The plethora of best-of lists that appear every year seem to wash over oneself, giving little distinction and creative impetus worth appreciating, either through their sameness, or due to their contents being mostly over-played in the year. This is most applicable to best-of movie lists, whether or not one has seen the film in question.
The publicity machine of mass media sends out waves of information and noise, that after a while become indistinguishable. Cultural differences are lost in the new global commons. It becomes difficult to choose.
Stylus Magazine's Top 50 Albums is different in many respects, including an album that blends music and noise from the interzone between AM stations (Tod Dockstader – Aerial 1), another from a country icon who hasn't released an album in 20 years (Bobby Bare - The Moon Was Blue), and much newness, from The Russian Futurists to the very good Spoon. Kate Bush makes an appearance, as does Sufjan Stevens. Insights are to be had in the crisp comments for each entry, such as this one,
Music these days is all derived. It’s always coming from influences here and there, with traces or hints or aspects of this, that and, quite possibly the other thing too.
Coming to film, one finds an inordinate obsession with films from Hollywood, a naivete that extends even to aficionados like Roger Ebert or the Boston Film Society critics. The other side of the pond offers more well-rounded lists, such as the Telegraph's, which included Howl's Moving Castle and the Guardian's list with Downfall and The Consequences Of Love. Despite these variances, there was still a depressing sameness about these lists. Missing were Indian excellences like Black and Paheli, and the Korean "Blue Swallow". I must, however, mention the more than eclectic New York Times' movie list from A O Scott
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
A list of lists of... wow, we're several meta-levels deep here. Sweet!
2 - gonzo marx
wow, Aaman...allow me to kowtow to your abilities as a polymath and chant "we're not Worthy"
thanks, and please keep up the Goodness...
Happy Holly-Daze to All!
Excelsior!
3 - Victor Plenty
In Soviet Russia, best-of lists rate YOU!
(Sorry. When that popped into my head, I couldn't tell whether it was my inner brilliant comic genius or just my sleep deprivation talking. You be the judge.)
4 - Aaman
Thanks folks - hope you had a good year too
5 - Aaman
Incidentally, you can't go wrong with the New York Times Best-of Television list for 2005, which includes the Colbert Report, Commander-In-Chief and the Closer.
For international television, there is a certain show that I caught a few episodes of on Zee America, the US version of the India-based Zee TV - this show shall be covered in detail next year, and not in blogcritics (~wink~wink) - the show is a poor rip-off of 24, but goes some distance away, and is a post-modern post-colonial reaction to the War on Terror, with the unlikely name of "Time Bomb 9/11". But really speaking, methinks 24 was the best show of the year, despite it's plot weaknesses.
6 - Aaman
An original list is at slyck.com - File Sharing Winners And Losers of 2005 - incl. BitTorrent, Sony, the RIAA and more