Best Actor in a Movie (Drama)

I flipped and flopped on this as I typed it...I'm limiting myself to 5, by the way. Ultimately Daniel Day Lewis won the Oscar and the Golden Globe, but as I mentioned in the previous post, I haven't seen There Will Be Blood yet. (Not to mention it wasn't released in Alaska until well into January of 2008, maybe even February.

George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises
Samuel L. Jackson, Black Snake Moan
Joaquin Phoenix, We Own the Night

Best Movie (Drama)

A post has been sitting in my drafts folder for months now, and rather than delete it, I'm going to spread it out. Know that these were originally going to come out before the Oscars, but had they, I would have just had to edit them anyway because I've just caught up on some great movies from 2007. FYI - I'll follow Oscar rules and only include work released between Jan 1, 2007 and Dec 31, 2007. But my categories will resemble more along the lines of the Golden Globes to include TV and broader categories. I'm not picking a winner, that's up to you...

To get started...here are my Best Movie (Drama) nominees.

No Country For Old Men
Eastern Promises
American Gangster
We Own the Night
Michael Clayton

For the record I haven't seen There Will Be Blood, yet.Vote for your favorite or your winner or submit one you think I left out in the comments.

Promises Promises: More Best of 2007

As mentioned, previously, here are my best tracks of 2007. I think above anything else, 2007 was the year for light and poppy hooks for me. You can search for demos of the songs on Hype Machine or follow the links to iTunes.

Again, no particular order and in no way inclusive:

Spoon - You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
I'm From Barcelona - We're From Barcelona
M.I.A. - Paper Planes
The National - Fake Empire
Travis - My Eyes (youtube)
Josh Ritter - (tie) Right Moves & Rumors
Feist - (tie) 1,2,3,4 & My Moon, My Man (youtube) & (youtube)
Okkervil River - Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe
Bloc Party - I Still Remember
Derek Webb - I Wanna Marry You All Over Again
Coconut Records - West Coast
Dan Wilson - Easy Silence (originally written by Wilson for the Dixie Chicks, but wonderfully done by him)
Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)
Ryan Adams - Halloweenhead
Eddie Vedder - Hard Sun
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - 100 Days, 100 Nights
Kings of Leon - On Call
Elvis Perkins - Emile's Vietnam in the Sky
The Arcade Fire - Keep the Car Running
Josh Rouse - Hollywood Bass Player
Andrew Bird - Imitosis
Wilco - Impossible Germany
The New Pornographers - Myriad Harbour
Paul McCartney - Dance Tonight (youtube, still not a horn playing prairie dog)
Peter Bjorn & John - Young Folks (youtube) For the record, this is my ringtone
The Shins - Sleeping Lessons
amd
[In honor of Heather from I AM FUEL, YOU ARE FRIENDS] The Swimmers - Heaven (not available on iTunes, but on their myspace page)

If You Want To Make The Best Album in 2008...

...learn a lesson or two from these artists.

It's that time of year again....everyone else is doing it so why shouldn't I? 2007 has been a long, funny diverse year in my life and the music business has been pretty much on par with it. I'm breaking lists in half this year to recognize not only the best albums of the year, but also the breakthroughs, discoveries, fresh looks too. Obviously neither list is in any particular order.

First the 13 best breakthroughs...
Deerhunter - Cryptograms
Au Revoir Simone - The Bird of Music
Peter, Bjorn & John - Writer's Block ("Young Folks" might scream 2007 in 5 years, but it might be the song of the year...and a good ringtone)
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
St. Vincent - Marry Me
Foreign Born - On the Wing Now
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (surprised?)
Elvis Perkins - Ash Wednesday
Okkervil River - The Stage Names
Stars - In Our Bedroom After the War
I'm From Barcelona - Let Me Introduce My Friends (Incidentally makes a frigid Alaska day feel a bit warmer)
Kathy Diamond - Miss Diamond to You
Coconut Records - Nighttiming

The 13 Best Albums of 2007
Josh Ritter - The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Bruce Springsteen - Magic
Wilco - Sky Blue Sky
Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Feist - The Reminder
Ryan Adams - Easy Tiger
Band of Horses - Cease to Begin
Radiohead - In Rainbows
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
The Shins - Wincing the Night Away
The National - Boxer
Bjork - Volta

And finally 13 albums I know I'm leaving off...but they're not far from the list
Travis - The Boy With No Name
Eisley - Combinations
KT Tunstall - Drastic Fantastic
Beirut - The Flying Club Cup
Colin Hay - Are You Lookin' At Me? (great cameo in Scrubs in season premiere of Scrubs)
Son Volt - The Search
Paul McCartney - Memory Almost Full
Athlete - Beyond the Neighbourhood
The Broken West - I Can't Go On, I'll Go On
Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog
Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero
Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
Dan Wilson - Free Life

Incidentally I'm looking forward to some very promising new records in 2008, but that's another post.

And in case you missed it, here is my post for the Best of 2006. And get your copy of Superbad Tuesday.

Resolutions for 2007

I was going to use a lyric out of "Auld Lang Syne" for the title of this, but when I read the lyrics they didn't make any sense. Things come in tens this time of year, so I won't disappoint. Here are ten things I resolve to do in 2007.

• Buy a new computer
• Buy a new MP3 player
• A post a day on this blog
• Launch a (real) podcast
• Read a book a month
• Take more pictures (possibly buy a digital SLR)
• Attend a major music festival
• Get off of Blogger and go independent with MKinMotion.com
• Lose 20 pounds
• Do much more fishing

Other Goals:
Take the 6 week road trip I've been planning on for a year.