This is unbelievable, and surely would never have been possible had the category not been expanded to include ten films, but District 9 – my favorite movie of 2009 – has been rewarded for its awesomeness with a nomination for Best Picture of the Year! Woo! The other Best Picture nominees are Avatar (duh), An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man (not to be confused with A Single Man), Up in the Air (not to be confused with Up, which is also nominated) and The Blindside. Of course, there is no way in hell that the Oscar will go to anything that is not Avatar(d) and maybe possibly The Hurt Locker. But it’s so cool that District 9 was even nominated. Now, if only the Academy could have seen their way to nominate Anvil! The Story of Anvil! We would be really rockin’! Congratulations and good luck to all of the nominees!
Everybody with a tongue in their mouth keeps asking me when I am going to post my list of Top Ten Favorite CDs of 2009. I am telling you now that this will not be happening; mostly because I only liked 3 or 4 new CDs released in all of 2009, so that is too few to make a list of ten. Obviously. What I will do however is make a list of my Top Ten Favorite Media Related Things of 2009, which will include not only CD(s) but also TV Shows, Art Exhibits, Movies, Books and other stuff. OK, here we go.
Favorite Documentary: Anvil: The Story of Anvil Anvil: The Story of Anvil was really my favorite movie of 2009. Sue got it for me on DVD for Christmas, because she rules. Anvil! Related Worleygig.com Blog Post Here
Favorite Movie: District 9 District 9 was my favorite movie of the year that was not a documentary. It was really, really good. You should see it. Related Worleygig.com Blog Post Here
Favorite Art Exhibit: Tim Burton Art Retrospective at MOMA I just blogged about this show a week or so ago, because it was so mind-blowing. If you live in the tri-State area and miss this exhibit you are an idiot. Related Worleygig.com Blog Post Here
Favorite Live Show: Fiction Plane at the Mercury Lounge
Fiction Plane is a band I saw perform at the Mercury Lounge sometime last summer. Sting’s son Joe is the lead singer/bass player of this band, but don’t hold that against them, because they are a fucking awesome band. I also interviewed their drummer, Pete Wilhoit, for an upcoming feature in Modern Drummer, and he was really cool. Related Worleygig.com Blog Post Here
Favorite Biographical Book: Fall to Pieces By Mary Forsberg Weiland I generally remain unmoved when drug addicts write books whining about how their lives turned to shit because of drugs. I did not feel that way about this book. Related Worleygig.com Blog Post Here
Favorite Coffee Table Book: Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock
This terrific scrapbook on Queen, my favorite band of my teenage years, makes me wish I actually owned a coffee table so I could proudly display it in my home for all to see. Related Worleygig.com Blog Post Here
Favorite Non-Reality TV Show: Mad Men Mad Men is the best TV show ever in the Universe of all time. Period. Related Worleygig.com Blog Post Here
Favorite Reality TV Show: Top Chef
There should be no breaks between seasons of Top Chef, ever. Related Worleygig.com Blog Post Here
Favorite CD: Adam Lambert, For Your Pleasure
Too gay sounding for even Geoffrey – my go-to barometer for all things in the gay spectrum – to handle, it is a testament to how shitty modern music is that this ends up being my favorite CD of the year. Nevertheless, it is a fantastic CD! Adam Lambert! Runners-up for this category include Call from Restricted from ex-Guided By Voices guitarist Doug Gillard, and Smithereen’s drummer Dennis Diken’s Late Music. Related Worleygig.com Blog Post Here
Favorite Broadway Show: Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking Even better than the book! Related Worleygig.com Blog Post Here
I’ve never been much of a fan of the Star Wars or Star Trek franchises of movie making, but I do love a good, straightforward science fiction film on the rare occasion that one makes it to the big screen. After what seems like a very long wait, that occasion has finally arrived. Last night Geoffrey and I were squealing like little piggies with excitement at a screening of the new Peter Jackson produced film, District 9; a film that everyone will be talking about. Directed spectacularly by first time director Neill Blomkamp, this film has a seemingly simple plot which unfolds into one of the deepest, most thought-provoking back stories I can recall seeing in a film in possibly decades. I fucking loved this movie. Continue reading Must-See Film of the Week: District 9→
