Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Best of 2005

This time of year it seems that everyone is doing a "Best of" list, so here is mine.

First off, Best in Movies.

Number one: Batman Begins-The single greatest Batman movie ever made, hands down.


Number Two: Serenity- This SciFi Western is a movie George Lucas only dreams he could make (anyone who knows me knows that I am the biggest Star Wars fan, yet Revenge of the Sith is not on my list. Huh?) Too bad nobody went to see it. But for a movie based on a failed TV show with no big name actors, it's lucky it got made at all. Please see this movie; I cannot emphasize that enough, and if we are lucky, there might be a sequel.



Number Three: Peter Jackson's KING KONG- Just saw this movie a couple days ago, and it's pretty rad if you like movies about giant monkeys, which I do.

"It was beauty who killed the Beast"

There was also a lot of great independent movies released this year, but right now I can't think of any of them off-hand. Anyway, support independent film Damn it!!! If I can think of any of them, I will post them in a different Blog entry. Back to the list.

Next up, the top three television series of 2005.



First: Arrested Development- The funniest, most brilliant television show ever to be canceled by a major network. FOX sucks, and I will probably be fired for saying that. Anyway, sign petitions online, write your congressman, do anything and everything in your power to save this show.



Number Two of 2005 is My Name is Earl.- What makes this show so great? It's all simple arithmetic really- Jason Lee + Mustache = hilarious.


Number three of 2005 is LOST- This may come as a surprise at number three since it's number one on most people's lists. But unlike Arrested and Earl, which I could sit down and watch over and over until my eyes fall out, I find it difficult to watch an episode of Lost more than once. The writing is phenomenal, and the episodes are saturated with hidden what-not's, but I really only want to know what's going to happen next and don't care to revisit the older episodes. For this reason it gets the Bronze.

Next up Best Album of 2005. This category was a bit difficult for me. Every album I thought of came out in 2004, and I realized that I actually only bought three albums this year that came out in 2005.

Number One is Super Systems' Always Never Again- I was fortunate enough to catch Supersystem with Q and not U this fall in DC, and they are amazing. Two words for you, well actual one word DEFCON !!!!!!!


Number two is the new album from Lagwagon, Resolve.- This Album is also amazing and a bit haunting. The album is dedicated to Lagwagon's late drummer Derrick Plourde. Interpunk has it for sale and said this about it: Music is often inspired by love, beauty and at times horrible loss. Earlier this year LAGWAGON and the entire FAT family experienced this with the death of the band’s original drummer Derrick Plourde. Resolve is an homage to the life of Derrick. As one of the first bands signed to FAT, LAGWAGON helped to define the musical focus of label, and in turn the genre of punk rock as a whole. Based on pure emotional reaction, the writing and recording of this album all came together in a few short months. The twelve songs on Resolve take the listener on an emotional trek filled with passion, power, and the melodious angst that LAGWAGON have become known for.Do yourself a favor and pick this up. Also headover to http://www.derrickplourde.com/, and pay your respects to one of punk rocks greatest drummers.

Last, but certainly not least is Chixdiggit!'s Pink Razors.- I'll have to admit that I haven't really listened to this album that much, but it's Chixdiggit! Let's hear it for that!

Be sure to look for The Architects, The Paper Chase, and Drag the River in 2006. That's all for now, but there's more to come soon, so don't forget to stop by.

23 comments:

The CDP. said...

Good list, homie. I've been waiting a long time for something new here.

You're spot-on with Batman Begins being the top movie of 2005, along with your 3 favorite TV shows. Funny though, considering that I can only watch AD and Earl once or twice, while I need to see LOST 5 times to fully take it all in. Either way, your aim was true.

Supersystem flat-out rules, and I'll grab that Lagwagon album when I get the chance.

Celia said...

Now Ben, you can't do a "best-of" music list if you've only bought 3 albums in 2005! :)

Batman begins definitely ruled!!!

The CDP. said...

It's not so much a 'best-of' as it is a 'complete anthology.'

DifferentDamage said...

He only bought three albums this year, and they were all on vinyl.

Order Ris Paul Ric already! It's great!

Benjamin said...

I bought 12 albums this year, but the ones listed were the only ones I bought that came out this year. AlLL 12 were on vinyl however.

Sherry and I will not be Going to the Supersystem show i n Chicago cause we both have to work that evening.

Benjamin

The CDP. said...

I think I've purchased ONE new album so far this year, Bear vs. Shark's Terrorhawk. Not so good, but I appreciate the effort.

Yeah, I guess Supersystem might fall through; it was the thought that counted.

I read on Pitchfork that Supersystem was working on a track for an Of Montreal remix album. My head asploded.

DifferentDamage said...

F that. Let's go see Supersystem. Tell work you have diarrhea. They won't make you come in if you have diarrhea.

Benjamin said...

When I said I bought 12 albums this year, I meant 12 albums last year. I'm still not getting used to that 2006 thing.

I just might come down with a case of explosive diarrhea next thursday.

The CDP. said...

Supersystem is known to cause explosive dance diarrhea. That's why I always carry around my Defcon-strength Immodium-AD.

Just cracking myself up, here.

DifferentDamage said...

My friend Tyler invented a drink he calls the "Samkon" after Packers running back Samkon Gado. We were at the bars the other night yelling "Samkon" in Defcon style.

"Saaaaaaam-kon!"

The CDP. said...

Samkon Gado was the single best part of the 2005 Green Bay season. That guy ruled. He doesn't even want to play football; they just dragged him away from Medical school because they needed a running back.

'Saaaaam-Kahhhhhn!' For some reason, it's very liberating to yell that when you're feeling down. Makes my day every time.

DifferentDamage said...

Tyler actually wrote an article about Samkon. Read it here.

The CDP. said...

Does Tyler have a Blog or what?

DifferentDamage said...

He links his articles on his myspace page every time there's a new one. Bookmark that, or something.

The CDP. said...

You need to update this page at least once a week. Come on!

DifferentDamage said...

Once a month would be a start. Like you're THAT busy, Ben. Psht.

The CDP. said...

You're getting there with the format; I like the color. You need to resize that photo of Franklin, however, or your sidebar will always be messed up.

Other than that, you've got a winner on your hands. Don't let it collect dust, homey.

The CDP. said...

'Atta boy! You've got yourself a Blog!

Benjamin said...

Thanks for the info I spent like three hours trying to figure that out yesterday and Aaron was going to come up tonight to help me

Now I just have to keep it updated

DifferentDamage said...

I told you it was probably an image sizing problem. But I don't think you understood what I was saying.

The CDP. said...

Yeah, you gotta be careful with those pictures. Make sure they're small enough to fit in your post heading, or they'll throw your entire washer load off balance.

Settling on a good template is the hardest and most thankless part of blogging. Now, all you have to do is type about crap. It's all downhill from here.

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