Switchblade Comb

I thought I’d take a page from Brooklynvegan and instead of listing my favorite movies or records this year, I’d just make a list of all the things I loved this year. Here it is in alphabetical order.

Against Me! - New Wave
I have been a fan of Against Me! Since Reinventing Axl Rose came out and I think New Wave is their best record to date. Despite what all the haters are saying, Against Me! Is one of those bands that get better and better with each release. This is the best punk rock record since Green Day’s American Idiot.

Against Me! - Thrash Unreal (acoustic)

Dr. Steve Brule on Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job
The best sketch comedy character since… maybe ever. Explaining why this character is so great doesn’t even do it justice so just check out this clip of him from the show.

Gay Robot
The funniest show that will never be on TV. Here’s the full pilot.

Gay Robot

Lost / The Sopranos
I put these in the same category because this is the year that I started watching both of these shows. When I heard that The Sopranos was airing their final episode I figured I should get caught up since that was all anybody was gonna be talking about. I watched all 86 episodes in a month finishing just in time for the series finale. I gotta say, the best way to watch that show is 3 or 4 episodes a night. So good. Lost was pretty much the same way. I try not to watch shows that every one of my friends love, because they never live up to the hype, but I finally caved with Lost. The ONLY way to watch Lost is 3 or 4 episodes at a time. I can’t even imagine having to wait a week to see what happens next.

Michael Cera
By far the best comedic actor working today. His performances in Superbad and Juno were the highlights of both movies and in the case of Juno pretty much the only thing I liked about it. However, the best thing he did this year was the web based show Clark and Michael which lasted only 10 episodes and, sadly, will probably never see a DVD release.

Michael Cera - Impossible is the Opposite of Possible (clip came out last December but who cares, it’s hilarious)

Once
My favorite movie this year.

Pop Punk
This was the year I re-fell in love with pop punk. For a while I kinda gave up on it but there were so many great old school style pop punk bands that broke out this year that you couldn’t help but notice. My favorites being: Off With Their Heads, Dear Landlord, The ERGS!, HiFi Handgrenades and The Methadones. They All put out great releases this year.

Off With Their Heads - 3 songs from The Fest

The Ryan Adams Blue Cave Shows
I saw him at the Cedar Cultural Center earlier this year and was blown away. The few times before when he played Minneapolis he was pretty hit and miss but this was simply amazing. Thanks to the website ryanadamsarchive.com I was able to get a flawless soundboard recording of not only that show but all the other shows on his acoustic blue cave tour. Adams is great on record but to really get the full experience you need to hear a live show.

Ryan Adams - Two (live on Letterman)

Stand Up Comedy
This was a great year for stand up comedy. There were great DVD/CD releases by people like Patton Oswalt, Nick Swardson, Michael In Black, Zach Galifianakis, and Michael Showalter as well as sketch shows like Human Giant and Tim and Eric Awesome Show which featured the likes of David Cross, Eugene Mirman, Todd Barry and others. Let us also not forget the great sites for web based content like superdeluxe.com and funnyordie.com We are truly in a golden age for independent stand up comedy.

Jon Glaser as Johnny Ding-Dong(so underrated but my favorite comedian working today)

Tegan And Sara - The Con
This is a record that I’ve only gotten into very recently even though it came out in July. I had heard bits and pieces of their previous albums but was never that impressed with them so I pretty much wrote The Con off when it came out. Then, about a month ago, my friend Emily was DJ’ing with me at The Uptown bar and she played “Back in your Head. ” I thought it was really good but still wasn’t sold on them. A few weeks later we were going record shopping and she had the cd playing in her car and I fell in love. I downloaded it as soon as I got home and haven’t been able to stop listening to it since.

Tegan And Sara - “Back In Your Head” (from the LP The Con)