The 7 Best Albums Heard in 2005

Tomorrow I move to Chicago (I actually dropped some stuff off tonight because my dad has to work tomorrow and I was storing it in his van). I will miss many things about the unemployed, Brookfield life, especially hanging out with O-Negative (despite his lies) and The Hero. These guys have made the last month very enjoyable through imitation games and bad movie rentals. Also, I woke up at 11 and took a 3-hour nap today. I'll miss that sort of thing. And I'll miss not having to shop for groceries. I really hate shopping for myself. My parents are surprisingly good at it.

I am, however, very excited to be getting on with life. I feel as if I haven't used my brain in about six months. I'm also excited to be moving back within walking distance to Dave.


The 7 Best Albums Heard in 2005

7. Sigur Rós - Takk...

This is the first Sigur Rós album that I've truly fallen in love with, although part of this may be due to seeing them play the greatest concert of my life. It boggles my mind that Sigur Rós is able to create music in the way they do. Every song is revolutionary. If you want to be blown away, listen to the piano dance with the bells and the Icelandic vocals on the track Sæglópur. This song nearly brings me to tears every time I listen to it.


6. Saxon Shore - The Exquisite Death of Saxon Shore

Simply put, the best instrumental album I've heard since Explosions in the Sky's The Earth is Not a Cold, Dead Place by the only United Statesian band on the list. Finely crafted keyboard- and guitar-based songs with drums that blend the epicness of Explosions and the creativeness of The Appleseed Cast. The perfect combination of ambiance and rock.


5. Múm - Finally We Are No One

I was late to hop onto the Múm train, as I just recently discovered them from the Wicker Park soundtrack. While that movie may not have been fantastic (although I thought it was), it did use Múm's We Have a Map of the Piano and I Can't Feel My Hand Any More, It's Alright, Sleep Tight perfectly. Another album that proves Iceland knows how to progressively rock with their accordian and haunting vocals.


4. The Most Serene Republic - Underwater Cinematographer

This album has possibly more gimmicks than that New Found Glory video. The difference is that the The Most Serene Republic cleverly uses each gimmick to make each song stand out. The combination of conventional pop-rock with hands, claps, samples of children speaking, beat boxing, conversational intros, spoken background vocals, and choral chanting makes each song unique, both from one another and from songs by any other artist.


3. Stars - Set Yourself On Fire

Another Canadian studio band to add to the list. While Stars' live show was lackluster, Set Yourself On Fire explodes with brass, strings, inventive keyboard and guitar parts, and beautiful dualing vocals. Each song provides unique and honest song-writing about love and its lack that provides the option to listen to over and over and over again.


2. M83 - Before the Dawn Heals Us

There are four songs on this album that I can't even listen to (No, Car Crash Terror is not one of these four). I have to skip them everytime they come on. However, the other ten songs are so good that this was my favorite 2005 release. Both the structured electro-rock songs (Don't Save Us From the Flames, Teen Angst) and the beatifully ethereal songs (I Guess I'm Floating, Slight Night Shiver, Let Men Burn Stars) provided the perfect summer/fall soundtrack this year. Also noteable: this album is the first album I've heard in years that sounds better as it gets louder, especially Teen Angst.


1. Tegan & Sara - So Jealous

An album full of perfect pop songs, complete with self-doubt and the best backing vocals I have ever heard. Although upon my first listen I told Metzger that I preferred the new Coldplay (slaps forehead), I quickly grew to love this album. Even now, every time I listen to So Jealous I fall in love with Tegan & Sara for the first time over and over again.

A Real IMDb Gem

I was browsing IMDb in search of praise of Big Momma's House 2, starring Mahr-in! (Martin Lawrence), when I came to a really insightful message. I looked at who had written it, and the author's name looked familiar. What he had to say was extremely insightful and will undoubtedly lead to all sorts of hilarious controversy (racism and typo's, namely).

Warning! Spoiler alert!

Another list!

People often ask me, "Pat, you love making lists, and you love celebrities. Who are your top 10 celebrity crushes at this exact moment in time?" To them, I answer:


Pat's Top 10 Celebrity Crushes at the Moment



10. Lauren Graham - Lorelai Gilmore (same initials!), you are pretty much the only thing about Gilmore Girls that's thing keeping me watching. You are also my sole reason for practicing slapping my knuckles together. Don't worry. Some day I'll finally learn how to, and the banging between my knuckles will symbolize how banging you truly are.




9. Margo Harshman - It's all about her eyes in the episode of Even Stevens where she tells Louis that she loves him. So blue! Not only is she hot, but she's got a "celebrity" blog that puts Wesley Crusher's to shame! It even has audio blogs! Also, at her website I just learned that I have indeed missed her 18th birthday. In fact I also missed her 19th birthday. Sad. At least I can feel less guilty about this obsession now.


8. Emilie de Ravin - Ever since she gave birth and was back to normal in about six days, Claire has gotten hotter and hotter each week. Seriously, every episode! Her eyes are bluer than the dude from The All-American Rejects, and her Aussie accent is fantastic. And she was pretty great in the one episode of Roswell I've seen (thanks, Jess!). Keep it up, Emilie, and you'll be Queen of the Hierarchy.






7. Kelly Clarkson - "Here's the thing, it started out good." Then it got GREAT! After witnessing what a Kelly Clarkson concert is like on the Music On Demand channels, I have decided that I have to go. The eyes on the screen above the stage? The wedding dress? The fist pumps? The Sigur Ros-like exposition? The horse trot? Next time she tours, I'll be in the front row with Brammer, pumping my fist. I've always enjoyed the Mighty KC, but my love for her has exploded with the release of "Behind These Hazel Eyes." Go listen to the dualing vocals in the second pre-chorus. I literally listened to this song about ten times straight on the walk to class one day last semester. True story.


6. Daisy - Notice how all hot cartoon characters share the same name? This Daisy, while not a duck, is the only Super Mario Strikers character that could have possibly torn me away from my love affair with Waluigi. If you haven't seen it, I suggest you check out her Shimmy-Shake immediately. Also, in her victory celebration, she licks her finger, touches her painted-on shorts, and decides it's too hot to touch. It sure is, Daisy.


5. Elizabeth Banks - The newest member of the Crush Squad, Ms. Banks has recently impressed me with her acting in The Baxter and Heights. I also just recently learned that she was the crazy girl in The 40 Year Old Virgin. I do remember thinking that she was hot, but I didn't make the connection until doing my "research" for this post. Not much to report, otherwise. We don't have much of a history. Yet.


4. Jenna Fischer - Every time I watch The Office I have an intense desire for my upcoming office life to be like this show. Ninety-eight percent of the reason for this is because of Pam. Much like Claire (#7), Pam seems to get hotter episode. It's amazing! Also, I saw Jenna Fischer on Carson Daily awhile back, and she's even hotter than Pam is!







3. Evangeline Lilly - Oh, Freckles, you make Lost so much more enjoyable each week with your fantastic smile and your assortment of tank tops that span all the colors in a Crayola 24-pack. It's no wonder your name contains both the name of a beautiful flower and the word "angel." (No, not because it's made up.)




2. Naomi Watts - My first interest in Naomi Watts happened immediately when I first saw her in Mulholland Drive. However, I didn't truly fall in "love" with her until I saw her in the Verbinski Masterpiece known as The Ring. Naomi Watts? More like Naomi Hots, as in I have them for her.






1. Sara Quin - Up until I started doing "research" for this list (Google Images), Sar-Sar was going to be number two behind Naomi Watts. However, after looking at pictures for about ten minutes, not only do I think I had a heart attack, but I've also fallen back in love with Sara. Sara embodies everything I could possibly want: hotness, humor, charm, sincerity, talent, and Canadian-ness.



So there you have it. A list of Pat's crushes that contains NO MEN. I know, I'm shocked too. I was hoping this one would maximize the number of items out so I could include everyone else I obsess over (mostly dudes), but I guess it just wasn't meant to be. Hold tight, Dr. Jack Shepard, Mark Ruffalo, and Richard Jenkins.

The 10 Best Movies Seen in 2005

People often ask me, "Pat, you love making lists, and you love movies. What are the ten best movies you saw this year?" To them I answer this:

The 10 Best Movies Seen in 2005

10. The New World - When I saw The Thin Red Line in theaters, I was bored out of my gourd, probably because I was expecting another Saving Private Ryan. This time I expected a masterpiece from Terrence Malick, and for the most part my expectations were met. The poetic internal dialogue, unbelievably gorgeous setting, and dreamlike feeling of the movie far overshadowed the problems I perceived in pacing. When I got home from this movie, I got out of my car and stared at the sky for about five minutes. Any movie that has that effect on me is ok with me.

9. Tarnation - Unfortunately, I completely missed Tarnation when it came out in 2003. Jonathan Caouette created a truly revolutionary documentary by piecing together video clips, pictures, and answering machine messages that he accumulated throughout his life. The end result is an emotional tale with a fantastic soundtrack. Also, the trailer is among the best I've ever seen. Check out the transition from preteen Jonathan pushing his hair back to adult Jonathan doing the same thing. Genius.

8. The Edukators - Crazy German kids kidnap a Capitalist fat cat and take him on a soul-searching retreat in the mountains? I'm sold. Again, great landscape shots made it pretty, and the discussion, albeit extremely slanted, of the benefits of Socialism kept me interested all the way through the vague, abrupt ending (perhaps my favorite kind of ending).

7. Brokeback Mountain - More proof that I'll like a movie as long as its got some pretty scenery to go along with it. The mountains, that is, not that Nip/Tuck chick. While the plot was a fresh and endearing story of love, the fantastic nature shots and the acoustic score were enough for me to love this movie. It has also provided some great quotes for the impression game that Harry and I play.

6. War of the Worlds - This is the first movie I've seen since Jurassic Park that made me feel like I was 12 again. As soon as the huge robots came out of the ground and started charring everyone in sight, covering the survivors in their ashy remnants, I was unable to blink. Also, looking over at Wipert as he had a similar reaction was among my favorite movie-going experiences of the year. Sure, the ending was a letdown and that Tim Robbins scene was grueling, but the rest of this movie returned me to a time when every movie I saw was the best movie I had ever seen.

5. The Squid and the Whale- Right from the opening scene in which the central conflict is demonstrated through a family-splitting tennis match, this movie presents the best story about the intricate effects of divorce that I have ever seen. Even though the characters are all pretty unlikeable, you can't help but sympathize with them as they struggle with the new rift in the family. Jeff Daniels (Mr. Ryan plus a beard) and Laura Linney were both great, the two actors that played the children gave surprising performances, and I even enjoyed the Baldwin brother.

4. The Weather Man - Gore Verbinski returns, folks! This movie was a movie of excess for Dave and I. We saw this movie as the "popcorn movie" (the second movie) of a double feature. After seeing the disappointing Shop Girl, we made our way to the arthouse theater in Mayfair Cinema to see the Weatherman. With popcorn and soda in hand, we relaxed in the great leather seats, with a table between us, to enjoy this movie. Delicious. Nicholas Cage was excellent as a the terrible, yet trying, father/weatherman. I felt especially drawn to the plot of a man who had settled for mediocrity in his life trying to find personal excellence. Hopeful, relatable, and set in Chicago. Any movie that is set in Chicago immediately gets five points, even Derailed.

3. Stay - I haven't seen a movie this confusing since Mulholland Drive. The only difference was that Stay actually had a payoff! The confusing manner in which the story was told was appropriately matched by an intriguing style and captivating music. Ryan Gosling and Ewan McGregor were great, and Naomi Watts was fantastic as always (see future list #2). I can't wait until this movie comes out on DVD so I can rewatch it and look for all the hints that I completely missed the first time.

2. The Baxter - I'm a sucker for Romantic Comedies. In a year where the genre largely failed me (Must Love Dogs, Just Like Heaven, both of which I am ashamed to admit I saw in theaters), The Baxter was not only an enjoyable RomCom, but perhaps the best I've ever seen. Fantastic performances by Showalter, that Joe guy from Six Feet Under, Peter Dinklage, and, most importantly, Elizabeth Banks. And celebrity impressions game that Justin Theroux and Paul Rudd play in the bar brought me to tears both times I saw it. "I'm an electric man...."

1. Me and You and Everyone We Know- I watched this movie in my lonely apartment shortly after I had returned to Madison for my last semester. Most of my friends had moved on, and during this particular weekend many of those that hadn't (namely, Metzger) were gone. I felt really disconnected from the world. Had I watched Me and You and Everyone We Know in another situation, it may not have had such a strong effect. This movie studies the awkward difficulty people face when trying to connect with one another, and it is backed up with the best film score of the year, fantastic acting by everyone (ha!), and a phenomenal first directing effort by Miranda July. A truly beautiful film.