’t made far better, more cutting and important, movies; that other film makers haven’t made better movies about sexuality and minorities; that – yes, I’m gonna say it again – there’s little more here than simply “well made”.

Which is a shame – the trailer really wowed me about a month ago and in the absence of much greatness in 2008, this was one of the big awards season releases I was looking forward to. The subdued feel of its opening, Harvey Milk dictating his story into a tape recorder, “to be played in the event of my assassination,” really drew me in … but my interest quickly dissipated as I slowly realised this movie wasn’t going to show or tell me anything much I hadn’t been shown or told before – and that even despite my never having heard of Milk before I saw the trailer.

Yes, there’s a pertinent significance, as there was with Frost / Nixon. But it’s kind of obvious as it was there too. You can’t help but think Prop 8 when Prop 6 is mentioned here just as you couldn’t help in F/N but to wonder who could be the Frost to our soon-to-leave-office Nixon today. But the fact that there are not only still idiots out there who believe that homosexuality is evil etc, but that they get away with such beliefs in positions of authority is less an issue to address in movies than an embarrassment for the human race to be dealt with at face. I could throw in here my personal belief that there are more important things to be talking about, that no one is talking about yet, that have their own parallels in this story: but I don’t particularly want to start that shitstorm right now.

Anyway … I just feel that if there were people out there around the time of Rent’s release who felt it just wasn’t relevant anymore (something I couldn’t disagree with more vehemently), then I can’t be too wrong or alone in saying the same now of Milk. Unless, of course, the film makers are counting a certain other “Us” in when they have the main character talk about giving the “Uses” of the world hope.

This kind of has the initial effect that Frost/Nixon had on me. You get all worked up by the hype the movie is generating, both of them getting serious Oscar buzz including the potential big Best Picture nod; and then, where as Frost/Nixon began I found myself going, “oh yeh: it’s a 2 hour movie based on an interview,” here, I found myself going, “oh yeh: it’s a 2 hour movie about a guy winning Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” lol.

No, it’s far from that bad … but it does fit comfortably alongside the vastly overrated bunch of movies we’re seeing headed for the Oscars this year. This movie grew on me fast from that initial worrying response – but it never struck me as anything more than well-made and watchable. The music is gorgeous, the colours and performances wonderful; but I’d sooner watch just about any other of Danny Boyle’s movies, throwing in a viewing of 4 Best Picture nominees from 1994 – Quiz Show, Forrest Gump, The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction – that arguably meld together with a dash of Bollywood to create this one 14 years later. I can see it making it to the Oscars and even coming out smiling … I guess I just don’t think this year’s line-up of nominees is going to be as exciting as everyone else does … lots of good movies this year, that’s for sure … but so few great ones. It’s not a bad film at all – but all the good things to be said about it have been said just about too many times with exaggeration, and I take it upon myself to redress the balance.

I kinda lost track of this whole thing towards the end, lol, but I got to 100 as I always try to … I’m gonna strip all the “NEW” tags out and accept that I can’t write something about everything for once, hehe … I rejigged the top spots quite a bit these past few days listening to a few of my faves over again. The ones at the top are just those ones that I see myself listening to over and over again in the future. As has become the norm this decade, I’ve gotta say, infinitely better year for music than it was for movies.

1. 15 Minutes Ago – Jessica Lombard
   Not many people will have heard of this girl; I don’t even know quite how I first came to know of her. But from listening to a few of her quite stripped down (production-wise) songs on MySpace, my heart leapt when I found this album on iTunes. It’s wonderfully produced, the words reach right inside you, and her voice is just astonishing. Think Jewel only, 12 years old (somewhere along the line I’d changed that to 15 in my head – I’m even more amazed having just read that again on CDBaby …) Final note: It just gets better every time I listen to it, either as a whole or track by track … this girl simply amazes me.
2. Je sais que la terre est plate – Raphaël
   Of course, I knew I’d love this one, the guy is a musical god as far as I’m concerned. His sound is slightly different yet again, though perhaps not as stark as the switch between albums 1, 2 and 3 … here, he finally gets use of the full Bowie band and the production skills of Tony Visconti but his is the voice that shines through. I adore “Adieu Haiti”, “Sixieme Etage” (continuing his flair for appeasing those of us whose French isn’t exactly top notch with a catchy series of “oh-oh”s :)) and “Tess”. Like Caravane it’s short at 35 minutes, but it feels much much longer and I could listen to it twice over in one sitting anyway. Final note: The guy is just a god.
3. Music of the Spheres – Mike Oldfield
   The first few bars had me hmming over its overwhelming similarity to Tubular Bells which I list among the greatest albums ever made, and I’m sure there are negative reviews out there to that effect. But though that similarity can’t be denied, the feelings this filled and left me with are completely different from Bells … it’s the most reverential work of art I’ve seen, heard, or witnessed in years. It’s music to bow down to almost. I don’t think I even want to hear anything better this year.
4. The Ocean and Me – Sophie Zelmani
   It seems mad to me still putting this above Music of the Spheres but it also seems absolutely right. I’ve listened to it 4 times now trying to figure out just what it is that makes it the best album I’ve heard this year and what makes it so different from Sophie’s other albums, but I’m still stumped. I just get lost in it. There’s this massive theme I’ve started to notice in my life this year of water and the ocean and stuff too, I don’t know if that has anything to do with it lol. Anyway – “Wind Took My Sail” and “Love” are stunning tracks. Final note: I decided the other 3 are just marginally better than this one, but it’s still an amazing album.
5. Nightmare Revisited – Various Artists
   Holy Shit The artist list for this really didn’t impress me so much as the basic idea of it on which basis I still knew I’d love it … but damn … this is probably the greatest concept album since War of the Worlds. Normally I’m picky about changes when I believe the original is perfect as is, but aside from a couple of instrumentals that go on a little too long, this thing is simply flawless. I love how the “Closing” track by Danny Elfman makes this a kind of “checking in on” Jack and co., but it’s Sally’s Song by Amy Lee that really blew me away most of all. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t make this the centrepiece of my Halloween last week. Oh well, there are still a good number of tracks here that will get plenty of playtime in December
6. Join With Us – The Feeling
   So close to pipping the Oldfield album, this was. It peters out at the end with a bunch of tracks that could easily be removed and render it a practically perfect 45 minuter. But no matter – the greatnesses here are huge … like Supertramp and ELO plus a little bit more, it just leaves you with a smile on your face.
7. Volume One – She and Him
   Zooey Deschanel sings. Seriously do you need any other reason to listen? Okay … because it’s LOVELY. Okay? I love it anyway
8. Camp Lisa – Lisa Loeb
   First off, I haven’t posted my review of it yet … but f*k* Camp Rock LOL … anything even approaching positive comments I had for that movie vanished entirely on listening to this gem. Secondly, forget Vanessa Hudgens or the B-52s’ albums as the most fun you’ll have listening to music in 2008. Lisa Loeb … I think I Loeb You hehe. This had me laughing, crying, everything, and it really takes a lot to make me feel so much over the whole camp thing.
9. Safe Trip Home – Dido
   
10. I Know You’re Married, But I’ve Got Feelings Too – Martha Wainwright
    I liked her first album but I’ve kinda stuck on listening only to the first track in iTunes ever since … this one has a much greater chance of having total regular rotation. It sounds so much like her mother and aunt the McGarrigle sisters in places it’s uncanny, I’m not sure if this is deliberate or that she’s just naturally grown into the family shoes (her first album really wasn’t so recognisable). “So Many Friends” is my fave so far.
11. Off With Their Heads – Kaiser Chiefs
    Well, dang, I feel dirty. My pithy soundbite here was to be aside from the lunatic cheering on one of the bonus tracks for Mark Ronson playing the tambourine, plus my general aversion to this band on the whole, it would be a fool who didn’t recognise this as one of the best albums of the year. Now I just found out Mr. Ronson actually produced the thing. I’ve gotta say … I’m pleasantly shocked.
12. Day After Tomorrow – Joan Baez
    Really beautiful, and more importantly, a real album … there seems to be a lot of singin’ about Mary toward the end as I recall but I can’t wait to listen again. This just put a huge smile on my face and left me practically unaware of the concept of stress.
13. Everything That Happens Will Happen Today – David Byrne and Brian Eno
    Hmm … I gotta admit, I can’t remember why I liked this one so much – that’s what happens when I put off posting here for so long I guess, lol – but I know that I loved it, I’ll certainly find the time to revisit it before December comes.
14. Acid Tongue – Jenny Lewis
    Like the Watson Twins’ and Paul Weller albums – this girl is just 100% reliability, she knows how to put an album together. “Godspeed” is wonderful.
15. Fire Songs – The Watson Twins
    I really liked their work with Jenny Lewis a couple of years ago and this doesn’t disappoint as a follow-up. It’s perhaps not an album I’ll play a lot ... but like the Paul Weller album, it’s just one of those records whose quality you just can’t deny.
16. Harps and Angels – Randy Newman
    Addition: I’m moving this up after listening to the live version he did for public radio. This thing has some deceptively complicated tunes on it. [...] I kinda sniggered as the album began as I often do snigger at Randy Newman after Family Guy or whatever did the parody of his typical style of song. But it’s a real album that makes me happy, and “Feels Like Home” is the best final track of the year next to Duffy’s “Distant Dreamer”. Edit: Ack, I just discovered that that song is actually an oldie … the good news is that I discovered this because I have the sheet music for it (from the movie Michael, apparently) ... whatever, it’s still a beautiful song.
17. A Winter Symphony – Sarah Brightman
    It’s been a great year for Christmas albums and though this isn’t my favourite of the bunch, it’s the one that impressed me the most. Brightman’s voice is beautifully captured and the song selections and variations are amazing.
18. Connie Talbot’s Christmas Album – Connie Talbot
    In short, exactly what I longed for from her first album last year – an all-out cheesy Christmas classic with some surprisingly “proper” tracks included to boot. Her “Do You Hear What I Hear?” is possibly the best I have ever heard, and with “Ave Maria”, she shows that she’s not going to disappear like the gimmick she might first appear to be.
19. 4:13 Dream – The Cure
    
20. Funplex – The B-52s
    The most fun album of the year so far. Like John Waters meets Shampoo or something, and B-52s-ey all the way
21. At Mount Zoomer – Wolf Parade
    (thanks to Cinematically Correct for the recommendation) I liked this – reminded me of Arcade Fire’s first album “Funeral” and as such, I really hope they have the success they need to make the sound they clearly want to be making. It’s certainly more rhythmically interesting than the bulk of what I’ve heard this year, s’just the production quality didn’t seem to be quite there for me.
22. Backwoods Barbie – Dolly Parton
    Her voice is just beautiful – I still haven’t really got onto the major binge of her back catalogue that I’ve been planning ever since I saw The Best Little Whorehouse…, but it’ll be happening soon I’m sure. The title track is cheesily beautiful, “Better Get to Livin’” is awesome, but it’s the cover of “Drive Me Crazy” here that leapt out of the blue and made my day, I’m crazy for it lol.
23. 22 Dreams – Paul Weller
    Not really my cup of tea but I can’t deny it’s an incredible production. I love the allusions to childhood imagery, of course. Definitely will listen to it again.
24. The Age of the Understatement – The Last Shadow Puppets
    Someone mentioned Scott Walker in a Newsnight Review of this and I was almost immediately sold, lol, and I wasn’t disappointed. If there’s a reason this doesn’t remain in my top ten till the end of the year, then it’s only that I’m jealous I didn’t come up with it first. Huge.
25. The Seventh Tree – Goldfrapp
    I’m having trouble believing that this album came from the same people who gave the world Supernature, lol. This is just so cute, exactly the kind of candyland pop I adore the most. The lead sounds like Cathy Dennis in places, and the songs like something the Poole sisters of Alisha’s Attic would conjure. I can’t wait to listen to it more.
26. Rockferry – Duffy
    Was very surprised how right the hype was on this one – even the comparison on Newsnight Review to Dusty Springfield which really put me off. It is simply a perfect album.
27. We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things – Jason Mraz
    All I can remember from Mraz’s last album (I haven’t heard the first) is “Wordplay”, but I’m quite sure I liked it all. This definitely struck me as even more catchy, though. His voice is gorgeous, almost girlish at times. I adore “Lucky”, it’s like my life right now
28. I Stand – Idina Menzel
    I’m not sure if I’ll listen to it as much as I’ve found myself listening to “Still I Can’t be Still” (and I hadn’t even heard of “Here”, an album which apparently came between that and this) ... but “Gorgeous” and “I Feel Everything” in particular are almost certain to be on my best of year playlists.
29. Smilers – Aimee Mann
    It’s growing on me As with “Forgotten Arm”, I really wasn’t so sure of this on a first listen but the story kind of eats into you and it makes more sense and sticks in the ears more with every listen.
30. Enfants d’hiver – Jane Birkin
    
31. Breakout – Miley Cyrus
    I’ve been growing to love the whole Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus thing all year and this was a great capper to all that. The songs as usual are about 50 / 50, half just about acceptably standard pop and half simply perfect IMHO – “Bottom of the Ocean” in particular caught me at the exact right moment – like literally within hours of when I needed it the most … “This is it. Let go. Breathe …”
32. Sweet Bells – Kate Rusby
    
33. I Don’t Wanna Go to School – The Naked Brothers Band
    hehe. I loved their song/s on the iCarly soundtrack but I couldn’t have imagined the grin I had on my face listening them for an album’s worth. Such a beautifully clear lead vocal and a good two-thirds of instantly memorable songs. “I’ll Do Anything” is my fave so far, almost certain to go on the end of year playlist.
34. The Circus – Take That
    
35. Happy Smiles – t.A.T.u.
    
36. Identified – Vanessa Hudgens
    So well produced and supercatchy. Reminds me of the Rachel Stevens / Holly Valance / Dannii Minogue type Poole / Dennis composed albums we don’t seem to have had in a long while. Actually thinking now maybe this deserves “most fun album” over the B-52s. I’m not sure, they’re both electric
37. Momofuku – Elvis Costello and the Imposters
    Finally! I think I got so tired of being disappointed with Elvis Costello releases that I’ve probably deliberately missed the last handful – but this is the Elvis Costello that I love and this, too, will likely only grow on me as the year goes on.
38. My Paper Made Men – Amy Studt
    I feared initially that this would be a lot like the first album – I’d shout from the hills how I loved it but in the long run the playcount has really only settled on three songs, “Ladder in Your Tights”, “Misfit” and “Just a Little Girl” (two of which happened to be from a Poole pen – edit ooh and “Under the Thumb”! of course, which is also a Karen Poole song lol … so not a bad album at all in fact …). On a first listen this is definitely more fun in its first half, but that’s not to say that on a second, third, and fourth listen since I didn’t let it run all the way through. “Nice Boys” is a song I object to on a personal level but if they don’t release it to conquer the charts while the sun is shining then they’re crazy (whoever “they” are lol). It’s Shampoo-tastic lol.
39. Forth – The Verve
    Very nice sound. I can’t wait to listen to this one again, it came in a night of major catching up but it was certainly one of the best of the bunch.
40. A Mad and Faithful Telling – Devotchka
    It’s a couple of weeks since I listened to this so the memory’s not so great but I remember it was fairly catchy while I thought it’d be annoying, Devotchka being tied in my brain to Little Miss Sunshine still, though I quickly remind myself the music was one of the few things I liked about that movie.
41. Bittersweet World – Ashlee Simpson
    It’s Ashlee, you probably know what to expect. On a first listen none of these songs really stand out to me as awesome, not even in the sense that “I Am Me” or “L.O.V.E” or “Autobiography” have become fixtures on my most-listened-to tracks in iTunes. But I’ll listen to it over and over ‘cos I have a very angry teenage girl in me sometimes lol.
42. To Be Loved – Joan As Police Woman
    I think I liked this more than her first album, but I’ve only listened to each of them once so I can’t really stand by my opinion. She was a lot of fun when I saw her live supporting Rufus Wainwright. Her studio work seems pretty stoic by comparison. This is almost certainly too low for now, hopefully I’ll get a chance to listen again before the year is out.
43. Liverpool 8 – Ringo Starr
    Not as good as “Choose Love”, but it’s as competently done as you’d expect from an ex-Beatle working with Dave Stewart.
44. Pocketful of Sunshine – Natasha Bedingfield
    I had to think about whether this was original enough to count as a new album ‘cos it’s kind of a mishmash of b-side-y songs and parts of Nb after that album failed to set the US aflame or something. I decided yes, there are enough original songs here – the Nb songs are always worth hearing again. And frankly, for “Freckles” alone it’s worth it.
45. Home Before Dark – Neil Diamond
    I just saw a short concert on BBC interactive with some songs from this and already I’ve started to think again about my kneejerk reaction to the album, it’s possible it’ll really click with me one day and I think it’s “One More Bite of the Apple” and “Slow it Down” that hold the key. For now, I’ve gotta say, it does feel a little passionless and a bit too much like someone trying to use the perfect “12 Songs” too much as a template instead of trying something original again.
46. What A Night! A Christmas Album – Harry Connick, Jr.
    
47. Ode to J. Smith – Travis
    I was really surprised to see Travis release a new album so soon following their perfect last, and I pretty much knew right away that it couldn’t live up to the promise shown there. This has the potential to grow on me though, and I’ll certainly give it the chance.
48. Let It Go – Will Young
    Dang again … I can’t remember this one much but I know there was at least one song on it that really grabbed me. That and I’m always pleasantly surprised by this guy.
49. Alas I Cannot Swim – Laura Marling
    It’ll need another listen, ‘cos I wasn’t quite in the mood for it at the time … certainly interesting and of course, girl voices are the best
50. Viva La Vida – Coldplay
    The already overplayed title single is of course irresistible – I wanna jump around just about every time I hear it. But like all their best standalone songs, the album just feels lost around it. It’s rarely anything but “nice”. It’s possible it’ll grow on me, and certainly worth it for Viva … but it’s far from great.
51. Everything is Borrowed – The Streets
    It opens amazingly with the title track but quickly becomes way too scattered in ideas. I found it odd how the other night on Newsnight Review they were all having issues with Mike Skinner’s voice as some kind of barrier to the gold that lay “beneath” it … I absolutely adore his voice and he burrowed his way into my heart again within seconds of the first track starting. It may grow on me with future listens – I think it’s certainly better than The Hardest Way … but not a patch on A Grand Don’t Come for Free.
52. Chinese Democracy – Guns ‘N Roses
    
53. Perfect Symmetry – Keane
    
54. Funhouse – Pink
    
55. Perfectly Clear – Jewel
    For some reason I was led to believe this wasn’t so good and I came to it with particularly low expectations. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed it … I don’t know … she’s in the shadow of Jessica Lombard now, I think – but she’s still Jewel
56. That Lucky Old Sun – Brian Wilson
    Now here’s a voice I do have a problem with. I really cringed when I heard Brian Wilson had a new album coming out. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Beach Boys … Pet Sounds is one of the greatest albums ever and all that … but Brian Wilson’s voice is just not the same these days. His christmas album a few years back was just gutwrenchingly embarrassing. Now I’m not saying this is as bad as that ... musically, in fact, it’s pretty stunning and it really gels as an album in the very nitpicky way I get about what albums “should” be … but his voice … it just sounds so wooden and strained. He has to be given kudos for trying … but it just really pulls me away from what could’ve been a perfect album with another voice.
57. Adam & Joe’s Song Wars Volume One – Adam & Joe
    lol – I had to debate with myself whether this counted as an album … and yes, why not? I hadn’t realised till only recently that Adam & Joe were doing their 6 Music show so this served as a nice catchup to the podcast. I didn’t laugh as much as expected, some of their stuff is just really really unfunny … but when I did laugh, it was big laughs. The radio show or podcast is well worth checking out.
58. Divinidyll Tour – Vanessa Paradis
    This is one of those CDs I have to have a little argument with myself over including as I try to stick to Albums (with a capital A) for this list … but the Vanessa live CDs have always been among the best and genuinely worth purchasing with the versions of songs on them often getting more play time in my iTunes. This is no exception. While it starts with some of the songs and styles that made me less than excited for Divinidyll the album (another that really could never live up to the one that came before it, Bliss), almost making me relieved I didn’t haul myself across Europe to see her in June, eventually I found myself feeling pretty jealous of the audience. When she sings Varvara Pavlovna – a song I haven’t heard in years since my record must’ve gone in an eBay or similar purge – I almost felt like I was with them. Much more embracing than the album.
59. A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas – Kristen Chenoweth
    
60. Down to Earth – Jem
    hehe, I feel like I’m on a loop. I wanna say, here’s another that could never live up to its predecessor. But I gotta admit, I’ve really only listened to one track from “Totally Woken” like over and over so I can’t say that for certain. This is definitely the kind of music I like, and another listen might open it up to me more … but nothing really grabbed me the first time, and some of it I found kinda embarassing, really.
61. Melody – Sharleen Spiteri
    Of course, I wanted to like this just because of it’s title (and, I might add, the way the title appears on the cover, hehe) – but it’s never much more than catchy. I can’t wait to hear more from her though, ‘cos it’s cool that she made something so different from the Texas stuff and managed to pull off the “old” sound without sounding as godawful corny and fake as Mark Ronson and co … though that said, I’d still sooner recommend “She and Him”.
62. Death Magnetic – Metallica
    Clearly, not my kind of music. But I’ve been pretty big on the Guitar Hero stuff lately and it does leave you with a slightly increased appreciation for this kind of stuff. It didn’t hurt me like once upon a time I’d have thought it would – let’s leave it at that, lol.
63. Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust – Sigur Rós
    The beat might be faster but I honestly still found this mostly as dreary a dirge as anything they’ve produced. As I do with Jack Johnson I feel there’s a time and a place for Sigur Rós and for me it was the end of Vanilla Sky (which makes me hmmm … maybe the reason so many people like these guys is they constantly remind them of Tom Cruise plummeting to his death LOL). I’ll admit to getting a few goosebumps on whatever track it is the orchestra totally soars … but while some people I’m sure find this blissfully relaxing, I just get more irritated each time the lead opens his mouth.
64. iCarly: Songs from and Inspired by the Hit TV Series – Various
    It’s a compilation, I usually don’t allow those – but it’s a good compilation, the dialogue snippets are hilarious and even the non-Miranda songs are surprisingly enjoyable (I could definitely get into The Naked Brothers). The Miranda songs turn out to be all covers, but they show her voice improving vastly since recording the theme song (which features here in an extended version). I really hope she gets to do a full solo album some time.
65. The Informer – Jools Holland
    
66. Jennifer Hudson – Jennifer Hudson
    
67. Some People Have Real Problems – Sia
    
68. Radio:ACTIVE – McFly
    McFly have really grown on me this year, to the point where, when they did their live thing for the London 2012 party a few weeks back, I actually started to agree with those who had proclaimed them “the new Beatles” a few years ago. The album isn’t much special, but it’s amazing how they’ve turned me around from utter hate lol.
69. The Block – New Kids on the Block
    
70. The Slip – Nine Inch Nails
    Less scary-noisy than last year’s Year Zero and, weirdly enough, I liked it more than the much more ethereal and ambient Ghosts. One of my favourite songs of theirs, and the one that really introduced me to them in Natural Born Killers, is Burn, and this album pretty much stands up to it all over.
71. Flavors of Entanglement – Alanis Morissette
    Mostly meh, but again, it’s the girl voice. Nothing stands out quite as much as Thank You or Ironic or whatever but, big BUT, I absolutely love, love, love “In Praise of the Vulnerable Man”. It’s so corny, but someone kinda had to write it, and that that someone turned out to be Alanis … it’s just perfect.
72. The Cosmos Rocks – Queen + Paul Rodgers
    
73. Arena – Todd Rundgren
    
74. Bring Ya To the Brink – Cyndi Lauper
    It’s dancey which as a rule I hate; but I love when the tunefulness bursts through, and those incidences are frequent enough for me to listen again given the opportunity. Can’t think of a lot more to say than that.
75. Dig Out Your Soul – Oasis
    
76. Third – Portishead
    It takes some adjusting to, but I’m surprised to say that I found some of this pretty lovely. Again, I’ve not a lot more to say. It’s mid-June and I’m just tying up the loose ends, I wouldn’t normally listen to this type of thing.
77. Sunday at Devil Dirt – Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan
    Since getting into Belle and Sebastian a couple of years ago I’ve been really wanting to listen to Isobel Campbell’s solo stuff – I really hope this is just a bad intro to it. While it’s a really nice album, her voice is pretty much swamped by the Leonard Cohen-ish tones of Lanegan, and I couldn’t help feeling disappointed.
78. Little Dreamer – Beth Rowley
    It’s kind of gone out of my head already, but a pleasant enough listen while it lasted. Very well produced and like I’ve said already, girl voices are the best
79. Phoenix – Asia
    About what I expected from this band even though I haven’t yet got around to taking in their back catalogue. They sound exactly like the era they were born in and though I can’t be certain, I’m pretty sure that fans will be pleased.
80. 11 – Bryan Adams
    Meh. Standard Bryan Adams. I love the guy ‘cos he did the Spirit songs but most of his other stuff sounds the same to me. It’s still very catchy though.
81. Accelerate – R.E.M.
    LOUD! This almost gave me a headache lol. It has its moments, but really, it’s just too loud for me. I can’t say the title doesn’t warn, I guess.
82. 19 – Adele
    Standard well-produced female vocals. I’m just a sucker for girls’ voices so this is probably too high already.
83. It Is Time for a Love Revolution – Lenny Kravitz
    Everytime I listen to him I have to remind myself he produced Vanessa Paradis’ wonderful first and only fully English language album, always a good way in. And this album definitely has its moments, particularly “A Long and Sad Goodbye”
84. Lessons to be Learned – Gabriella Cilmi
    Another perfectly listenable girl voice to join the crowd … I’ve literally nothing more to add on that. It was better than I expected.
85. Discipline – Janet Jackson
    I could do without the computer voice stuff, seems like trying way too hard to be cool to me. I seem to recall this had some nice songs on it somewhere, but it’s a while since I listened and it didn’t exactly rock my world or anything.
86. Simple Plan – Simple Plan
    I was sure I’d listened to Simple Plan before and liked them but my itunes library is telling me it’s only been their movie soundtrack presences that have reached my ears till now. It’s a little unintentionally hilarious in its whininess as I think is to be expected from this kind of band … but I don’t know, I kinda liked it.
87. Ghosts – Nine Inch Nails
    Would make a great movie soundtrack … not really iPod material … but it’s a lot healthier than the deafening “Year Zero”.
88. Sleep Through the Static – Jack Johnson
    Meh. Nothing wrong with it … but I think I said in my review of the movie, there’s a time and a place for Jack Johnson and for me I think Curious George was it.
89. Black Ice – AC\DC
    
90. Watershed – KD Lang
    Hmm. This really didn’t make much of an impression on me at all. Positioned here with the benefit of the doubt lol, I’ll maybe listen to it again some time.
91. Dig Lazarus Dig! – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
    It’s at the bottom for now but don’t worry, it won’t stay that way. This is as up and down as anything Nick Cave has done – the one thing I don’t understand is why it hasn’t been released under the Grinderman name, since to me it sounded much more like “them” than “regular” Nick Cave lol if that even makes sense.
92. Consolers of the Lonely – Raconteurs
    Fun, but nothing special. I’d happily let a track from it play if it cropped up in iTunes Party Shuffle soe time.
93. A Little Bit Longer – Jonas Brothers
    Probably unfairly low because I listened to it in the same night as The Naked Brothers’ CD … I love all the Disney pop stuff and this was no exception but the beautiful voice of The Naked Brothers just blew it entirely out of my mind. I’ll probably give it another shot some time.
94. A Hundred Million Suns – Snow Patrol
    
95. Jukebox – Cat Power
    I forgot to add this to the list when I listened to it ages ago. I can’t remember a lot about it except, nice voice but completey unremarkable. Meh.
96. Last Night – Moby
    Standard Moby. Which for me isn’t too exciting. It seems to me this guy dropped off the map for a while, and to come back with just exactly the same thing he was doing, seems like a decade ago now, that’s practically become a joke in the meantime, is incredibly lazy. I just can’t listen to the same loop unadorned for more than a handful of repetitions, no matter how amazing a sound it is, I’m sorry.
97. E=MC² – Mariah Carey
    I have no problem with Mariah Carey, matter of fact I’d really love to love her. But there’s really nothing new on this album, and the title too temptingly invites ridicule, especially when she starts talking about “That Casablanca movie” in ways that indicate she (or her writers) has clearly never seen it.
98. Circus – Britney Spears
    
99. Hard Candy – Madonna
    Appalling. (Really, that’s all I have to say.)
100. Anywhere I Lay My Head – Scarlett Johansson
     Seriously, I did not think I’d hear anything this year worse than Madonna … seriously. This starts out like, “crap, did I download a fake again?” – but it progresses to being simply hilarious midway. But by the end, I just felt sorry for her. It’s so bad it made me feel good about my own album, lol. That Bowie was involved is just insult to injury lol.Eeps, I’ve added quite a few since last updating this post so I’m bumping it to the front page even though the top spot hasn’t changed (and I still don’t see it doing so either, for the record) ...
101. Seaside Rock – Peter, Bjorn & John
     

1. Honorable mention must go to some of the “best ofs” which I’m usually not so enamoured of. Janis Ian released a 2-disc set to accompany her autobiography “Society’s Child” which contained the gem of a song, “Ginny, the Flying Girl”. Belle and Sebastian released their “BBC Sessions” – more interesting than mindblowingly fantastic but still worth a listen. But my musical highlight of the year had to be the live music I discovered in Second Life ... Kim Seifert and Harmonia Trefoil in particular I have come to regard as very good friends, but there are too many to mention like Keiko Takumura, MichelleD Ecksol, who have really opened my eyes to how much great music there is out there to discover.

Well holy cow, finally one more glint of hope in a year of things that “just didn’t quite do it for me”. This movie reminded me a lot of David Mamet’s Redbelt in that, as I suppose is to be expected by now of director Clint Eastwood, there’s simply not a wasted moment from start to finish. The characters are painted in strokes so broad that in any other hands it would be laughable – an old coot, disrespectful yung ‘uns, just about everyone a stick-in-the-mud of some variety, but the overall impact of it all is just impossible to ignore. When news first came out about the movie around this time last year, a lot of people, me included, got excited it could be another Dirty Harry – and frankly, it may as well be. I didn’t see the second half of this movie coming quite so brutally as it does, especially as there are far more lighter, even laugh out loud funny, moments in the first hour than expected. Eastwood is as fantastic in the central role as he is behind the camera – having praised Frank Langella for Nixon I really look forward to the Best Actor category at this year’s Oscars as I simply couldn’t choose between these two amazing performances. This really is one of the best movies I’ve seen this year – and there ain’t many of those. The closing song almost had me in tears as much as the similar song at the end of Grace is Gone.

“I hate words … ‘cos you believe them … even when they’re not true.”

I’m a minor fan of what I’d call the “original trilogy” of American Girl movies (this one being a much larger affair than those TV movies), watching them just about every Christmas since I first saw them, so I was kinda interested in what this one would bring, especially having finally been won over by Abigail Breslin in Nim’s Island earlier this year.

The production design is a little artificial, but I kind of like this: it makes the movie fit stylistically alongside the previous adaptations a lot more than I expected – even the opening titles have a slightly cheap TV feel to them. Everything else here, however, is leagues above anything to be found in the TV movies.

I think time has yet to tell how important the message of this movie could be for some kids … but even if the current world problems don’t get this bad, there are still always hard times and movies like this are a much-needed blueprint for how to get through them. It’s good to know that even the giants like Disney (with The Little Mermaid 3) and AG are sort of pre-empting the worst-case scenario. The movie in the end is about stretching hope to its absolute limit; an early metaphor about Kit’s father giving up on a motor that went to run for another 5 years; a boy faking a letter to his mom from his father he’s certain will never return, just to raise her spirits one more time; there simply isn’t a more worthwhile message to have in a kids’ movie.

The comedy gets a little grating towards the end (there’s only so many pratfalls I can take), like past the hour mark the film makers are worried they might be losing younger viewers – Joan Cusack’s performance in particular (which is kinda kooky for the duration but in that way that only she can pull off) flag’s appallingly in the last 30 minutes. When you have her and Stanley Tucci being outacted by two 12-year-old girls and Colin Mochrie you’ve kinda gotta think somethin’s wrong, lol. Still, despite the usual Xmas scene being replaced here by Thanksgiving (it was released in June, what are you gonna do?), I’m sure this will become as much a part of the annual viewing as the other AG movies.