musings

On my wide range of taste:

On Monday night I watched Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game.

Earlier this month I watched the entire first season of Game of Thrones.

Last night I finally discovered Downton Abbey.

Two of those shows are multiple-award winners. Two of them are not. I'll let you figure out which.

Sometimes I worry - well, no. Worry is not the correct word, because that implies that there's a probability that I will let preconceptions determine in what I do and do not indulge in the pop culture arena. So let me rephrase: sometimes I wonder about my television, film, book and music tastes and how there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of rhyme or reason behind them.

For example, I love Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey. I recognized the brilliance in Homeland but bailed after two episodes because I just couldn't get into it. I love J.J. Abrams but couldn't get into Person of Interest after half a season - and yet almost instantaneously loved his latest, Alcatraz. I liked American Horror Story, The Killing and The Walking Dead yet have no desire to watch Mad Men or Breaking Bad.

I adore critically-acclaimed comedies like Modern Family and New Girl but can't get into critically-acclaimed comedies like Community (which, admittedly, I liked until this season) or 30 Rock.

My weekly to-watch list includes an Emmy winner like The Good Wife and the pop cultural phenomenon that is Glee, but The Vampire Diaries is second only to Glee in my must-watch hierarchy each week.

I've seen seven of the nine contenders for Best Picture in the upcoming Academy Awards, and they were all extremely good, but Crazy Stupid Love was still my favorite movie of 2011.

I read almost exclusively YA last season.

Again - other people's perceptions of what someone with "good taste" should or shouldn't be partaking in don't concern me, really. I mean, sure, sometimes I wonder why I do or don't like and how that lines up (or doesn't, in many cases) with what's en vogue. But it's just a general wonderment.

Which leads me to my next random topic: snobbery.

I have written off all manner of things because I let someone else's opinions - and often my own pre-conceived notions - determine what I should or shouldn't like. I've gotten much better at further exploration before making a final decision.

I guess that's why it annoys me when others do the same.

Last week I was hanging out in the Starbucks attached to my favorite Barnes & Noble. I didn't intend to eavesdrop - I mean, I was trying to read my own book. But the women sitting behind me weren't exactly using indoor voices and when I heard one of them mention one of Sarah Dessen's books and then proceed with some pretentious rant about contemporary Young Adult fiction in general, I gave up any pretense of not listening.

What she should've said was: "I don't like contemporary YA." That's it. No big deal - we all have our own preferences. But no. She was talking about how she just can't read novels about "high school kids" (I assume she was about my age) because she can't identify with them, then in the same breath praised The Hunger Games.

Okay. The can't-identify thing is just a ridiculously stupid generalization. There are universal themes of belonging, identity, self-worth, triumph, despair, tragedy and overcoming adversity that are represented in so many excellent books, regardless of genre. John Green's books - all of which feature 16- or 17-year-olds - have been highly praised for their deep and enduring themes since his debut. I haven't been 17 in a while, and yet I still deeply identify with all of his protagonists. With all of Sarah Dessen's characters. With Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why. Just to name a few. 

Scout Finch? Eight years old. Huckleberry Finn? Eleven years old. Holden Caulfield? Seventeen years old. To Kill a Mockingbird, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Catcher in the Rye would be classified as Young Adult if they'd been written today, and yet they've been studied and heralded for decades.

To say that you can't identify with and subsequently dismiss an entire genre because of an age difference alone is ludicrous. (I don't think I need to point out the fact that in the same sentence, this woman then raved about The Hunger Games. I love The Hunger Games. But Katniss Everdeen is - you guessed it, 17. And also living in an unimaginable future. To say that you can't identify with contemporary themes but variations of those same themes in a futuristic and dystopian world resonate? Again with the ridiculosity.)

I've learned not to set limits on myself and I'm certainly doing much better at avoiding generalities. For instance, I don't love YA paranormal as much as I used to, but I'm certainly not going to swear off an entire genre. Same goes with music, TV, movies, and anything else, really.

Which leads to my final topic of the night: passion.

I was watching some of Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser's amazing cello work on YouTube yesterday and it is so apparent just how passionate they are about their music. It's not just something they do for fun - or now, as a way to merely earn a living - this is who they are.

I've always had such a connection to the music I listen to, the books I read, what I watch, etc.: the lyrics to Mumford & Sons' "After the Storm." A particular bit of phrasing in Paper Towns. Monet's The Avenue. The sweeping cinematography and orchestral swell of War Horse - I've never known how to passively engage. I mean, is it even possible to engage without some sort of personal investment?

It's way too late for any of this to be anything but disjointed and rambling, but if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that perhaps this last topic is the underlying thread to the whole post.

Anyway. I have no idea why I felt the need to write about any of this.

Just did.

a crescendo, annie

I've said it before and I'm sure it'll remain on repeat - the collective genius of Adam Anders, Alex Anders and Peer Astrom never ceases to astound me.

Their latest masterpiece consists of taking Croatian cellists Luka Šulić and Stjepan Hauser's stripped-down interpretation of "Smooth Criminal" and adding the stunning voices of Naya Rivera and Grant Gustin. It will be featured in "Michael," Glee's Michael Jackson tribute episode, which airs Tuesday.

Grant's a newcomer to the cast and has only sung once previously - in the Warblers' cover of "Uptown Girl" earlier this season - and he and Naya have unbelievable vocal chemistry. And regular chemistry. (Which is ironic, since their characters are gay.)

I have no idea why Santana's suddenly so much more prominent this season (I choose to ignore the malicious rumors that it's because Naya is dating one of the new writers) but whatever the reason, yay.

I could listen to her sing all day long.

oscars or bust

Last year was the first year I saw - or even wanted to see - all of the movies nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. I'm not sure why, exactly, that ended up being the case, but whatever it was, it has continued this year.

As usual, my movie-going was pretty sparse in 2011. Actually, until last night's Golden Globes, I hadn't even heard of a lot of them. But now my interest is piqued.

This year's nominations haven't been announced yet, but I was looking around online and stumbled across a couple of sites that have a pretty decent prediction record. Based on their opinions as to what will most likely be nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (and Supporting), Best Actress (and Supporting), Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay, I want to see the following movies before the February 26th telecast.

I've only seen The Descendants, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Help, Bridesmaids and War Horse. Fortunately, the remainder are either still in theaters or on DVD (or will be on DVD soon) except for Hugo and A Dangerous Method. I'm hoping Hugo will make it back into theaters, which is usually the case for Best Picture nominees leading up to the Awards.

In alphabetical order:

A Better Life
A Dangerous Proposal
Albert Nobbs
Beginners
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Hugo
J. Edgar
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
My Week With Marilyn
Return of the Planet of the Apes
Take Shelter
The Artist
The Ides of March
The Iron Lady
The Tree of Life
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Warrior
Win, Win

Colin Firth stars with Gary Oldman in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

john green on alaska 'controversy'

Almost every single person I know (and every author I follow through various forms of social media) who has read John Green's brilliant Printz Award-winning debut novel for young adults, Looking for Alaska, sings its praises. I suspect that if there are any detractors out there, it's because they somehow got caught up in some of its less-important content and completely missed out on its deeply philosophical and ultimately uplifting themes.

Detractors like parents in upstate New York who petitioned the school board to protest the book being taught in an eleventh-grade English class.

Here is John Green's response:

Well said. Thankfully, that school board upheld the decision to allow the class to study the book in the classroom. As well they should've.

Looking for Alaska is one of the best books I've ever read and I stand by my assertion that everyone should read it

best of 2011: books

I had the hardest time with this list. It wasn't that difficult to choose my 10 favorites - not really - but I agonized (I'm only slightly exaggerating) over how to rank them. Especially the top five. You should see the piece of paper I jotted them down on - there are arrows and scratch-outs and more scratch-outs and also a hole where I got frustrated and broke my pencil tip.

I think I got it right in the end.

(Anything I read this year was fair game regardless of publication date; all reviews are linked most reviews are linked. I still have two reviews to write.)

1. The Scorpio Races (Maggie Stiefvater): Looking for Alaska was the first book I read this year and it held the top spot on my reading list for six months. And then I read this. I was spellbound from beginning to end. A beautiful, beautiful story.

2. Looking for Alaska (John Green): Probably the best review I've ever written. I mean, I used words like 'existential' and 'enraptured' and 'profound.' John Green is so good. Paper Towns was on last year's list and I'm already counting on The Fault in Our Stars being on next year's.

3. Divergent (Veronica Roth): I inhaled Divergent. It was incredible. I am not going to mention a certain series that's about to hit the big screen, because I've seen the comparison way too many times and think it does a disservice to both, but I will say that I haven't read something so intensely exciting since that last book. Whose title may or may not be similar to the state bird of Texas.

4. Forgotten (Cat Patrick): When I get excited, I talk really, really fast. My review of Forgotten was probably the equivalent of that - I babble incessantly when I write about something I really love. It's as if the word 'concise' doesn't even exist in my vocabulary. I read this book in one day during a long span where it would take me a week to read one chapter of anything else. That should tell you how much I liked it.

5. 13 Reasons Why (Jay Asher): If my review of Looking for Alaska was the best I've written and Forgotten was my most excitable, then 13 Reasons Why is definitely my most emotional. Books like this absolutely gut me, probably because I identify so closely with them.

6. What Happened to Goodbye (Sarah Dessen): I feel like if you combined the main characters from the four Sarah Dessen books that I've read, you'd get me. There's a reason I connect so emotionally to everything she writes. Her latest is either my favorite or second-favorite, depending on the day.

7. Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Laini Taylor): It's like a modern-day fairytale. Except one with no promise of a happy ending where the princess has blue hair and tattoos and the prince is an incredibly hot seraph and monsters are real (but may not be the bad guys). It's an incredible story about identity and underlying hope.

8. The Help (Kathryn Stockett): What I loved so much about The Help is that it features such strong women who were able to withstand hardship and rise above it without losing their dignity and grace.

9. Where She Went (Gayle Forman): A tremendous follow-up to the amazing If I Stay, which just happened to be one of the best books I read in 2009.

10. Red Glove (Holly Black): This last slot did cause me a bit of grief. In the end, I went with Red Glove because I am just continually impressed with this series. I'm always looking for something to force a Veronica Mars comparison on, and it fits. If Veronica Mars had been paranormal. With a male protagonist.

best of 2011: television

My insane loyalty to Glee is warring with my common sense. The mostly unimpressive second half of Season 2 pretty much cancels out the much better start to Season 3, but it was hard to resist including it. Still, even though it didn't make the cut, it remains my favorite. It's always been the show that can manage to both screw up spectacularly (the character assassination of Quinn Fabray) and deliver poignant, touching arcs (the evolution of Santana Lopez). Plus the music is almost always awesome.

Anyway. My album list was so much easier to rank than this one, so I'm just going to list the shows alphabetically.

1. American Horror Story: This was the show I loved to hate. Or hated to love. One of the two. I vowed to stop watching it at least two or three times. The content was so graphic at times - shockingly so. But I've always been one who can absorb that kind of stuff as long as there was something else to focus on, and while AHS may have pushed the shock value just because it could a couple times, that wasn't the focal point of the first season. Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk completely changed how I viewed ghost stories. The tale of the Harmons and their creepy house with its morbid history was fascinating. There were so many twists and turns I was blindsided by (in a good way), and for me, at least, the payoff at the end was satisfying. I have no idea what Season 2 will bring, but I'll be watching. Almost in spite of myself.

2. Fringe: I'm really just waiting for Fox to announce its cancellation. It's not for lack of excellence - it has consistently delivered brilliant, albeit mind-boggling, storytelling and is often cited by TV critics and columnists because of its high quality. This season was no different and for someone like me, who has been enthralled since the first minute of the series premiere, it has been yet another compelling chapter in the overall story of the Fringe division of the FBI. But that's the problem - there aren't enough people like me out there. Yes, the show has a cult following, but 'cult following' is really just a nice way of saying 'loyal fanbase but not enough Nielsen households.' I'm not completely pessimistic, since Fox has been incredibly supportive despite the low ratings, and because it doesn't seem to have a Friday night replacement as of yet. But the last time I was this apprehensive about a show's continuation was about this point in Season 3 of Veronica Mars.

3. The Good Wife: I cannot articulate enough how good this show is. It is still the best show on my DVR and has held that position since the pilot. On paper, it's basically a courtroom procedural. But in reality, it is so much more - and better - than that. Julianna Margulies is, in a word, amazing in her role as Alicia Florrick. It is unsurprising that she, Archie Panjabi, Christine Barranski, Josh Charles and Alan Cumming were all nominated for Emmys this year (and that she won). They deserve it. Everyone is good. Even the guest stars. The writing is top-notch. It is one of those shows that I'm excited to watch every week and almost always watch live or at least on the same night it airs.

4. The Killing: AMC apparently knows how to do TV and do it right. I've never watched Mad Men or Breaking Bad (and really don't care to), but they're both multiple award-winners and the critics love them. I'm a huge fan of The Walking Dead, though, and when I started seeing those ominous, chilling ads for The Killing, I knew I'd tune in - and that I'd be instantly hooked. I can't begin to describe the incredible appeal of a show whose characters I really couldn't stand, to be honest. I didn't like any of them. But that fact coupled with the utter realness of the investigation into the brutal kidnapping and murder of Rosie Larsen made for compelling televsion. It was slow and methodical and gritty. There were no same-day DNA results or instant confessions. The suspects seemed credible and then weren't. And the ending was unsatisfying in the respect of leaving the story wide open with a ton of unanswered questions. I liked it, though. Again - it was realistic even if it wasn't popular. Can't wait to see where Season 2 takes us.

5. The Middle: There are six comedies on my DVR this season - which is pretty much unheard of; I've always been more of an hour-long drama kind of person - and it was actually kind of hard to separate them into Top 10 and honorable mention. Especially since this show, which I discovered way too late, beat out The Big Bang Theory, Happy Endings and New Girl. In the end, the reason I chose to include The Middle is because it's a little offbeat, sure, but it has incredible heart. To me, this is a much more realistic depiction of a lower-middle class family than Roseanne ever was. It's funny, charming, heartwarming and so relatable. I've only ever watched Everybody Loves Raymond in syndication, but it's obvious why Patricia Heaton won two Emmys. Neil Flynn is fabulous, and the actors who play the three kids are surprisingly good, too.

6. Modern Family: I love this show. Yeah, that's the understatement of the year. What I meant to say is that I love this show. I remember during the Emmys after its first season, Heather Morris said on camera before the awards that she thought it deserved to beat Glee as Best Comedy. I couldn't believe it. And then I caught up right before Season 2 (because of its Emmy wins, actually) and I realized she was right. It's better. I never fail to laugh so hard I embarrass myself - and I swear I tear up every other episode. I think that's why, if I was ever forced to choose, I'd pick shows like it and The Middle over The Big Bang Theory, New Girl and Happy Endings. Those shows are smart and well-written and funny and have great ensemble casts, but they don't have the heart that Modern Family and The Middle do. (But since I don't have to choose, it's a non-issue.)

7. Revenge: My dad, who isn't very effusive and hates talking on the phone, will often call me just to rave about the most recent episode. It surprised me a little that both of my parents love it so much, given that the premise is just...well, not really something I thought they'd like. (It's loosely based on The Count of Monte Cristo and if anything can be classily trashy but oh-so-delicious, it's Revenge.) But it's kind of hard not to be, you know, sucked in. If Fake Emily Thorne/Real Amanda Clarke were a real person, I'd hate her and also be scared to death of her because she's so ruthlessly cold and calculating. I love Fictional Fake Emily, though. Emily Van Camp, whose Amy Abbot on the much-missed Everwood was as sweet as Emily Thorne is vicious, is so good. Madeline Stowe is even better. I can't decide who's worse - Victoria or Emily. Or Tyler, who I hate. Or Nolan, who borders on creepy sometimes and who might be Emily's half-brother. Or sociopathic Real Emily Thorne/Fake Amanda Clarke. Anyway. Another show that I'll always watch live if I'm home.

8. Suburgatory: Yet another comedy, and one that I hadn't even planned on watching. I think I caught the premiere accidentally, because it's sandwiched between The Middle and Modern Family on Wednesday nights. I was surprised by how witty and sarcastic and awesome it is. If you don't know the premise, Tessa and her dad, George, move from New York City to the suburbs so she can have a "better" life. Of course they move into the most ridiculously wealthy community, whose residents host fundraisers so people in Florida can have clear skin and name their fluffy, yappy dogs after their favorite probiotic drink. Jane Levy plays Tessa so fantastically - she has excellent comic timing and that perfect blend of sarcasm, disdain and deadpan humor that I've been trying to master for years. Jeremy Sisto, Cheryl Hines, Wash Alan Tudyk, Ana Gasteyer, Carly Chaikin, Allie Grant - the entire cast is hilarious. ABC has nailed the whole comedy block thing - all four of its Wednesday night comedies have places at least somewhere in this post.

9. The Vampire Diaries: I haven't been so obsessed with a CW show since Veronica Mars. I don't know that I can even properly babble about how good it is. (And let's face it, I know how to babble.) It's finally starting to garner more attention from the TV critics, and the attention and praise couldn't be more deserved. It's one of those shows that really does just keep getting better and better. The writing, the characterization, the pace - everything is just so great. Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars, once you look past the title and/or the very basic premise, you'll find awesomeness. It's sexy and alluring and captivating. The rest of the cast is good, but Nina Dobrev deserves the lion's share of the accolades. Her portrayal of Elena is so completely different from the way she plays Katherine - from her inflection to her posturing and body language - that there are times I almost forget it's the same actor. She makes it seem effortless. The evolution of the vampire and werewolf mythology is so superior to that of Twilight and the way Season 3 is playing out so far is fascinating.

10. The Walking Dead: I was pretty much on the fence about zombies until I read Carrie Ryan's phenomenal trilogy (The Forest of Hands & Teeth, The Dead-Tossed Waves, The Dark & Hollow Places). It's not like I love them now, but thanks to those books and The Walking Dead, I am now terrified of a zombie apocalypse, because in those realms, the chance of one occurring seems like a very real possibility. I'm not sure I'd be able to hold it together long enough to remember Columbus' Survival Rules. But yeah. The Walking Dead is gruesome and dark and so very interesting. It's another show, though, whose characters I really don't like most of the time. The midseason finale ended with the most shocking plot twist ever - it was so freaking well-done. I'm still thinking about it weeks later. Andrew Lincoln is really good as the polarizing leader of a group of survivors mainly thrown together by chance. In fact, it took me a moment to remember him as he was in Love, Actually. (That scene with Keira Knightley and the cue cards may be one of my most favorite scenes of any movie.) Can't wait for post-holiday return, even though I want half of the characters to be eaten.

Honorable mention: The Big Bang Theory; The Closer; Happy Endings; New Girl

best of 2011: music

I download a lot of music each year, but in terms of entire albums, there were fewer than maybe you'd think. What was hard was ranking them. All of them but Coldplay and The Airborne Toxic Event were among NPR's Top 100 albums of 2011 (including the honorable mentions). Of course, those two were in my Top 5 in terms of what I listened to the most - usually on rotation for days (and weeks) on end.

So yeah. Ultimately, my Best Of lists are my preferences, and sometimes they just happen to line up with the Powers-That-Be in the pop culture world.

Also, you should just listen to me now and download all 13 of them. You really won't regret it.

(Unless you have bad taste in music.)

1. 21 (Adele): I hate that Adele had to go through such a horrific breakup, but I love the end result: 21 is breathtaking. She's been a fixture on the iTunes album and individual song charts every single week since its release, and this was, unsurprisingly, the No. 1 album of the year. ("Rolling in the Deep" was the top single.)

2. All At Once (The Airborne Toxic Event): Yet another band I may not have discovered if it hadn't been for Dianna Agron's tendency to rave about music, both on her Tumblr and Twitter. They're my favorite band. Without question.

3. Mylo Xyloto (Coldplay): For a week after it was released, I listened to it non-stop. Any time I had music on, it was this album. On repeat. One day at work I listened to it four times in its entirety. Not exaggerating even a little bit.

4. The King Is Dead (The Decemberists): The other day I tweeted that Colin Meloy's voice is magick (the Early Modern English spelling is so much cooler), and it's the truth. I've been in love with it since the moment I heard "Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect" off their first album. The latest is folkier and more rustic and is simply amazing. "January Hymn" still gives me chills every time I hear it.

5. Ceremonials (Florence + the Machine): The first song of hers I ever heard was "Dog Days" after it was performed on Glee. I downloaded the first album based on it alone and absolutely loved it. Ceremonials, her latest, is even better. "Shake It Out" has become my personal anthem. It represents so much of me this year.

6. Torches (Foster the People): For the record, I was listening to "Pumped Up Kicks" on repeat months before the radio stations picked it up. (And yes, it was because Dianna Agron tweeted about it.) The whole album is fun and addictive and fabulous.

7. Codes and Keys (Death Cab for Cutie): I can't help but think of Seth Cohen freaking out after Summer Roberts says about Death Cab, "it's, like, one guitar and a whole lot of complaining." I miss The OC sometimes. Anyway, I wasn't super crazy about Narrow Stairs after Transatlanticism and Plans, but Codes and Keys is awesome. Like Colin Meloy, Ben Gibbard's voice is magick.

8. Helplessness Blues (Fleet Foxes): I've been vaguely familiar with Fleet Foxes for a while - again thanks to DA's Tumblr - but I didn't fall in love until their latest album. I apparently have an affinity for folk rock. And any band that regularly employs a mandolin.

9. Never Trust a Happy Song (Grouplove): My 15-year-old niece, Mia, and I have the same taste in music (and yes, it's excellent, if we do say so ourselves). It's mostly because I spent a ton of time with her and Kevin, her twin brother, from the ages of 6-12. There was no such thing as "kid music" (or Justin Bieber) with me. We listened to Dashboard Confessional and Death Cab for Cutie and Paramore and The Bravery and Secondhand Serenade. Yesterday Mia was like, "Have you heard of Grouplove? I love them." I think it was the first band she discovered independently that I also happen to love. I was so proud. But yes. Great, great album.

10. The Big Roar (The Joy Formidable): Another new discovery for me this year. I think it was because of a Pandora recommendation. They're also on the Breaking Dawn soundtrack. (Hey, whatever you think of those movies, the soundtracks are consistently awesome with stuff like Bon Iver, The Black Keys, Death Cab, Metric, etc.)

Honorable mention: Bon Iver, Bon Iver; The Civil Wars, Barton Hollow; Noah & the Whale, Last Night on Earth