I hesitate to publish a list of favorite movies from 2020, because I have only watched 15 movies released in 2020, so far. And some of these movies are arguably not 2020 releases, with one arguably not even a movie. Nevertheless, for the record I’ve decided to just post every movie I’ve watched in descending order from most favorite to least favorite, with links to reviews. I’m sure I’ll be adding to my 2020 film viewing as time goes on.
Here are 20 of my favorite songs of 2017. For previous year-end lists of previous years check out my lists for 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009.
“Venus Fly” by Grimes (feat. Janelle Monae) – technically this song is from 2015, but the video of this most important collaboration came out this year bringing due attention to the song.
I’m trying something new here. If you read this site regularly, you know I’m obsessed with listening to podcasts. So I’m making a list of my favorite podcast episodes of 2017. But before that I’m going to list my 10 favorite podcasts, the ones that always fill me with delight when I see that they’ve downloaded into my podcatcher:
This has been a challenging year in music as there have been few things that have jumped out at me as being all-time classics, much less favorites for 2017. To add to the struggle a lot of artists that I’ve counted on to produce great music put out new albums this year including Beck, Björk, Blitzen Trapper, Flaming Lips, Gorrillaz, The New Pornographers, Shamir, St. Vincent, and The xx. What should’ve been a bumper crop of music was dissapointing, and while I would not say that any of these artists’ albums were bad, I believe that could have done better. I don’t know, maybe I’m missing the great music of 2017, and if that is the case please direct to me to those great tunes ASAP.
Nevertheless, her are six albums from 2017 that I loved, with links to the original reviews. Check them out!
Once again, it’s time to look back on the music of 2015 with my favorite songs of the year.
I’ve featured many of this songs in my Song of the Week posts this year. If you see a link from a song title it will take you back to the Song of the Week post for that song.
For previous year-end lists of previous years check out my lists for 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009.
In alphabetical order, here are my ten favorite songs of the year:
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“America Says Hello” by The Chills – It has the jangle and political passion of mid-80s R.E.M. but this is actually the return of a New Zealand post-punk band of the same period.
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“Chinatown” by Girlpool – Simple emotion with folk roots and punk expression.
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“Lifted Up (1985)” by Passion Pit – Michael Angelakos song of how love saved him from depression. This was my song I played whenever I needed cheering.
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“Loud Places” by Jamie xx(featuring Romy) – A quiet song full of hidden sounds and textures.
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“Lonely Daze” by Kate Tempest – Street poetry of real people with real stories.
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“Malukayi” by Mbongwana Star (featuring Konono No. 1) – A new sound is born, African tradition with electronic innovation.
“Right Hand Man” by Christopher Jackson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom, Jr. & Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton -This is kind of cheating, because if I was doing an album list this year I’d recommend listening to the entire Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Recording. But this is a good introduction to the musical that has brought my people out, making it cool to geek out over American Revolutionary and Federal period history.
“Violet Clementine” by Lady Lamb – Kind of sounds like 6 or 7 songs covering multiple genres, and yet it’s just one part of a brilliant album.
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Honorable mentions:
“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson (featuring Bruno Mars) – Technically a 2014 release, but it was inescapable for much of 2015. Despite its ubiquity and that it sounds almost exactly like it could be a song by The Time from 30 years, I love it. Because if something is going to receive this much airplay, sounding like a 30-year-old song by The Time is not a bad thing.
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“Downtown” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Eric Nally, Melle Mel, Kool Moe Dee & Grandmaster Caz) – Almost a response to “Uptown Funk,” celebrating a different part of the city and a pastiche of old genres ranging from Old School hip-hop (with old school rappers) to Queen.
Author: Harper Lee Title:To Kill a Mockingbird Publication Info: Harper (2010), Edition: 50th Anniversary Edition ISBN: 0061743526 Summary/Review: With much joy and a little apprehension I returned to one of my Favorite Books of All Time after nearly 25 years. It turned out to be better than I remembered. It was interesting the details I remembered (Calpurnia not wanting to stay in the house with high ceilings on a cold night, Scout’s “Hey, Boo!” at the climax of the novel) as well as things I completely forgot (the cranky, old morphine addict Mrs. Dubose, Aunt Alexandra coming to live with the family).
The book is great on so many levels, most especially the joys and travails of childhood so accurately represented. As a child I identified with the kids, but now I also am drawn to Atticus as he tries to raise his children as best he can and instill them with conscience. Lee also does a great job creating a Southern town with its history, castes, and characters. It all comes together in a brilliant period piece around the trial of a black man falsely accused.
I really can’t say enough good things about this book, so I’ll end here. I’ll have to make a shorter wait before I read it again.
Author: Esther Forbes Title: Johnny Tremain Publication Info: 0395900115 ISBN: Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
Summary/Review: Having listed my 100 Favorite Books of All Time, I want to make the effort to reread these books and see if my opinion changes for better or worse. Instead of reading these by rank I’m going to start by going way back and reading a book I last read 25 years ago. I was in 7th grade and Johnny Tremain, a story about a boy in Boston during the American Revolution won me over.
So how does it stand up? I remembered the basic plot well – Johnny is a promising silversmith apprentice, he burns his hand while working on the sabbath, loses his position, befriends another apprentice in the printing trade, and gets involved in revolutionary activities. Other things I didn’t remember as well such as how much of an arrogant tool Johnny is at the start of the novel and his injury is a great humbling.
Despite this obvious moralistic tone, I think the novel holds up well. Esther Forbes has a keen sense for colonial Boston and its people and doesn’t make any grave errors in historical accuracy. The story has a good mix of adventure, inspiration, and thoughtfulness and a whole lot more moral ambiguity than I’d expect of a children’s book about the American Revolution written almost 70 years ago.
Recommended books: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation by M.T. Andersen Rating: *****
Panorama of the Mountains 