Category Archives: Best of 2009

by | December 22, 2009 · 2:02 pm

The Best of 2009: The 15 Best Albums of 2009

What better way to end our list making extravaganza with a list of the 15 best albums of 2009. This was our easiest list to make, requiring little haggling over available spots and positioning. So we hope you enjoy it. If you don’t, tell us why in the comments!

15. Girls – Album
“I don’t want to cry…I want to do some laughing too” sings Girls’ (male) singer and mastermind Christopher Owens, in a kind of thesis statement for the band’s debut Album. Mixing melancholy vocals and lyrics with summery, triumphant, and weirdly innocent beach rock for an album that felt very much like a throwback to an earlier time. Songs like “Hellhole Ratrace” and “Lust for Life” were among the best of the year, thanks to Owens’ Elvis Costello-esque vocals and clever songwriting.

14. jj – jj n2
The mystery and speculation over who, exactly, jj are could have threatened to obscure their actual musical output. But, fortunately, the band’s first lp is built to last, combining shimmering synths with songs that come dangerously close to adult contemporary without becoming boring. With a sound that references everything from Lil’ Wayne to Enya, jj has crafted the year’s most eclectic record and one of its most pleasant bits of sonic escapism.

13. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone
Neko Case long ago established herself as a unique voice, but on her beautiful, oft-dark Middle Cyclone, she shows off some of her best songwriting to date. Between grisly stories of murder and running from the law, Case mixes in soulful songs that bring to the front her strong voice, that towers equally over acoustic ramblings and alt-country jaunts. Middle Cyclone is the strongest all around album of Case’s career, which continues to get better and better with every record.

12. Real Estate – Real Estate
In a year when lo-fi ruled, Real Estate’s self titled debut drifted in and established itself as one of the best. The album is mellow without being too slow, and hums along smoothly from beginning to end. What set Real Estate apart from similar lo-fi bands is that their songs have a deliberate pace to them that creates a relaxed record that is equally perfect for snowy days and summer breezes.

11. Micachu and the Shapes – Jewellery
If Lily Allen was a clerk at Other Music, you might get something approximating the bizarre sound of Micachu and the Shapes. Wikipedia lists Micachu’s instruments as “vocals, guitar, electronics, vacuum cleaner” almost as a warning to expect the unexpected. Jewellery is catchy but eclectic, combining hip hop, world music, indie rock, chart-topping pop and electronica into a music comp major’s dream. Songs like the “Tequila” swiping “Calculator” and the insanely catchy “Golden Phone” are wildly experimental without being inaccessible.

10. Woods – Songs of Shame
Unlike most of the fuzzed out lo-fi bands of 2009, Woods reached further back in time than 1990, making a timeless, pastoral album that owes as much of a debt to Neil Young as it does to Robert Pollard. From the Crazy Horse-esque noise jam session “September with Pete” to the lush, country ballad “Rain On,” Songs of Shame is a delicate, beautiful album with a rock edge.

9. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
If you can get past the goofy name, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s self titled debut is a fun, throwback record packed with enough catchy songs to stay in your head for weeks. Between ripping guitar solos, sweet vocals, and swirling keyboards, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is an irresistible pop gem. The band wears their heart on their sleeves, but in such a way that makes you want to listen again and again.

8. Fever Ray – Fever Ray
It didn’t seem like it was possible to make darker music than The Knife, but Fever Ray, Karin Dreijer Andersson‘s solo project, accomplishes just that. A claustrophobic haunted house of synths and drum machines, Fever Ray’s record is the rare album that can be convincingly called Lynchian. The whole record sounds like some kind of bad trip, with Andersson’s frequent pitch-shifting and the record’s sparse feel adding to the psychological unease that permeates throughout the album.

7. Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Phoenix was deserving of a breakout record after steadily getting better and better with their first three. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is the band’s most accessible to date, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. Songs like “Lizstomania” and “1901″ became unavoidable and incredibly enjoyable hits through endless performances on SNL and every late night show. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is an absolute blast to listen to, and was perhaps the best pop album of 2009.

6. St. Vincent – Actor
On Marry Me, Annie Clark showed off her guitar chops, unique voice, and flair for songwriting with a timeless feel, but it didn’t come anywhere near the sonic innovation of her follow-up. Actor walks a tightrope, often sounding like the score to a nightmarish version of a Disney film, mixed with Clark’s dark, starkly drawn lyrics like “Marrow’s” booming chorus (“H.E.L.P. Help Me”). By combining swirling strings and woodwinds with electronic noodling, Clark crafted an idiosyncratic gem and continued to raise her already through-the-roof stock.

5. The Flaming Lips – Embryonic
After beginning to stagnate in terms of both songwriting and performance, The Flaming Lips showed that they still had a few tricks up their sleeve. Building on the dark, violent imagery of Christmas on Mars, Embryonic is a sprawling, acid-rock anthem that combines prog ambition, acid-jazz experimentation, and electronic innovation to start yet another exciting new chapter for the Flaming Lips. The album is inaccessible and freewheeling but never overly indulgent and clearly reenergized the band, who sounds more alive and dynamic here than they have in a while.

4. Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound must have weighed heavy in the minds of Tracyanne Campbell and co. as they crafted their best record in My Maudlin Career. Long in the shadow of fellow Glaswegians Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura came into their own on a record full of love, love lost, and disappointment. There are few songs as infectious as opener “French Navy,” and tracks like “The Sweetest Thing” ingrain themselves into your brain with their lush arrangements and Campbell’s silky voice. While it flew under the radar compared to the records following it on our list, My Maudlin Career is a phenomenal album that demands repeat listening.

3. Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
Dirty Projectors were a surprise break-out hit in 2009 with Bitte Orca, an album that sounds like nothing else out there. The jumping harmonies, odd time signatures, and Dave Longstreths distinct voice combine on a record that is both wonderfully weird and incredibly fun. The popular standout was “Stillness is the Move,” but track “Temecula Sunrise” and the stunning “Two Doves” are equally as great. Bitte Orca is the kind of record that makes a band step up the next level. Here’s hoping for more greatness from Dirty Projectors in the near future.

2. Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Veckatimest is both throwback and forward-thinking. Grizzly Bear dabbles in influences ranging from turn-of-the-century folk and Americana to avant-garde and pop, but on their third record (and second as a full band), they made a record that feels firmly fixed in the here-and-now. Grizzly Bear’s songwriting shows a patience that can, at times, border on sadistic; each note is so deliberate and thought out that it can take several listens to truly appreciate the breadth of what they accomplished.

1. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavillion
Animal Collective have been a lot of things this decade – esoteric Brooklyn experimenters, freak-folk weirdos, overhyped, underrated – which can obscure just how great Merriweather Post Pavilion is. The band blends innovative sampling with 1980s electronics, and Afro-pop rhythms to make an optimistic and joyful, yet clear-eyed record that represents yet another bold new identity for a band that wasn’t lacking them. Merriweather Post Pavillion was in many ways the sound of 2009, and it will remain the band’s defining work for years to come.

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by | December 21, 2009 · 5:00 pm

Best of 2009: The Best Songs of 2009

15. Animal Collective – What Would I Want? Sky
The first half of “What Would I Want? Sky” ranks with Animal Collective’s most inaccessible noodling before turning into their prettiest pop song. Featuring the first ever licensed sample for The Grateful Dead and a beautiful, lilting melody, “What Would I Want? Sky” is Animal Collective at their finest, no small feat considering it came not 12 months after releasing one of the finest records of the decade. (J)

14. Cymbals Eat Guitars – Wind Phoenix
A song that rises and falls and weaves around throughout its 5+ minutes, “Wind Phoenix” announced Cymbals Eat Guitars as one of the best up and coming new acts. “Wind Phoenix” is pure rock and roll, a song more willing to sound good than sound important.

13. Atlas Sound – Walkabout
Borrowing from The Dovers “What Am I Going to Do” to form one of the catchiest songs of the year, Bradford Cox’s teaming with Noah Lennox came off even better than it sounded in theory. Sounding more like a Panda Bear song than an Atlas Sound one, “Walkabout” is a sunny, poppy wonder that was a definite song of the summer contender. (J)

12. M. Ward – Never Had Nobody Like You
M. Ward has always had a penchant for writing catchy songs, but his collaboration with his She & Him partner Zooey Deschenel that is his catchiest to date. Borrowing George Harrison’s riff and throwing in a nice male-female duet, “Never Had Nobody Like You” easily gets stuck in your head, but in the best way possible.

11. Grizzly Bear – While You Wait for the Others
One of the year’s goofier diversions was when yacht-rock superstar Michael McDonald (ain’t no mountain high! ain’t no valley low!) sang “While You Wait for the Others.” But McDonald’s affably overwrought vocals only brought into light how beautifully restrained Daniel Rossen sounds on this song. “While You Wait for the Others” is essentially, vaguely, a breakup song, but one with the lush orchestration and polite patience that has become Grizzly Bear’s trademark. (J)

10. St. Vincent – Actor Out of Work
Charging guitars, distorted riffs, and a short running time combine on a track that pounds itself through all the way to the end. Annie Clark’s calm, cool voice keeps the track together, acting as the perfect compliment to the noisy chaos around her. A short but sweet track that stands out on a great record.

9. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart – Young Adult Friction
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart wear their influences on their sleeve, but “Young Adult Friction” adds up to much more than the sum of its parts. Thanks to a great bassline, adorably nerdy lyrics, and that insanely catchy keyboard party, “Young Adult Friction” is a joyful piece of pop music that’s as much fun to listen to now as it was in January. (J)

8. Bon Iver – Blood Bank
Expectations were very high for Justin Vernon’s post breakthrough EP, its title track met them in every way. A song that slowly builds and tells a love story in a blizzard outside of a blood bank, “Blood Bank” is a hypnotic track that highlights a songwriter on the rise.

7. Girls – Lust for Life
Like “My Girls,” “Lust for Life” is all about the simple things in life. A pizza. A bottle of wine. A father. Wait, what? The casual darkness, just barely slipping through the edges of an ostensibly bright song, made Girls’ debut Album so strong, nowhere moreso than on its opening track. “Lust for Life” is a puzzling, ambiguous beach rock anthem that doesn’t have any qualms about jacking the title of one of punk rock’s most beloved songs. (J)

6. Neko Case – People Got a Lot of Nerve
The hard edge of Neko Case’s voice that’s heard with the New Pornographers is nowhere to be found on the best song off her terrific Middle Cyclone. Two part harmonies and Byrds-esque guitars highlight a song that is garunteed to get you singing along with your toes tapping.

5. Dirty Projectors – Stillness is the Move
Yes, yes, we all saw the Solange video, but what was shocking about it was how unnecessary it was. In the midst of a conversation about 3/2 time signatures, African rhythm, and the Talking Heads, the Dirty Projectors slipped in the best Prince song of the last 20 years. With beautiful vocals, glitchy electronics, and the Dirty Projectors’ typically strong guitar work, “Stillness is the Move” made the band’s catapult to indie stardom a foregone conclusion. (J)

4. Phoenix – 1901
If there was a hipster party-going anthem for 2009, it was “1901.” Guitar/keyboard riffs rumble through Phoenix’s break out track that is impossible not to like. Thomas Mars croons over the machine like drumming and charging guitars in a song that’s over before you want it to be. It’s no surprise this is the track that finally got Phoenix some recognition, as it’s a great track from a great band.

3. Camera Obscura – French Navy
On the first track of the transcendent My Maudlin Career, Tracyanne Campbell and Camera Obscura finally stepped out of the shadow those other twee Scots and completed their transformation into a Spectoresque rock band with heartbreaking odes big enough to fill stadiums. “French Navy” is as close to pop bliss as this year was able to reach, with Campbell’s honey-like voice spouting  a gorgeous tale of lost love over an overpowering wall of sound. In a year marked by lo-fi roughness and bedroom recordings, Camera Obscura remembered the old adage about going big or going home. (J)

2. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
Accented with staccato keyboards, atmospheric “oohs,” and thumping drums, “Two Weeks” is a memorizing, catchy song that turned Grizzly Bear into an indie phenom. When the band harmonizes, “Two Weeks” is like sitting in the sun on a summer afternoon. There aren’t many pop songs better than this.

1. Animal Collective – My Girls
Beach Boy-esque vocals and pounding base drive one of the decades best songs from one of its best bands. Animal Collective made a name for themselves with their unique sound, but “My Girls” blew them into the mainstream. Above all through, it’s just a really fun song to listen to. (M)

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by | December 18, 2009 · 2:43 pm

The Best of 2009: The Best Films of 2009

Another fertile year for filmmaking, 2009 closed out the decade strongly with a plethora of wonderful films. Narrowing it down to 10 was tough, but somehow, we accomplished it. Let us know your picks in the comments below.

10. The Box

The victim of a poor marketing push, Hollywood’s unfathomable belief that Cameron Diaz is still a box office draw, and Richard Kelly’s general zaniness, The Box has already faded away from the public memory. Which is a pity because Kelly’s third film is a fascinating, terrifying, engrossing look at greed, conformity, and selling-out. Its also a stylistic achievement that shows Kelly as a fantastic craftsman while paying homage to science fiction, b-cinema classics. Boasting the year’s finest score (sorry Up) and a creeptastic performance from Frank Langella, The Box deserves to find the same afterlife Donnie Darko did.

9. Where the Wild Things Are

There were a lot of detractors of Spike Jonez’ film adaptation of the classic children’s novel, but Where the Wild Things Are is a truly magnificent film. The film, much like the book, is about imagination and how it’s as much a way to understand things as it is to escape them. The film isn’t about escaping into a dream world, it’s about the inherent loneliness and confusion that, though often attributed to teenagers, is often overlooked in kids, and the Wild Things personify the major emotions felt by Max. A film that will probably remain controversial, Where the Wild Things Are is a joy to watch, whether you’re a kid or an adult.
8. Humpday

What stays with you about Humpday isn’t the Apatow-esque premise but how real it feels. Director Lynn Shelton’s handheld, DIY style and freewheeling, improvisational set-up gives the film a genuine realism that is missing from most movies. Anchored by great performances from Joshua Leonard and Mark Duplass, Humpday crafts a tender, realistic portrayal of male anxiety and friendship, with plenty of awkward laughs and great moments.

7. The Brothers Bloom

Heist films and films about con men all tend to run along the same narrative: one guy or a team gets together for one last, big score that will set them up for life. The Brothers Bloom starts that way, but the further it goes, the more it separates itself from the rest as being the most fun heist/con man movie since Oceans 11. The cast is absolutely perfect, not missing a single beat in the whole film as Rian Johnson continues to establish himself as an up and coming auteur. The Brothers Bloom is the kind of movie you can watch over and over again and still find something new to love.
6. Up

Pixar took the moving opening to Wall-E and raised the ante in the first ten minutes of Up, creating a sequence so honest and wrenching that it’s a miracle anyone still had the energy to watch the movie that followed. Up is a thrilling, old-fashioned action-adventure film, a hilarious buddy comedy, and an unbelievably moving tearjerker that earns all of its emotional beats without naked manipulation. And all of that is without even mentioning one of the year’s funniest characters (that would be Dug), Michael Giacchino’s thrilling score, Pete Docter’s fascinating visual palatte, and the film’s brilliant repeated use of simple geometric shapes.

5. Inglorious Basterds

Quintin Tarantino loves to take old cinema conventions and turn them into his own, twisted creations, and with Inglorious Basterds, he regains his stride. Taking the World War II/Nazi Germany film and throwing it in a blender, Tarantino’s film is more fun than anything since Kill Bill Vol. 1. Not for the weak at heart, Inglorious Basterds is a film that lived up to all its hype.

4. In the Loop

The obvious touchstone for starting any conversation about In the Loop is Dr. Strangelove. But whereas Stanley Kubrick’s film took the terrifying reality of nuclear war and blew it up to hysterical proportions, In the Loop succeeds because of how frighteningly plausible it is. Words become bombs and, in the hands of people like Peter Capaldi’s inspired Malcolm Tucker, are contorted and twisted until they lose all their meaning. Like the best satire, In the Loop isn’t just hilarious but it reflects the way that, deep down, we all worry the government actually runs.

3. Coraline

An absolutely stunning film, Coraline is a be careful what you wish for tale that dazzles from start to finish. Coraline takes animation to new heights and defies the expectations of a children’s movie. For every moment of wonder and imagination, Coraline has one of equal creepiness and dread. Henry Selick outdoes his prior masterpiece, The Nightmare Before Christmas, in creating a instant classic that’s unlike anything else you’ve ever seen.

2. The Fantastic Mr. Fox

Wes Anderson’s films have always filtered complex, adult emotions through a childlike lens, so its kind of appropriate that his best film in eight years is a children’s movie. The dream pairing of Anderson and author Roald Dahl led to a film of charming wonder, one that’s feels so hand-crafted and personal that you can almost see the fingermarks on the clay characters. Brought to life with the detail and whimsy of a fourth-grade literary diorama, but with Anderson’s trademark melancholy and sophistication, no film left you feeling quite as happy as Fantastic Mr. Fox did this year.
1. The Hurt Locker
In most war movies, the horror of war is depicted through extreme violence, alienation from those at home, and even a lack of both of those. In The Hurt Lockera story about however, it comes out as suspense, the terrible feeling in the pit of your stomach that something awful is just a second away from happening, and obsession. In the end, The Hurt Locker is ultimately not a film that wants you to understand the Iraq War or even war in general, but rather give it’s viewer the nerve racking sense of dread of war that few war movies can convey.

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by | December 17, 2009 · 3:22 pm

The Best of 2009: The Best Film Performances of 2009

2009 provided yet another year of great film performances. Trying to rank them was just too hard, so we just picked our top 10 (cop out, we know). Let us know what you think in the comments!

Jeremy Renner – The Hurt Locker
There are countless movies that show what “war does to a man,” but Jeremy Renner’s performance in The Hurt Locker stands out. With Renner’s portrayal as a bomb squad technician, you get the sense that it’s not the war that has made him crazy, but instead made him sane and feel actual emotions. In the end, it’s hard to what impression is to be made of him, as he borders between sympathetic, misguided, and obsessed.(M)

Christoph Waltz – Inglorious Basterds
Quentin Tarantino has created a lot of memorable characters over the years, but he claims Christoph Waltz’s extra evil Nazi Hans Landa as the best he’s ever written. Part of that has to be attributed to Waltz, who adds the necessary charisma to the character that makes him even more sinister. Nazis are so frequently played one way, but Waltz adds a unique twist to him that gave us teh best villain of the year. (M)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt – (500) Days of Summer
For all the bad parts about (500 Days of Summer), there’s a good thing, and in most cases, that good thing is Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s performance. When the film slips into indie rom-com cliche, Gordon-Levitt brings it out thanks to his energy and general likability. With (500) Days of Summer, Gordon-Levitt suggested that he was maybe the heir to Tom Hanks, a likable guy that can flawlessly balance the lighthearted, rom-coms with darker, more dramatic material (Brick). (M)

Rachel Weisz – The Brothers Bloom
When preparing for her role in The Brother’s Bloom, Rachel Weisz had to learn how to skateboard, play guitar, rap, juggle, and do card tricks. For any other actress, this might have been a daunting task, but not for Weisz, who gives the movie a shine throughout. She is the perfect antithesis to Adrien Brody’s dour con man, and without her, the film would have been half as fun. Weisz doesn’t take many lighter roles like this, but The Brothers Bloom showed she’s just as good with those as she is the dramatic roles she made her name with. (M)

Max Records – Where the Wild Things Are
Child actors are a dime a dozen in Hollywood, but what stands out about Max Record’s performance is Where the Wild Things Are is a naturalism that’s rare for someone his age. Record’s probably benefited from being in a film set in a fantasy world, but he plays emotions so well that you forget the kids isn’t even in middle school yet. Being a kid can be just as strange and scary as being on an island with feuding beasts, and Record’s does an excellent job of conveying it. (M)

Michael Stuhlbarg – A Serious Man

For the Coen’s most personal movie to date, they shied away from the superstars they had been working with recently, instead casting an unknown stage actor as Larry Gopnik, a Minnesota professor put through a series of moral tests with no easy answers. Stuhlbarg perfectly balances the comedy and tragedy of his character, building a picture of a Job-like man questioning his faith and looking for sense in a senseless world. (J)

Peter Capaldi – In the Loop

Amid the ensemble of doofuses and intellectual lightweights that populate In the Loop, Peter Capaldi’s Malcolm Tucker stands out, not just as they year’s most brilliant comic invention, but the hurricane force that continually pushes it forward. His spiteful, profane, midlevel bureaucrat seems specifically designed to navigate the sea of dunderheads, as he pushes towards war, adding a subtle violence to the film that works perfectly with the military satire. (J)

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Antichrist

I’m no fan of Antichrist, but what little about it worked did so thanks to Charlotte Gainsbourg. Playing the cryptic, rapidly unraveling center of the film, Gainsbourg veers from frightened to crazy to frightening in a convincing way, never stopping and giving herself fully to the utter insanity of the role she was asked to play. It takes a bold actor to agree to be in a Von Trier to begin with, triply so with this one, but Gainsbourg pulled it off with heartwrenching panache, grounding the film long after Von Trier was interested in doing so. (J)

Nicolas Cage – Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Sure playing against type is a major accomplishment, but sometimes we underrate how great an actor can be when he or she is in his or her comfort zone. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans seemed like nothing more than a hilarious joke, but the film, improbably, worked, thanks primarily to a performance that represents the perfect marriage of actor and material. Nicolas Cage is at his unhinged, wild peak, putting all of his wacky idiosyncracies to use in a role where they actually feel like a natural, sensible development. His joy in unleashing the inner wild man gives the film an energy that keeps it from being a bland cop procedural or heavy trip into addiction. (J)

Matt Damon – The Informant!

Matt Damon’s character in The Informant! makes less and less sense to the audience as the film goes along. Yet Matt Damon digs underneath the surface and becomes Mark Whitacre, lending a verisimilitude to the incredibly unlikely story that Steven Soderbergh tells. Damon plays off of his costars extremely well (especially Scott Bakula and Joel McHale’s frazzled federal agents), but its his stream-of-consciousness narration, at times mindblowingly out of sync with the desperation of Whitacre’s situation, that makes Damon’s performance so special. (J)

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by | December 16, 2009 · 1:33 pm

The Best of 2009: The 10 Best TV Shows

Yesterday we treated you to a list of our favorite individual TV episodes of the last year, but not all the shows there made the cut for best overall show. Are we brilliant? Total idiots? Don’t know because you don’t watch TV? Let us know in the comments!

10. 30 Rock
A lot of people have been ragging on 30 Rock for declining in quality, and yes, its third season was not its best, but it remained one of the funniest shows on TV. The third season had some gems, such as a fake trip to space for Tracy, Alec Baldwin playing a Spanish telenovela star, and Steve Martin’s hilarious turn as a disgraced corporate executive. Perhaps the backlash has come because the bar was set so high, but still, put 30 Rock next to most comedies on TV and you’ll see just how good it is. (M)

9. Friday Night Lights
By virtue of an unorthodox distribution agreement, Friday Night Lights is no longer in immediate danger of being cancelled, so we can just focus on how great this show is and how gracefully it recovered from its season two stumbling blocks. Whether you caught up with season three on NBC in the spring, or are already keeping up with season four through Direct TV now, you’ve seen a show that rediscovered its groove as a rich, naturalistic look at life in small town America, without condescension or bombast. Boasting some of the finest performances and writing on television, it’s a load off our minds to know that Friday Night Lights isn’t going anywhere.


8. Better Off Ted
What could have been a really conventional show about a wacky company quickly worked it’s charm and quietly became one of the best shows on TV. Better Off Ted is one part corporate satire and one part modern screwball, a combination that works well even in the show’s weaker episodes. The show wears its absurdity on its sleeve, making the most ridiculous parts (motion sensors that can’t see black people, a medieval fight club, the entire character of Veronica) completely normal within the boundaries of the world it lives in. A lovably wacky show, hopefully Ted can pick up a bigger audience here in its second season. (M)

7. Modern Family
Modern Family instantly got comparisons to Arrested Development upon its arrival, due mostly to it’s hand-held camera and quirky family plot, but the show quickly differentiated itself with a sweetness that isn’t found much on TV these days. The show never fails to deliver big laughs, and in just half a season, the characters have endeared themselves greatly to fans. How it will hold up as it goes on remains to be seen, but Modern Family has stood out thus far as delightfully funny show that isn’t afraid to show it has a little heart. (M)

6. Lost
When Lost got an end date, it suddenly became a focused show with a goal in mind, and it’s action-packed fifth season delivered big time. The world of Lost was already a dense one, but with time travel added to the mix, the show about people being stranded in a weird place became a show about destiny and the decisions we make in life. By this point, Lost is a show for dedicated fans only, but for those fans, it was an absolute treat to watch. (M)


5. Parks and Recreation
It seemed like a foregone conclusion that Parks and Recreation would find its groove this season since its parent show, The Office, experienced similar growing pains. However, I don’t think anyone anticipated just how good it would get. In its second season, the show found a way to make Amy Poehler’s lead character funny without seeming pathetic or delusional, while strengthening the support around her (particularly Nic Offerman’s Ron F-ing Swanson and Aziz Ansari’s Tom Haverford). Over the course of this year, Parks and Recreation has shaped itself into a potent comic force with the potential to lead NBC’s comic block as The Office ages more and more. (J)

4. Big Love

It didn’t take Big Love too long to transcend its hacky-stand-up-comedian (you think having one wife is hard, try three!), but the jump in quality in the show’s third season was still pretty incredible. Big Love navigated the rocky emotional territory of Bill’s three marriages (and attempt at a fourth) with the shocking trial of Roman, child abduction, family secrets, and it still found time to take a road trip out east. The ensemble was typically strong, but the year’s standout may have been Ginnifer Goodwin, who finally got some juicy storylines to go with her top-notch comic instincts. (J)


3. Curb Your Enthusiasm
From the very start of Curb Your Enthusiasm, it seemed we were inevitably headed for a Seinfeld reunion, the centerpiece of this past season of TV’s most cringe-worthy show. Larry David and Company played it all perfectly, tying in the reunion to Larry’s divorce for Cheryl and the idiosyncrasies that have made the character Larry David so fun (and painful) to watch. Everything built so perfectly to the moment we’d all been waiting for: the character Larry David acting as George, who was based on real life Larry David. Curb seemed destined for a sweet ending this season, but instead it ended with a question we’ll be pondering until the show returns: Do you respect wood? (M)


2. Breaking Bad
In its second season, Breaking Bad took the box it seemed to be fitting into to (desperate man turns to life of crime, has series of misadventures) and blew it up. Breaking Bad has become many things – a gritty, ground-level look at meth dealing in the southwest, a fascinating character study, a Greek tragedy, a dark comedy – but it remains grounded in the stunning performances by its ensemble, especially Bryan Cranston’s mesmerizing performance of the deeply flawed Walter White. It started as a small underdog, but Breaking Bad has become every bit the equal of its AMC neighbor and combined with Mad Men to make a stunning 1-2 punch unlike any other on TV. (J)


1. Mad Men
Even by Matt Weiner’s leisurely standards, the third season of Mad Men felt excruciatingly deliberate, especially in the slow early part of the season. But, as always, those who trusted the show were rewarded with a season as rich and compelling as the first two. Big changes hit the Sterling-Cooper crew, appropriate for a season set against the backdrop of the impending Kennedy Assassination, but, as always, the changes felt grounded in the show’s human element. While some episodes were extremely painful to watch (“The Gypsy and the Hobo,” “Seven Twenty Three,” and “Wee Small Hours” come to mind), they were necessary steps to the exciting future promised in the brilliant season finale. (J)

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by | December 15, 2009 · 12:05 pm

Best of 2009: The 15 Best TV Episodes

Hey everyone, feeling a little list deprived? Well, good news! We’ve got a ton more for you! All this week (and some of next week) we’ll be giving you our Best of 2009, starting with this list of our 15 favorite TV episodes. We didn’t rank this one, but feel free to argue in the comments about how wrong we are or offer your own rankings:

“Racial Sensitivity” – Better Off Ted
Sometimes, all it takes is one great episode for a decent show to jump to must-see, and that’s exactly what Better Off Ted did with “Racial Sensitivity,” an inspired bit of corporate satire that combined all the show’s best elements for 30 exhilarating minutes. Like “Slap Bet” before it, “Racial Sensitivity” announced the arrival of a show with a truly unique comic point of view.

“Come Ye Saints” – Big Love
Big Love started as something of a novelty, a story about a guy with three wives. By the time the show hit “Come Ye Saints” in its third season, all of that was more or less in the past. After Anna divorces Bill, he takes his family on a trip across the country, visiting important Mormon sites. The trip turns into a disaster, most notably after Sarah’s pregnancy comes to light when she has a miscarriage. Not only is the family intensely fractured, but Bill himself questions his faith and decisions more than ever. It’s a powerful episode of a show that was as good, if not better, than the other big dramas in its third season.

“ABQ” – Breaking Bad
You could basically choose from any of the 13 episodes in Breaking Bad’s engrossing second season, but we settled on the finale, which ties up the recurring images of the pink bear and body bags with Aristotlean flair. Walter White’s descent to hell completes itself in showy, fiery fashion, putting an exclamation mark at the end of one of the best seasons of television ever.

“Bad Breaks” – Burn Notice
“Bad Breaks” trucks along for its first ten minutes like every other episode of Burn Notice. Michael Weston starts investigating a case while also working on his larger mission of figuring out who burned him. But then the bank Michael is in gets robbed and, from there, its off to the races. Loaded with cool spy tricks and breakneck pacing, “Bad Breaks” was one of the most exciting and frothy hours of the year.

“Debate 109″ – Community
Community has quickly endeared itself to its fans in a lot of ways, and “Debate 109″ showcases the goofy charm the show has. Jeff gets roped into doing the debate team with Annie where he quickly finds his “lawyer skills” will be of no use. Fueled by an obnoxious rival and the promise of a parking space, Jeff and Annie get tough, and awkward together, and beat rival City College. Meanwhile, Pierce tries hypnotherapy to help Britta quit smoking and Troy and Shirley freak out over Abed’s films that predict the future. When it all comes together, it’s easy to see the quirky sweetness that has made Community one of the best new comedies of the season.

“Seinfeld” – Curb Your Enthusiasm
Larry David folded the comic universe in on itself at the climax of Curb Your Enthusiasm’s seventh season, when he threw on a sweater vest and portrayed George Costanza, the fictionalized version of Larry David from Seinfeld. The series of events that got us there, involving Mocha Joe, a pamphlet sized book on acting (without acting), and respect for wood was as hilarious as the show has ever been.

“Unnatural Love” – Flight of the Conchords
Americans might not fully grasp the never-ending feud between New Zealanders and Australians, but Flight of the Conchords made it one of their central jokes in their two season run. “Unnatural Love” finds Jemaine falling in love with an Australian after a night on the town goes a awry, much to the chagrin of Brett and Murray. Nearly all the jokes in the episode are about Australia, but told through the subtle humor of the show, it’s absolutely hysterical. The episode also features one of the band’s best songs, “Carol Brown.” Though maybe not their funniest or most memorable, it is a really terrific, catchy song with probably the coolest looking sequence the show’s done.

“The Son” – Friday Night Lights
[WARNING: This is an episode that has only aired on DirecTV. If you're waiting to watch on NBC in the spring, do not read further!] “The Son” might be the best episode the show has ever done. Matt Saracen emerged in the first season of FNL as an unlikely hero, a second string quarterback who was never supposed to play or get the girl. Matt was perpetually in an uphill battle, with a grandmother with dementia, a mother that left him, and a father who’d rather fight in Iraq than be at home. The latter comes to a head when Matt’s father is killed in Iraq, sending Matt into a downward spiral he seemed destined to have. Zach Gilford delivers an Emmy-worthy performance in an episode of FNL that will put a lump in the throat of even the most passive viewer. Television writing really doesn’t get much better than this.

“Benefits” – How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother once again showed its ability to take a pretty typical sitcom premise and add some life to it. Here, Ted and Robin become friends-with-benefits to ease the tension of their roommate situation, much to the chagrin of a lovesick Barney. The nimbleness with which the show deals with it, especially during the sequence that goes through the entire sequence of events in about two minutes, makes for another top-notch episode.

“The Incident” – Lost
Lost’s finales aren’t always their strongest episodes, but those looking for resolution from “The Incident” were left with their heads spinning. After a season of mindbending, time-travel weirdness, Lost raised the ante even further, raising questions of fate and predetermination while building to the most painful cliffhanger in the show’s history. Add in our first intriguing glimpses of Jacob (in a series of some of the show’s finest flashbacks ever), the Locke payoff, and the tragic end to the Juliet-Sawyer relationship, and you’ve got a bang-up finale.

“Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency” – Mad Men
There are plenty of memorable moments in television history, but there are few as horrifying as the lawn mower scene Mad Men used in their terrific third season. But really, the shocking scene is only one part of a terrific episode changed the gang at Sterling-Cooper tremendously. Don is teased, first by Cooper’s suggestion that he might be promoted to work in London, and then by the prospect of working for Conrad Hilton. Joan’s departure from Sterling-Coop is hampered when her husband doesn’t get the chief residence position. Betty stays a bad mother. Lane get’s transferred to Bombay, then gets to keep his job. Oh yeah, and Lois ran over a guy’s foot with a riding lawn mower. For a show that likes to keep it’s plot moving slowly, this was an episode that put into action the events that would define the end of another season of Mad Men.

“Fizbo” – Modern Family
Modern Family has been fairly consistently hilarious, but “Fizbo” is super-extra-double hilarious. Featuring a story line that finds a fleet way to make use of the entire ensemble, an interesting structure, and the sight of Cam threatening someone in a clown suit, the episode is an inspired bit of work, as showed by the meticulously built Rube Goldberg device that leads to the episode’s climactic injury.

“The Hunting Trip” – Parks and Recreation
If there’s any episode to show just how much Parks and Rec improved between its first and second season, it would be “The Hunting Trip.” Leslie maneuvers herself, Tom, Donna, and Anne onto a hunting trip previously reserved for Ron, Jerry, and Mark, trying to prove herself to be one of the boys. This would probably have only played out as a decent half hour of television, but when Ron get’s shot in the head, it becomes fantastic. Ron’s instant reaction to take 8 pain pills and down scotch, Tom’s suggestion that the Predator was hunting them, Donna’s distress over her car, and Leslie’s reasons for why being a woman caused her to shoot Ron are priceless. If you didn’t believe in Parks and Rec after its first season, watch this episode right away.

“Kerplunk” – Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daises met it’s too soon demise with “Kerplunk,” an episode not intended to be a finale, but one that functions fairly well as one. The episode finds Ned and Olive working for the Darling Mermaid Darlings on their comeback tour to solve the mystery of who sent a shark after one of their rivals. the mystery wasn’t the best the show did, but it was done with such gusto and with an attempt to tie up loose ends before the show’s end, that the episode is more bittersweet than any others. The brief epilogue tacked on at the end to wrap up the show may have been a bit too quick, but it’s a fitting end to a show that went too soon.

“Blood of the Father, Heart of Steel” – The Venture Bros.
Cartoon Network shows are nothing if not user-friendly. Beyond the show’s basic set-up, you usually don’t need to know too much going in and don’t need to watch that closely to get what’s going on. The Venture Bros’ fourth season premiere, however, tossed all that aside, wallowing in its dense continuity and crafting an episode that made no concessions to linear storytelling, creating as exhilarating and captivating a half hour as Adult Swim has ever aired.

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by | November 23, 2009 · 2:18 pm

Exciting Developments for Tangled Up in Wires

Hey everyone, we’ve got some big site news to share, as well as exciting plans for the future.

First, we are proud to announce that we’ve just gone through the blogging equivalent of getting called up to AA Baseball: we registered a real domain name! So update your bookmarks to http://tangledupinwires.com You can still reach us the old way, but why would you even bother with that?

Moving on, as you know, the year 2009 is about to end and that means its my favorite time of year: listmaking season! Not only is the year ending, but so is the decade (we know, technically the decade runs from 2001-2010, but we don’t want to hear it), so Tangled Up In Wires has prepared a very exciting series wrapping up both the 2000s and this year. We’ll run down our favorite movies, books, records, TV shows, video games, and more. We’ll start our series after Thanksgiving and it will pretty much dominate the blog until the end of the year. Here, for your perusal, is the complete schedule:

Monday 11/30: Honorable Mentions for 2000s
Tuesday 12/1: Best Video Games of 2000s
Wednesday 12/2: Best Books of 2000s
Thursday 12/3: Best Television Shows of 2000s
Monday 12/7: Best Film Performances of 2000s
Tuesday 12/8: Best Films of 2000s
Wednesday 12/9: Best Songs of 2000s
Thursday 12/10: Best Albums of 2000s
Monday 12/14: 2009 The Year in Media
Tuesday 12/15: Best TV Episodes of 2009
Wednesday 12/16: Best TV of 2009
Thursday 12/17: Best Film Performances of 2009
Friday 12/18: Best Films of 2009
Monday 12/21: Best Songs of 2009
Tuesday 12/22: Best Albums of 2009

We’ll still be posting normally until Wednesday, but stay tuned after Thanksgiving for the Tangled Up in Wires Best of the Decade. Thanks for reading!

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