It says everything about the deluge of culture that year-end “best of” lists have been supplemented with midyear “best of (so far)” features. And since I’m always willing to hop onto a crowded bandwagon, here’s mine ...
MUSIC
Anohni, Hopelessness The year’s most exquisite album is also its angriest. Anohni sings otherworldly arias against drone strikes, climate change, government surveillance and Obama. Thanks to the co-production of Oneohtrix Point Never and Hudson Mohawke, you can even dance an interpretive ballet to it.
David Bowie, Blackstar Released days before Bowie’s untimely death, this singular—and intentional—final bow might be the weirdest farewell in pop history. It’s dark and disorderly and more than a little creepy. Only in the final minutes, when the light shines in, do you realize your hero’s packing up and kissing you goodbye.
Beyoncé, “Don’t Hurt Yourself” While just about all of Lemonade is outstanding, this is the one track of 2016 that’s given me chills thus far. It’s not that it’s sung with Jack White (although how cool is that?). It’s not how her voice sounds frayed and deranged (although how delicious is that?). It’s lyrics like, “Who the f*ck do you think I am?/You ain’t married to no average bitch boy/You can watch my fat ass twist boy/As I bounce to the next dick boy.” Day-yum.
Rihanna, “Work” & Arianna Grande, “Into You” I hate most of the music I hear at the gym. I’d hate all of it if it weren’t for these ladies.
FILM
Everybody Wants Some!! Richard Linklater’s “spiritual sequel” to 1993’s Dazed and Confused has even less structure than its plot-averse predecessor, yet it might be an even better movie. Some got bored following this gang of college baseball players through a weekend in 1980. I had a blast.
De Palma. In which co-directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow merely point a camera at Brian De Palma and let him talk about his movies for two hours. If you’re the type who loves audio commentaries and Criterion blu-rays, this is absolute bliss.
Rachel Weisz in The Lobster.
The Lobster. I loved the first half, and then suddenly lost interest. But that first half is easily the most original movie I’ve seen in quite some time. I bet future home viewings will warm me up to the rest.
TV
O.J.: Made in America. I ruined the cheesy FX docudrama by watching this superb five-part documentary first. If you haven’t seen it yet, save it for a hot summer weekend indoors.
House of Cards. When this premiered back in 2013, the idea of a murderer like Frank Underwood slithering his way into the White House felt genuinely scary. Now the show feels comforting, almost quaint. That’s not progress.
James Corden appears onstage Sunday, June 12, 2016, at the Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre in New York.
The 70th Annual Tony Awards. It aired the night after the Orlando shooting, so I braced myself for another smug shedding of showbiz tears. But even though Broadway people are 10 times more dramatic than Hollywood folks, they’re way less self-serving. How nice to watch an awards show that had its head only a little up its ass.
BOOKS
My social media habits have cut into my reading time this year, but I’m dying to read James McBride’s Kill ’em and Leave: Searching for James Brown and the American Soul, plus Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs by former MTV VJ Dave Holmes. I did get to Virginia Heffernan’s Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art. Contrary to popular opinion, it sings the praises of digital culture, and even assures that the Internet is actually—wait for it—good for us!
