My Favorite Movies and Music of 2017

Still from Slacker (1991)

It's that time of year again when I obsessively compile the films and music I've watched and listened to over the past twelve months into favorites lists.  This has no concrete benefit to my life, of course, but I suppose it helps me synthesize the things I've enjoyed  into categories that I can easily recall.  Or in other words, to sift through the ocean of infinite content to preserve those works that had the most meaning to me.

This is an ritual done by many of us as individuals, as well as on a communal scale, such as in the case of the Academy Awards or the Grammys.  Our fervent need to determine our favorites each year just goes to show how important entertainment is in our lives.  It gives us enjoyment, escapism, communicates ideas to us, and helps us to analyze and interpret our lives and the world around us.

The new movies and music of 2017 are good representations of this variety of benefits that entertainment can have.  In film, you have the obvious works that are mostly for pure entertainment, like The Last Jedi or Justice League.  But 2017 being the cultural moment that it is, there were plenty of politicaly charged and socially conscious selections to choose from that explored such themes as race in movies like Get Out and the environment in movies such as Downsizing.  Music always follows similar trend ranging from nonsensical pop tunes to protest songs.

This year I found enjoyment and meaning in all these aspects in the movies and music I discovered.  Therefore, below are several of my lists of favorite (and least favorite) films, albums, songs, and more that I checked out, both old and new.  I've tried to base my picks as what I see as quality, but as always these selections are highly influenced by by my own preferences and interests.  Feel free to take them as recommendations, however, and maybe you will find lasting meaning in them too, as I have.          


Best New Film

The films released this year that I watched were enjoyable and mentally stimulating, for the most part.  As mentioned above, there were plenty of movies that reflected the tumultuous cultural and political period of late.  I was particularly pleased to see several strong narratives that took on environmental issues, a few of which made my top 10 list (I refrained from seeing Mother!, but I understand that also had a strong environmental message). 

There was not any one stand out best film of the year for me, to be honest.  My top four or five I liked nearly equally, and I ultimately ordered based largely on the impact they had on me.  This being said, I've yet to see many of the end-of-year awards season contenders, so my favorites will likely change over the next couple of months.  Some movies I'm still interested in seeing include The Shape of Water, Call Me By Your Name, BPM (Beats Per Minute), and Last Flag Flying.

But, without further ado, the following are my top 10 favorite new movies of the year.

1.  Beatriz at Dinner

A holistic medicine healer spars with a destroyer-of-all-good real estate tycoon at an upper class dinner party.  You don't really need to see the movie to know how this is gonna go or what the message will be.  However, the power of the emotional appeal and the layered look at such important topics as class, race, and environmental exploitation made through simple conversation make watching this film a moving and enlightening experience.  This is possibly the most timely movie of the year, and not just because the main antagonist has many uncanny similarities to Donald Trump.  

2.  Okja

This Netflix-released movie tells the story of a girl who must save her pet, a genetically modified super-pig named Okja, when he is taken away from her to be slaughtered as part of a corporate scheme billed as a solution to world hunger.  Aside from exploring issues of how to sustainably provide for growing human population and corporate greed, and being generally one of the most creative and wild films of the year, this movie was a landmark in its bringing to popular culture exposure of the extreme ethical problems with animal agriculture.        

3.  Lady Bird

The life of a teenage girl as she nears graduation from her Catholic high school.  This movie is a moving photo album of relatable adolescent experiences, shedding light on family and the process of finding out who you are.

4.  The Big Sick

One of the freshest and most well written romantic comedies in recent times, about a man whose girlfriend takes ill and enters into a coma, just as she discovers his parents have been forcing him to see candidates for an arranged marriage.  The story is really more about the man coming to terms with his family's heritage, however, making the film even more interesting and original.

5.  Downsizing 

Alexander Payne's satirical comedy about a man who joins in on a fad of shrinking oneself to less than one percent of one's body size to reduce one's environmental footprint with the added bonus of being able to live a lifestyle of higher consumption is a funny and poignant analysis of human nature and the changes in thinking we need to save the planet.

6.  Get Out

Startlingly original and relevant, Jordan Peele's directorial debut marries horror and social commentary to teach us all something about the subtle racism permeating today's society.  

7.  Dunkirk

Christopher Nolan's retelling of the famous World War II battle that ended in a heroic British retreat is a triumphant cinematic experience that brings to light a part of the war lesser known to most Americans.

8.  The Beguiled 

This exploration of the dark side of  human desire in a house of all women during the Civil War when a wounded Confederate soldier shows up is expertly crafted by director Sophia Coppola.

9.  What Children Do

This small indie film that has only played at film festivals this past year is a hilarious and touching comedy about two sisters reconnecting as their sick grandmother reaches her final days.

10.  The Lovers

This comedy about a husband and wife who are having simultaneous affairs is a unique meditation on what it takes for a romantic relationship to persist through the years.     

Best Older Film 

The majority of the films I watched in 2017 for the first time were not new to this year, but many of these I loved and think are worth sharing.  The following are my top 10 of these.

1.  The Other Kids (2016) 

This small indie film, which debuted in film festivals in 2016, follows the lives of six high schoolers on the verge of graduation as they navigate the trials of being a young person on the verge of entering a scary adult world.  The film is devastating in many ways, but is so realistic and relatable that it feels like looking into a window of truth that we all knew so well at that age.  What's more astonishing is that the film was made with non-actors, based on their own life experiences, with no script.  I hope more people have the opportunity to see this.  

2.  Slacker (1991)

Richard Linklater's indie cult classic, following various eccentric residents of Austin, Texas over the course of one day has very little plot and is no triumph of acting or production (a boom mic is even momentarily visible in one shot).  However, what the film represents, being a portrait of a lifestyle that values individual pursuits and nonconformism, makes it a philosophical treatise on how to live life that lingers long after the credits roll.  As with most of Linklater's other work, seeing Slacker expanded my view of what film can be and made me think about life in a way I hadn't before.

3.  La vie d'Adèle (Blue Is the Warmest Color) (2013)

This French film is a stunning portrait of a young woman's personal and sexual awakening that takes place over several years as she navigates a relationship with a woman a few years older than her. 

4.  Cidade de Deus (City of God) (2002)

The story of a boy growing up amongst intense gang violence in Brazil, this is one of the coolest most fascinating films I watched last year.  

5.  The Commitments (1991)

A film about a soul band trying to make it big in Dublin, and the misadventures and hurdles they face along the way.  Great music, funny, and insightful.

6.  Memento (2000)

Christopher Nolan's thriller about a man who's lost his ability to form memories as he tries to hunt down his wife's killer, played out in reverse-chronological sequence, is a groundbreaking film that explores that lengths we go to to maintain meaning in our lives.  

7.  American Graffiti (1973)

George Lucas's classic portrait of young adults enjoying a final night of cruising and rebelling before starting college is a gorgeously-shot and affecting representation of the joys and anxieties of youth.  

8.  La La Land (2016)

This story of a young actress's journey as she tries to make it in Hollywood isn't just filled with wonderful music, but is an exploration of the American dream and a tribute to Hollywood musicals of years past.  Impressive.

9.  Hell or High Water (2016)

This modern western about a man who teams up with his brother to rob some banks to save his ranch is a compelling and layered film about the lengths people go to meet certain ends.

10.  Forushande (The Salesman)  (2016)  

         

This Iranian Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winner is a subtle tale of morality that impressively leaves the answer to what's right or wrong up to the viewer to decide.  

Worst Feature Film Watched

Of course, how could I write up my end of year lists without mentioning those films that finished as my least favorite of all that I watched.  I may have still enjoyed watching some of these, but it's fun to hate on the stinkers.  Here are my top five worst features I watched, beginning with the worst of the worst.

1.  Unconditional 

    

This is maybe not fair.  This film was a made by a student and shot mostly in my hometown with probably a minimal budget.  I don't even think that it has been shown at any public screenings yet (I got to see it as a submission to the festival I'm part of, The Big Muddy Film Festival).  The film tells the story of a father and his daughter searching for answers when his wife dies, as they slowly unravel the secret life of drugs and strange cultish activities she had been hiding from them.  Of course making a feature as a student is impressive, but the acting at writing here were quite, quite awful.

2.  Closer (2004)

This drama about four people with complicated romantic relationships with each other seemed shockingly bad, especially considering it was directed by The Graduate director Mike Nichols, and received critical praise upon its release.              

3.  Star Trek: Beyond (2016)

I believe there was a time when Star Trek was considered an intellectual scifi franchise, but the new series of movies have been mostly fueled by over the top action.  This was the worst of the bunch so far.

4.  Scary Movie 2 (2001)

I'll readily admit that the Scary Movies are quite funny and enjoyable, but beyond the humor have few redeemable qualities.  This one was no different.

5.  Friends with Benefits (2011)

This romantic comedy, with a plot you can guess from the title, wasn't that bad.  But it didn't have anything particularly good to it either for me.     

Best Series Watched

If you know me you know that I don't watch many shows.  However, this year I did finish two miniseries, both of which I definitely enjoyed.  Though shows aren't as big as movies to me, I've include these two here beginning with my favorite, as shows are still important forms of entertainment.     

1.  Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music (2016)

     

 

Though I watched most of this PBS miniseries when it first premiered in 2016, I finished the two remaining episode I hadn't yet seen this year.  The show is a fantastic documentary series about the history of and most important developments in the evolution of recorded music.  I would highly recommend to any music fan.  

2.  Death Comes to Pemberley (2013)       

This three part BBC miniseries features the characters from Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice several years after the events of the book suddenly finding themselves enveloped in a murder mystery.  I don't know Pride and Prejudice super well, but I found the show to be compelling and enjoyable.    


Best New Album 

This year wasn't the greatest year for new albums for me, but there were many good ones I enjoyed.  Since the large majority of new music I listen to is indie rock, this is the genre that predominates my favorite albums list, making this highly tailored to my particular taste.  But I'm sure there were many great ones of other genres.  

Here are my top 10 best new albums from this year.  

1.  Everything Now - Arcade Fire 

 

Arcade Fire released their fifth studio album this year, a dance-able art-rock concept record about the content consumption addiction of today's society.  This album has been met with a mixed response from critics and fans, I think largely because the band has set such a high bar for itself for quality and artistry of its albums.  Everything Now is significantly shorter than the band's last two albums (both stretching over an hour in length), and at least a few songs on it feel of lesser quality that you would expect on an Arcade Fire record.  This led me to feel a little underwhelmed by the album as well.  

However, even one of Arcade Fire's lesser efforts is still miles above many of their peers' work.  Everything Now has four or five songs that stand among the best of their material, and the album has a solid concept that explores a topic in a fascinating way.  That topic,as mentioned above, is the obsession with having immediate access to everything (information, entertainment, goods and services) in today's age.  Some points in the album take on a satirical perspective, prodding the corporate-brainwashing of people into believing buying and consuming more will enrich their lives.  However, the heart of the album is a recurrent theme of a search for meaning amongst the endless sea of content.  The answer is hinted to be a re-finding of the importance of human connection as Win Butler sings "put your money on me" to an unnamed person in the emotional third-to-last track.

This album also gets my award for best album cover of the year.  The colors seem to suit the tone of the album, and there are layers of symbolism in the desert backdrop and the mountains on the billboard covering up the real mountains.  As a bonus, the band made available a "Night Version" of the cover and 20 separate versions each with a different look and "Everything Now" written in different languages, for the vinyl release.

2.  American Dream - LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem made a comeback in 2017 with a sprawling 69-minute record that is both musically and lyrically stunning.  The album touches on politics, as the title suggests, but the lyrics are primarily a reflection of a variety of regrets and dissatisfactions felt by frontman James Murphy as he's aged.  However, the lyrics are abstract enough and the music, with its meld of electronic and rock flourishes, is sweeping and affecting enough that the album connects universally and seems to speak to the disaffection felt by many with current American and modern society. 

3.  Yeah You, and I - Sam Patch 

It seems that no member or frequent collaborator of Arcade Fire isn't a great musician in their own right.  This year this was further confirmed as the band's longtime bassist and guitarist Tim Kingsbury released his first solo album under the name Sam Patch, a collection eight unique and brilliant alternative rock songs.  

4.  Future Politics - Austra

This album by Canadian synth-pop band Austra, featuring gorgeously operatic vocals by singer Katie Stelmanis,  is a collection of socially conscious and politically minded songs ripe for the times.

5.  In Mind - Real Estate

For Real Estate's latest addition to their catalog, the band underwent a lineup change and decided to experiment a bit more with their sound in the studio.  This resulted in an intriguing evolution of their sound that mostly paid off, while Martin Courtney's trademark sentimental lyricism remained intact and as profound as ever.  

6.  Waiting on a Song - Dan Auerbach

The Black Keys frontman's latest solo effort features ten retro rock gems that solidify his status as one of the great musical auteurs of today.

7.  Lotta Sea Lice - Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile 

This collaborative album by the two popular indie artists features covers of their own work and other artists mixed in with new songs, but the charm and chemistry of their combined effort is something entirely original that is not to be missed.

8.  Hot Thoughts - Spoon

The indie band's latest album finds them as cool and creative as ever, featuring nine dance-able rock tracks and one five-minute sax-driven instrumental that closes the record out. 

9.  Heartworms - The Shins

The band's first album in five years is a solid effort featuring a dynamic tracklist that includes some for their catchiest pop tunes yet.

10.  Melodrama - Lorde 

The pop artist's follow-up to her 2013 breakthrough debut album is an emotional and self-aware exploration of the hedonism of youth and the anxieties of becoming an adult.  

Best New Song

There were many great songs released this year that were not "Bodak Yellow" or "Despacito".  Below are my top 10 favorites.

Also, if you follow me on Spotify, you can check out my playlist of these songs in order called "Top 10 Songs of 2017" or my full playlist of new songs of 2017 I liked, titled "Best of 2017".     

1.  Everything Now - Arcade Fire 

The opening song and lead single from Arcade Fire's album of the same name, this song is an incredibly infectious and gorgeously produced dance number that drew numerous comparisons to ABBA.  It's also hard-hitting satire aimed at the emptiness of our consumptive society, featuring lyrics about the greatness of everything offered to us today and calls of "Everything Now! I need it", punctuated by lines like "Every time you smile it's a fake" and "Daddy, how come you're never around?".  Only Arcade Fire could achieve such a combination of a song so dance-able with lyrics that hit so hard.  

2.  Creature Comfort - Arcade Fire

Another track from Everything Now that continues the theme of the title track, this song genuinely blows me away with every lyric.  Sometimes Win Butler's lyrics are so devastatingly dark, yet so real that you can't help but be in awe of his perceptiveness.  This song is one example, describing young people dealing with body image issues, engaging in self harm, contemplating suicide, and longing for something to take away their pain, while simultaneously pointing a finger at the brokenness of our sense of societal well being, "The white lie of American prosperity".

3.  call the police - LCD Soundsystem

The most overtly political song from their album American Dream, this soaring anthem describes a growing rebellion against the upper class.  But James Murphy's lyrics are also shockingly perceptive of the constant fighting and divisiveness in today's culture that tears us apart.  "We don't waste time with love", he sings, "it's just a push and a shove".  

4.  Two Arrows - Real Estate

In this song from Real Estate's In Mind, Martin Courtney sings of two people whose lives are intimately intertwined by fate.  The track begins slow with melodic guitar work, before moving into an extended instrumental that draws out the sublimely blissful feeling of the song.  

5.  Shine on Me - Dan Auerbach

Supremely infectious and joyous, this is the best track from Auerbach's album Waiting on a Song.  

6.  Perfect Places - Lorde 

A triumphant closer to the singer's album Melodrama, this song finds Lorde fully reckoning with the emptiness of youthful partying and the reality of life's hardships that can't be relieved by pleasure seeking.  

7.  black screen - LCD Soundsystem    

The final song on American Dream, black screen is a sweeping twelve minute electronic ballad.  The song is apparently a eulogy for David Bowie and an admission of singer James Murphy's remorse for not more fully embracing his relationship with the legendary pop star.  However, Bowie's name is never mentioned and the song could be applied more generally to many broken relationships.  

8.  Little Dark Age - MGMT

The first single from the psychedelic band's forthcoming album of the same name sees a return to more accessible pop form for them, with anxiety-riddled lyrics that could represent a time of personal struggle or a moment of disruption on a societal level.  

9.  Up All Night - Sam Patch

This short closer to Sam Patch's album Yeah You, and I, is a tribute to nights spent awake that feels strangely moving, despite it's simple structure. 

10.  Hot Thoughts - Spoon

This opener to Spoon's new album of the same name is one of the band's catchiest songs and features a fantastic repeating guitar riff.        

Best Older Music

Of course I discovered plenty of great music this year that was not newly released.  I won't go into great depth about this, as it's not quite as relevant, however I've provided below my lists of top ten albums and songs I discovered for the first time this year.  As a note, some of the songs I had heard before this year but hadn't listened to on my own time.

My top discovery this year was easily a Bod Dylan album that I checked out for the first time, The Freewheelin'  Bob Dylan.  This sprawling and varied early Dylan album features classics like "Blowin' In the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright", several goofy songs with surrealistic lyrics that showed off the singer's fun side, and some hard-hitting protest songs.  The album was seminal in cementing Dylan as a cultural icon of the time, and I can see why.  

   

My top song discovery from this year was also from this album, the song "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall".  I'm not sure how I didn't know this song before hearing it here, but it is easily one of Dylan's best.  The nearly seven minute song features Dylan's illuminating observations about the suffering experienced by humans, and is a profoundly moving track.  Listen below.

     

The following are my top albums and songs I discovered this year.  If you follow me on Spotify, you can also check out the full list of all the cool songs I discovered this year on my playlist "Cool Jamz 2017".

Best Older Albums 

1.  The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan

2.  Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends - Coldplay  

3.  Earth - Neil Young and Promise of the Real 

4.  La La Land (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - various artists

5.  Leisure - Blur

6.  Suburbs - The Suburbs 

7.  Marquee Moon - Television

8.  The John Lennon Collection - John Lennon

9.  Day and Age - The Killers

10.  Have You Seen My Prefrontal Cortex - A Great Big Pile of Leaves 

Best Older Songs

1.  A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall - Bob Dylan

2.  Instant Karma! - John Lennon 

3.  A Man I'll Never Be - Boston

4.  Young Turks - Rod Stewart

5.  Queen - Perfume Genius

6.  Tonight The Streets Are Ours - Richard Hawley 

7.  Say Hey (I Love You) - Michael Franti and Spearhead

8.  Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who

9.  You Can Have It All - Yo La Tengo

10.  One of These Nights - Eagles 

    

Most Anticipated of 2018

That officially completes roundup of cool movies and music I checked out in 2017.  Did I miss anything that should be on my new releases lists?  Any disagreements or suggestions for me to check out?  Let me know in the comments of get in touch with me to let me know.  

I leave you now with my list of the top ten releases I'm looking forward to in the coming year.  Already it looks like it's shaping up to be an interesting and exciting one, especially in terms of music with at least a few of my favorite bands preparing to release new albums.  Only time will tell which releases will emerge as the best.  

1.  New album by The Voidz (early 2018)

Early promotional photo for The Voidz forthcoming new album.

Julian Casablancas's experimental rock band, The Voidz, have been teasing the release of their follow up to their epic 2014 debut Tyranny, sometime in early 2018.  Little has been revealed about the record aside from the announcement of the simplification of their name from Julian Casablancas + The Voidz to just The Voidz.  However, if this one even comes close to the groundbreaking, bizarre, and politically charged greatness of Tyranny (one of my all-time favorite albums), this new album should be one to behold.            

2.  Annihilation (2/23)

Alex Garland's follow up to his brilliant directorial debut, Ex Machina, looks to be another mind bending and thought provoking science fiction thriller.  Based on the novel by Jeff VanderMeer about a group of scientists that go to investigate a mysterious and dangerous area of land, the author has already had good things to say about the adaptation, even claiming that "the ending is so mind-blowing that..., like 2001 or something like that, people will be talking about around the watercooler for years".  

3.  Little Dark Age - MGMT (date TBA)

MGMT's new album Little Dark Age is officially on it's way, and the first two singles released, boasting a cleaner production than their most recent previous work, seem promising.  What ever the band comes up with this time around,though, knowing them, it's sure to be fascinating and bizarre in the best way.  

4.  Where'd You Go Bernadette (5/18)

Any film directed by Richard Linklater is bound to be interesting, but 'm particularly interested to see how this one will turn out.  Linklater co-wrote the screenplay with four others, including Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter, based on the novel by Maria Semple.  The book follows a teenage girl trying to track down her anxiety-ridden mother after she goes missing, and is told through a series of emails, memos, and other documents.  How Linklater translates this into a film I can't wait to see.  

5.  Likely new Vampire Weekend album (date TBA)

This would be higher on my list, but this release hasn't been confirmed for 2018 yet.  However, frontman Ezra Koenig has been hinting in interviews about the near completion of the band's fourth album and it's expected for this year.  Their outstanding 2013 concept album, Modern Vampires of the City, has left anticipation high for what they'll come up with next, and is something I'll be very excited about.

6.  New Film School album (date TBA)

The California indie rock band has been busy preparing their first full length album since 2011 for some time now and has promised new material very soon.  Their release of a solid EP in 2016 and single this past year have raised my hopes that this album will stand up against their fantastic previous work.  

7.  Isle of Dogs (3/23)

Wes Anderson's next film is a stop motion animation about a boy's search for his dog in a dystopian Japan where dogs have have been banished to a garbage filled island.  Based on the trailer the film looks very Wes-Anderson-y and seems to have some environmental and animal rights themes going on.  Count me in.  

8.  First Man (10/12)

Damien Chazelle's follow up to La La Land, and his first non music-based film, stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong in a biopic about how he became the first human to walk on the moon.  With Chazelle directing, a screenplay by Josh Singer (screenwriter of Spotlight and The Post), and the approaching 50th anniversary of the historic moon landing, this is bound to be an important and buzzed about film.

9.  The Favorite (date TBA)

Yorgos Lanthimos's upcoming film, currently slated for a 2018 release, will supposedly center around Queen Anne in 18th Century England and the drama surrounding her relationship with her lover, a duchess played by Rachel Weiss, and the Duchess's younger cousin, played by Emma Stone.  Lanthimos's trademark darkly comedic style applied to a historical story like this should be fascinating.  

10.  Solo: A Star Wars Story (4/25)

To say I have conflicting feelings about the recent batch of new Star Wars films would be an understatement.  While I've enjoyed the entertainment of these movies and the resurgent excitement surrounding the franchise, part of me can't help feeling that the new movies haven't added anything new or original, and that the seemingly endless line of Star Wars movies on the horizon is really an extremely good money-making ploy by Disney.  BUT the fanboy in me can't help being excited about seeing Han Solo's back-story brought the big screen in this upcoming Ron Howard directed spin-off.  I probably won't love it, but I will most definitely be there to see it along with the millions of other Star Wars fans.