My Favourite Movies & TV 08'

I don't think it was a good year for Film & TV,maybe because the two big ones I waited for with such great anticipation (Cloverfield,The Dark Knight) turned out to be empty doobies.Plus,I haven't really seen that many movies to begin with-I chose to keep from the cinema after a string of disappointing flicks-Pineapple Express,Mamma Mia,Bolt,Burn After Reading and I felt a lot of films this year got much more praise than they deserved (Wall-E,Iron Man).I saw a couple indie movies (Lars & the Real Girl,Waltz with Bashir),they were unlike the better ones I've seen in previous years and overall the standards for movies have been lowered for 08',thus those on my list might not be the ones appearing on others' best of lists but they were the ones I enjoyed every minute of,for one reason or another.

Best Movies 08'
5.Get Smart
4.Death Race
3.Quantum of Solace
2.House Bunny
1.Tropic Thunder

A lacklustre year for movies,but I still haven't seen The Wrestler,Slumdog Millionare,Doubt or Rachel Getting Married-all films I hope would take us out of this miserable slump.I guess the biggest conundrum on my mind is all the rave and hype for The Dark Knight-as I've said before,I think Heath Ledger's performance was merely average and everything about the film-the pace,characterization,story-seemed second-rate to the preceding Christopher Nolan batflick,05's Batman Begins.So in the end,it was the lighthearted comedies that triumphed over the overblown,big-budgeted blockbusters.

As for TV,you'll think of me as a bimbotic fairyhead after this.There were a couple shows I followed religiously-some of them earned a spot on the list,but a couple of which I did and will continue to follow have definitely seen better seasons.30 Rock especially,got off to a good start and then it was a run of celebrity actors filling the wrong roles-Jen Aniston,Steve Martin both people I love,but their performances on the show were flat and unfunny.The Office is suffering from its worst season yet,a too long season (more than 20 eps) with no real focus and viewer fatigue from Pam-Jim's long-dead "romance" (what the hell is Ryan doing there,and for no solid reason Toby reappears).

4.Keeping up with the Kardashians
3.Gossip Girl
2.Lost
1.Late Show with David Letterman

As always,there's never a shortage of truly rotten tv or films (the most recent shitty flick I saw was The Women-I hate it when the characters just ramble from start to end,using about 400% more words than necessary),but I guess I could say as a whole it was more of a hit than miss-as long as Ben Stiller and Anna Faris do the right thing and avoid retirement,and Letterman stays on air I'll have something to be entertained by.
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we were once boys too pt. 1

Kuala Gandah,Pahang.

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My Favourite Albums 08': 5-1

The Top 5
5. Van She-Van She
4.Robyn-Robyn
3.Lykke Li-Youth Novel
2.Bon Iver-For Emma,Forever Ago
1.Kanye West-808s and Heartbreak

Honorable Mentions
She & Him-Volume One
Friendly Fires-Friendly Fires
Deerhunter-Microcastle
Death Cab for cutie-Narrow Stairs
Sun Kil Moon-April
TV on the radio-Dear Science
M83-Saturdays=Youth

Best Single
Hot Chip-Ready for the floor

Most Overrated
Vampire Weekend

Biggest Disappointment/Worst Follow-Up
Kings of Leon-Only by the night

Best Gig
Robyn @ Prince Bandroom
Explosions in the Sky @ Ruums

Worst Gig
Jack Johnson @Vodafone Arena

Most Anticipated Albums 09'
Lily Allen
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Kings of Convenience

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my long armpit hair says fuck you all you pretties

"Leibya Spells Freedom" by Leibya Rogers - watch more funny videos

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My Favourite Albums 08': 10-6

We're nearing year's end,the time when most publications/blogs release their "Best of" lists.Its been a great year for many things,a number of new bands came to arena making clear efforts to sound individual and "now" (Cut Copy,Crystal Castles,The Teenagers)-while some preferred keeping to old ways (The Kills,Hold Steady,Jack Johnson) and didn't bother much with innovating,others compromised drastically to reap mainstream profits (Kings of Leon,Coldplay).On the upside,its the year indie music walked out of its dark cave into radios and onto HMV Top 10 racks (No Age,Hercules & Love Affair) also the year boybands made a small comeback (NKOTB,Boyzone),old-timers issued new records (NIN,Erykah Badu,AC/DC).In retrospect 09' made ample way for diversity in music,people took a more open approach towards music- with different types and foreign acts (Stereolab,Sigur Ros) being given fair chance.So,here goes.

10. Madonna-Hard Candy
Given,half the album is fluff and first single "4 Minutes" is another struggling attempt on her part to stay hip and rellevant (short of staging another lesbian kiss at the VMAs).Officially her seventh No. 1 album and selling 100,000 copies in the US on its first day alone,songs like Miles Away and Devil are smooth and sublime as dance-pop singles,and the album as a whole delivers unexpectedly.

9. MGMT-Oracular Spectacular
Technically out in 07',but found its popularity this year.Its been a good year for the Brooklyn-based duo,opening for Radiohead and MIA and receieving wide critical acclaim-holding a brand of eccentricity that feels far from engineered,the album's packs a lot more than the commercial successes of Kids and Time to Pretend.

8. Beach House-Devotion
Dream-pop reaches a whole new level,with an album that feels lightweight,stress-free (almost un-earthy) and easily something I've played dozens of times during the year.Also the sountrack for my weeklong Boston trip-where the city's mildness and history,the long walks along bright rivers and galleries felt suited to the album-the combined experience made me feel lost,lonely and assured.

7. Santogold-Santogold
Backed by the early support from the internet media for the singles Creator and L.E.S Artistes,she's quoted the debut album as an effort to"help break down boundaries and genre classifications".She does experiment with many different elements,as a result every song sounds like a successful stand-alone single.

6. Adele-19
She has a rich,capable voice that when coupled with the minimality of her music arrangements-makes for restful listening.Nominated for 4 Grammy's-I anticipate her second album with high expectations.Along with light ballads Daydreamer and Best for last,the Mark Ronson produced Cold Shoulder is a highlight.

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If I were a cat

I'd also like to be called Charley with the e,just so I could call myself Charley with an E.

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A love letter:Lost in Translation

This is one of those things I 'm scared to talk about in public for fear that I'll launch into a serious case of verbal diarrhea wherein I profess my love for something and won't stay quiet until everyone at the table agrees to the brilliance of it.Okay maybe not,that doesn't happen often nowadays but the excitement still shows very visibly when I talk about something I love deeply,as I try very hard when someone asks if its any good,to say with only half my mouth open "It's okay".

The first time I saw the movie was when it came out in 2003,I found it boring and paid little attention.It was only two years ago in 2006,when I believe I had matured a bit-I happened to watch the movie again,there was one week when I rented every Scarlett Johansson (she has the cutest giggle-see the wheelchair scene-and in this movie,her eyes do at least half the talking) movie in existence and bought a shitload of junk to hibernate alone for a couple days.Something bad had happened,or something bad was about to happen I don't remember,not important.Which is when my relationship with the movie began,and eventually progressed from subsequent screenings.

I like the way everything feels arranged to perfection,but natural somehow-every setting,the hotel and the neon-lit streets and everything else feels cold and colorless like a gravestone.Mr Harris whom everyone approaches with a safe distance and is trapped in a string of liaisons that feel like the commercial shoots he does-under strict orders and rules,a strange linearity that contradicts reality.And the relationship he finds with Charlotte-nothing like that trite,manufactured perfection we call love-its this understanding and connection we all might or might not yearn for,some evasive kind of fulfillment you can't quite name.

I'm sure all of us can find that the world can be an isolating place at times.Like no amount of words or experiences can prepare you for a single conversation-a profound lack of something in your daily encounters,when even the smallest things like a phone call can affect you with immense emptiness.Are you freaked out yet?I really do think everything about this movie is perfect.Every scene and word of script uttered hints to some bigger idea but the movie keeps to its own story and doesn't try to be vague and borderless (unlike every other movie that's tried to replicate it),and this is the only time Bill Murray's succeeded doing this kind of role-the others were bullshit and didn't feel at all genuine.

You know that scene in the hospital where Bob waits and in the meantime talks to this funny guy in a cap,behind them two women laugh frantically the whole way.That's how life feels like--sometimes you're this person and sometimes you're that person,but either way I don't think I have a goddamn clue.And that scene when they're both in bed half-asleep and still talking,her feet in his hand-it says everything that needs saying.Also,Anna Faris is in it ("my dad was anorexic") and is psychotically hilarious as usual.

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the world is ending (for this girl)

As I told a really drunk girl on the street once,"You're beautiful,but I don't know what's happened to your face and you terrify me".That never really happened.And I wish this never happened too,but we can't have it all so its okay Evan Rachel Wood you can make yourself look like Misery but we'll still love you although maybe not as much.Kidding,ha-ha.Of course we still love you,every scaring bit of it.

*my what a pretty necklace*












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shadows full of magic

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TOTW

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wheeling into the effervescent sunset

KL Mountain Bike Carnival @ TTDI

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when i should've listened more closely

mushroomhead you scared us there
thanks A I would've been helpless without you
in Singapore for the weekend
any of you freaks happen to be there,you know muh digitz

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New Lily Allen "The Fear"

Off to Kelantan/Pahang for 4 days,
take care :)

*via stereogum

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if zombies feed on light then we're overfed

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say hello to my new friend

Happy 1st B'day my SLR :)

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TOTW*

*Track of the week

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