Because I’m a content specialist working online for a rather large Canadian TV media company, it’s my duty to watch a lot of television. Television is a unique entertainment beast: it can be trashy, insightful, powerful and raw, or just plain fun. There’s a level of familiarity that TV fosters between it’s audience and it’s characters, and they come to life as they live out their stories with us, wherever we are. It was pretty easy putting this list together, and consider I don’t normally write about non-company series, consider this a holiday treat. By the way, “Lost” is not on my list. I loved it, but let’s face it, the ending was so bad that it threw the quality of the whole series into question. At least we’ll always have “The Constant.”
1. Sons of Anarchy
Oh man, where has this show been all my life? It’s essentially the perfect cable show: It’s a hard, unflinching look into the life of a grimy subculture, drawing in minute details while painting broader strokes of important themes. This is a biker show about a club in a small town. It’s loosely based on Hamlet (see the 1 or 2 totally obvious references a season), and openly broaches the topic of anarchy as a feasible way of life. It’s funny, sad, violent and though-provoking: the kind of show HBO made in “Oz” before they starting making more “obvious” entertainment like “Sopranos” and “Entourage.”
2. Fringe
It’s my belief that J.J. Abrams and company learned from their mistakes in “Lost” and atoned for their sins with “Fringe,” which is delivering everything that “Lost” promised but never made good on. It’s the kind of show that makes you feel giddy and asks yourself “What the heck are they doing?” It’s network TV after all, and it’s pretty risky, especially in terms of the way they set up season 3.
3. The Walking Dead
While “Fringe” is the exact replacement for “Lost,” I’d say the spiritual inheritance of “Lost” lies with “The Walking Dead,” which is moody and scary (like “Lost” in the first season), with a twinge of Sci-Fi to the whole affair. However, I’m worried about the show: Out of the 6 episodes of season one, 2-3 were kind of boring, and the show could too easily move into “unnecessary” drama kind of thing… ie the wife is pregnant with the cop’s partner’s child… please! There’s zombies around! Who cares about the relationship stuff?
4. Curb Your Enthusiasm
Larry David does the Seinfeld reunion on his show… paving the way for other shows to do meta reunions. Too bad none will be as his good as his impression of George Costanza (which is an impression of Larry David).
5. Hellcats
OK, so the draw of girls in crop tops and short skirts is an immediate point to make as to why any mid-20s male would watch this show: And while I don’t really care for dancing, I love the weirdness of this show, which combines cheerleader politics, with “growing up christian” issues, with “life in a small town” issues, with some film-making auteur-speak thrown in for spice. Then there’s also the “law series” aspect of it, the random “musical interludes” where the lead sings pop/rock songs, and then the weird corrupt-sports storyline featuring Aaron Douglas of all people! You can totally tell this show was filmed in Vancouver.
6. The Defenders
I think shows in general have been skewing a little too dark for my tastes, so something like “The Defenders” is a nice antidote to that. Like Hellcats, this show is just plain fun, and there’s a little bit of cheesiness to the “scummy lawyers with a heart of gold” theme, but what can I say, I like it.
7. Blue Bloods
I wasn’t sure I was so into this show when it debuted last fall, but now that it’s hit its stride, I’m into it. I really enjoy Donny Wahlberg’s performance on the show, and the show’s “classic” cop show vibe.
8. Community
This show is totally wacky and totally original, and even if the story-lines seem recycled (even if they say they’re cliche — they still are), I’m into the characters and the fun they’re having. Donald Glover has really stepped it up this season, and I’m bummed he didn’t get the Spiderman gig.
9. The Big Bang Theory
The show has always been a lot of fun, and I enjoy the awkward humour of these nerdy guys. It has been kind of strange how the show has been introducing more and more female characters into the show, but it’s a dynamic I think they need to explore.
10. Rookie Blue
This is on a rival network in Canada, so I shouldn’t be a fan — but I am. The upside is that a lot of people involved with the show were involved with “Flashpoint,” and the series totally lives up to it’s “Grey’s Anatomy meets Flashpoint” kind of vibe. Overally, it’s fun like “Grey’s Anatomy” was in it’s first few seasons, and it’s great to see Ben Bass in a sauve leading man kind of role.
Overall, I’d say that my list of 2010 albums is pretty vanilla, and that I don’t think any one album really stood out to me in any special kind of way. I spent a lot of time writing this year, especially the latter half, so I didn’t get so into new music as I usually do, and I overall listened to a lot of older music. But this is about 2010 albums, and so, here’s my really boring list.
1. Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Sure, I think I’ve burned this one out for a while, but it’s a totally solid record through and through. Why else would I have seen 4 Arcade Fire concerts this year?
2. Sufjan Stevens – Age of Adz
I think this record divided a lot of people, but personally I loved it, and the electro-rock sound he’s on now has really hit a sweet spot for me.
3. The National – High Violet
Not my favourite album of theirs, but it’s still amazing. Totally dark, sometimes funny, and a return to “rocking” form.
4. Wolf Parade – Expo 86
Shame I didn’t get to see their last show ever, because this album is another “classic” from these guys, who have never written a bad song.
5. Shad – TSOL
After getting into TSOL this year, I’ve gone back into his discography, and I enjoy “The Old Prince” a lot more. With that said, I do enjoy a few tracks here, especially “Ya I Get It.”
6. LCD Soundsystem – Is This Happening?
I think this may be my favourite LCD Soundsystem ever.
7. Teenage Fanclub – Shadows
This is a really “new” band to me, and I was won over when I saw them perform on a late-night show. “When I Still Have Thee” is my favourite song of the year.
8. Mogwai – Special Moves
In some ways I think this might be the best Mogwai album ever, as it combines many, many “loud” parts, while maintaining an intensity that you don’t usually get all the way through one of their studio records.
9. Sun Kil Moon – Admiral Fell Promises
At first I found this one really boring, especially considering it was so sparse with just the nylon string guitar, compared to the older Sun Kil Moon records, like their masterpiece, “April.” But the songs slowly revealed themselves to me, and it stayed with me a lot more than I thought it would.
10. Broken Social Scene – Forgiveness Rock Record
I keep going back and forth on this one, because for all the fun songs on here, like “Art House Director,” there’s a pile of really repetitive tracks that just seem like filler. I just can’t shake the feeling that this is the “slick” BSS record, and I miss the band when it was at it’s “Self-Titled” heights.
Here’s a live performance of Teenage Fanclub doing “When I Still Have Thee”:
Here’s the lyrics for “When I Still Have Thee:”
From the western isles to the tasman sea
There’s a world of men and machinery
But the birds still sing and the sun shines free
No, I don’t need much when I still have thee
Well, the rolling stones wrote a song for me
It’s a minor song in a major key
But the stars still shine, the museums free
No, I don’t need much when I still have thee
It’s a modern hymn for the you and me
For the go between and the red army
Long as I still breathe and the air’s still free
No, I don’t need much when I still have thee
But the birds still sing and the sun shines free
No, I don’t need much when I still have thee
For the rolling stones and the red army
No, I don’t need much when I still have thee
