Good news! This is a "Call Me Maybe" and "Gangnam Style" free zone. That shit sucks. Ok... now that that's out of the way, let's move on to stuff that matters.
Every year, I draft a few lists in the middle of December to recap the year in pop culture. It's a relatively simple concept, and I won't waste any more of your time explaining it. Two quick things though:
1) 2011s recap is still available below if you'd like to revisit that or check it out for the first time. I've been doing these lists for a few years, but 2011 & 2012 are the only ones published anywhere.
2) Next year, these lists will be found in a completely different location, and hopefully presented in a different context. Working with some others since approximately August, we have developed an idea to launch our own website. The name is still undecided. The launch time is undecided. But... we have nailed down some content. In the vein of The AV Club or Grantland, the goal is to provide our impressions and thoughts on topical pop culture happenings. We'll preview and recap television shows, we'll review albums, we'll talk sports. We'll pretty much do whatever we want, and we'll do it on our terms. It's just a little side project to keep us sane as we sit in our cubicles. Anyone willing to help out and contribute some short articles or thoughts on anything, contact myself or Ben Fries (@MrFries69) and we'll work you in. The more contributors we have, the more content we'll be able to generate. Any help is appreciated.
And now, I've rambled long enough. On to the lists:
Top Albums of 2012
Every year, I draft a few lists in the middle of December to recap the year in pop culture. It's a relatively simple concept, and I won't waste any more of your time explaining it. Two quick things though:
1) 2011s recap is still available below if you'd like to revisit that or check it out for the first time. I've been doing these lists for a few years, but 2011 & 2012 are the only ones published anywhere.
2) Next year, these lists will be found in a completely different location, and hopefully presented in a different context. Working with some others since approximately August, we have developed an idea to launch our own website. The name is still undecided. The launch time is undecided. But... we have nailed down some content. In the vein of The AV Club or Grantland, the goal is to provide our impressions and thoughts on topical pop culture happenings. We'll preview and recap television shows, we'll review albums, we'll talk sports. We'll pretty much do whatever we want, and we'll do it on our terms. It's just a little side project to keep us sane as we sit in our cubicles. Anyone willing to help out and contribute some short articles or thoughts on anything, contact myself or Ben Fries (@MrFries69) and we'll work you in. The more contributors we have, the more content we'll be able to generate. Any help is appreciated.
And now, I've rambled long enough. On to the lists:
Top Albums of 2012
Honorable Mention: Trampled by Turtles [Stars & Satellites]; Anberlin [Vital]; Of Monsters and Men [My Head is an Animal]; Storm the Beaches [Hemisphere]; Fun. [Some Nights]
#10) Yellowcard [Southern Air]
#09) Gary Clark Jr. [Blak And Blu]
#08) Motion City Soundtrack [GO]
#07) - Jack White [Blunderbuss]
#06) Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band [Wrecking Ball]
#05) The Lumineers [Self Titled]
#04) The Gaslight Anthem [Handwritten]
#03) Mumford & Sons [Babel]
#02) Japandroids [Celebration Rock]
#01) The Menzingers [On the Impossible Past]
Top Songs of 2012
Honorable Mention: Stubborn Love [The Lumineers]; Land of Hope & Dreams [Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band]; Travis County [Gary Clark Jr.]; Hold On [Alabama Shakes]; Take A Walk [Passion Pit]
#10 - Where the Kids Are [Blondfire]
#09 - No Tell [Smoke & Jackal]
#08 - Mountain Sound [Of Monsters and Men]
#07 - Forest Whitaker [Bad Books]
#06 - Fire's Highway [Japandroids]
#05 - Freedom at 21 [Jack White]
#04 - Casey [The Menzingers]
#03 - Handwritten [The Gaslight Anthem]
#02 - Babel [Mumford & Sons]
#01 - Anna Sun [Walk the Moon]
Most Disappointing Albums of 2012
#03 - The Spill Canvas [Gestalt]
#02 - The Killers [Battle Born]
#01 - The Early November [In Currents]
Top Television Shows of 2012
With all due respect to HBO and their quality programming (which I have yet to finish...), 2012 belonged to AMC. And there's almost no way to differentiate the three shows I did decide to list. So that brings us here:
#01c - Homeland
#01b - Mad Men
#01a - Breaking Bad
Top Television Episodes of 2012
#10 - A Gettysburg Address [Homeland]
#09 - Louis C.K./Fun. [Saturday Night Live]
#08 - Blackwater [Game of Thrones]
#07 - Halloween Surprise [Parks & Recreation]
#06 - Commissions and Fees [Mad Men]
#05 - Dead Freight [Breaking Bad]
#04 - 5/1 [The Newsroom]
#03 - Q & A [Homeland]
#02 - Say My Name [Breaking Bad]
#01 - The Other Woman [Mad Men]
Top Movie of 2012
I only see a handful of movies (4 this year), and I rarely like any of them. I guess one-for-four (with Lincoln still on the table) isn't totally terrible.
#01 - Argo
Sportsman of the Year
#10 - Victor Cruz
#09 - Alex Morgan
#08 - Usain Bolt
#07 - Mike Trout
#06 - Andy Murray
#05 - Doug O'Neill & "I'll Have Another"
#04 - Lebron James
#03 - Miguel Cabrera
#02 - Lionel Messi
#01 - R.A. Dickey
And finally, I'll end it with the perfect mashup of terrible pop music, piss poor lipsyncing, and entertaining sports personalities...
Most Disappointing Albums of 2012
#03 - The Spill Canvas [Gestalt]
#02 - The Killers [Battle Born]
#01 - The Early November [In Currents]
Top Television Shows of 2012
With all due respect to HBO and their quality programming (which I have yet to finish...), 2012 belonged to AMC. And there's almost no way to differentiate the three shows I did decide to list. So that brings us here:
#01c - Homeland
#01b - Mad Men
#01a - Breaking Bad
Top Television Episodes of 2012
#10 - A Gettysburg Address [Homeland]
#09 - Louis C.K./Fun. [Saturday Night Live]
#08 - Blackwater [Game of Thrones]
#07 - Halloween Surprise [Parks & Recreation]
#06 - Commissions and Fees [Mad Men]
#05 - Dead Freight [Breaking Bad]
#04 - 5/1 [The Newsroom]
#03 - Q & A [Homeland]
#02 - Say My Name [Breaking Bad]
#01 - The Other Woman [Mad Men]
Top Movie of 2012
I only see a handful of movies (4 this year), and I rarely like any of them. I guess one-for-four (with Lincoln still on the table) isn't totally terrible.
#01 - Argo
Sportsman of the Year
#10 - Victor Cruz
#09 - Alex Morgan
#08 - Usain Bolt
#07 - Mike Trout
#06 - Andy Murray
#05 - Doug O'Neill & "I'll Have Another"
#04 - Lebron James
#03 - Miguel Cabrera
#02 - Lionel Messi
#01 - R.A. Dickey
And finally, I'll end it with the perfect mashup of terrible pop music, piss poor lipsyncing, and entertaining sports personalities...
Thank you for reading, watching, and listening. See you in a few months at website launch!
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