Best Album: TV On The Radio - Dear Science

I just recently started listening to “Dear Science,” and it has quickly become my favorite album of the year. The group’s use of experimental techniques and sounds seems difficult to comprehend, but remains easy to enjoy. Every track on “Dear Science,” can stand out on its own, and each remains strangely different from the next. Standout tracks include “Halfway Home,” “Family Tree,” “Lover’s Day,” “Dancing Choose” and “DLZ.” While every publication seems to list “Dear Science,” as the album of the year, it’s hard to disagree. The album is sure to become a classic.

Runner up: Coldplay -Viva la Vida

Like TV On The Radio, Coldplay has created an album full of great tracks. It’s rare when you can sit through an entire album without skipping to the next song. Viva la Vida starts with a great instrumental track, “Life In Technicolor.” Other tracks such as “Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love,” “Yes, Chinese Sleep Chant” and “Death and All His Friends/The Escapist” jump from one direction to another, providing a rich mixture of influences ranging from Asian, African, Latin and Western cultures. Viva la Vida was recently announced as the most-downloaded album of 2008, selling more than half a million digital copies. The album is up for six Grammys in February, 2009, and it shouldn’t be a surprise if they take away more than a few trophies.

Best Film: The Dark Knight

It seemed next to impossible to top 2005’s Batman Begins, but The Dark Knight surpassed it in every way. Christopher Nolan created a masterpiece here, he showed that a comic book movie doesn’t have to play like one. Gone where the typically cheesy dialogue, plot and action seen in most comic films. The film played like a suspenseful thriller, reminiscent of films like Heat, The Usual Suspects and Se7en. Heath Ledger was simply mesmerizing as the Joker, stealing the show in every scene he was in. The film generated such a large amount of hype that it seemed impossible for it to deliver. It not only delivered, but it exceeded my expectations. Now the question is, how can Nolan possible top The Dark Knight?

Runner Up: The Wrestler

Mickey Rourke’s performance started generating Oscar buzz earlier this year when The Wrester premiered at the 2008 Venice Film Festival . Director Darren Aronofsky crafts a film about an ageing wrestler seeking to reach his glory days as well as fulfilling a relationship with his daughter and a local stripper. The story seems like a reflection of Rourke’s own life, and maybe that is why he is so good in it. His character’s pain seems to be his pain, and the character’s emotions seem to be his as well. The film goes into wide-release in January, and it shouldn’t be missed.

Best TV Show: Breaking Bad (A&E)

Simply the greatest show of the year. No show this year has left me so engulfed and fascinated. Excellent acting from Bryan Cranston as Walter White and Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkmen. Cranston plays a high school chemistry teacher, recently diagnosed with lung cancer. In order to provide a safety net for his family, Walter (Cranston) turns to methamphetamine production. His superior product draws all sorts of problems.. from rival drug dealers, his DEA agent brother- in-law and his danger prone partner in crime. The show provided the most suspenseful moments in TV this year. One of the most pivotal moments of the show left me speechless for nearly five minutes. Cranston’s Emmy win for the role earlier this year should draw considerably more attention to the show next year.

Runner Up: Lost (ABC)

The fourth season provided a much-needed breath of fresh air after a dull season three. The use of flash forwards, new characters (the freighter people!) and character direction made this show addicting again. New characters like the mercenary leader Martin Keamy (Kevin Durand) and the brilliant but awkward Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) showed that writers and creators are still capable of creating captivating storylines. While the season finally provided some answers (like who gets off the island and how) it opened up a new batch of questions (why do they need to go back? Where did the island go?, or how Locke died?)

Best Concert: Hotel Café Tour

Artists Ingrid Michealson, Sara Bareilles, Meiko, Dan Wilson, Joshua Radin and Cary Brothers provided an intimate concert experience at the Park West Theater in Lincoln Park earlier this year in April. The singer-songwriters joined forces and played independently throughout the night and really engaged the audience quite wonderfully. Standout performances included the “The Chain” (Michelson & Bareilles) “You and Onions Make Me Cry” (Meiko) “The Fear You Won’t (Radin) “Blue Eyes” (Brothers) and a great closer from Radin and Michealson with “Tonight You Belong to Me.” The artists hung around afterwards, interacting and joking with the fans. Here’s wishing the Hotel Café Tour becomes a staple of the concert-going performance in Chicago.

* TV On The Radio Photo by Barry Brecheisen

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