Category Archives: Best Of

20
Feb

The Anniversary Albums Project: Best of 2020

New music has lost a lot of hold on me over the last few years. And two years ago I decided that instead of trying to keep up with it all, I’d look back at music history and listen to … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged a tribe called quest, ac/dc, air, alanis morissette, almost famous, angelo badalamenti, annie lennox, arcade fire, b-52's, badly drawn boy, beach house, betty carter, bjork, black sabbath, blues brothers, brand nubian, bruce springsteen, cat stevens, ccr, clash, cocteau twins, coldplay, creedence clearwater revival, d'angelo, danger mouse, david bowie, death cab for cutie, dire straits, eli paperboy reed, elliott smith, elton john, elvis costello, eminem, eric b and rakim, feelies, frightened rabbit, fugazi, garth brooks, gaslight anthem, genesis, george harrison, george michael, ghostface killah, girl talk, godspeed you black emperor, goldie, goodie mob, gorillaz, gza, high fidelity, hold steady, jam, james brown, janelle monae, jawbreaker, joe cocker, john lennon, joni mitchell, joy division, kanye west, khaled, killing joke, kings of leon, kinks, klf, kronos quartet, lambchop, las, lcd soundsystem, lecrae, led zeppelin, leftfield, local natives, madonna, marah, matchbox 20, matchbox twenty, miles davis, modest mouse, mouse on mars, mumford and sons, national, now, now that's what i call music, o brother where art thou, oasis, outkast, passengers, pavement, pet shop boys, peter gabriel, pixies, police, prefab sprout, pretenders, primal scream, prince, public enemy, pulp, radiohead, raekwon, randy newman, ride, rocket summer, rockpile, roots, ryan adams, santana, sarah jaffe, selena, shutter island, simon and garfunkel, sinead o'connor, smashing pumpkins, soft boys, sparklehorse, squeeze, sr-71, sr71, stooges, sufjan stevens, talking heads, they might be giants, titus andronicus, tom waits, tricky, u2, van morrison, velvet underground, who, xtc, yo la tengo | Leave a comment

29
Jan

2020 in Review: The Best Performances – Film

Ensemble in a ComedyBirds of Prey Like its predecessor Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey has an enormous cast of characters who have graced the pages of DC Comics over the past decades. But that’s where its similarities end. For one, … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Film | Tagged amazon, birds of prey, borat, deerskin, hulu, i'm thinking of ending things, king of staten island, minari, netflix, one night in miami, palm springs, prime, sound of metal | Leave a comment

27
Jan

2020 in Review: The Best and Worst Movies

10. Da 5 Bloods (dir. Spike Lee) – Streaming on Netflix Messy, provocative, powerful. That’s a Spike Lee movie, all right. To me, this is his best effort since Inside Man: a reunion of four broken men, haunted by their … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Film | Tagged amazon, another round, apple, assistant, boys state, da 5 bloods, first cow, minari, netflix, never rarely sometimes always, nomadland, one night in miami, prime, time | Leave a comment

21
Jan

2020 in Review: The Best Songs

While I felt like I had no time to keep up with new albums, the initial version of this list stretched to 80 songs. But I was still able to whittle it down to 50 tracks. You can hear them … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged 1975, albert hammond jr, bartees strange, bear and the beasts, ben folds, ben hopkins, bob dylan, bon iver, brandy clark, bts, bumper, calvin harris, Cardi B, carly rae jepsen, chris stapleton, Christine and the queens, david ramirez, diet cig, dirty projectors, father john misty, fiona apple, haim, india jordan, jessie ware, John Prine, joshua ray walker, kelly lee owens, killers, lady gaga, leon bridges, lianne la havas, love regenerator, lupe fiasco, magnetic fields, margo price, megan thee stallion, naked and famous, nick hakim, noname, nrthrn, phoebe bridgers, rina sawayama, rmr, run the jewels, sault, struts, sufjan stevens, taylor swift, thundercat, Tierra whack, virgil abloh, weather station, worriers, x, yves tumor | Leave a comment

20
Jan

2020 in Review: The Best Albums

10. The Chicks – Gaslighter It’s been 14 years since the band formerly known as the Dixie Chicks released an album, but they’re still filled with righteous fury. Instead of shitty presidents, their targets are abusive exes and the people … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged against all logic, backxwash, beach slang, bear and the beasts, brandy clark, brian metolius, bruce springsteen, bumper, car seat headrest, carly rae jepsen, charli xcx, chicks, chris stapleton, clipping, cut copy, david ramirez, dirty projectors, dua lipa, elvis costello, fiona apple, fleet foxes, gorillaz, haim, harry potter, jason isbell, jeff rosenstock, jessie ware, killers, lady gaga, lecrae, margo price, perfume genius, phoebe bridgers, pinegrove, poolside, pretenders, rina sawayama, run the jewels, sault, soccer mommy, sparks, sturgill simpson, sufjan stevens, sweeping promises, tame impala, taylor swift, thundercat, waxahatchee, x, yves tumor | Leave a comment

14
Jan

2020 in Review: The Best Performances – Television

BEST ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIESSchitt’s CreekThe four principle cast members finally got their due, each picking up an acting Emmy. But the show had a full bench of brilliant performers, including the always hilarious Chris Elliott as Mayor Roland … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Television | Tagged apple, barkskins, better call saul, briarpatch, great, hbo, hbo max, hulu, mrs america, netflix, outsider, ozark, schitt's creek, search party, ted lasso, what we do in the shadows | Leave a comment

13
Jan

2020 in Review: The Best Comedy Shows and Specials

Marc Maron: End Times Fun (Netflix) Though shot in 2019, this special felt perfect for the “Why is everything on fire all the time?” insanity of 2020. Maron lays out how we got here, without being condescending or wallowing. Middleditch … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Television | Tagged beth stelling, hbo max, marc maron, middleditch and schwartz, natalie palamides, nate, netflix, tom papa | Leave a comment

12
Jan

2020 in Review: The Best Shows – Honorable Mentions

Animaniacs No show had a bigger chance of whiffing than this revival for Hulu. But the new writers and returning voice talent made it just as funny and subversive as the original run. They jettisoned all the other segments that … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Television | Tagged animaniacs, brooklyn nine-nine, curb your enthusiasm, good place, hbo, how to with john wilson, hulu, killing eve, netflix, outsider, ozark, queen's gambit, tiger king | Leave a comment

11
Jan

2020 in Review: The Best Shows

Even with the hypothetical “more time” we had to watch TV this year – given that we were confined to our homes and many new shows halted production – it still never felt like “catching up” was possible. So here … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Television | Tagged amazon, apple, better call saul, boys, briarpatch, crown, great, hbo max, hulu, mrs america, netflix, prime, schitt's creek, search party, ted lasso, what we do in the shadows | Leave a comment

30
Jun

The Anniversary Albums Project: Best of 2019

New music has lost a lot of hold on me over the last few years. And last year I decided that instead of trying to keep up with it all, I’d look back at music history and listen to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Of, Music | Tagged 500 days of summer, aimee mann, animal collective, antlers, avett brothers, b-52's, backstreet boys, band, beastie boys, beatles, beck, blue nile, blur, bob dylan, bon iver, built to spill, buzzcocks, ccr, chic, clash, creedence clearwater revival, cure, dark was the night, dave edmunds, david bowie, david crowder band, de la soul, death cab for cutie, dirty projectors, dismemberment plan, dixie chicks, donna summer, dusty springfield, elvis costello, elvis presley, eminem, fantastic mr fox, fiona apple, flaming lips, florence and the machine, foo fighters, gang of four, genesis, george michael, go, graham parker, green day, grizzly bear, ian hunter, isaac hayes, janet jackson, japandroids, jeff buckley, jimmy eat world, joe jackson, johnny cash, joy division, julee cruise, kate bush, kid cudi, kinks, led zeppelin, lisa germano, madonna, magnetic fields, manic street preachers, massive attack, michael jackson, miles davis, moby, mos def, nas, neko case, nick cave, nick lowe, nine inch nails, nirvana, notorious big, oasis, outkast, pavement, peter gabriel, Phil Wickham, phoenix, pixies, portishead, prince, pulp fiction, rage against the machine, roberta flack, rolling stones, roots, roxy music, rushmore, sigur ros, sister sledge, sleater kinney, sly and the family stone, smash mouth, sparks, st vincent, stone roses, stooges, sunny day real estate, supertramp, talking heads, throbbing gristle, tom petty, tom waits, u2, velvet underground, weezer, wilco, xtc, xx, yeah yeah yeahs | Leave a comment