The first year of the new decade is coming to a close, and it was an intriguing if not exceptional year for music. there were signs that hip hop was emerging from the doldrums of sound-alike rhymers with little to say, new stars shone in the indie rock firmament and the parade of reunion shows continued with Pavement representing the high and Soundgarden the low of this trend.
The record industry continued to cling to ever more elaborate re-issues (the Syl Johnson CD vinyl combo box, the Springsteen and Stones reissues, yet another Hendrix box) as a way to tap into the old people market – they are one of the only groups left willing to spend on a physical product. The danger for the industry is that sales of downloads seem to also be leveling off.
However you choose to purchase music, these are the 30 albums that in my opinion made the year an enjoyable one. To the list!
Alabama Gov. Lurleen Wallace shows how to bag a turkey...
It’s hard to believe but this is the fourth year we are dredging up the worst cinema has to offer for you, the reader. Keep in mind the list is never limited to films released over the past year – ANY film can be a turkey and we haven’t run short yet. This year we have 9 losers to turkey trot out, and some all star cast members. Katherine Heigl gets two films from each end of her craptastic career and Matthew McConaughey brings the bad to two films as well. Without further ado – here they are! (after the jump, chump)
1975 was smack in the middle of one of the best decades for film ever and this list certainly proves it out – Beatty, Nicholson, Hackman, Spielberg, Lumet, Pacino, all at or near peaks. Enjoy the extravaganza of some of my favorites films from that year and feel free to disagree in the comments!
Welcome to 1975. The idea of punk rock as a movement was still a year or two in the future, the charts were a grab bag of rock, easy listening, soul, funk, and an emerging dance genre known as disco. Naturally looking at just the albums masks this vibrancy a bit (perhaps a follow-up of 1975′s best songs should be in the offing) but nonetheless you can see that variety and breadth of interesting music that was afoot. Keep in mind this is a highly subjective list but I’m always eager to hear your picks in the Comments. To the list!
Ah, the 80s. If you wanted original programming you had your three networks (until Fox came along at the end of the decade and HBO jumped into original shows around the same time) plus PBS. Nowadays you’d have to go to the likes of the Sci-Fi Channel… oh excuse me, SyFy to see the level of cheese on display below.
What did you need to launch a show in the 80s? A cool vehicle (whether it be a motorcycle, car, helicopter, or boat) a slab of beef for a leading man with a name like Rex or Perry, a crusty lieutenant type, a woman with big hair and shoulder pads, and a kick ass theme song.
Automan
Automan was an early 80s view of high-tech which was like Tron turned inside out – picture the pitch meeting: “Instead of the guy getting sucked into the computer, the computer is a guy who gets sucked into our world!” Where he befriends charisma-free Desi Arnaz Jr. Quick, let me back in! Along for the ride is Cursor, a “special effect”that doesn’t quite earn the sobriquet “special” but does appear to be a bit of a digital horndog. Love the font. Bonus points for having their slab of beef be computer generated.
