A Brief Oscar Follow Up

I have mostly nothing to say about The Oscars, except that I pretty much uniformly enjoyed this year's ceremony, much more so than usual, even if the winners were a bit predictable.

Best Bits (In order of Bestness):

• Anne Hathaway! God, I love her. Totally being the best part of the intro pretending to be Nixon, getting all choked up at Shirley MacLaine's tribute, and then looking genuinely happy for Kate Winslet when she won. She completes me.
• Dustin Lance Black, and that super cute (and political) speech. Definitely the best one of the night.
• Sean Penn. Not only did he win, he was sort of charming about it! I was absolutely dreading my mixed feelings of happiness and loathing if he won and then gave a douchey speech, but instead it was all happiness. Good for him.
• Tina Fey & Steve Martin. The best presenters by a mile, and genuinely funny.
• The part of the opening dance number when Hugh Jackman was all "The Reader... I haven't seen The Reader" and all the crazy metallic dancing guys. Possibly the only time I laughed out loud during the whole show.
• No wait, I also laughed when Will Smith said "Boom goes the dynamite."
• James Franco watching James Franco. If Anne Hathaway hadn't already completed me, he would do the job.
• Kate Winslet winning and being ultra cute and having her dad whistle. I am really glad she finally won one.

Overall this was one of my favorite Oscars ever, even if you factor in the parts where the random Musical Tribute to Music and Zac Effron's really unfortunate looking hair. It's weird, I really didn't care about the awards much as all, but the viewing experience was pretty awesome.

A Music Post for No One's Benefit

Aw man, I totally didn't do an end of the year round-up of my favorite new music for 2008. And now that it's February, that boat has obviously sailed.

So instead, we're going to do a round up entitled Music That I'm Listening to Right Now, Which Suspiciously Looks Like a List of My Top Ten Favorite Albums of 2008, But Whatever, You Can't Prove Anything, Direct All Questions to My Attorney.

It's a pretty good list.

My Top Ten Albums Right Now, All of Which Coincidentally Came Out in 2008

#10 Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs : What a strange CD this is. I'm a self-acknowledged bandwagon jumper here - I was never a Ben Gibbard fan except in the Postal Service sort of way until all the hype swung me over about 2 years ago, so I can't pretend to have some deep understanding of the band. But I liked Transatlanticism approximately 500% more than this album. That said though, it still ranks easily as one of the better things released last year. Sort of haunting and sad, with just the right amount of, um, is bitter-wistfulness even a thing? Whatever, a good-to-great album.

#9 Lykke Li - Youth Novels : Talk about coming out of nowhere - this is one of those albums that someone sort of offhandedly suggested that I might like to try, and now suddenly I cannot stop listening to it. Mostly for the one single, Little Bit, which is inspired and and ungodly amount of catchy. But the whole album is shockingly good too, so long as you ignore the spoken word sections. Try it out.

#8 The 88 - Not Only... But Also : So The 88 album Over and Over is probably the single CD that I've listened to more times in the last two years than anything else. It's endlessly entertaining and so so catchy. Their follow-up is also their first major release and it's... I guess 'really good' is the cheap phrase I'm looking for. It's more refined than Over and Over, but it's also more processed, more commercial, and not as super amazing. Never more evident than when they took one of the songs from Over and Over (Coming Home) and re-recorded it by processing the hell out of it and making it 50% worse than before. But overall, it's a great CD, and has one of my favorite songs of all 2008 on it: No One Here.

#7 Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend : I'm pretty sure there has never been a band that has so quickly risen to popularity and then crashed down under the backlash as fast as Vampire Weekend. They were the hip new thing back in the Fall of 2007, before their album ever came out, and by the time it actually hit stores in January '08, they were so overplayed and oversaturated that everyone hated their guts. Me, I still can't get enough of this CD. The crazy vocals, the awesome catchy baselines, the fact that their most famous lyric is "who gives a fuck about an oxford comma," all of it. Why will no one else love this album but me?

#6 Adele - 19 : If this were actually a list of best albums from 2008, I would most certainly be making a comment right here about how it's hard to remember that this CD came out this year, because it feels like I've been listening to this album for half my life now. Seriously, it's so so so good, that it makes my teeth hurt. (Also, here's link to JD, who I begrudgingly acknowledge pointed me to the album. Doesn't it just kill you when someone else finds the best music of the year before you?). By far, the best debut album I've heard in the last couple of years. So polished and smart-sounding, without any of the current standby tricks of new artists. Recommended so hard.

#5 Ben Folds - Way to Normal : Now this is a good way for an iconic band to behave (take note Weezer down there). Despite the fact that it's a very experimental and different sound, it's wholly Ben Folds, and very well done, if wildly uneven. Some of it sounds like old Ben Folds Five stuff, one song sounds like an outtake from Rocking the Suburbs, but overall it still has that grown up feel of Songs for Silverman, all while trying something new. The problems with hte album all stem from the fact that some of the songs are just... (and I don't want to sound mean here but) they're bad. Errant Dog is kinda dumb on its face, and The Frown song is terribly out of place on this album. They're jarring, and mar what is otherwise absolutely brilliant. Not that that really matters to me, because let's be honest: it has a song wherein Regina Spektor and Ben Folds duet. When your two favorite artists in the entire world do a song together, that means you love the CD as if it's your child. It's like a rule.

#4 The Hush Sound - Goodbye Blues : I know I've said it before and I'll continue to say it - I am always shocked that The Hush Sound isn't as popular as I think they should be. I don't get it. Their songs are incredibly catchy, and almost tailor-made for radio airtime. They have two smoking hot lead singers (one girl and one guy to appeal to all demographics). And both of their last two albums have been brilliant and complete, with maybe two bad songs across three CDs. But whatever, Goodbye Blues is excellent, smarter than your average album, and varied enough to constantly keep you guessing. My only complaint is that Robert Morris (the guy lead singer) doesn't get a song until all the way to the middle of CD, which initially scared the crap out of me because the songs he fronts are invariably my favorites.

#3 Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down : Sweet baby Jesus, this album is inhabiting my soul lately. I dunno, usually I am immune to that sort of hippie, melody, ukulele-and-trumpet-included massive troupe band archetype (i.e. Arcade Fire, Polyphonic Spree) but this one not only stuck with me, it won't go away. It's so good, and a little sad, and a little hilarious, then really happy and love-sickening, and then back around to sad again. What I'm saying is that I can't describe how or why, but I love this album.

#2 Kings of Leon - Only by the Night : So it took more than 4 different attempts at getting through this CD before I even came close to liking it. And now it's, no joke my 2nd favorite album that came out in 2008. I don't know where the turnaround came from, but it sticks with me now. I think it must have to do with the lead singer's voice, which I tend to liken now to 'sex of the eardrum variety.' If you can tell, I'm a little bit excited about this band nowadays.

#1 Amanda Palmer - Who Killed Amanda Palmer : I know I'm an inveterate over-promoter of music. When something I love gets to me, I become the prophet who won't stop talking about it. But this is totally different - you need this CD. It's amazing, passionate, real, and a little jagged. I will heap mounds of praise on this CD to the ends of the earth.


Also, 5 Runner Up Albums That Barely Missed the List

#11 Jonas Brothers - A Little Bit Longer : How about y'all just leave me alone, okay. I love this CD. At first I thought I did so in a cool, campy-ironic sort of way, and then I realized that, yeah, not so much. Sure, most of it is pop trash, but it's great pop trash. Whatever! At least I didn't put it in the Top 10. Don't look at me like that. Why must you be so hateful?

#12 Dresden Dolls - No, Virginia... : The least hyped CD in the history of CD's - enough so that I didn't know it had come out until a full 3 months after release and I happened to be wandering through the Youtubes and found a mention of a studio-produced version of a song I had only heard live before. It's good, but no where near as cohesive as Yes, Virginia, the companion album from last year.

#13 Weezer - Weezer (Red Album) : This album should not be this low, but because I have such terribly high standards for Weezer these days, and nothing they could do would live up to it, it's graded as such. Also, because I hate Rivers Cuomo's new facial hair with a fiery passion. But there are things here that are great, and catchy, just not as iconic as they once were. That's not a crime, just a little disappointing.

#14 She and Him - Volume One : This one I've been on the fence with since I bought it. On one hand it's a little simplistic. Pretty much as bare-bones accompaniment as possible and nothing but Zooey Deschanel's voice to go on. On the other hand, her voice is pretty much awesome beyond description. I guess the fact that I have had it on my iPod rotation nonstop since I bought it means that I fall on the good side of the fence.

#15 The Cab - Whisper War : Dude, I know, I'm as surprised as you. Chalk it up to my weakness for NSYNC type boybands, or to these two ridiculously catchy singles Bounce and I'll Run. But it's a good CD, and at the end of the year day, they're one my big time new bands to watch.

A Book Post for My Own Benefit

So a few days back, Erin made a post about the Science Fiction and Fantasy section of The Guardian's '1000 Novels Everyone Must Read' series. Despite the fact that I think the entire process is completely ridiculous, I do love a good list of recommended science fiction, since my blind forays into the science fiction and fantasy sections of the library almost always end in terrifying disappointment and/or talking spirit wolves.

So, as a sort of exercise in keeping these things easily at my fingertips, and a chance to write up a little short form review of each, I'm making up a list of the books on the list I've already read, the ones I've tried to read and given up on, and the ones that I plan on reading in the coming days.

Plus as a bonus to myself, since we're still so early in the year, I'm going to make it my goal to get through the whole 'Planning to Read' section by the end of the year. Goals are awesome.

(Everything below the cut, because lord knows no one needs to read this whole thing)



Already Read
Douglas Adams: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Everyone's read it, so it's doubtful I could say anything important. Hilarious and unique, some of the most inventive prose and stories around. Pure love.

Isaac Asimov: Foundation - Almost certainly the driest book on the list. I made it through the trilogy, but it was almost a chore. Starts well and then fades, but still a classic.

Clive Barker: Weaveworld - Cliver Barker was basically the author of an entire phase of my high school reading life that I entitled: Super Weird Fantasy Time. This actually came out when I was in college and so the bloom was a little off the rose (I look back at some of his early stuff with total incredulity), but it's actually a pretty damn good book. I was shocked to see it on this list, though.

Lewis Carroll: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Read it for a paper in college, thought it was about as boring as you could get, and yet it's beautifully written and eminently quotable.

Michael Chabon: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - My favorite book in the entire world.

Susanna Clarke: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Brilliant, but overlong. So many asides and subtle bits of humor it's astonishing. It was great to dig through once, but I don't think I'll ever bring myself to pull it off the shelf again. It's just too daunting.

Mark Danielewski: House of Leaves - Pure style and one of the scariest books I've ever read at times. That said, it thinks itself more important than it is, and some of the semiotics stuff is just filler. Still a great, great read.

Umberto Eco: Foucault's Pendulum - Picked this up based on its cover in the library in Orange of all things. Probably the book I was most proud of reading back in high school.

Neil Gaiman: American Gods - So good that I read it through twice, back to back. I don't think I've ever done that to a single other book. Still the best Gaiman thing to ever happen, in my opinion.

William Gibson: Neuromancer - Groundbreaking, but I read it way late in my science fiction career, so it seemed outdated. Still important to read.

William Golding: Lord of the Flies - Read it for high school. Respect it, but it makes me sad.

M John Harrison: Light - One of the only books I've ever read based on an author recommendation on the cover (it was Neil Gaiman, actually) and was completely blown away. One of my favorite novels in recent times.

Aldous Huxley: Brave New World - Read it for high school (twice) and college (once). I guess I'll never understand the allure of this book. Sorry.

Shirley Jackson: The Haunting of Hill House - Genuinely scary. I always forget how much I like Shirley Jackson's writing, and then when it's brought up, I'm almost at a loss for words.

Stephen King: The Shining - Probably the best written of King's earlier stuff. Second scariest, behind It. I've probably read this book at least 5 times. It's crazy good.

Toni Morrison: Beloved - My second favorite book that I was required to read at SMU (First: The Things They Carried). Such an interesting and unique story, and brilliantly written. It also holds the distinction of being the source of the worst grade I ever got on a paper in college (B-), despite the fact that I still think my analysis was spot on.

Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveler's Wife - I've talked about this before: I don't know if it was just my mental state, or the story, or the writing, but I straight up cried like a baby for the last 80 pages of this novel, and was an absolute wreck afterward. Enough so that I refuse to go back and read it again. So, I guess that counts as an endorsement?

Chuck Palahniuk: Fight Club - Ugh, lord save me from overly-stylized writing. Actually, not as bad as I'm probably projecting. I remember liking some of the trickier passages. But on the whole, I sort of wanted to punch this book in the face.

Alastair Reynolds: Revelation Space - In my mind this is the golden standard for all books in the Space Opera genre. Long and deeply engrossing, interesting characters, and a wholly realized and brilliant universe. I was so so so pleased to see this on the list.

JK Rowling: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - I get why it's on the list. It's still, by far, my least favorite of the series.

Salman Rushdie: The Satanic Verses - Read this back as a senior in high school for one of the final papers for AP English, when we were allowed to choose whatever we wanted. It's interesting as hell, but I think most of it went right over my head.

Antoine de Sainte-Exupéry: The Little Prince - Read it for French class. It still makes me sad, just thinking about it. I don't know why.

Mary Shelley: Frankenstein - Easily the best 'classical work' on the list, in my opinion. I love the way this story reads.

Dan Simmons: Hyperion - Oh man, I was so in love with this book when I read it. But I still haven't read any of the sequels, and the plot twist/cliffhanger ending of this book still haunts me. But yeah, should totally be here; it's one of the best pieces of science fiction I've ever read.

Neal Stephenson: Snow Crash - The most bad-assed science fiction book ever. It's lost its luster a bit in my mind, but no one can doubt the way it zips along, and just grabs you by the collar.

Robert Louis Stevenson: The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde - Ugh, I was not a fan.

Bram Stoker: Dracula - Eh. I read it just so I could say that I read it. I didn't really see the allure.

Mark Twain: A Connecticut Yankee at King Arthur's Court - Probably my favorite Twain book of all. So interesting, and it keeps that Twain style that is so unique. Never takes more than two sentences to know exactly who the author is with him.

HG Wells: The Time Machine
HG Wells: The War of the Worlds - I read both of these together for the same assignment in high school. They're both good, but dated.

Tried and Gave Up

Greg Bear: Darwin's Radio - I have people who swear by Greg Bear the same way I swear by Alastair Reynolds, but I couldn't get more than 40 pages into this book.

Anthony Burgess: A Clockwork Orange - Tried to read to so that I could say that I'd read it, and was completely thrown off by the prose so hard that I returned it practically the next day.

Douglas Coupland: Girlfriend in a Coma - I loved Jpod with a fiery passion. Hey Nostradamus was brilliant and interesting. Girlfriend in a Coma made me want to kill myself before I was halfway through with the book. Stopped and never looked back.

Frank Herbert: Dune - This is on two lists, because I tried and then gave up in high school, but I've had so many people lately bring this book up that I'm determined to go back and finish it off.

Daniel Keyes: Flowers for Algernon - I remember picking this up for a comparative literature essay my freshman year, but I don't think I ever finished it. I certainly barely remember any of it if I did. But I have no desire to revisit it.

Cormac McCarthy: The Road - By far the book that the most people have recommended I read. I've tried several times - it's just the bleakest thing in the world. I can't make it, guys. Sorry.


Planning to Read
Nicola Barker: Darkmans
Poppy Z Brite: Lost Souls
Philip K Dick: The Man in the High Castle
Philip K Dick: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Joe Haldeman: The Forever War
Frank Herbert: Dune
Henry James: The Turn of the Screw
PD James: The Children of Men
Richard Matheson: I Am Legend
Haruki Murakami: The Wind-up Bird Chronicle - I have had this on request at the library for 3 months. I'm going to have to break down and just buy a copy, aren't I?
Christopher Priest: The Prestige
José Saramago: Blindness
Kurt Vonnegut: Slaughterhouse-Five - Ha, this isn't on the list, but it was mentioned in there, and I've been meaning to read it for ages.