I struggled to write a "best of" list this year, because I can't with the "10 songs, 10 films, 10 books" view of media anymore. It's incomplete and untrue to my actual favorite moments...moments of commanding performances, so full of laughter and inspiration and lordly wit that I can barely stand it.
2013 was a good year for those moments.
And so, here's my better-late-than-never short list of moments watched and lived in 2013.
THIRTEEN:
2013 was a good year for those moments.
And so, here's my better-late-than-never short list of moments watched and lived in 2013.
THIRTEEN:
Youtube Awards live music video of Afterlife by Arcade Fire
Greta Gerwig, a queen among us. Isn't she lovely and wild and free?
(Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha starring this lady is my #13 honorable mention).
(Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha starring this lady is my #13 honorable mention).
TWELVE:
Yeezus
Six months later, still Yeezin.
(Honorable mention #12 is so good I have to post it too...Jenny from the Block honoring Celia Cruz. Yeah girl.)
ELEVEN:
The Kinfolk Table
Not an overstatement: I rejoiced when this book was announced. And so did longtime Kinfolk lovers across the globe. Every bit as elegant and insightful as we'd hoped...
(#11 honorable mention is a completely inelegant change of pace... Andy Samberg at the James Franco roast. He flipped the evening masterfully. Quote: "Guys seriously, don't be homophobic, it's 2005.")
(#11 honorable mention is a completely inelegant change of pace... Andy Samberg at the James Franco roast. He flipped the evening masterfully. Quote: "Guys seriously, don't be homophobic, it's 2005.")
TEN:
Son of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys
Beth Orton, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Tom Waits; a coalescence of musical fantasies and good pirate-y fun for all.
(My #10 honorable mention is this album art. #obsessed.)
NINE:
The Way Way Back
Jim Rash, Nat Faxon, Toni Collete, Allison Janney, AnnaSophia Robb, Steve Carell, Maya Rudolph, Rob Corddry, Amanda Peet, Liam James, NEED I GO ON?!?! Well I can't, that's damn near the whole cast.
Away We Go, Seeking a Friend..., and Little Miss Sunshine are three films (and scores) I could repeat perpetually. When I found out there was a sampling of leads from those three in The Way Way Back, it was rain on desert sands; a summer miracle. And it didn't disappoint.
(Honorable mention #9 goes out to a moment in Take This Waltz. The film was released in 2011, but for nearly two years I searched for Feists cover of Leonard Cohens Closing Time, which is echoing in one of my favorite scenes. I couldn't find it anywhere until this summer, some Danish saint made it available online...forever grateful).
EIGHT:
Stephen Merchant, JGL, & Jimmy Fallon
...because "Hold me closer, Tony Danzaaaa".
...because "Hold me closer, Tony Danzaaaa".
(Don Jon is honorable mention #8. I paid real dollars to see it in theaters three times.)
SEVEN:
Lorde Pure Heroine
It was everything.
(#7 HM: Agnes Opal Aventine. It was a close second everything.)
It was everything.
(#7 HM: Agnes Opal Aventine. It was a close second everything.)
SIX:
Adelaide Ames
Sweetest little rosy-cheeked cover you'll ever see.
(Big honorable mention #6: Another daughter and dad moment, Roseanne Cash was through Austin this past October performing a few records from her new album The River & The Thread. She told some pretty moving stories about Johnny, about Arkansas, and about why she had to leave the South. She did a similar interview here).
Sweetest little rosy-cheeked cover you'll ever see.
(Big honorable mention #6: Another daughter and dad moment, Roseanne Cash was through Austin this past October performing a few records from her new album The River & The Thread. She told some pretty moving stories about Johnny, about Arkansas, and about why she had to leave the South. She did a similar interview here).
FIVE:
Sam Amidon's Bright Sunny South.
I love everything Sam Amidon has ever done (and I've done everything I can to get my hands on all of it this year). Plus, he had the good sense to marry Beth Orton.
(Ain't them Bodies Saints, while we're on the subject of the South, is my #5 honorable mention. No one said it better than Paste contributor Michael Dunaway when he said this film, "is not a movie; it's a feeling.")
I love everything Sam Amidon has ever done (and I've done everything I can to get my hands on all of it this year). Plus, he had the good sense to marry Beth Orton.
(Ain't them Bodies Saints, while we're on the subject of the South, is my #5 honorable mention. No one said it better than Paste contributor Michael Dunaway when he said this film, "is not a movie; it's a feeling.")
FOUR:
rob delaney
Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage.
Yes, that's the title. My review?
Brilliant. Gross. Funny. Brave. Sad. Uncomfortable. Comforting. Handsome. French.
(#4 honorable mention...English comedian Simon Amstell. I fell in love with his introspective storytelling/monologue after he wonderfully insulted the crowd of Austinites at Radiolab's live event [see #2] this past fall.)
(#4 honorable mention...English comedian Simon Amstell. I fell in love with his introspective storytelling/monologue after he wonderfully insulted the crowd of Austinites at Radiolab's live event [see #2] this past fall.)
THREE:
her.
Joaquin Phoenix is the sweetest soul I (don't actually) know. How dashing is he with that mustache? All the pieces of my heart are still on the floor of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
(Honorable mention #3: Christian Bale. I'm the idiot who never paid attention to his acting chops until one afternoon while waiting to see Don Jon for a third time, I noticed back-to-back previews for American Hustle and Out of the Furnace. And then I remembered he's English. Floored.
I cannot wait to see him as Moses, which is my most anticipated moment of 2014.)
(Honorable mention #3: Christian Bale. I'm the idiot who never paid attention to his acting chops until one afternoon while waiting to see Don Jon for a third time, I noticed back-to-back previews for American Hustle and Out of the Furnace. And then I remembered he's English. Floored.
I cannot wait to see him as Moses, which is my most anticipated moment of 2014.)
TWO:
Apocalyptical: Radiolab Live in Austin, TX.
Fortunate enough to have the most amazing roommate in the world. She landed third row tickets to the event, sitting us stage left of the Brontosaurus. Yes, Brontosaurus.... Apocalyptical was dynamic, generous, thought-provoking, science-y, and can boast a live score. Also, DINOSAURS. Watch it in completion here.
(Second to last honorable mention...Apocalypse Jam, live.)
(Second to last honorable mention...Apocalypse Jam, live.)
ONE:
Bo Burnham's "We Think We Know You."
Number one looks like this: most caliber, most cathartic, most right. The density and motion of Bo Burnham's show is unparalleled. I think he's brave and raw and honest AND talented enough to not only capture a real moment, but to also perform at a level that takes an audience to that place alongside himself. Hands down #1 moment of 2013.
(Bo's book Egghead is honorable mention #1. You can also see him on Vine).
(Bo's book Egghead is honorable mention #1. You can also see him on Vine).
