Et in Arcadia, Aggro

There’s an argument to be made against the end of the year list.  It’s a lot like the argument against New Years as a holiday, really: It’s an arbitrary date, a length of time without major cultural significance, etc. But I like the holiday and I like the lists.  For one thing, it allows me to catch up on new art and media, which I don’t always have a good opportunity to do during the rest of the year.  As long as ones sources are diverse, one can get a good selection of what really was good.  Also, both the holiday and the lists are positive.  They represent a sunny outlook on the changing of the year: A whole new year is a thing to look forward to, what better way to start it by celebrating the victories and forgetting the failures of the previous? And so we remember the memorable art, and forget the forgettable.  To that end, some of mine:

Best album, metal: Lantlôs - Agape

Best album, non-metal: Jonathan Coulton - Artificial Heart

Best song, metal: Devin Townsend Project - The Mighty Masturbator

Best song, non-metal: Battles - Ice Cream

Album I listened to the most that wasn’t from this year: Frightened Rabbit - The Winter of Mixed Drinks

Best movie, American, serious: Source Code.

Best movie, American, light-hearted: The Muppets

Best movie, non-American: Le Havre

Best decision: Going to Massachusetts for school

Best podcast I hadn’t heard before this year: My Brother, My Brother and Me

Best standup CD: Pete Holmes - Impregnated with Wonder

Best book: Neal Pollock - Stretch

I haven’t seen all of the media.  I have missed a lot of it.  So this probably isn’t all correct.  But these things are subjective, so as this represents only what I’ve experienced, it must be true.  Right?