Mobtown Shank

Year-End Wrap-Up 013: Listenings: Benn's Top Records

by Benn Ray

So there weren't too many standout/clearly will be viewed as classics in the future/mind-blowing records this year, there were still a good number of good records. Here are my favorites in no particular order. Want a mix? Let me know. Otherwise, I've linked the albums below, where I can, to their Spotify counterpart (or bandcamp where not) for your listening enjoyment.

BEST MATURATION: The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight The More I Love You - Neko Case
While the word "maturation" is too often code for an album of mid-tempo songs and less aggressive lyrics, thats not how I'm using it here. Neko weilds her perfect voice like a great surgeon wields a scalpel. There are a lot of really interesting musical choices, and lyrically, we still get trademark Case themes - murder, incest, bad mothers, etc. But this is the album where Case definitively reveals her mastery of songcraft.

BEST 70S SINGER/SONGWRITER SOUND: Personal Record - Eleanor Friedberger
The better-half of Fiery Furnaces continues to prove her chops. Friedberger's songs are like turning on an old AM radio. Great lyrics too.

BEST NEW-COUNTRY: Miracle Temple - Mount Moriah
While the Christian implications of the name creep me out a bit, the band manages to deliver strong, contemporary new country soungs. Vocalist Heather McEntire reminds me of a young Dolly Parton.

BEST GOODBYE: 333 - Double Dagger
This is bittersweet as Double Dagger is one of my all-time favorite bands - but in 2013 the band went out on top - with a documentary and this album containing their finest songs.

BEST MORE-THAN-NIRVANA REVIVALISTS: Ideal Cities by Roomrunner
Yeah, the Nirvana thing is the first thing most people notice about Roomrunner - but there is something very different than simple Cobain tribute sound going on here that keeps people listening.

BEST LOVE & ROCKETS COMICS REFERENCE: Major Arcana - Speedy Ortiz
Speedy Ortiz takes their name from Los Bros Hernandez's Love & Rockets. I had been reading about them on Pitchfork, maybe, and for some reason when to their Facebook page to check them out, and realized their profile picture looked pretty familiar. Then I realized it's because they had taken it inside Atomic Books in front of the Love & Rockets comics section. As a band, Speedy Ortiz are '90s alterna-rock revivalists - but more on the Belly, The Breeders, etc. tip.

BEST '60S SOUND SYNTHESIS: We Are The 21st Century Ambassadors Of Peace & Magic - Foxygen
These kids rework the Rolling Stones and the Beatles and come out with a sound that is not exactly unique, but kind of fun in it's throwbackedness.

BEST FUZZ: Fuzz - Fuzz
Ty Segall turns in this fuzzed-out, heavy psyche romp. New Acid Rock maybe?

BEST CONTINUING PSYCHE/GARAGE ROCK: Floating Coffin - Thee Oh Sees
Fuzzy, but Thee Oh Sees have trimmed off much of the fat of their songs - and while that doesn't necesarily bring most of them in in the under 3 minute mark, it makes for more immediate listening enjoyment.

BEST INDIE SOUND: Monomania - Deerhunter
Deerhunter continues to develop their sound, and they continue to move into interesting directions while making each album more accessible than the last. This one might be too accessible - as the songs frequently hook themselves into you and play in your head on repeat until madness sets in.

BEST BEDROOM: Wakin On A Pretty Daze -Kurt Vile
I'd like Vile to releas a whole album that is just one song. He's almost doing that anyway. I think I got it figured out finally, Vile is the new J Mascis.

BEST PAVEMENT COMPARISON MAGNET: Light Up Gold - Parquet Courts
I don't think I read a single review that didn't compare Parquet Courts to Pavement, and really, that's all I need to check out a band. I'm not sure that comparison is as accurate as Eddy Current Suppression Ring, but regardless, quality indie rock.

BEST HOPE FOR THE KIDS: Pure Heroine - Lorde
Lorde delivered easily the song of the year with "Royals," a take down of crass conspicuous consumption in contermporary pop music. Lorde writes songs of "we," she is speaking for more than herself. As just a teenager with a goth streak and a pull-no-punches interview style - I am totally rooting for this kid.

BEST FEMINIST CORE: Run Fast - Julie Ruin
Kathleen Hanna returns with Julie Ruin! And Run Fast is a freaking tour de force of everything that makes Hanna awesome.

BEST SURPRISE RETURN: Purgatory/Paradise - Throwing Muses
If you told me in the late 1980s that 25 years later, I'd still be be giving a shit about Throwing Muses, I'd have called you a goddamn liar. But this new record/book package is over-stuffed with songs - good songs. Hunkpapa!

BEST AMBIENT INSTRUMENTAL: Centralia - Mountains
Words that usally don't attact me - "ambient" and "instrumental," so I'm not sure how I found myself listening to this, but I did and I'm damn happy about it. This record took me places - and took me to times, and I love that kind of experience.

BEST EXPERIMENTAL INSTRUMENTAL: My Garden State - Glenn Jones
GAnother word that makes things a tough sell for me is "experimental" - which I generally translate into indulging dicking around - let me know when your experiments are over and you've deteremined something. But Jones here has a beautiful package of guitar and banjo instrumentals.

BEST SOUNDTRACK: Nothing Can Hurt Me - Big Star
Taken from the doc of the same name, this record is loaded with demos, outtakes, remixes, and a couple of solo gems from Chris Bell and Alex Chilton. It's like revisiting an old friend. Just damn beautiful.

BEST TRUDGING FORWARD: Afraid Of Heights - Wavves
By this point, most folks have made their mind up about Wavves - and this record isn't gonna change anyone's mind. Fuckit - I like the songs. A few records back, Wavves was in danger of being trapped by a a rather defining retro-sound, and while they managed to avoid that trap, that's about all they've done. And turned out some catchy tunes in the process.

BEST CONTINUATION: Fade Away - Best Coast
What goes for Wavves also goes for Best Coast. I like the band's songs, I like Cosentino's crazy, often desperate lyrics and voice.

BETTER THAN I HAD ANY RIGHT TO EXPECT: 13 - Black Sabbath
A new Sabbath record? Uh-huh. Why? It seems unnecessary. But I kept hearing people say it's not bad at all, so I gave it a listen, expecting the worst, and ended up buying my own copy right away. I'm tellin' ya, you want some new Sabbath? Give 13 a listen.

BEST CASSETTE 1: A Friend Is Killer - Monster Museum
Monster Museum once again quietly turned out another cassette of killer indie rock songs. You can hear their influences, Sonic Youth, Guided By Voices, etc. - and they are all the right ones. I look forward to a full length from them. Not sure why they aren't on a national label yet.

THE BOB POLLARD ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Terminal Teen Age - Sick Thoughts
By my count, Sick Thoughts - which is essentially a one-man-band and that one man is a high school student, put out 5 full lengths, 2 split EPS, 2 singles and a side project demo last year. Even Bob Pollard didn't put out that much music in 2013. Crazy psyche-garage punk by a kid who has an aesthetic that is beyond his years. Amazing stuff.

BEST CASSETTE 2: Pure Vanity - South Carey
This tape is South Carey's way of saying goodbye. South Carey grinds their way through the punk songs here with a committment that is contagious. They make me want to start a band. Isn't that kind of the point?

BEST CULTURE MINING: Pop Yeh Yeh - Psychedelic Rock From Singapore and Malaysia: 1964-1970 - v/a
Another great collection of third would psyche rock from a forgotten era.

BEST REDISCOVERED GEM: The Complete LHI Years - Honey Ltd.
This Lee Hazelwood project is a 1960s girl lite-pop group of its time. Utterly fascinating and sometimes weird but also pleasantly milquetoast songs.

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Year-End Wrap-Up 013: Readings: Benn's Top Reads

by Benn Ray

Usually, I keep my annual reading list/diary in separate categories - comics, zines, non-fiction, fiction, etc. Somehow I got it all jumbled up this year - so that's what this list is. A mishmash of comics, graphic novels, zines, art books, non-fiction, fiction, etc. of my favorite reads this year.

Adult Babysitting Volume 2 by MarYanna Hoggatt
MarYanna spent years slinging booze in a tiny neighborhood pub in Portland and all she has to show for it is the excellent comics series that collects her anecdotes and drink recipes. Easily one of my favorite new mini comics.


Afterlife With Archie by Roberto Aguirre Sacasa / Francesco Francavilla / Jack Morelli
The folks over at Archie Comics have been taking Archie Andrews and his pals in interesting new directions lately (well, except for that Glee crossover), but this one is the weirdest and most curious. Riverdale has gone to the zombies. It's a darker, post-apocalyptic Archie comic.

Batman comics by Scott Snyder / Greg Capullo
Scott Snyder has been writing some of the best Batman comics in decades. The Owl story arc was epic and creepy. But "Death Of The Family" was downright a horror story that made me gasp once or twice out loud, and even mumble audibly, "holyjesuschrist". If you're not reading Snyder/Capullo Batman comics, you're missing out.

Beach Girls by Box Brown / James Kochalka
The perfect comic to end the summer. Box Brown's story deals with vacationers, locals, surfing, skating and weed sales. Kochalka's story has a couple mushroom creatures discovering a blonde "princess" in the aftermath of a beach party.

Blammo #8 by Noah Van Sciver
It's been over a year since Noah delivered an issue of Blammo, but issue #8 is well worth the wait. "Expectations," a story about encountering an ex at a party, is as emotionally sharp and as finely crafted as any prose short story, "Charles The Chicken Gets Tough" offers more poultry-based strangeness, but "Punks V. Lizards" - in which punks fight dinosaurs, is an immediate classic.

Celebrated Summer by Charles Forsman
Forsman's Celebrated Summer is a pitch-perfect tale of two aimless teens on an LSD adventure. It's a lysergic coming of age tale that makes those who have taken such trips melancholy with nostalgia for a celebrated summer.

Contact High by Richard Kern / Jesse Pearson
This collection of adult photography has a very simple but perfect premise - naked girls smoking weed. Just perfect.

The Cool School by Glenn O'Brien
Whether they were Bop, Beat or Punk, the writers in this anthology are the epitome of cool. Featuring writing by Henry Miller, Miles Davis, Jack Kerouac, Diane di Prima, Lenny Bruce, William S. Burroughs, Bob Dylan, Norman Mailer, Terry Southern, Andy Warhol, Lester Bangs, and many, many more. Reading has never been this cool. It's the perfect cool reading primer.

Daggers Drawn: 35 Years Of Kal Cartoons In The Economist by Kal / Kevin Kallaugher
For 35 years, Kal has worked as an editorial cartoonist for such publications as the Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine, and on and on. This exquisitely designed book collects hundreds of his sharply satirical pieces for The Economist magazine. Can a cartoon change the way you think about something? If you say "no," it's because you haven't yet seen Kal's work.

Diableries: Stereoscopic Adventures in Hell by Brian May / Denis Pellerin / Paula Fleming
A look at the diabolical French Viewmaster of the 1860s. Co-written by Brian May of Queen fame. The book comes complete with a viewer so you can experience the diableries as they are meant to be seen.

Drone Art: Baltimore by Terry Kilby / Belinda Kilby
Terry and Belinda Kilby use drone technology to give us a view of Baltimore not seen by human eyes. They flew a drone around beautiful Maryland-area landmarks, attached a camera and the results are truly remarkable.

Enchanted Forest: Memories of Maryland's Storybook Park by Janet Kusterer / Martha Anne Clark
One of the more magical places in Maryland. It's all but gone now and will shortly be completley gone thanks to development, but this weird little theme park entertained (or bored) children for 35 years. The book is loaded with history and images.

Enjoy The Experience: Homemade Records 1958-1992 by Johan Kugelberg (editor)
In the second half of the twentieth century, there was a small industry of vanity records. Record plants produced limited amount of LPs by people who wouldn't let the fact that labels wouldn't sign them stop them from recording their music and distributing it to family, friends and, possibly even fans. Over the years, a handful of avid collectors preserved and documented these records, and their collections are presented here as a series of marginally outsider-artist album covers and interviews. It also comes with a download code for a compiled playlist of some of the artists in the book.

Fritz Kahn by Fritz Kahn / Uta von Debschitz / Thilo von Debschitz
Kahn, a German doctor, was one of the earliest practitioners of "infographics" nearly century before the word existed. This lush Taschen book collects 350 of Kahn's illustrations, breaking down complex ideas in appealing, easy to understand and sometimes just plain crazy illustrations.

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright  
It's the book the Church of Scientology doesn't want you to read. New in paperback! For most, that should be reason enough to check this out. If you read Jon Krakauer's Under The Banner of Heaven and, upon finishing it, wondered to yourself, "That was fantastic, but where do I go next?" Going Clear is where you go next.

How to Fake a Moon Landing: Exposing the Myths of Science Denial by Darryl Cunningham
For fans of reality-based living, Cunningham applies critical thinking and science to a variety of "controversial" topics to understand the truth behind climate change, vaccines, fracking, evolution and more. It's like a comic book version of Bill Nye meets Mythbusters.


How To Talk To Your Cat About Gun Safety by The American Association Of Patriots
This timely publication tells you everything you need to know about how to talk to your cat about gun safety. Remember - when you own cats and guns - it's safety first!

I Think Of Demons / Sticky-Icky-Icky
by Box Brown
Box Brown's linework is getting to be as crazy-precise as Chris Ware's and his sense of coloring is every bit as stylistic and dramatic. But where Ware's work is built on sadness, Brown often taps into a weird sort of existential rage that is fascinating, sometimes unpredictable and yet still feels appropriate. Oh yeah, and this is a flip book.

Life Begins At Incorporation by Matt Bors
This collection of political cartoons and essays is the very definition of cutting. Laugh at the horrors of modern life. So good. So spot-on. So eviscerating. It's books like these that keep many of us sane in times like these.

Lost Baltimore by Paul Kelsey Williams / Gregory J. Alexander
Williams and Alexander have compiled a gorgeous lost history of Baltimore. Stunning photos and well-researched write-ups of the buildings, parks, industries that once were important parts of our city - Lost Baltimore explains what they were and why they went from the pre-1904 Baltimore fire up through Bethlehem Steel at Sparrows Point.

Loud Comix #1
by Jamie Vayda / various
Vayda collects crazy short stories from the rock and roll life and more (karaoke, weird-eyed kids, a creepy uncle) from friends in bands and illustrates them with a take on the classic '90s alternative comics style that seems strikingly fresh.

Lying by Sam Harris
In this short book, Harris explores the subject of lying. Is there ever a situation when it's appropriate to lie? Does a willingness to like say more about the person who does it than they realize? It'll make you seriously reconsider statements like, "No, those clothes don't make you look ridiculous."

Miss Lonelyhearts #1 & #2 by Gabrielle Gamboa / Nathanael West
Gabrielle Gamboa has undertaken an excellent project - here she is translating the work of one of my favorite authors, Nathanael West into comic form - but the way she does it - using parodies of comic strip characters of the era of when the novella takes place to represent letter writers is pure genius.

Optic Nerve #13 by Adrian Tomine
One of the last, still-active "alternative" comics from the '90s, Optic Nerve is also one of the last, ongoing "Alternative" comics period - as many publishers have forsaken the periodical format for the supposed glory of chain bookstore shelves or the monopolistic enabling of digital delivery. This might sound like the criticism of a Luddite - but it's very much the point of the previous issue of Optic Nerve (#12) and the conversation, through Tomine's introductory comic and the letter pages, continues here.

Tomine consistently provides a sterling example of what a pamphlet/"floppy"/periodical could be. Optic Nerve #13 contains 3 stories - the autobiographical "Winter 2012", "Go Owls" about an abusive, criminal sports fan, and "Translated, From The Japanese" - about a young Japanese mother moving between two countries. Each story varies in subject, tone and art-style.

Tomine is a master of this forsaken comics format.


Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism by Naoki Higashida / KA Yoshida (translator) / David Mitchell (translator)
Who knows if Naoki's experience is indicative of many children with autism or if it's just the very personal musings of one very talented autistic kid. Regardless, it's a rare book that, when read, can cause you to completely change the way you look at a subject. This book is truly remarkable.

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
When your parents are a chef and a gourmet, and you're a young cartoonist who has inherited that love of food - it might seem a graphic novel about food is a foregone conclusion. However, no one could predict that the result would be like a modern, comic version of the Joy of Cooking - complete with both charm and recipes.

Sandman Overture #1 by Neil Gaiman / J.H. Williams
The comics event of the year is here. Gaiman masterfully returns to the character that made him famous with a prequel that explains how Morphius came to be captured. And while it's great to see a comics master return to one of his best creations, it's even better when he's aided by some of the best artwork series has ever seen (by J.H. Williams). This series will run bi-monthly - so 2014 will be a well-paced Year of the Sandman.

Taipei by Tao Lin
Lin's new novel, his first on a big press, documents what it's like to be alive, young and on the fringe of America right now. A voice of his generation, Lin delievers a novel that warrants such a claim.


Ten Telephones by Ducky DooLittle
It's been far too long since the name Ducky Doolittle graced a new zine - so Ten Telephones in itself is an event. But aside from that, Ducky uses the clever device of 10 different telephones over the course of her life to tell a well-written and engrossing autobiography.

Vivian Maier: Self-Portraits by Vivian Maier / John Maloof
While largely known for her recently discovered street photography, these self-potraits are just as fascinating and revealing as the rest of her published work.

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Year-End Wrap-Up 013: Watchings: Benn's Top TV Shows

by Benn Ray

Too much TV. Too much watchable TV. Too much good TV. And I don't even have a podcast!

1. Breaking Bad (AMC)
Perhaps the best finale season to a show ever. Lots of theories - was the finale just in Walter's dying mind - there's the character color theory, etc. Characters that were introduced late in the series who I liked but was afraid would be under-ultilized weren't. And, of course, we knew the whole time that Walter would never be able to escape his fate. Great writing, great acting.

2. Justified (FX)
The best show on TV that you're not watching. This Elmore Leonard production reinforces why he's such a beloved writer. Not sure how much longer it can continue without him, but I'm hoping for a while. Tons of character actors doing much of the best acting of their careers - which seems like it should be easy for them since they're given such great dialogue.

3. Mad Men (AMC)
The fact that this show still manages to surprise and enthrall is a testament to its quality. Times are changing which makes the show all the more enjoyable.

4. Boardwalk Empire (HBO) / Downton Abbey (BBC)
These shows take place roughly at the same time. One is set in New Jersey, the other in Downton. Is it weird that I have long and involved fantasties about these two shows crossing over? Couldn't Nucky end up at Downton the next time he goes to Ireland to deal guns with the IRA via the uppity socialist chaffeur? Please?

5. The Americans (FX)
This '80s cold war spy series not only has me rooting for the Russians, it has me missing the '80s. Paranoid, complicated, and lots of cool spy costumes and hijinks.

6. The Walking Dead (AMC)
Each season of this show continues to get better, and this season was the best yet. The effects get better, the characters less detestable, and the acting more passable. The Governor's side story, while frustrating to some, was as close to artistic as I want my zombie-based entertainment to get.

7. Game Of Thrones (HBO)
It took me several seasons to realize that just because I like a character, it doesn't mean they are good at this game. Still lots of TE & D (tits, entrails and dragons).

8. Hannibal (NBC)
This is one of those shows you can't believe is on network TV. Stylistic, moody, and creepy as hell. My theory is that Hannibal Lecter isn't a serial killer, he's just a misunderstood extreme foodie. Oh yeah, and Mads is a better Hannibal than Hopkins ever was.

9. Misfits (BBC)
After a stumble last season, this British delinquent superhero show refinds its footing and wraps up splendidly. There's woman-on-turtle love, and a guy who can fuck the superpower out of you. There are rumors that series creator Howard Overman may be taking the Doctor Who reins from Moffat. Please, please, please!

10. House of Cards (Netflix)/Veep (HBO)
I'll admit part of the appeal of these shows is playing "Where's Waldo" with Baltimore landmarks (as our city stands in quite a bit for DC). But it feels great to be impressed by Kevin Spacey again in House of Cards, and Julia Louis Dreyfus' ability to beautifully withstand humiliation after humilation as Vice President makes me wonder that a Joe Biden reality show would be like.

11. Top Of The Lake (BBC)
I'm not a huge Jane Campion fan, but her New Zealand-set crime series had me captivated - and it also made me realize that rednecks aren't just an American invention. This show moves at an odd but interesting pace - the show's structure, like the english the characters speak, is familiar but also quite different from what most Americans are used to.

12. Archer (FX) / Bob's Burgers (FOX)
Archer remains as good as it's ever been, and Bob's Burgers just keeps getting better. I could listen to Jon Benjamin read the Bible and love it. But more importantly, in one crossover episde, Archer made Bob's Burgers an extension of the Archer universe. So when you watch Bob's Burgers, you're just watching Archer.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook

13. The Daily Show (Comedy Central) / The Colbert Report (Comedy Central)
Ever since Stewart came back from his summer movie project, he's been better than ever. He's scaled back on the "Punching The Hippie" shit that drives me crazy. The above clip alone warrants The Daily Show's inclusion on this list. And Colbert continues to be one of the smartest political satires going. Every episode of Colbert makes me laugh, but every week there's one episode where you can just tell he's wound up and batshit crazy and rarin' to go - and I challenge you to find a better half an hour of TV.


14. Girls (HBO)
The fact that Lena Dunham gets so much unwarranted hate makes me want to like her (not that I have to want do, I just do). Her show reveals her as a voice of her generation. Are the characters likeable? Kind of? The coke episode was a masterpiece. And while the new season doesn't count until next year's list - each episode seems to only reinforce my suspicion that all the characters are sociopaths. So, are Millennials just a generation of sociopaths?


15. East Bound And Down (HBO)
For fans of Kenny Powers, this final season seemed kind of off. Kind of weird. Kind of crazier than usual. You have to get to the series finale for it all to make sense. I love a show that can totally change the way you view a season in one episode.

16. American Horror Story: Coven (FX)
Each season of American Horror Story starts off interesting and about halfway through it gets tiresome - not so this season. It's a battle of witches, and witch hunters. And bringing in Stevie Nicks - brilliant.

17. Arrested Development (Netflix)
So it finally happened. Arrested Development was finally brought back from the dead. But the show had such expectations to live up to - and its time away only increased those expectations - that I'm not sure any show could hold up. That being said, it was still great seeing the Bluths back in action, and it was fun watching the construction of this season.

18. Supernatural (CW)
These brothers battling the forces of heaven and hell continue to deliver. At it's best, the show is like a good Vertigo comic.

19. Adventure Time (Cartoon Network)
This weird, psychedelic kid's cartoon which clearly isn't for kids continues to flesh itself out by adding back story which is weird and sad but oh so awesome.

20. Now With Alex Wagner (MSNBC(/Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC)
When I'm looking for news, perspective and/or political commentary, I turn to both Wagner and Maddow. When Maddow is on her game, you'll be hard-pressed to find a sharper political head. And Wagner just seems to have so much fun, it's hard to watch her and not have fun too.

Guilty "Pleasures":

1. Arrow (CW)
I really don't know why I keep watching this show - it's not good. I suspect it has something to do with getting excited when Solomon Grundy or Barry Allen show up. Really, what I want is DC Comics to bring its universe to life instead of continuing to remake the same lame Superman movies. In otherwords, I blame that nerd part of myself I haven't managed to strangle yet.


2. Sleepy Hollow (FOX)
This show is just ridiculous - Crane as a time-traveling demon-fighter preventing the apocalypse with a modern-day cop. I find the reworking of American history into some sort of horror mythology pretty fun.


3. Nashville (ABC)
At this point, this show is pretty much just a straight up soap, but the music is still interesting. And I keep trying to get my head around the "is this the way the music scene there really works" disbelief.


4. Reign (CW)
Like Game of Thrones, but set historically, without the TE&D. 

5. Under The Dome (CBS)
The premise of this Stephen King novel-based show is not sustainable. In fact, it's pretty damn ridiculous - a mysterious dome comes down over a city - but there are small things like the cow bisected by the dome that makes it fun - at least for the time being.

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Year-End Wrap-Up 013: Watchings: Benn's Top 5 Favorite Films

by Benn Ray

I continue to find less time to get to the theater to see movies. I think it's largely because of being surrounded by the sorts of people who go to the movies: You have the audiences who try too hard and laugh at the wrong stuff, you have the too-dense audiences who don't get any of a movie's humor, you get the loud-talkers, you get texters (while texting with your 3 year old and throwing popcorn at someone who calls you on it shouldn't result in your death, it does not make you any less an asshole for having your phone on in a theater), etc. And it doesn't really seem to matter what theater you go to or what movie you're seeing - the swine have it all infiltrated.

So my list once again comes with a caveat that there are a number of films, 12 Years A Slave, Wolf Of Wall Street, The Act of Killing, I Used To Be Darker, etc. that I suspect would have made it on my list if I'd seen them in time. There are also a lot of movies I saw that just don't belong on any best of list - so I've got a top 5 this year. But it's a solid top 5.

The reviews here are all taken from my Letterboxd diary.

Her
We are all of us so lonely. That's the take away in Spike Jonze's extremely well-crafted response to his ex Sophia Coppola's Lost In Translation (also starring Scarlett Johansson).

There's a lot going on here - with the cultural commentary of Phoenix's Theodore's day job (writing handwritten letters for people - but the gag is the letters aren't actually handwritten) - to the future vision of our technology (instead of all of us walking around with smart phones looking like we're a USS Enterprise away-team scanning everything - we live in a world surrounded by people all talking to their own computers) - to the impeccable design of the OS  to the easy acceptance by his admiring co-worker Paul (Chris Pratt) of this new kind of relationship - to the odd mustaches, shirtwear and high waistlines of mens fashion, etc.

In the end, we don't own others, we just love in the moment and some moments last longer than others.

Beautifully filmed, well-written, and impeccably acted. I'm still curious to see the version with Samantha Morton as the OS.


American Hustle
American Hustle is bad hair, crazy fashion, and a tour-de-force of acting by an impeccable ensemble cast (Louis CK steals every scene he's in and one or two he's not in, and DeNiro is the best he's been in decades - his mere appearance adds an immediate "oh shit" gravity).

I'm not sure what's worse, seeing a film with an audience who laughs at the wrong thing in a desperate attempt to show they are in on the joke, or an audience who doesn't laugh at all, believing what they are watching is a drama when it is, in fact, a very funny comedy. Hustle was the latter at the theater I went to.

This is Casino set in New Jersey as a screwball comedy. Perhaps the film is a tad too heavy-handed on trying to draw some sympathy from us for corrupt public officials (who were, after all, only trying to do the right thing - argues the film) and portray the government's interest in such crime as over-reaching, crazed, ambitious hubris. And for a con movie, the narrative is also fairly straight-forward. But the camerawork is as impeccable as the acting - and there is an amazing dual party crescendo, split between a disco and a wiseguy restaurant. Masterful.


Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me
Every bit as fascinating, engrossing and achingly yearning as a Big Star record. This film brings back the life-changing moment that is hearing #1 Record for the first time and does a pretty good job trying to explain the question of why Big Star never became big stars despite their perfect records.

It also touches on the important connection between good rock criticism (something we are lacking today) and good rock music (ditto). But it does leave a few things unanswered - largely what was going on with Chris Bell.

But I've had all my Big Star records on constantly since watching this movie and they show no signs of wearing thin.


A Band Called Death
The story of the Death brothers is truly compelling but the documentary can, at times, feel both amateurish and big-budgeted simultaneously.

The music is great, the characters are very likable, and the story is compelling. A Band Called Death is at its best when it explains how the band was plucked from obscurity and rediscovered by collectors and how the children of the band members discovered their fathers were once in a great proto-punk outfit (yay Chunklet!).

Unfortunately, it's revisionist at times. Sure Death was a punk band that came before the Ramones, but so too were fellow Detroit bands The MC5 and The Stooges (both of which also pre-date Death) which the documentary fails to mention or secure testimonials from despite being part of the same city's "scene".

Also, testimonials from Kid Rock and Elijah Wood provide more puzzling distractions than helpful context.


Gravity
It really is a beautiful film. Excessively tense, in a good way, Gravity uses 3D better than any film I've seen in the last few years - it fully captures the vastness and dangers of space. I can't even begin to comprehend how much of this was filmed (yeah, yeah computers!). The writing can be a little stiff at times, and I'm not sure why the Chinese would be playing ping pong on a zero-gravity space station (watch for the paddles), but the beauty of the film overcomes its flaws.

I did find myself rooting against Sandra Bullock. I'm not sure how the back story is an inspiration to overcome impossible challenges so much as an insurmountable excuse to succumb to them, unlike, say the sacrifice of others. But I do like that the American equivalent of Buddha (Chinese Space Station) or a Saint (International Space Station) is Marvin The Martian (Space Shuttle). I willingly choose to believe this is the religious commentary and overlook the whole afterlife/"no one ever taught me how to pray" hokum.

Also, I'm not so sure she makes it.

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Year-End Wrap-Up 013: Readings: Sarah's Best Books

by Sarah Pinsker

My Favorite Books of 2013 (not in order).

1. Hild by Nicola Griffith
This is a magnificent book. I have a habit of sometimes reading to finish a book, rather than reading to experience it. I lived this novel, the grit and the grime far more than the glamour. It is a lush imagining, an act of deft, from-the-ground-up worldbuilding. I love how everyone has things to do, whether they are men, women, nobles, farmhands: there are herbs to collect, sheep to shear, cows to be milked, people to be healed, cloths to be woven. I love that the women have purpose and agency, and that every single character has wants and needs of his or her own. Hild herself develops organically from bright, observant child into larger-than-life seer. Some of the names get a little confusing at times, and I was grateful for the genealogy at the beginning, but it didn't matter when I was swept up in it.

2. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
This is a hell of a first novel. A protagonist who is also a thousands-years-old ship, which is also the thousands of troops (so-called "corpse soldiers") on board, and is also one particular subset of those troops. A narrative that jumps seamlessly between past and distant past and present, and between the "I" of Breq, chasing a particular gun, and the "I" of the ship Justice of Toren, and the many "I"s of One Esk. The result is a peculiar first person narrative that can describe events that take place across time and space and seemingly private conversations to which it might not have been privy. It isn't omniscience, just the broadest definition of the first-person perspective that I've ever seen. Brilliant.

3. The Tide King by Jen Michalski
The Tide King has a central maguffin that is very much genre - an herb that bestows immortality - that is used to explore some very weighty topics. Capital letter stuff: Life, Death, Love, Power, War, Time. Perhaps most poignantly, it explores belonging. All four of the main characters in this book are people who are out of step with the world. For two that is a product of magic; for the other two, it is simply the result of life and circumstance. The Tide King wouldn't stand without the immortality herb, and it wouldn't stand without the complex, careful weaving of points of view and points in time, and it wouldn't stand without the author's elegant observations of life. It is a literary novel with a magical, immortal, bittersweet heart.
 

4. The Red: First Light by Linda Nagata
A first-rate piece of military near-future science fiction, featuring enhanced soldiers, reality television, the information cloud, information control. Thrilling and chilling. It feels far too believable.

5. A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
This is a gorgeous slow-burn of a novel. The prose is lush but not overwritten. Like Cathrynne Valente, Samatar commits poetry in prose. There are books within this book: hidden histories, poems, songs.
 

6. The Golem And The Jinni by Helene Wecker
Set in New York at the turn of the century, this is the story of two unusual inadvertent immigrants and their struggle for identity in a new world.

7. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
I was late for everything because I couldn't put this down until I finished it. I've been a fan of Karen Joy Fowler from the very very beginning - I have her story collections and read all of her early novels as they came out. Her most popular book, the Jane Austen Book Club, didn't quite have the substance of the previous books, and the one that followed didn't win me over either. I was prepared not to read this one for fear of disappointment. I'm glad I gave it a chance. This is a wonderful fictional family, and my heart broke along with theirs.

8. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
A pure and simple joy of a story. No subplots, just one moment in one child's life, as viewed through the prism of adulthood. And a manta wolf, which gets one line of description but haunted my dreams last night. Manta wolf.


9. Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente
The book itself is a lovely little volume, with beautiful cover art. I like the short chapters and the headings and the vast western territories between lines and chapters and thoughts. I like the voice and the ridiculous, jealousy-inducing patented Valente twists of syntax and phrase. I love the way she transposed the key and changed the arrangement so that this version of Snow White is different in style and tone from every other fairy tale retelling I've ever read. And I love the way we get up close and personal with this Snow White, so we really feel her loneliness and loss and cope and strength. Gorgeous.


10. The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida (translated by KA Yoshida and David Mitchell)
I didn't read a ton of nonfiction this year, and what I did was mostly disappointing, with this exception. The author is a young man with autism who dictated the entire book letter by letter. His questions and answers help the reader see the world through his eyes. Though he answers many questions with a "we" that assumes his experience of autism is that of others, it doesn't matter. It's eye-opening.

Note: I didn't quite get to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah – I’m just starting it now -  but if the first ten pages are any indication, it would surely have made my list if I had read it in time.

Bonus: My favorite short story of the year: "If You Were A Dinosaur, My Love," by Rachel Swirsky. Apex Magazine. Poetic and devastating.

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Year-End Wrap-Up 013: Listenings: Heather's Top 5 Albums

by Heather Hulsey

1. Settle by Disclosure
It's a rare occasion that a dance music artist can put out an entire album that's good. We usually see EPs with songs remixed and therefore repeated, but these young brothers put out an album that is just perfected dance floor pressure from start to finish. This is one of the best dance albums in many years.

2. When The Night by St. Lucia
This is another album where I enjoyed each and every track. The vocals are polished, as Jean-Philip Grobler has an incredible voice. This album offers the sounds of sub-tropical escapism, so put on your headphones and get lost in it. This is what pop music SHOULD sound like.  

3. Devotion by Jessie Ware
Dare I say, she's the new Sade? Her vocals are instrinsic soul. She's not trying too hard, and it just seems to flow from her naturally.  

4. Pure Heroine by Lorde
I feel like this girl is an old soul. Her music is different, her lyrics are profound, and her commentary in interviews is always on point.

5. Change Your Life EP by Iggy Azalea
I love it when a white girl can rap. She's got serious flow, and an attitude to match. Iggy is one to watch.

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Year-End Wrap-Up 013: Listenings: Kacy's Top Tracks

by Kacy Wiggins

Making this list wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. In my mind 2013 was dominated by bands that inexplicably received critical acclaim -- bands like Arcade Fire and the National. Or bands who should probably call it quits like the Pixies. It appeared as if it would have been easier to make a list of worst songs of 2013. Surprisingly, as I sampled the tracks I listened to throughout the year, I wound up having to spend a lot of time editing down to twenty best tracks. They are listed here from favorite to less favorite but the order could easily change based on mood, time of day, or phase of the moon.

You can listen via spotify (minus song #7).

Or via youtube playlist:


1. Minotaur-- Thee Oh Sees.
2. Ripped at the Seam-- Hot Lunch.
3. Hazemaze- Fuzz.
4. Romanticize Me-- Pissed Jeans.
5. The Male Gaze-- Future of the Left.
6. Doubles & Trebles-- Wire.
7. Only Tomorrow-- My Bloody Valentine.
8. Plough-- Speedy Ortiz.
9. Hey Now-- Younger Lovers.
10. Time in the World- Colleen Green.
11. Night Walk- Dirty Beaches.
12. Numbers on the Boards-- Pusha T.
13. Black Skinhead-- Kanye West.
14. From the Sun-- Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
15. Stoned and Starving-- Parquet Courts.
16. Givin Em What They Love (featuring Prince)-- Janelle Monae.
17. Future Folklore-- Crystal Stilts.
18. Sleeping Where I Fall-- Chelsea Light Moving.
19. Happy-- Pharrell Williams.
20. Royals-- Lorde.

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Year-End Wrap-Up 013: Watchings: Charm City Cineaste's Top Movies Screened In Baltimore

by the Charm City Cineaste

USER’S GUIDE: Films were cut from the list that did not play Baltimore, even if they were worth noting. Revivals were excluded. Charm City Cineaste is a blog where I keep track of all the movies I see. Quotes are from said blog.

1. The Act of Killing
I am fortunate when I get to see a film that shakes me to my very core. This doc about the proud enactors of genocide, re-enacting their grisly work in order to make a “Hollywood” action drama out of their stories, is such a film. Hard to describe, hard to watch, definitely worth seeing.


2. The Wolf of Wall Street
A three hour thrill-ride through the story of America’s fail/fall, the rapacious greed and contempt for the law in our cultural DNA going full blast as we go over the cliff time and time again, each one thinking they got it over on the other one. The story of a life I would never want to lead, knowing full well so many wish to live it.


3. I Used to Be Darker
“I Used to Be Darker filled the Charles’ Theater One to the gills, chairs being brought in to accommodate the overflow. A direct hit on someone like myself who spends so much time among musicians and someone who has a similar ‘lost summer’ in his past. The scene filmed in the Copy Cat building was note perfect, abstracted just enough to come alive. Another accomplished and stunning film from Baltimore’s own Matthew Porterfield.”– Films Viewed, May 2013
 

4. Post Tenebras Lux
“Post Tenebras Lux was another head-scratcher from Carlos Reygadas. A family of means navigates familial tensions and class divisions in the Mexican countryside, but to figure that out you have to navigate the prism that is the film. The kind of envelope-pushing cinema I would like to see more of on screens in Baltimore.”– Films Viewed, May 2013

5. Computer Chess
“Computer Chess was pegged as a comedy winner, and it certainly delivered. A group of nerds of various stripes gather in the 1980s to see who will be the next computer chess champion. A quantum leap for director Andrew Bujalski made possible by an amazing ensemble cast. The gamble of shooting with vintage video equipment pays off handsomely.” - Films Viewed, May 2013

6. Frances Ha
I am excited whenever Noach Baumbach directs a film, and I am excited whenever Greta Gerwig is featured in a film. This team up is note-perfect comedy, capturing a time in life most know or know about, to be adrift, in search of yourself. As a person in my thirties, I can still relate to this story of someone in their twenties.


7. Paradise: Faith
“Paradise: Faith was the one from the recent Ulrich Seidl trilogy at the MFF 2013 that fit my schedule. An uber-Catholic woman tries to ‘make Austria Catholic again’ by going door to door with her statue of the Virgin Mary. Violent and disturbing complications arise when her paraplegic Muslim husband returns home from abroad. With John Waters as host, another perfect 'date movie from hell' was achieved.” – Films Viewed, May 2013

8. Blue is the Warmest Color
A love story, boldly and explicitly told. The talk of the cinematic town at one point this year. Two young French women fall into a relationship and fall out of it, the story given time to build and grow. I forgave the film’s flaws due to its strengths and enjoyed participating in the conversations over its many controversies.
 

9. Museum Hours
My original headline-style write-up, “LONELY MAN MEETS A LONELY WOMAN IN ART MUSEUM; LANGUOROUS WONDERFUL CINEMA ENSUES,” pretty much nails it (Films Viewed, October 2013). Director Jem Cohen does a bang-up job of capturing two lives intersecting in an art museum, the dramas you imagine playing out as you drift around on a museum visit given life.
 

10. Lore
“Lore has a tactical advantage in that it is a story rarely told, that of the children of the Third Reich following the end of World War II. A young woman attempts to get her siblings to safety in a hostile, collapsing environment. Lots of decay and death lots of psycho-sexual situations. How this stiff drink of a film lasted as long as it did at the Charles is beyond me.”- Films Viewed, March 2013

Year-End Wrap-Up 013: Watchings: Joe's Top Docs

Top 10 Documentaries in 2013 by Joe Tropea

1. The Act of Killing
Let this movie be a lesson: When Errol Morris and Werner Herzog get together to produce a documentary, you’d better watch it. A stone cold tear jerker; nothing like this film has ever been done before.

LET THE FIRE BURN official theatrical trailer. from Jason Osder on Vimeo.

2. Let the Fire Burn
It’s tempting to say that police departments everywhere should have to watch this film, but they’d probably miss the point. An American outrage of police and city officials overreaction and denied culpability. This doc makes it easier to understand how horrible events like the Holocaust happen. 

Bridegroom Trailer from Nicolas Romolini on Vimeo.

3. Bridegroom
An amazing and infuriating story of love.

4. Central Park Five
Donald Trump is a big old anusface and NYC should be ashamed of itself. That’s all I’m saying.

5. An Apology to Elephants
Pretty much exactly what it sounds like and we should all be ashamed of ourselves.

Room 237 Trailer from Greg Gunn on Vimeo.

6. Room 237
Did you know that The Shining, the moon landing, the Holocaust, and the systematic destruction of Native American peoples were all connected? I will watch this one repeatedly for years to come. Also features the year’s best trailer.

A BAND CALLED DEATH [Trailer] from Drafthouse Films on Vimeo.

7. A Band Called Death
Remember the awesome 2009 doc Wheedle’s Groove? If not, seek it out and watch it after you see this excellent rock doc.

8. Bitter Buddha
Eddie Pepitone is one funny motherfucker and he deserves more than you are giving him. 

FALL AND WINTER - A Survival Guide for the 21st Century - Trailer from Fall and Winter on Vimeo.

9. Fall and Winter
Agitprop eyecandy. A little bit all over the map, but in a really beautiful way.

TAKEN BY STORM: THE ART OF STORM THORGERSON AND HIPGNOSIS TRAILER from Roddy Bogawa on Vimeo.

Trailer: Meanwhile in Memphis: The Sound of a Revolution from Meanwhile in Memphis on Vimeo.

10. Tie: Taken By Storm  and Meanwhile In Memphis
If you’re as sick of the 20 feet from the shadows of blah blah blah music doc formula as I am, these two films come as a relief. Taken By Storm tells the story of your favorite album art and the man behind its creation, the late Storm Thorgerson. Meanwhile In Memphis digs its heels into an amazing music scene you’ve heard of but maybe didn’t realize.

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Year-End Wrap-Up 013: Playings: Ellen's Video Games You Shouldn't Have Missed

by Ellen Sweeney

This is a roundup of games from 2013 you shouldn’t have missed in the first place!

Tomb Raider
God, this game is beautiful. It made me want to get shipwrecked on some tropical island full of men who sacrifice attractive young women to their ancient and terrible gods just so I could smell the ocean as I watch the sun set over the mountains. The narrative was okay – forgettable supporting characters, too-simple puzzles – but it’s a believable coming of age for Lara, and a rare first person experience of a female character that is pretty spot on, which I found quite refreshing as a lady gamer. #1 A++ winner.

The Last of Us
Do you want to be a total freaking badass and then feel feelings? Meet Joel. You’ve managed to survive the zombie outbreak, the partial collapse of civilization, and our brave new police state for fifteen years, when you suddenly find yourself responsible for protecting something that might offer the hope of a cure and a brighter future for humanity, and escort a teenage girl halfway across our ruined nation chasing that dream. Just get it. It drags a little in the middle: stick with it.  

Bioshock Infinite
It felt like the developers took two different games – a gory and cool shoot-‘em-up, and a mystery with colorful characters and crazy plot twists – and just squished them together between two pieces of bread and hoped it would be all PB&J (NB: it was not.) Whenever I could forget about the fact that my response to a minor misunderstanding with a cop at a carnival was to set down my cotton candy and CUT OFF HIS GODDAMN HEAD, then destroy all other life around me with birds pecking out their eyes and lighting their flailing corpses on fire, I loved the story, and the twists at the end made me want to immediately start another playthrough.

Grand Theft Auto V
I did not play this game. However, I still claim the right to judge people who do. The idea that it’s art or whatever because it’s supposedly satire is bullshit. It’s not satire. It’s the adrenaline rush of indulging in behavior that is completely inappropriate as a normal, socialized homo sapiens. If you can at least admit that as your true motivation, then you will regain 70% of respect lost, because that’s actually pretty legit and I get it, man. I get it.

The Walking Dead, Season 2
I haven’t actually played this yet, and you know what? It doesn’t matter. The first season was just so fucking epic that I’m gonna go ahead and give it eleven stars. CLEMENTINE 4EVA

Device 6 (tablet)
Just minutes into this game my inner voice was screaming YES YES YES THIS IS WHAT TABLET GAMING AND STORYTELLING CAN BE, LET US BOLDLY STRIDE INTO THE FUTURE OF THIS MEDIUM TOGETHER. It’s a mystery, essentially a written story but one requiring a lot of manipulation and seamlessly augmented with images, sound and puzzles. Simogo also released another game of interest this year: Year Walk. I don’t think it’s quite as effective as Device 6, but they really think outside the box in bridging the experience between the “game” in the main app, and the real story that unfolds in the “companion” app. As a bonus, you also learn a little bit about Scandinavian mythology, which you immediately wish you could forget since a lot of it for some reason involves dead babies.

The Room 2 (tablet)
Stellar followup to the original. It’s a challenging puzzle game executed brilliantly with a gorgeous, creepy ambiance. Ditch Candy Crush and get something awesome instead.

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