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| Jordan and me at my annual "Best of" awards ceremony |
(Note: This is a list of my favorite things of 2011, and not limited to things that came out in 2011.)
Music
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| The Whole Love |
My sister took me to see Bright Eyes for my birthday. I went as an enthusiast of the band, I liked them but wasn't a huge fan or anything. I left as a huge fan of Bright Eyes and with a lot of respect for Conor Oberst and his artistic vision.
"The Whole Love" -Wilco
Wilco consistently turns out quality albums. While I was slightly disappointed by "Wilco (The Album)" I still found a few songs I really enjoyed. "The Whole Love" is a return to great form by Wilco with a little bit of all the sounds from Wilco's previous albums.
"Hot Sauce Committee Part Two" -Beastie Boys
This is a really fun album bolstered by the fact that the Beastie Boys aren't trying to copy the sound of current rappers. They are who they are and it is glorious.
Matthew and the Atlas at the Soiled Dove (Denver)
Another concert thanks to people in USC with great taste in music. The venue was great, no seat was further than 50 feet from the stage. What made this show really special is that the opening acts were just as fun and great as the main act and all the bands interacted and played along with each other.
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| Beirut |
Beirut at the Fillmore (Denver)
This is a discovery thanks to some USC friends. I'd heard of Beirut a few times but had never check them out so when people said they were going to see them live I figured that was my chance. They put on a fantastic show and provided a great first outing in Denver
Books
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| The Dark Knight Returns |
"The Dark Knight Returns"-Frank Miller
So I was reading a very intense book with lots of big words and needed something to take a break and get something different while I was reading it. "The Dark Knight Returns" and some other graphic novels were my answer to this. This book is dark, an aging, pessimistic Batman comes out of retirement to once again try to save a crumbling Gotham.
"Lord of the Flies" -William Golding
The first book that I read on my Nook e-reader. A bunch of British kids survive a plane crash only to find themselves trapped on an island. While at first the boys enjoy the freedom of being on their own things soon fall into chaos and disaster. A brutal look at human nature.
"Murder City: Ciudad Juarez and the Global Economy's New Killing Fields" - Charles Bowden
A non-fiction book that reads like a nightmare. Bowden chronicles the corruption in Juarez, from the military, to the police, to the drug cartels. As he puts it the killings are not from a drug war but from a failure and crumbling of society. I was planning on reading this book last year when I was living 40 minutes from Juarez but didn't get around to it until I moved away.
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| Che |
This book sat on my shelf for at least 5 years. I wanted to read about Che after my class trip to Mexico in 2003ish...I saw Che shirts everywhere there, even though he was an Argentine in a Cuban revolution. At 700+ pages it took me some courage to dive in but once I got started I loved the book. Guevara lived a fascinating life and whether you agree with his politics or not he was a man that lived what he believed in and died for it in the end.
Film and Television
Freaks and Geeks
I watched this show a little in college but didn't fall in love with it until now. This show was directed by Judd Apatow before he got famous for movies like "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up". It follows the everyday stresses of high school kids in the early 80's. A lot of the actors ended up with successful careers after the show such as James Franco, Seth Rogan, and Jason Segal.
Community-
This show is fantastic. Everyone start watching it! Like right now! Actually you can't right now because NBC has pulled it out of the lineup for a month or two, which is scary because that could lead to a cancelation. So watch it. It's a great sitcom as well as a great parody of a sitcom.
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| Community |
No one gave me the memo on this dude. I watched "Doubt" the other day and thought he was just phenomenal. So then I watched "Capote" and was blown away, it was like watching a completely different actor. This guy is versatile
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two
The end of an era. People in my generation have been reading the books and watching the movies for over a decade now, so naturally this made the list for me. Plus it is an over all great film and ends the series, which has had it's highs and lows, on a quality note.
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| TNG |
When I was little it was a huge deal for me when my dad would let me stay up late enough to watch this show. I had forgotten about it until I used my free month of Netflix and saw this on my recommendations. When I was little I appreciated the space battles now I'm in love with the humanity of the show and the optimistic look at mankind's future (plus the space battle special effects haven't aged well).
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Well, that's my list! What do you think? What would be on your lists? What are some of your favorite things of 2011? Did I leave any categories out? I'd love to take suggestions for more! Happy New Years everyone!!!
