Thursday, January 14th 2010

By unknown

So the decade has come to the end and ANDY wants you to be fully aware of what we liked from the past ten years. With the help of our exquisite volunteers, and some alcohol, we have compiled two top twenty lists pertaining to the very best of film and music from 2000 – 2009. Over the next four weeks we will slowly reveal our selections, forging a consensus of our writing staff’s varying tastes to provide a list of immense credibility, a reference point that will be revered for decades. And if you don’t agree with our choices, too bad. With this weeks picks, youth triumphs with appearances by such coming of age fare as Superbad and Almost Famous, to the wordless visuals of Pixar’s brilliant WALL-E. With music, indie folk presides with the presence of Bright Eyes and the enigmatic Bon Iver, while hip-hop emerges and Baltimore/New York neo-psychedelic’s Animal Collective are represented by Merriweather Post Pavilion — not they’re greatest album, but nonetheless a playful feast for the ears. Anyways, stop listening to me and proceed onto the list. Enjoy.

the movies

20. Lord of the Rings (2001-2003)

Directed by Peter Jackson

While it may not be your favorite movie, there’s no denying that Lord of the Rings belongs somewhere in the top twenty. This film trilogy was based off of the famous trilogy by the same name written by JRR Tolkien. One film was released each year from 2001 to 2003. Collectively the film won seventeen academy awards including Best Picture and Best Director in 2003. To top it off the visual effects, namely but not limited to the creation of Gollum revolutionized the decade. Not to mention, it is the highest grossing film trilogy in history, grossing around a billion dollars after you factor in box office and home video sales. For some it was epic, for others not so much. There’s no denying that hobbits haven’t been this cool since Led Zeppelin.

•Simon Granat

19. Memento (2000)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Memento is a film about a man who is set on avenging the murder of his wife. Simple enough, right?  Not quite. Leonard, the vengeful husband, has no short-term memory, the result of an injury suffered during the attack that killed his wife. He keeps track of the world around him with Polaroid pictures and tattoos all over his body, hardly the ideal situation for tracking a killer. The audience is made party to this confusion by the way in which the film is presented. It is shown backwards, in segments, each as long as Leonard’s memory lapses. Completely unique, thoroughly enjoyable and a little confusing, the film constantly keeps you guessing as to what will happen next, or rather what has already happened.

•Caitlin McKitrick

18. WALL-E (2008)

Directed by Andrew Stanton

Not only does WALL-E appeal to kids for its use of Pixar classic animated magic, but it also connects with adults by whisking them into a cosmic story about love overcoming a consumer driven society. The most impressive part of the film is that the first half takes place with minimal to no dialogue. It’s like 2001: Space Odyssey with robots falling in love. Dark imagery of a futuristic Earth plagued with desolate barren lands and garbage skyscrapers lead one to believe that human emotions are just as archaic as the parts of WALL-E, a curious ragtag robot. Yet the arrival of EVE, a modernized probe that seems like an Apple product from the future awakens WALL-E’s emotions, as he embarks on a galaxy-crossing quest to win over her circuits. The visual magnificence of WALL-E allows it to cross all language barriers in connecting with a huge audience – and is therefore worthy of its success.

• Dan Hawie

17. Superbad (2007)

Directed by Greg Mottola

Superbad, released in August of 2007, follows one night in the lives of high school friends Seth (Jonah Hill), Evan (Michael Cera), and Fogell (Chris Mintz-Plasse). The guys are on a mission to get booze for a graduation party that night, and to lose their virginity by the rapidly approaching end of the school year. All of their plans go awry, and a hilarious night of mayhem involving fake IDs, wayward cops, period-pants, hobos, and a frantic sing-along of “These Eyes.” The film’s bold humour and originality undoubtedly make it one of the best films of the decade, and arguably the representative teen-comedy of our generation. Quotable lines like “I am… McLovin!” and unforgettable moments such as the scarring montage of phallic drawings have raised the characters of this film to nearly iconic status and helped launch the careers of many of the movie’s young stars.

•Jemma Wolfe

16. Almost Famous (2000)

Directed by Cameron Crowe

With the new millennium came the resurgence of “classic rock,” where it seemed as though every other adolescent boy was “getting into” Zeppelin and stopped cutting their hair. Almost Famous was part of this, providing glimpses into the era so many of us romanticize. The films protagonist, William Miller (Patrick Fugit) is a teenage journalist trying to write for Rolling Stone magazine when he gets an opportunity to follow the fictional band Stillwater. With the help of influential Creem music editor, Lester Bangs (Philip Seymore Hoffmann), William is swept up into a world of sex, drugs and rock and roll. He parties, falls in love and manages to teach his rock heroes a bit about life. This feel-good, coming-of-age take on the 1970’s shines so brightly because of writer and director Cameron Crowe. Basing actual experiences of his wide-eyed, precocious youth writing for the very same publication, the film creates a personal journey so accessible that your time invested into the characters feels like a beautiful road trip that you never want to end.

•Katharine Snider-McNair

the albums

20. The Blue Print (September 2001)

Jay Z

The first plane crashed into the World Trade Centre less than an hour and a half before Jay Z’s The Blueprint hit retail shelves across the North American continent. Despite suffering from unfortunate timing, Jay Z’s sixth studio album (recorded in just two weeks) was about to become one of the most critically applauded and influential hip-hop releases of all time. The Blueprint, thanks to the production techniques of fresh newcomers Kanye West and Just Blaze, favoured samples over then-preferred method of constructing hip-hop beats via keyboard. Sampling had gone out of style a decade earlier — The Blueprint however brought that now once again common technique back into vogue.

Notable track: “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”

•Corrigan Hammond

19. Set Yourself On Fire (2004)

Stars

Stars’
Set Yourself On Fire is an indie pop triumph. Stars are storytellers and this can be seen throughout the album. The theme of love dominates the songs in many different forms, ranging from happy beginnings to dark endings. The lyrics paint interesting pictures and there are a variety of instrumental techniques used in the songs. Upbeat guitars and piano lines, larger than life string arrangements and well written lyrics saturate the album and successfully bind the tracks into one strong entity. Top tracks off the album include “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” and “One More Night,” but this is a difficult decision to make. Set Yourself On Fire solidifies Stars’ position as one of the best bands in their genre and while listening to the album your heartstrings will be plucked as much as the strings of the violins and cellos.

Notable track: “Reunion”

•Roxanne Hathway-Baxter

18. I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning (2005)

Bright Eyes

No one who has picked up an acoustic guitar in the past decade has fully escaped the influence of Conor Oberst and his moniker Bright Eyes. Oberst was already hailed as indie-rock’s darling — the next Bob Dylan — with Bright Eyes’ fourth full-length release, 2002’s Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground. The ambitious Oberst responded to high expectations in 2005 with a double release; including the primarily acoustic-driven I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. The album represented a stripped-down, naked version of Oberst’s genius. It’s not just another frustrated guy-with-a-guitar bit; from the introductory remark of what life is really like under capitalist ideologies in the opener “At the Bottom of Everything,” to the tales of (fleeting) love and hopeless discontent that follow, concluding with the angry ode to Beethoven’s “Ode,” Oberst not only redefined guy-with-a-guitar, he rendered the original null and void.

Notable track: “Lua”

•Kevin Elliott

17. Merriweather Post Pavilion (2008)

Animal Collective

Named after an outdoor venue in Maryland, Animal Collective’s most recent album, released last year on Jan. 6, was well received by the media and fans alike. The temporary departure of their founding member Josh Dibb (aka Deakin) in 2007 drove the other members to rely significantly on electronic mixing, loops, and samples, to compensate for the lack of guitar which surprisingly resulted in their most clean-cut album yet. Merriweather Post Pavilion sounds like a multidimensional, kaleidoscopic collage of summer days, thus keeping true to their experimental roots, but also possesses the structure of pop music making it easier to be accepted by a larger audience. Critics have called it “a landmark in American music” and, rightly so, the album reached number 13 on the US Billboard 200.

Notable track: “Summertime Clothes”

•Aaron Joo

16. For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)

Bon Iver

Bon Iver’s debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, is beautiful in its sadness. It was created during multiple months of self-imposed isolation by lead singer, Justin Vernon, after the break-up of his previous band. The album traces the path of heartbreak, from sadness and anger to the eventual conclusion of acceptance with both eloquent lyrics and stunning instrumentals. Vernon’s vocals, backed by haunting guitars, have a way of making you feel like he is singing to you, and to you alone. The undeniable feeling of hurt in the album is made clear in songs, “Skinny Love” and “Blindsided,” but relief comes from the hopeful concluding (and possibly best) track, “Re: Stacks”. The thematic continuity of the album adds to its strength and it should be listened to from beginning to end to fully appreciate this. For Emma, Forever Ago is utterly moving and truly one of this past decade’s masterpieces.

Notable track: “The Wolves (Act 1&2)”

•Roxanne Hathway-Baxter