Favourite Stuff of 2007

So Dennis tagged me to revisit all of my great loves of 2007. Phew....this one is gonna be tough. Kaili I drag you into this challenge!

Music

Seriously?? This is going to be borderline impossible -- there were a lot of great records this year. Let's go with the hardcore greats for me and then throw in some honourable mentions.

1. Joel Plaskett - Ashtray Rock: The only thing I love more than Joel Plaskett is Joel Plaskett and the Emergency. This record is highschool in a record. It's fun, catchy, sing-songy and translates impeccably into a live show.
2. The Weakerthans - Reunion Tour: In all honesty, this record could have been garbage and I still would have loved it just cuz it was a new record. After eons of nothing from them they put out this glorious glorious record that is all things you love about the Weakerthans.
3. New Pornographers -- Challengers: And I thought Twin Cinema was a great record....little did I know what was to come.
4. Wilco -- Sky Blue Sky: It's not like anything they've put out over the last few years. Jeff Tweedy said himself this will be the last record like this they will make. Whether he's backed by a huge cacophany of sound or just one guitar, Jeff Tweedy really is one of music's best songwriters.
5. Feist -- The Reminder: It's an outstanding follow up to an equally outstanding first album. She delivers every song live in the same calibre as it sounds on the record and if you've really listened to her stuff, that says a lot.
6. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible: Really there's nothing to say about this record that hasn't already been said. They faced the near impossible task of following up Funeral and they did just that and then some. I don't care what the uber-hipsters say -- these guys are amazing and put on one of the best live shows I've seen.
7. Honourable mentions: The Sadies - New Seasons, Jenn Grant - Orchestra For The Moon, Immaculate Machine - Fables, The Pipettes - We Are the Pipettes, Peter Elkas - Wall of Fire, Nathan Lawr & The Minotaurs -- A Sea of Tiny Lights

Movies

Yet another tough one....

1. Away From Her: Even though I saw this in 2006 I'm including it in this year's list cuz it wasn't released everywhere until this year. I hadn't seen a movie that affected me quite as much as this one did in years and years. It really makes you treasure those around you and frankly, terrified me for what might come in the future. Getting to shake hands with Gordon Pinsent after the show didn't hurt either...
2. Superbad: As a rule, I don't really like movies like this. Considering I laughed almost start to finish I had to include it on this list.
3. The Darjeeling Limited: As I said in my review of this movie earlier in my blog, even Wes Anderson's lesser movies are better than most other director's best movies. Beautiful to watch, perfect soundtrack, great casting and a bit of a more serious tone than past movies. Wes would have to go pretty far off track for me to dislike his work.
4. Lars & The Real Girl: Maybe cuz it's fresh in my mind I'm including this one. I just thought it was so touching and sad and very well done. It could have so easily gone bad and for me it was just right.
5. Run, Fat Boy, Run: I never miss a chance for some great British humour and this movie did not disappoint.

TV Shows

Obviously the return of old faves like The Office and Weeds need no mention so let's focus on the new stuff

1. Dirty Sexy Money: The return of primetime soap opera drama "Dynasty" style and Peter Krause? You had me at Dirty....
2. Pushing Daisies: This show is charming and pretty to watch. If I had a fraction of Chuck's wardrobe I'd be a happy girl. The full skirts, the dresses, the hair ribbons, the updated 1950's chic?? Talk about my dream wardrobe...
3. The Tudors: As per my blogpost a couple of weeks ago, The Tudors has become a bit of an obsession for me, it's that good.

Books

I didn't really get my hands on too much new material this year as we were really trying to focus on reading what we already had in the house. When you combine the libraries of two avid readers you end up with more books than you can read. Before we started bringing more books into the house, we're trying to make our way through the piles so here are some things I did manage to get to.

1. Harry Potter & The Deadly Hallows - JK Rowling: Yeah this one is new and I had to read it. They're great escape literature and just good fun and I am sad there will be no more.
2. Love In The Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez: I'd never read this book and found it in a box of Marc's so I thought I'd give it a go. It was so good it was hard to put down. Romantic as all get out, epic and touching, it's got everything you need. Of course it will make a great movie..
3. Lullabies for Little Criminals - Heather O'Neill: John Samson's pick for Canada Reads so I thought I'd give it a go and it didn't disappoint. Hard to read at parts due to the subject matter but brilliantly told from the prospective of a pre-teen girl.
4. The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter: I read this collection of fairytales in university as part of a Gothic Literature class and loved it so much I decided to go through it again. Carter re-tells classic fairytales and folk tales in very gothic and sometimes disturbing manner -- these are definitely not kid friendly stories. Rainy nights, magic, werewolves, blood and murder....fun stuff.
5. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry: My aunt and uncle bought me this book for Christmas last year as one they had both loved. It's heavy reading and really brings you into the life of those living in poverty stricken India. It's beautifully written and yet not easy to read.

Gadgets

This one is a bit easier for me as I'm not gadgety and didn't really get any new gadgets this year anyway.

1. My Ipod: I don't know what I would do without it. Except maybe get a bigger one.
2. My treadmill: Does this count? I'm including it anyway cuz it's great. It keeps me from getting fluffy(ier) and that's a good thing.
3. Being able to order bagels online from St. Viateur and have them show up on my doorstep in 2 days. It's not a gadget but it's technology and I love it.