My favorite stuff of 2010
Wednesday, January 5th, 2011Although I’m sure I’ve forgotten some stuff I loved, here’s my “Year’s Favorites” list.
Blog: My favorite addition to my Google Reader feed in 2010 was OUR VALUED CUSTOMERS. Featuring the overheard ranting of customers at the author’s job at a comic book shop, the single panel stylized cartoon renderings of customers and the dumb-ass things they say is always good for a chuckle. New posts come often, so it’s a perfect addition to your RSS feed.
Book: It snuck in right at the end, but Swords & Dark Magic, edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou Anders and published by Eos is pretty rad. The cover copy calls it a swords and sorcery revival anthology, but to be honest I found it a bit shallow on the swords. What it does have is very entertaining short stories from great fantasy authors. It’s the one of the best short fiction anthologies I’ve read in recent years. Actually, it’s just one of the best short fiction anthologies I’ve read, period.
Highlights include… you know, they’re all pretty good. Check it out if you’re into dark fantasy. If you’re not sure if this is your thing, this a great sampler to find out.
Movie: Another end of the year entry, Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan takes home the movie prize. It’s a stunning look at obsession, perfection, and self-control. The little touches really push it over the top. I thought the murky liminal trail between magical realism and madness was walked beautifully. Christopher Nolan’s ambitiously imperfect Inception was a favorite as well, but it didn’t have the emotional impact of Black Swan. It was so good at making me feel awful and tense that I’m not sure I ever want to see it again.
Album: My favorite record in 2010 was The Sword’s Warp Riders. I originally heard The Sword in Guitar Hero 2 with their track “Freya.” The Sword creates D&D stoner metal of the highest order, full of references that my barely contained inner 15-year-old can’t get enough of.
Warp Riders features shiny new and improved production value over The Sword’s first two records. Even better, it’s a science fantasy pulp epic. A loosely constructed tale of barbaric archers, prophetic witches, and haughty chronomancers, Warp Riders lives up to it’s 70′s space fantasy cover. It’s equal parts Frank Herbert’s Dune and the bizarre shorts of Jack Vance.
TV: My favorite TV show of 2010 was easily FX’s (now canceled) Terriers. Starring Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James, it was a witty noir about two unlicensed private detectives in San Diego, CA. One was a disgraced former cop and recovering alcoholic. The other was a reformed thief. The dynamic relationship between two men was well written and touching. Terriers was the story of one man trying to put his life back together while another was getting his together for the first time.
What seemed like an episodic “case a week” detective show quickly turned out to be one long noir story of corruption, murder, and character development not usually seen outside of a film. While this probably worked against the show for those dropping in for an episode now and again, it’s what made the entire show so damn good.
Luckily the single season of Terriers hangs together as a coherent story. The end feels more like the end of a novel than a season finale cliffhanger. Granted, it feels like the kind of novel that leaves you ready for a sequel (which is sadly never coming), but I don’t think anyone who loves great television will be sorry if they pick up Terriers when it comes out on DVD.
So, yup. That’s some of my favorite stuff from last year.