Best Of 2008
chimp71
another decent year of pop culture for me, feels like there's been lots of good stuff to get into this year...
TV
The Wire (FX) - season five bowed out in great form. Still the greatest.
Mad Men (BBC4) - convincing, slowburn drama, with fascinating take on early 60s life.
Breaking Bad (FX) Engrossing suburban drug-dealing tension.
Battlestar Galactica (Sky1) - trippy, political, enigmantic, moving sci-fi with some great space battles thrown in for good measure. Don't want it to end, but I do want to find out where they're going with it.
30 Rock (Five) - made even better by Tina Fey getting rid of Sarah Palin.
Summer Heights High (BBC3) - don't want to be rude, but seriously, did you miss this? That's so random.
Criminal Justice (BBC1) - five nights of proper drama.
Film
Waltz With Bashir - brilliantly thoughtful animation, covering memory, loss and the intensity of war.
Man On Wire - beautifully simple doc about a tightrope walk between the Twin Towers. High tension line, indeed.
Gomorrah - brutal Italian mob chaos.
In Search Of A Midnight Kiss - lo-fi indie romance
also enjoyed: The Dark Knight, Iron Man, In Bruges, No Country For Old Men
Albums
TV On The Radio - Dear Science an album that sounds like it could only have been made in 2008.
Black Mountain - In The Future retro maybe, but totally heavy and pretty essential
Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes great debut.
Bon Iver - For Emma - as was this.
Santogold - Santogold (and Top Ranking, the Diplo-Dub) - and this!
also enjoyed: Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend, Grace Jones - Hurricane, Catfish Haven - Devastator
Gigs
Black Mountain - The Scala (great just after breakfast at Glastonbury too)
Jay-Z - Glastonbury a proper big moment. His cover of Wonderwall was deft, subtle and hilarious all at the same time.
Grace Jones - Royal Festival Hall disco from another dimension. Total legend.
Justice - Somerset House huge, gut-shaking digital rock, great to see in a classic setting.
Bjork - Hammersmith Apollo - still one of the best live acts around.
Also enjoyed: Matthew Herbert Big Band - Royal Festival Hall, Radiohead - Victoria Park
Links
Tags
18th Dec 2008 - Tumblr
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