Top 5 TV Shows:
- Portlandia: My love for this show is no secret to those who have listened to even one episode of Watchin' Stuff, but I will take this opportunity to give it one last shout-out for the year. Though I did technically discover this show in late 2011, it has been a major aspect of my 2012 and I highly recommend it to the the few of you who have yet to see it.
- Misfits: Though I don't have the same attachment to Misfits as I do to Portlandia, this is a show I came to greatly enjoy over our summer hiatus. It's fun, well-written and British. What more can you ask for?
- Louie: Though I've been watching Louie for a while, this is another show I grew to love over summer hiatus. I always thought season one was good but, in my opinion, it just got better with season two and three. If you're a fan of dark humor and can take a bit of discomfort in your comedy, Louie is probably for you.
- American Horror Story Season One: I'm gonna be very specific about the fact that I'm recommending season one only. I rang in 2012 with this creepy, Ryan Murphy show and didn't regret it one bit. Season one is now on Netflix and I highly recommend it for fans of horror on any level but, unfortunately, season two has been a bit of a letdown.
- Lip Service: A show for a niche audience perhaps, but a very entertaining Scottish, lesbian drama in any event. If you liked The L Word, you'll most likely enjoy this one. Although, I will say, things kinda fall apart at the end of season two so just bear that in mind.
Top 5 Movies:
- The Skin I Live In: Recommended to be by "friend of the show Chloe Holtzman", this was the best movie I saw in 2012. The best Almodovar film I've seen thus far, The Skin I Live In has plot twists, drama, intrigue, sexuality and Elena Anaya, everything you could ever hope for in a movie. I can't say too much for fear of ruining it but just do me a favor and watch it.
- Paris Is Burning: Since watching this documentary for the first time in September I have watched it three or four more times with others in order to show them it's beauty. By giving an in-depth portrayal of the Harlem drag scene of the late 80s, Paris Is Burning basically serves as the dark precursor to RuPaul's Drag Race.
- Paper Man: A spontaneous Netflix choice of my roommate Sarah and I, Paper Man was probably the best surprise like of 2012 for me. Do you like Jeff Daniels and Emma Stone? Of course you do. So, you should probably watch this movie.
- Tomboy: Over the summer, many of my nights were spent watching things that sounded interesting on Netflix; this was one of those late-night picks. A French film about a pre-teen trans boy, Tomboy was the best of all the films I saw from the gay & lesbian category on Netflix all year.
- Billy Elliot: A movie that has been recommended to me countless times since I was about thirteen, I finally got around to seeing Billy Elliot over the summer and it didn't disappoint. If you like heartwarming movies about kids who must overcome adversity to follow their dreams, you will love Billy Elliot and it will make you cry.
Top 10 Songs:
- "Violet" - Hole: Though I've owned this song for years I only just formed an emotional connection with it this year. I basically love everything about it, the guitar, Courtney Love's aggression, the lyrics, the rise and fall of energy, just everything.
- "Future Crimes" - Wild Flag: As much as I hate to admit it, I have to confess that I only started listening to Wild Flag after I started watching Portlandia. Though I was a bandwagoner of sorts in that respect, I fell in love with song as soon as I heard it. My favorite Wild Flag song to date and it was even better live at the Fillmore in April.
- "Here I Am" - Tegan and Sara: Though I started listening to this song a bit before 2012, it has remained one of my favorites until this very day. No matter how many times I hear it, the end still gets me. Most of the time when it comes up on shuffle I have to hear it multiple times in a row before I'm ready to move on to the next song. Early Tegan and Sara at their very best here.
- "Sail" - Awolnation: The only song on the list I discovered through a friend, I first heard this song on my friends Alyse and Dylan's radio show in May. Since then it's been one of those songs that I just love to walk down the street to. The driving beat gives me so much determination that (even though I'm the only one who can hear it) makes me feel like a much more intense and important person and I like it.
- "Waiting Room" - Fugazi: Over the course of the last few years I've been working on diversifying my music library by branching out into offshoots of styles I already enjoy. At the beginning of 2012, I finally found my way to Fugazi. Although it's not exactly a deep cut, I've had a great affinity for this song all year.
- "How To Play Dead" - Sleater-Kinney: Although I was already familiar with Sleater-Kinney before I started watching Portlandia, I'm not gonna lie, it did inspire me to dig a little deeper into their catalogue (deeper as in all the way to the bottom). I have too many favorite S-K songs to reasonably mention on here so I decided to go with this ditty off their first album because, for whatever reason, we formed a special bond the very first time I heard it. Whether inspired by my love for the recently formed band grit of the song overall or Carrie Brownstein's aggressive, pseudo-feminit, anti-blowjob lyrics, "How to Play Dead" will always hold a special place in my heart.
- "Commit a Crime" - Mr. Airplane Man: I was originally inspired to go out and find this song in order to play it on our Music Show many months back and since then I've come to love it dearly. As I said on the show, I first heard it in an episode of The L Word and thought it was one of the (for lack of a better word) coolest songs I'd heard in quite a while. If I knew how to play the guitar, I would learn this song and play it all the time.
- "Eye" - Smashing Pumpkins: This song from David Lynch's Lost Highway was one of my best pandora finds of all time. Though not always accurate, sometimes pandora is spot on and gives you gold like this song. I was never a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan but this song made me reconsider. It's like if Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode had a beautiful, synth-filled baby and I love it.
- "Color Me Once" - Violent Femmes: The slowest of all the songs I've included on the list, this Violent Femmes song from The Crow is very dark, a little creepy and, in my opinion, incredibly sexy. I'm not sure if it's my favorite Violent Femmes song, or if it's just tied for first with "Add It Up" and "Kiss Off" but it's certainly the one that makes me feel the most. Do me a favor, turn off all the lights, light some candles and listen to this song as loud as you can handle. You won't regret it.
- "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" - The Slits: I've had this song around for a while now but I didn't really come to appreciate it until we played it in our Eastbound and Part Down show. Possibly my favorite Slits song and definitely my favorite version of this tune, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" makes me happy every time I hear it. It's one of those songs I'll forget about for a while then hear it again and realize I've missed it. And, for some reason, I love that they didn't change the words from the original to match their gender. They were just too cool to give a shit about that.
