Okay, here goes. I would break the pop culture of 2009 down this way: a pretty good year for music, an alright year for film and a downright incredible year for television.
Five Favorite Films Of 2009*
1. Fantastic Mr Fox
2. District 9
3. In The Loop [warning for profuse-albeit-very-inventive foul language]
4. Coraline
5. Up
Most Underrated: Duplicity
Most Overrated: Inglourious Basterds
*Bear in mind that I haven’t seen The Hurt Locker, An Education, A Serious Man, The Road, Dr Parnassus, Big Fan or 2012 yet. So this is definitely more of a favorites list than a “best of”. And I am as surprised by the predominance of “family” films as you are…
Twelve Favorite Songs Released in 2009
1. Psalms 40:2 – The Mountain Goats
2. Moment Of Surrender – U2
3. Two Weeks – Grizzly Bear
4. Dream City – Free Energy
5. All Nights Rest – Trevor Giuliani
6. Someday I’ll Be Forgiven For This – Justin Townes Earle
7. 21 Guns – Green Day
8. My Girls – Animal Collective
9. Your Control – Crooked Fingers w/Neko Case
10. Daniel – Bat For Lashes
11. Just The Past – Peter Bjorn and John
12. Young Adult Friction – The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
What I Actually Listened To In 2009
1. HIStory Vol. 2/Blood On The Dance Floor – Michael Jackson
2. Rock Of Ages – The Band [Greatest album title ever? Certainly top 5 greatest live albums.]
3. Day & Age – The Killers
4. Radio City – Big Star
5. Beatles In Mono – The Beatles
6. Singles – New Order
7. Northern Lights – Dawes [came out in 09!]
8. “Breakdown” – GNR
9. Ennismore – Colin Blunstone
10. Everything and anything by Mott The Hoople/Ian Hunter
11. Album – Girls [also 09]
12. Victory For The Comic Muse – The Divine Comedy
That The Golden Age Of Television Showed No Sign Of Slowing Down In 2009 – Nine Supporting Arguments
1. Friday Night Lights – seasons 3&4
2. LOST – season 5
3. Mad Men – season 3
4. Battlestar Galactica – “Daybreak”, omitting the final 30 seconds.
5. Big Love – season 3
6. Modern Family – season 1
7. Parks And Recreation – season 2, esp the Andy character
8. Hoarders
9. Curb Your Enthusiasm – “The Reunion, pts 1&2” [warning: extremely crass]
Most Highly Recommended Book: Theophilus North by Thornton Wilder
Favorite DVD By Far: Whit Stillman’s The Last Days Of Disco
So there you have it, and I’m sure I’ve left out a bunch of worthy items. What would you include?!
p.s. The A/V Club has posted a great list of the 32 most anticipated 2010 entertainments. What are they missing? I mean, besides Scorcese’s George Harrison documentary…
COMMENTS
2 responses to “Favorite Movies, Music and TV of 2009 (Plus)”
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Hey Dave. Nice list. I noticed that you didn't mention "Up In The Air" — either as a movie you liked or in your caveat of films you haven't seen yet. Thoughts?
My favorite movie this year was THE ROAD, with the caveats that (1) there's a lot I haven't seen yet and (2) I thought the last two minutes was a mistake. And of course I haven't read the book. But the acting is just wonderful, and the cinematography is incredible. There are some lovely cameos in it (e.g. Robert Duvall) and one by my favorite actor from THE WIRE (Michael K. Williams, who plays Omar).
The following tidbit may be of interest to MB readers and writers, many of whom have spent time in the Rust Belt of Pittsburgh:
With a budget of $20 million, filming began in southwestern Pennsylvania in late February 2008 for eight weeks and moved on to Louisiana and Oregon. Hillcoat preferred to shoot in real locations, saying "We didn't want to go the CGI world." Pennsylvania, where most of the filming took place, was chosen for its tax breaks and its abundance of locations that looked abandoned or decayed: coalfields, dunes, and run-down parts of Pittsburgh. Filming was also done at the 1892 Amusement park (Conneaut Lake Park) after one of the parks buildings (the Dreamland Ballroom) was destroyed in a fire in February 2008. The beaches of Presque Isle State Park in Erie, Pennsylvania were also used. Hillcoat also said of using Pittsburgh as a practical location, "It's a beautiful place in fall with the colors changing, but in winter, it can be very bleak. There are city blocks that are abandoned. The woods can be brutal."
http://www.sendspace.com/file/gfbz6c