Monday, January 28, 2013

BEST COMICS: 2012

S A G A,
by Vaughan and Staples

Shortcut links:
• Best Graphic Novel
• Best Comics
•• Worst Comics
• Graphic Novels
• Best Collections/ Reissues
• Movies And TV
•• "V For Vindication"
• Best Media Sites

• Rest In Power

B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L :
2 0 1 2

• STARSTRUCK Deluxe Edition, by Elaine Lee, Michael Wm. Kaluta, and Lee Moyer ⇧
(softcover)

"I was, and am, a huge fan of STARSTRUCK, which I think was one of the most brave and elegant experiments in comic book story-telling."
-CLIVE BARKER

"Favorite comic of all time: STARSTRUCK, by Lee and Kaluta."
-MIKE CAREY

"Pick up this book, because not having read it is sort of like not having read POGO, or listened to "Trout Mask Replica", or seen a Hayao Miyazaki film."
-John Hilgart, THE COMICS JOURNAL

"STARSTRUCK could be both silly and smart, was progressive but unpretentious, and clever but not so impressed with itself that it ever forgot to entertain. IDW’s reprint of the series is a service to fans of science fiction, aficionados of comics as an art form, and anyone who loves a good story."
-W. Andrew Shephard, THE NEW INQUIRY

Buy from IDW

➤ STARSTRUCK Strikes Back!
➤ The Roots And Branches Of STARSTRUCK

B E S T
C O M I C S :
2 0 1 2

- - - - I N D I E S - - - -

• LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN: 2009,
by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill (Top Shelf)

It was always about the extraordinary woman.

• SAGA,
by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (Image)

Space Fantasy gets a challenging and adult rethink.
Excellent.

• FASHION BEAST,
by Alan Moore and Malcolm McClaren with Antony Johnston (Avatar)

In the late-'80s, Alan Moore wrote a script for a Malcolm McLaren film that didn't get made. Now the screenplay has been adapted into a 12-issue maxi-series by Antony Johnston.

• BLACK KISS II,
by Howard Chaykin (Image)

In the late-'80s Chaykin's gothic noir was so raunchy that it was sold sealed in black plastic bags. This new sequel was too much for European distributers, who refused to import it.>

• FRANKENSTEIN ALIVE, ALIVE,
by Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson (IDW)

Wrightson. Frankenstein.

• STAR TREK,
by Mike Johnson, with Stephen Molnar, etc. (IDW)

J.J. Abrams' STAR TREK films rebooted the original series in a different timeline. Johnson's underrated follow-up comic fills out their 5-year-mission by taking classic episode stories into new directions.

• FATALE,
by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image)

Like a jam session between Chandler and Lovecraft.

W O R S T
C O M I C S

- - - - - ~~D C~~ - - - - -
The modern comics landscape was recreated by Alan Moore.

When corporations betray> great creators>> for a buck>, they don't get my money or support.

- - - - - ~~M A R V E L~~ - - - - -
The vast marvel landscape was blueprinted by Jack Kirby.

When corporations betray> great creators> for a buck>>, they don't get my money or support.

Support creators over corporations.

B E S T
G R A P H I C
N O V E L S :
2 0 1 2

• ARE YOU MY MOTHER?,
by Alison Bechdel (Mariner Books) _______
The companion to the phenomenal FUN HOME (2006), which was TIME's Best Book of the Year.

• THE HIVE,
by Charles Burns (Pantheon) _______
The second book in Burn's trilogy about a postpunk Tintin.

• THE COMIC BOOK HISTORY OF COMICS: Birth Of A Medium,
by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey (IDW)
Why not tell the history of comics in its own unique style?

• Harvey Pekar's CLEVELAND,
by Harvey Pekar and Joseph Remnant (Z2 Comics)
Harvey Pekar turned Underground Comix into Indie Comics with his real-life confessionals.

• BABY'S IN BLACK: Astrid Kirchherr, Stuart Sutcliffe, and The Beatles in Hamburg,
by Arne Bellstorf (First Second)
Photographer Astrid Kirchherr and bassist Stuart Sutcliffe, artists and lovers, were a crucial catalyst for the early Beatles.• >

B E S T
C O L L E C T I O N S
+ R E I S S U E S :
2 0 1 2

• Walt Disney’s DONALD DUCK: A Christmas For Shacktown, by Carl Barks (Fantagraphics)
Another master class from the maestro Barks.

• The Complete POGO, volume 2, by Walt Kelly (Fantagraphics)
Kelly's sly slapstick brought critical acclaim and literary validation from the mainstream media for the comic strip medium.

• CRIME DOES NOT PAY, by Various (Dark Horse)
A collection of the notorious anti-Crime comics that right wing zealots misused to maim the comics industry.>

• JACK DAVIS: Drawing American Pop Culture - A Career Retrospective, by Jack Davis (Fantagraphics)
Davis catapulted out of Mad Magazine to become the premiere cartoonist for magazine and album covers.

• OUT OF THE SHADOWS (retrospective of Mort Meskin), by Mort Meskin (Fantagraphics)
The underrated artist's use of light and shadow influenced many of the best creators in comics history.

• SPACEHAWK, by Basil Wolverton (Fantagraphics)
Actual stories by the most belovedly grotesque artist of all.

• CORTO MALTESE: The Ballad of the Salt Sea, by Hugo Pratt (Universe)
Mature adventure tales with cinematic eye and literary tongue.

• MATT BAKER: The Art of Glamour, by Matt Baker (TwoMorrows)
Matt Baker was one of the pioneer African-American artists, who deserves all the spotlight he can get.

• OBSERVED WHILE FALLING: Bill Burroughs, Ah Pook, and Me, by Malcolm McNeill (Fantagraphics)
The story of how author William S. Burroughs and artist Malcolm McNeill attempted to create an avant-garde precursor to graphic novels.

• ALIEN: The Illustrated Story, by Archie Goodwin, Walter Simonson (Titan)
The classic comics adaptation of the 1979 film, at last re-released.

• MICHAEL WM KALUTA Sketchbook, Vol.1, 2, and 3, by Michael Wm Kaluta (IDW)
Collections of the concept sketches of one of the finest and most versatile illustrators.

• ANGEL CLAWS, by Alexandro Jodorowsky and Moebius (Humanoids)
The filmmaker (El Topo, Santa Sangre) and the illustrator (Arzach, Airtight Garage) collude in a portfolio of erotic surrealism.

• The Adventures of ADELE BLANC-SEC: Vol. 2, by Jaques Tardi (Fantagraphics)
The continuing misadventures of the grumpy investigator of the fantastic.

• FLEX MENTALLO: Man of Muscle Mystery, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (Vertigo)
The mini-series of The Doom Patrol's most unexpected character, remastered.

• SCOTT PILGRIM Color Edition Vol. 1 & 2, by Bryan Lee O'Malley, with Nathan Fairbairn (Oni)
1-2-3-4 BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTT!

• OCCUPY COMICS,
by various creators>
People are citizens, corporations are plagues.

B E S T
M O V I E S
+ T V :
2 0 1 2

I write and illustrate reviews of all comics-sourced films at the Four Color Films site.

• THE AVENGERS
> Four Color Films review

• THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
> Four Color Films review

• THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
> Four Color Films review

• JOHN CARTER

• SKYFALL

• ALTER EGOS

• CHRONICLE

• COMIC-CON Episode 4: A Fan's Hope

• ARGO
(For the Jack Kirby connection.)

• MISFITS, fourth season

• Better Things: The Life and Decisions of Jeffrey Catherine Jones
A fine documentary about the excellent unsung artist, featuring Gaiman, Moebius, Kaluta, Wrightson, McKean, Pope, Mignola, and Sienkiewicz.

• Sex In The Comix: The History of Erotic Content in Sequential Art
A fun documentary overview of international erotic graphix.

See also:
➤ BEST MOVIES & TV: 2012

V For Vindication, Dept.:

or, "Alan Moore knows the score."

Who cares about Hollywood adaptions when you can make your own films?

Alan Moore has teamed with filmmaker Mitch Jenkins to create a unified continuity of short films about a cabaret purgatory.

UPDATE: The short chapters were collected into a total film under the title SHOW PIECES.
Available here.

BEST MEDIA SITES

• io9
Under the mentorship of famed authors and founders Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz, this site has continually presented the best genre media analysis around.

• The Mary Sue

• The Afro Futurist Affair

R E S T
I N
P O W E R

M O E B I U S
Our father, whose art is heaven...

• Jean Giraud, a.k.a. Moebius
• John Severin
• Sheldon Moldoff
• Joe Kubert

From you, we exist.
Because of you, we persist.

Nuff said, pilgrim. Excelsior!

© Tym Stevens

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

BEST MUSIC: 2012, With Music Players!

With 3 Music Players!

S A N T I G O L D

ALL THE
REAL MUSIC!

Nevermind those suburban-angst
'Best Music' lists that taste like paste!

These tunes will slink your slant
and everywhere your derriere!

Shortcut to Music Players:
• BEST ALBUMS: 2012
• COOL SONGS: 2012
• BEST RE-ISSUES: 2012

B E S T
N E W
A L B U M S :
2 0 1 2

BEST ALBUMS 2012
by Tym Stevens

This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.

This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.

• Moon Duo, "Circles"
Space Rock New Wave.
Like Hawkwind jamming with Devo.

(See also: Air, Wooden Shjips, L'Epee)

• Santigold, "Master of My Make-Believe"
Electro Pop.
Brash expansions in electronic dance music.

(See also: Romeo Void, M.I.A., Janelle Monae)

• Tame Impala, "Lonerism"
Electrodelic.
Like The Beatles' "Come Together" meets Pink Floyd's "Money".

(See also: Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Temples, GUM)

• Pepe Deluxe, "Queen of the Wave"
Pop Opera.
An epic album of prog ambition, psyche chorals, and theatric melodies.

(See also: B-52's, Queen, La Femme, The Avalanches)

• Soundtrack, "DJANGO UNCHAINED"
Spaghetti Western redux.
A compilation featuring classic score cues from Morricone, Bacalov, and Ortolani.
>
(See also: Ennio Morricone, Luis Bacalov, Bruno Nicolai)

• Jesca Hoop, "The House That Jack Built"
Mercurial melodicism.
Folk with more twists than algebra.

(See also: Tom Waits, Joanna Newsome, St. Vincent)

• Dr. John, "Locked Down"
New Orleans Funk.
The Doctor returns to his classic mid-'70s Funk glory.

(See also: Prof. Longhair, The Meters, Little Feat)

• THEEsatisfaction, "awE naturalE"
Hiphop psalms.
The duo branches from fluid rap into soaring chorals.

(See also: A Tribe Called Quest, Meshell Ndegeocello, Georgia Anne Muldrow)

• Gary Clark, Jr., "Blak and Blu"
Blues phoenix.
Clark's feiry guitar bridges the roots of Blues to a wildfire future.

(See also: Freddie King, The Black Keys, Alabama Shakes)

• Rocket Juice And The Moon, "Rocket Juice And The Moon"
Afrobeat futurism.
Damon Albarn (Blur), Flea (Chili Peppers), and Tony Allen (Fela). Nuff said.

(See also: Fela, Gorillaz, Antibalas)

• Lucky Jim, "The Lovers"
Dylan and Cohen's love-child.
The best singer/songwriter that not enough people know. Soulful confessions, majestic productions.

(See also: "Blood On The Tracks", "I'm Your Man", "Time (The Revelator)")

• Nona Hendryx, "Mutatis Mutandis"
Political Soul.
Always a rocker at heart, Nona raises her fist to resist.

(See also: Labelle, Betty Davis, Material, Tamar-Keli)

• Hannah Williams And the Tastemakers, "A Hill of Feathers"
Big-lunged Soul.
By turns groovy, tender, funky, and magnific.

(See also: Stone The Crows, Elkie Brooks, Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings)

• Father John Misty, "Fear Fun"
Folkadelic.
Formerly the drummer for Fleet Foxes, John Tillman's piano confessionals astonish with gossamer vocals and a corrosive wit.

(See also: Glen Campbell, John Lennon, Randy Newman, Elton John)

• The Bamboos, "Medicine Man"
Groovy Funk.
A soulful party throwdown, with guests like Kylie Auldist, Aloe Blacc, and Ella Thompson.

(See also: Medeski Martin Wood, Cookin' on 3 Burners, Orgone)

• La Sera, "Sees the Light"
Power Pop.
Catchy guitar tunes with sunshine vocals.

(See also: Peach Kelli Pop, Colleen Green, Dum Dum Girls)

• Antibalas, "Antibalas"
AfroBeat renaissance.
The Brooklyn band is so on-the-one that they provided the music for the theatre musical, "Fela!".

(See also: Fela, Ikebe Shakedown, El Michaels Affair)

• Soundgarden, "King Animal"
Grunge rebound, unbound.
Still alive with the best qualities of Zeppelin, Sabbath, Black Flag, and Green River.

(See also: Jane's Addiction, Jeff Buckley, Blackwater Holylight)

• Tom Tom Club, "Downtown Rockers"
Rubber Funk.
Still bumpin' the grooves to make your rumpus move.

(See also: Parliament/Funkadelic, Talking Heads, Luscious Jackson)

• Garbage, "Not Your Kind of People"
TripHop Indieclash.
Back and pissed, like a ronin ninja.

(See also: Blondie, Tricky, Sleigh Bells, Florence And The Machine)

• Ruby Velle And The Soulphonics, "It's About Time"
Party Soul.
Let's turn this juke joint inside out.

(See also: Motown, Cold Blood, Marta Ren And The Groovelvets)

• The Hives, "Lex Hives"
Garage Redux.
Some growing pains, but still fierce.

(See also: The Sonics, The White Stripes, Sahara Hotnights)

• Georgia Anne Muldrow, "Seeds"
Jazzy Soul.
Moody grooves with an activist fist.

(See also: Nina Simone, Gil Scott-Heron, Jimetta Rose)

• thenewno2, "thefearofmissingout"
Organic pop for the new now.
Dhani Harrison, second to none.

(See also: Hari Georgeson, Jeff Lynne, Fistful Of Mercy, Smith Westerns)

• Galactic, "Carnivale Electricos"
Nawlins Fonk.
Turbocharged by a jubilee of special guests.

(See also: The Meters, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Wild Tchoupitoulas)

• Led Zeppelin, "Celebration Day"
Rock Of Ageless.
Their triumphant 2007 reunion concert, now released.

(See also: Muddy Waters, Jimi Hendrix, Lez Zeppelin, Rival Sons)

• Public Enemy, "Most Of My Heroes Still Don't Appear On No Stamp"
The only comeback is a rebuttal.
Two new albums from the greatest, smartest, most rebellious Rap group of all time.

(See also: The Last Poets, The Clash, Consolidated, The Coup)

• Public Enemy, "The Evil Empire Of Everything"
The only comeback is victory.
Two new albums from the greatest, smartest, most rebellious Rap group of all time.

(See also: Run-DMC, Beastie Boys, KRS-One, Rakim)

• Django Django, "Django Django"
Lush Electro Pop.
Somewhere between Depeche Mode and The Beach Boys. Hooky, upbeat, shimmering, and catchy.

(See also: Split Enz, Telekinesis, Liam Finn)

• Ty Segall Band, "Slaughterhouse"
Fuzz Rawk.
Brutal fuzzadelic, as nature intended.

(See also: The Stooges, Mikal Cronin, Tim Presley)

• The Delfonics, "Adrian Younge Presents The Delfonics"
Vocal Soul.
A stunning revival, in craft, sound, and feel.

(See also: Ennio Morricone, Thom Bell, Norman Whitfield, Philly Soul)

• Gemma Ray, "Island Fire"
Indie chameleon.
A liquid songwriter freewheeling between noir cinema, art pop, and torch folk.

(See also: Dusty Springfield, Lykke Li, A.C. Newman, Kandle)

• Cody Chesnutt, "Landing On A Hundred"
Conscious Soul.
Early-'70s Soul for today's street.

(See also: Marvin Gaye, Lenny Kravitz, Curtis Harding)

• Boonaraaas, "More Knick-A-Knacks For Your Bric-A-Brac Shelf"
Garage Rock hullabaloo.
Turbo this Go-Go till it's gone gone.

(See also: Thee Headcoatees, Curlee Wurlee!, The Coathangers)

• Gossip, "A Joyful Noise"
Punky Dance.
Opera diva kicks your butt into sway.

(See also: Brides Of Funkenstein, Le Tigre, Von Iva, Joan As Police Woman)

• Lee Fields And The Expressions, "Faithful Man"
Timeless Soul.
Lee channels everything great and evergreen about late-'60s and early-'70s Soul.

(See also: Dave Porter, Sharon Jones And The Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley)

• Bush Tetras, "Happy"
PostPunk funkiness.
Pioneers in the early-'80s NYC scene return periodically to school you.

(See also: Defunkt, Maximum Joy, Delta 5)

• David Byrne + St. Vincent, "Love This Giant"
Multiform Pop.
Skewed to the rescue.

(See also: David Bowie, Laurie Anderson, Mitski)

• The Honorable South, "I Love My Tribe"
Rock'n'Soul.
Because it only really rocks when it can really roll.

(See also: Ike And Tina Turner, The Bellrays, Vintage Trouble)

• J.D. McPherson, "Signs And Signifiers"
Rockabilly and Soul.
Everything great about Sun Records rock and Atlantic Records soul.

(See also: Johnny Burnette Trio, Sam Cook, Rev. Horton Heat)

C O O L
S O N G S :
2 0 1 2

All the REAL MUSIC
beyond the box!

Nevermind Gloss Pop, Stepford Idols, Karaoke Choruses ("woh-oo-oh"), Ego Brats, Emo Prats, Plinky Folk, Brittle Bombast, Vegas Country, Smug Thug, Mope Noodling, De-mixed Throb, and Robot-o-Tune schlock! >

Here's the
D R E A M
J U K E B O X !
Twist around and rebound
and shake your body down to the ground!

COOL SONGS 2012
by Tym Stevens

This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.

This jukebox is sequenced into groups of sound, instead of randomly.
All the songs elasticize their genres.
Get your groove on in this sonic order.:
Rockabilly! Surf! Garage! Psyche!

Glam! Blues! Soul! Funk!

Folk! World! Riot Grrrl! Alt-Rock!

Electro! Alt-Rap! Cinematic! Cover Versions!

Jesca Hoop; La Sera;
Lucky Jim; Lianne La Havas
10 hours of brain-flaming, booty-scootin' music, featuring the following fine folks in this exact order!:

• Rockabilly! • Heart Attack Alley, and Jack Ladder.

• Surf! • The Sunmakers, That's a NO NO!, Grass Widow, Peach Kelli Pop, Habibi, and Django Django.

• Beat / Garage! • The Jikens, The Fondas, The Younger Lovers, Sitcom Neighbor, The Fresh And Onlys, Lips of Salome, Boonaraaas, CONNY with Goggle-A, White Fence, and Jack Of Heart.

• Psychedelic / Beatlesque! • Nick Capaldi, La Sera, Neil Young, The Bootles, Kaiser Chiefs , Jim Noir, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Mystical, Weapons, Thee Oh Cees, Crash Normal, Stealing Sheep, Capsula, Pepe Deluxe, Deep Cotton, and Cat Power.

• Classic Rock / Glam! • Led Zeppelin, Eric Burdon And the Greenhornes, The Heavy, Spacin', The Dynamite Pussy Club, The Dandy Warhols, Ty Segall Band, Moon Duo, Tame Impala, The Sheepdogs, Foxy Shazam, The Mynabirds, The Hives, Redd Kross, The Peach Kings, Jack White, Band Of Skulls, and ZZ Top.

• Blues! • Gary Clark Jr., Danielia Cotton, Kid Koala, and The Savage Rose.

• Soul / Funk! • Hannah Williams, Cody Chesnutt, Pimps of Joytime, Tom Tom Club, The Bamboos, Alabama Shakes, Nicole Willis And the Soul Investigators, Dr. John, Galactic, The Honorable South, Rhett Frazier Inc., Ruby Velle And The Soulphonics, The Jezebel Sextet, Quantic, Georgia Anne Muldrow, The New Mastersounds, Mark Lanegan.

• Folk / Alt Songwriter! • Lauren O'Connell, Meshell Ndegeocello + Toshi Reagon, Father John Misty, Angel Olsen, Marissa Nadler, Sharon Van Etten, Jesca Hoop, Lucky Jim, Lianne La Havas, Gemma Ray, and Logistics.

• World-arama! • Beachwood Sparks, Antibalas, Karriem Riggins, Sinkane, Rocket Juice And The Moon, Here We Go Magic, and Hollie Cook.

• Riot Grrrl! • Cougars, Sleigh Bells, Brig Feltus, The Hussy Becky Lee and Drunkfoot, Nona Hendryx, Bush Tetras, and Garbage.

• Alt-Rock! • thenewno2, A.C. Newman, Killing Joke, David Byrne + St. Vincent, Dirty Projectors, Deerhoof, and Fiona Apple.

• Electro! • Air, La Femme, Geoff Barrow, Gossip, Santigold iamamiwhoami, Ava Luna, and Spektrum.

• Alt Rap! • Spoek Mathambo, Speech Debelle, The Ting Tings, K’NAAN, and THEESatisfaction.

• Cinematic! • Mount Eerie, Lava Children, JD McPherson, Silencio, David Holmes, The Surphonics, Durango14l Adele, Kandle, Serena Ryder, Hooverphonic, Luis Bacalov, Adrian Younge, Soulsavers, Calexico, Menahan Street Band, and Lana Del Rey.

• Cover Versions! •
List = Original By / Cover Artist
Songs are sequenced in the chronological order of the Originals.

Jackie Brenston / Tim Timebomb • Jerry Lee Lewis / Freddie Fano And Los Marijuana Trio • Roy Orbison / Molly Sue Gonzalez And The Mean, Mean Men • Sam Cooke / Meklit • Traditional / Le Chefs • Gloria Jones / Imelda May • Jackie DeShannon / The Sugarman 3 • Los Nivram / The Ugly Beats • John Mayall / Joan Osbourne • Jimi Hendrix Experience / Inga Rumpf + NDR Bigband • Nancy Sinatra / Jessica Fichot • Traffic Sound / DC Fontana • MC5 / The Fuzztones • Led Zeppelin / Dee Hemingway • War / Lettuce • The O'Jays / The Dynamics • Roxy Music / The Bryan Ferry Orchestra • Marvin Gaye / Martha High • Paul McCartney And Wings / Melvins • The Rolling Stones / Lee Fields And The Expressions • Bob Dylan / Lucia Micarelli + Steve Earle • Neil Young / Chromatics • Prince / Ishan Cooper • Bob Dylan / Tom Morello • Jane's Addiction / Fanesha Fabre • Terry Evans / Wtm Blues Band • Nirvana / Robert Glasper • Portishead / The Civil Wars • Bob Dylan / Adele • Lucinda Williams / Shemekia Copeland • The Black Keys / Kylie Auldist • Martina Topley-Bird / Neneh Cherry And The Thing • Yeah Yeah Yeahs / Macy Gray.

B E S T
R E I S S U E S :
2 0 1 2

Quality is timeless.

BEST REISSUES 2012
by Tym Stevens

This is a Spotify player. Join up for free here.

This music player has songs from the following albums, in the same order.

• 1920s •

• Woody Guthrie, "Woody At 100" box set (1930s-40s)
Folk troubadoure. This guitar kills fascists.

• 1950s •

• Howlin' Wolf, "Smokestack Lightning" Chess box set (1950-60s)
Blues patriarch. 300 pounds of heavenly joy.

• 1960s •

• The Winstons, "Color Him Father" vinyl (1969)
The Rock'n'Soul album that the infinitely influential "Amen Break" sample came from.

➤ "Amen Break" - How 6 Seconds From 1969 Propel All Modern Music

• Daughters of Albion, "Daughters of Albion" (1968)
Like "The White Album" deconstructed by The Mamas And Papas.

• 1970s •

• Quincy Jones, "The Adventurers" soundtrack (1970)
Quincy Jones arranged and produced many great film and TV soundtracks, such as "In Cold Blood", "Mannix", "In The Heat Of The Night", "Ironside", and "The Color Purple".

• Rodriguez, "Searching For Sugar Man" soundtrack (1971-73)
A forgotten folk-rock figure, Rodriquez's cult following in Australia led to this acclaimed documentary and his return.

• Paul And Linda McCartney, "Ram" (1971)
Paul crafted a homespun "Abbey Road", and time has borne this underrated record out for the required classic that it is.

• Marvin Gaye, "Trouble Man" soundtrack (1972)
Underprized at the time, Marvin's jazzy score stretches out his game with sophistication and soulfulness.

• T. Rex, "The Slider" (1972)
Glam Rock's throne. Get it on.

• David Bowie, "Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars" (1972)
Rock opera. Jamming good with Weird and Gilly.

• Various Artists, "Ancestors of Rap" (1970s)
Proto-rappers from the '60s and '70s.

• Black Sabbath, "Iron Man: The Best of..." (1970s)
Hard Rock tough enough to grind stone down.

• Various Artists, "Dancing Time: The Best of Eastern Nigeria's Afro-Rock Exponents 1973-1977"
For a brief period in the mid-'70s, various African nations had Rock scenes, until coup tyrannies wiped them out. Never mind oppression, here's the record.

• Roxy Music, Catalog Remasters (1972-82)
The first two and the last two are essential, and the journey arcs from edgy to groovy.

• Sex Pistols, "Never Mind the Bollocks" (1977)
THE Punk band, THE Punk record.

• The Avengers, "The Avengers" (1979)
Essential record from the San Francisco punk band.

• Francis Bebey, "African Electronic Music 1975-1982"
New frontiers in motherland futurism.

• 23 Skidoo, "Seven Songs" (1979)
PunkFunk for your badonkadonk.

• Electric Light Orchestra, "Mr. Blue Sky: The Best of..." (1970s)
If The Beatles had made really smart Disco Pop...

• 1980s •

• Feedtime, "The Aberrant Years" (1980s)
Ferocious roar that hinges Hardcore Punk into Grunge.

• Tom Tom Club, "Tom Tom Club" / "Close To the Bone" (1981/1983)
The first two albums, essential and finally remastered and rereleased.

• Talk Talk, "Spirit of Eden" (1989)
At first New Wave, then Psyche Soul, the band evolved into epic Floyd-ian moodscapes with this neglected gem.

• Pixies, catalog box set (1987-92)
The crucial guitar-driven band that drug Indie Rock into the light, igniting Janes Addiction and Nirvana to take the torch next.

• 1990s •

• Bikini Kill, "Bikini Kill" (1992)
Revolution Girl Style Now and forever.

• My Bloody Valentine, Catalog Remasters (1990s)
Moody Shoegaze trances for the ages, anticipating cinematic TripHop just around the corner.

• Massive Attack, "Blue Lines" (1992)
TripHop, and you don't stop.

• Soundgarden, Vinyl Catalog (1989-96)
Grunge was the perfect merger of Punk rage and Classic Rock mejesty.

• 2000s •

• Goldfrapp, "The Singles" (2000s)
Electro-Glam for your foxy orgy.

© Tym Stevens

"A splendid time is guaranteed for all!"

Monday, January 14, 2013

BEST MOVIES & TV: 2012

The Great, The Good, and The Interesting!

P R O M E T H E U S

Shortcut links:
• BEST MOVIES: 2012
• BEST DOCUMENTARIES: 2012
• BEST TV: 2012

Note: This will often spotlight directors for special merit.
But Auteur Theory is a shoebox; films are a collaborative effort with everyone involved.

"And... Action!"

B E S T
M O V I E S :
2 0 1 2

E R O S

✭✭✭✭✭
• PARIAH ⇧
One of the best movies of the year.
Rings true and deep in every moment.

• HYSTERIA
The origin of the Vibrator: a love story.
Spread the good vibes!

• SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED
A special gem.

• Q (a.k.a., 'Desire'; France)
Lust is all you knead.

• CLOUD ATLAS
Love is all you need.

T H I N K

✭✭✭✭✭
• BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD ⇧
One of the best movies of the year.
A surreal allegory of poor survival in the Louisiana swamps, with a touch of magic realism. Startling, fearless, intimate, epic.

• WAR WITCH (Canada)
One of the best movies of the year.
An African girl who was forced into being a child soldier struggles to be free. Viscerally intense both visually and emotionally.

• RED TAILS
Good, with some clumsy moments but many more great ones.
There can never be enough movies about the Tuskegee Airmen.

• THE KID WITH A BIKE (Belgium)
A quiet mystery that takes hold of your heart.

• ON THE ROAD
Pretty darn good translation of the book.
A bop prosody for film.

• ARGO
A true C.I.A. rescue mission using a fake Sci-Fi movie storyboarded by Jack Kirby.
Well, what are you waiting for?

• ARBITRAGE
Do The Rich always get away with murder?

• LINCOLN
A fine companion to A Color Purple and Amistad.
Now if only someone would make "Douglass" and "Tubman".

• ZERO DARK THIRTY
Mixed feelings, honestly, but the climax is undeniably riveting.
The true star is Kathryn Bigelow's direction.

• WHERE DO WE GO NOW?
The women in a Lebanese village use every scheme to stop the dumb-ass men from killing each other over religion.
A bittersweet parable from writer/director/star Nadine Labaki.

The Dark Side of Genius, Dept.
Alfred Hitchcock

(l) Anthony Hopkins; (r) Toby Jones and friend.

See Hitchcock and The Girl, in that order, for a letter-perfect double feature.

• HITCHCOCK ⇧
First see this deviously wry take on the making of Psycho (1960) and its trying toll on Hitch's wife, Alma (Helen Mirren)...

• THE GIRL ⇧
...and then this more tensely dark take on the making of The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1965), and Hitch's unfair toll on Tippi Hedren (Sienna Miller).

S M I L E

• SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED ⇧
Low-key greatness for the ages.
Sharp, tender, tricky.

✭✭✭✭✭
• INTOUCHABLES (France)
Excellent, cocky, touching.
I laughed more at this film than most of the comedies below combined.

• EXTRATERRESTRIAL (a.k.a., 'Extraterrestre'; Spain)
Maybe aliens have invaded, but there's always time for an affair.

• TO ROME WITH LOVE
A good cast, but Woody steals the screen every time.

• 2 DAYS IN NEW YORK
A fine sequel to the great 2 DAYS IN PARIS (2007): hilarious!
Julie Delpy writes, directs, stars in, scores for, and edits it all.

• YOUR SISTER'S SISTER
That ubiquitous Mark Duplass flails in an unlikely triangle with Emily Blunt and her sister.

• THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
Uneven, but fun and charming. Judi Dench.

• THE GIANT MECHANICAL MAN
The dialogue's a little flat, but it's generally good.

• SEARCHING FOR A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD
Low-key, left-field, softly poignant.

• ROBOT AND FRANK
A smart and genuine comedy, with Frank Langella's best performance.

D R E A M

• SKYFALL ⇧ >>
The darkest, deepest, and most daring Bond ever.

• HAYWIRE
A lo-fi homage to early '70s action films, by Soderbergh.

• UPSIDE DOWN
Once past the syrupy narration intro, there's sweet love and eye candy.

• JOHN CARTER
Truth: This is a fine homage to the novels that spawned all modern Sci-Fi and superheroes; smart folks like Neal Adams, Walt Simonson, and Howard Chaykin loved it; and it made its money back globally.
False: Any comment from snarks ignorant of the seminal novels which created every modern thing they love.> Go get a tardy pass, kid.

• LOOPER
This is a fun B-movie, clever and a little moving.
Reviews trumpeting it over "John Carter" and "Prometheus" are ill-considered.

• CLOUD ATLAS
Irregular parts but I enjoy the sum.

• LIFE OF PI
What's the narrative of your spirit?

• THE HOBBIT: An Unexpected Journey
It's all there and done lovingly fine.

N I G H T M A R E

✭✭✭✭✭
• PROMETHEUS ⇧
There have been enough remakes of Alien.
Instead, Ridley Scott bravely gave us something more visionary with a new direction.

• CABIN IN THE WOODS
A metatext, not just on horror movies,
but -more deeply- audiences.

• THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH (French/Polish)
Understated, deft, mysterious. Between Hitchcock and Roeg.

• THE POSSESSION
Nothing will ever approach The Exorcist.
But this is pretty solid, with a good cast and a fresh Hebraic angle.

• SOUND OF MY VOICE
Co-writer/producer/star Brit Marling (Another Earth) wins again.

THE COMEBACK KID?, Dept:
Jennifer Lynch

In the early '90s, David Lynch was riding high on the initial success of TWIN PEAKS, while his daughter Jennifer also wrote the excellent tie-in bestseller, "The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer".

When PEAKS was cancelled, David was unofficially blackballed for these last two decades. This kneejerk backlash also derailed Jennifer after her directorial debut, BOXING HELENA (1993).

Jennifer finally came back via Canada with SURVEILLANCE (2008), an intense and underrated thriller with Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman that no one saw.

With no support, she was finally forced to make an exploitation horror film in Bollywood. It was a nightmare that may ultimately turn out for the best.

• HISSS (a.k.a., Nagin The Snake Woman, 2010)
The final edit was taken from her.> (Even the name says 'His'.) And yet it's still pretty good.
A goddess star, inspired eroticism, elegant cinematography, and a sense of humor shine through. Herrrs, baby.

Jennifer then returned to Canada to make a low-key thriller.

• CHAINED (2012)
Dark, claustrophobic, anguished.
As good or better than any other thriller director out there not being routinely blacklisted.

But now a beam may have come through the clouds...

• DESPITE THE GODS (2012)
A documentary about Lynch's horrible trials trying to make "Hisss" in India.
Critically lauded, the film earned uniform sympathy for Lynch and her travails.
> despitethegods.com

Jennifer has a new thriller film with Tim Roth called "A Fall From Grace" in development.

In the meantime, her universally-loved "The Secret Diary of Laura Palmer" has returned to print in a new edition, with intros by PEAKS creators Mark Frost and David Lynch.

".elyts ni kcab emoc ot gniog si
ekil uoy mug tahT"

G R A P H I C
I M A G E S

• THE DARK KNIGHT RISES ⇧
> Four Color Films review
The Harvard of hero films, the highest standard, comes to a majestic close.

• THE AVENGERS
> Four Color Films review
Writer/director Joss Whedon perfectly balances about 74 hot potatoes in this film without breaking a sweat. Miraculous.

• THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN
> Four Color Films review
The reboot we all dreaded came out great.
Think of it as the 'Ultimate Spider-Man' equivalent for films.

• CHRONICLE
From smarts and pure verve, this stunning indie gets everything right.

• ALTER EGOS
No-budget indie comedy with some savvy moves.

A R T F L I X

• BRAVE ⇧
This should have been a great film about a warrior princess' journey.
It's still a pretty good one about family.

• THE LORAX
Some inspired invention, a crucial moral.
Strongest when satire, softest when saccharine.

• WRECK-IT RALPH
I like that it made all video games into a mythos, and turned them inside out with respect.
Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch.

• PARANORMAN
Irreverent, edgier, adolescent. Not perfect, but different.

• HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA
Pinballs between Pixar inspiration and Dreamworks clatter, but still worth the ride.
By Genddy Tartakovsky ("Samurai Jack").

• ZARAFA (France)
A hand-animated film where an African boy travels far in his promise to protect a baby giraffe.
Progressive, satiric, heartfelt, a slyly transgressive marvel.

• A LETTER TO MOMO (Japan)
This hand-animated wonder, about a young girl overcoming loss with the help of mythic goblins, is as hilarious as it is frequently moving. A fine film in every way.

B E S T
D O C U M E N T A R I E S :
2 0 1 2

• WE ARE LEGION ⇧
The rise of Anonymous and hacker activism.
"People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people."

• THIS IS NOT A FILM
A Iranian man in a room with a camera, incarnating the entire war of the creative soul versus the tyrannic state.
This is for real.

• 5 BROKEN CAMERAS
Every time a Palestinian farmer films the abuses against his people by Israeli forces, he is assualted and his cameras destroyed.

• PAYBACK
Does the concept of debt and payback really work toward justice around the world?, asks author Margaret Atwood.

• THE INVISIBLE WAR
The ongoing cover-up of rape in the U.S. military.

• A LIAR'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The life of Graham. Chapman, that is, from 'Monty Python's Flying Circus'!

• THE DUST BOWL
Ken Burns' 4-episode overview of the '30s Depression natural disaster.

• SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN
Sometimes quality finally gets its due.

• A BAND CALLED DEATH
Death invented AfroPunk in the mid-'70s, and no one knew it. Now they return.

• COMIC-CON Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
"Turn and face the strange." A doc on the Mothership of genre conventions, by Morgan Spurlock ("Supersize Me").
Creatives are the real culture rebels.
➤ How STAR WARS Is Changing Everything!

B E S T
T V :
2 0 1 2

(The season number follows each title.)

D R A M A

• GAME OF THRONES 2 ⇧
✭✭✭✭✭
The finest, deepest drama on television.

• THE KILLING 2
a) The original Danish first season was 20 episodes, a bit wobbly toward the end before a grand save.
b) The American version wisely split the story across two seasons,
expanded the character depth, ironed out the wobble, and closed with a different fine ending.

• MAD MEN 5
Jessica Paré and 1967 refreshed it.

W O N D E R

• FRINGE 5 ⇧
The show that fought the good fight bows out.

• AWAKE 1
Gone too soon, but good while it lasted.

U K

✭✭✭✭✭
• SHERLOCK 2 ⇧
The best got better.
The opener, "A Scandal in Belgravia", is greatness that increases with each viewing.

• THE BLETCHLEY CIRCLE 1
A quartet of female WWII codebreakers reunites to stop a serial killer. Excellent!

• DOCTOR WHO 7
More focused, less frantic than 6. And a promising new Companion.

• MISFITS 4
There's a new cast. Can it stay fresh and go forward?
I'm feeling Yes and No the whole way.

• THE HOUR 2

• COPPER 1

• RIPPER STREET 1
COPPER is always good, RIPPER is always great.

C O M E D Y

• ELEMENTARY ⇧
I was the loudest grouch about 'America ripping off SHERLOCK'.
And it turned out just fine on its own merits.

© Tym Stevens