The Voices of Reason: The Best of 2005
by Various Authors

Celebrating the new year is all about tradition, so this issue we will uphold the year-end tradition of creating a bunch of "Best of" lists.  Without further ado, the Voices present their Best of 2005.

Question:  What are the best movies, books, albums, TV shows, etc. of 2005?

Dileep Rao, Movies—It’s that time of year when every movie buff walks around touting their ten best list.  I’m just going to list a bunch of films I loved.  This year, there were a ton of films released but there was also a ton of head scratching.  Why were people staying away from the theatres?  My guess is that movies have stayed the same for far too long.  I would love to say that this is because movies have become truly awful (they have, by and large), but that has hardly stopped filmgoers before.  The overmarketed, overhyped, overexpensive films that are put together as financial vehicles before satisfying certain basic tenants of the medium—story, salience and craft—have worn out their welcome.  What’s coming in their wake?

There are two options really: the first is the dissolution of the film business into an omnivorous muti-channel advertorial presence that comes at you via cellphone (scariest idea ever), iPod, handset, PDA and your lover’s eyeballs.  This model has more in common with TV and the corporations would do it in a heartbeat—if they weren’t made up of old men who can’t program their VCRs.

The second model is one wherein smaller, realer films are made, something that parallels the early and mid seventies.  We are in a mood, I think, that calls for verisimilitude, recognizable emotion and stories.  We have entered a cookie cutter digital universe where the absurd and overcooked stupidities of serial writers have been blown up into spectacle.  As a treat (or as aberrations), those films can be a great joy, and when done very well, transporting (see Mike Newell’s surprisingly good Harry Potter film of this year).  But we need new Godfathers and Mean Streets, Chinatowns and Bonnie and Clydes.  We need The Conversation, Dog Day Afternoon, and Jaws.  We need Harold and Maude, (wrong decade, I know but still, a small, real film), The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3; we need a revival of smaller films that need only do fairly well to make a profit and keep at it.  The economics are out of control. 
Enough said—here are my top films of the year:

  1. Brokeback Mountain (far more than a ‘gay cowboy film’, this is a film of unbelievable tenderness and intimacy and great truth)
  2. The Squid and the Whale
  3. Munich
  4. Downfall
  5. 2046
  6. Syriana
  7. Pride and Prejudice
  8. Good Night and Good Luck
  9. Batman Begins
  10. Matchpoint
  11. The New World
  12. History of Violence
  13. The Constant Gardner
  14. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Jeff Lewis, Television—As I've mentioned before, I believe that Arrested Development was the best show on television.  Though this season was cut to 13 episodes, I heard a rumour that Showtime may sign it for two 12-episode seasons, which would definitely keep us from dropping Showtime, which is nearly unwatched in our household.  The only thing
that's kept it on our bill was the possibility of a Showtime version of This American Life, but I haven't heard any positive news on that front in quite a while.  News of Arrested Development on Showtime would be a great start to 2006.  I hope they continue to bleep the swearwords, though.

Vance Macdonald, multiple entries—

Best Movies: The Squid and the Whale, Munich. (Although I have yet to see many of the year-end gems like Capote and Brokeback Mountain.)

Best Fun Movies: Walk the Line, Wedding Crashers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Kung Fu Hustle, Batman Begins (first half).

Best TV: My Name is Earl, The Office, The Daily Show, Entourage.

Best Album: Love Songs: For and Against, by Guy Forsyth.

Best Sports Stories: Finger-wagging Raphael Palmeiro tests positive; Michelle Wie taking on the men.

Erik Sincoff, Books—The best books I read this year are the Sandman series (books 1-10) by Neil Gaiman.  If you are interested in mythology or story craft in general, this series is for you.  If you haven't heard of the Sandman books, they were written as a series of comics by author Neil Gaiman.  The stories have been combined into ten graphic novels that can be read in any order, save for numbers 9 and 10.

The tales follow a series of powerful beings called “The Endless” that represent ideas such as Destiny and Desire.  The main character's realm is Dreaming, and all the stories weave through his existence at various points.  Thus all of the tales have a mythological/fantasy feel to them, but also touch the real world.  Neil Gaiman is a powerful storyteller and the Sandman series demonstrates him at his best.

Mark May, Music—The type of music that I like is generally given the label nowadays of Triple A—Adult Album Alternative ("a large variety of music that hovers on the fringe of mainstream pop and rock, including Americana, alternative rock, alternative country, blues, folk and world music").  For the one or two other Babblog readers who might also like this kind of stuff, I offer my favorite CDs and songs from the past year.

CDs I really enjoyed this year (in alphabetical order):
The Great American Music Galaxy, by Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men
Anyone who knows me knows the fondness I have for Dave Alvin's songwriting and performing.  His music is a perfect fusion of folk, blues and boogie, woogie, bar stomping rock and roll.  This is a composite of two live performances at the Galaxy in Long Beach and the Great American Music Hall in SF.

Howl, by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Had never heard of these guys until I heard one cut from this album on the internet.  It led me to buy the CD.  Sounds like it was inspired by the O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack.

The Outsider, by Rodney Crowell
A Nashville performer who, like Steve Earle, can't get played on commercial radio because the music and the lyrics don't fit a well-defined format.  This is definitely not a country album.  It is straight up roots rock and roll with strong political songwriting like his idol Bob Dylan.

Picaresque, by The Decemberists
My favorite discovery of 2005.  Heard a show by them on All Songs Considered and ended up buying all three of their CDs.  This one is the strongest.  Who would have expected a Montana-educated literature major to write lyrical, evocative rock and roll sea shanties?  This is the band that I most want to see live in 2006.

Mercy Now, by Mary Gauthier
Often personal, emotional beautiful songwriting.  Example: "Fish swim/Birds fly/Daddies yell/Mamas cry/Old men sit and think/I drink." Seems extra special this year because she is from Louisiana.

Flower of Avalon, by Tracy Grammer
Some of the last songs written by the late Dave Carter, a poet masquerading as a songwriter.  Performed by his longtime partner who has a voice as sweet as any you will hear.

The Forgotten Arm, by Aimee Mann
Her songs and songwriting just keep getting better.

Live at Stubbs, by Matisyahu
Hasidic reggae.  Go figure.

Universal United House of Prayer, by Buddy Miller (left over from 2004)
He is the lead guitarist for Spyboy, Emmylou Harris's backup band.  But he can sure tear up a stage by himself.  You can call this gospel blues but you will still want to turn it up loud.

Drag It Up, by The Old 97s (left over from 2004)
Another CD to be played at a high volume.  Sounds like the son of Uncle Tupelo to me.

Devils and Dust, by Bruce Springsteen
Son of Nebraska.  My favorite lyric: "Fear's a dangerous thing/It can turn your heart black you can trust/It'll take your God filled soul/Fill it with devils and dust."

Might have been a favorite if I had heard more of the CD:
Chavez Ravine, by Ry Cooder

Songs (not on a favorite CD):
"Gideon," by My Morning Jacket (from the album Z)

"Man of God," by Eliza Gilkyson (from the album Paradise Hotel)

"Let It Ride," by Ryan Adams (from the album Cold Roses)

"About Cell Block #9," by Jackie Greene (from the album Sweet Somewhere Bound)

"Heard It On The X" and "Let Her Dance," by Los Super 7 (from the album Heard It On The X)

Favorite shows:
Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
The most enjoyable weekend of music I have ever experienced.  Five stages of music outdoors in Golden Gate Park.  Folk, blues, folk-blues, rockabilly, cow punk, bluegrass—you can hear all of that and more.  For free!  I already have a return trip planned for this fall.

Los Straitjackets Holiday Show at The Mint
Guitar-heavy surf music, Christmas classics and go-go burlesque dancers sponsored by Secrets in Lace.  Need I say more?

Brian Wilson at the Hollywood Bowl

The Wailin Jennys and Bruce Cockburn on back to back nights at McCabes.

Fred Crounse, Video Games—Were it not for the copyright notice (Copyright © 2004, 2005 Asymmetric Publications, LLC) at the bottom of the homepage of the online giggle-fest known as Kingdom Of Loathing, I would have, hands down, submitted this game as my pick for the best video game of 2005.  But, as you can see, it was already in circulation just a scant one (count it, 1) year before I it reached my radar.  Unfortunately for it, this column is not about the most entertaining game played in ‘05, but for the best released in ‘05, so let’s get down to it.

Many titles come to mind, especially the titles that I didn’t get around to playing in ‘05...namely, World of Warcraft (better known as "World of Warcrack").  This one I’ve stayed away from for the very same reason I’ve stayed away from shooting smack—it's the kind of thing that once you start, you may never want to stop.  Many a friend o' mine has succumbed to the highly addictive properties of this Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), and many a warning has been heeded: Do not buy this game and do not play this game unless you are willing to forfeit a goodly amount of your waking life, as well as hard-earned cash in the form of monthly fees, to the advancement of your (online) character.  Yep, it sounds exactly like a crack addiction.

So, to keep it short, my pick for ’05?  Age Of Empires III, for the PC.  This is an absolutely gorgeous Real-Time Strategy game from Ensemble Studios. This game really took me by surprise.  I’ve never been a fan of the RTS genre before, but if any game could have won me over, this was definitely the one.  The graphics are amazing, the game-play is smooth and robust, and the single-player storyline is enthralling enough that, after telling myself that I’d go to sleep after completing this one last mission, I found myself staying awake for just one more.  That’s dangerous, y’all.

If you do decide to buy this game, do yourself a favor and splurge on the $69.99 Collector’s Edition as opposed to the $39.99 Standard Edition.  The game itself is no different between these two editions, but the wealth of extras you get for the extra thirty bones (such as the 210-page Art of Empire book and the “Making Of” DVD) make this release feel much more like an event rather than just another game.

Martell, Technological Product—The temptation was there for me to choose the new video iPod as the best technological product of the year, and it certainly would have been a worthy choice.  I got to experience one up close and personal at the Apple Store at the Grove, and it was pretty damn cool.  I haven't watched music videos for practically a decade, but this device could bring me back to the medium.  And the best part is that it's priced the same ass the old non-video iPod, so from here on out, everyone that buys an iPod will have the video function.  My hope is that this will inspire more up-and-coming filmmakers to produce high-quality shorts, since there will now be the perfect channel for them.

But there was one other product this year that I think is even better, and that product is called Slingbox.  In case you don't know what this product is—which I couldn't even imagine at first, since I've heard about 500 zillion radio ads for it, but then I spoke to three different employees at Nerdtopia (aka Fry's Electronics) and none of them knew what I was talking about—it is a small device that allows you to watch your television from over the internet.  Not only can you watch your TV, but you can change channels, scroll through the guide, and watch your Tivo.  It's just about the coolest thing ever.

We got one of these so that Oliver could watch TV when he moves to Argentina, and it only took about 30 minutes for me to install it and another 30 minutes to get him remote access.  The Slingbox website was incredibly helpful in getting this set up, even having detailed instructions for changing the settings for every major wireless router, including screen shots.  But that's not the product—the product is watching whatever you want on TV wherever you may be.  As long as you have a fast enough connection, you have one more of the comforts of home right on your laptop.

To submit a topic for The Voices of Reason, or to be added to the VoR Shout Out List, send an e-mail to martell@babblog.com.

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