Best of '06

It's just not a new year until some arrogant jerk tells you what the best this and that of the previous year was and totally doesn't include the stuff you thought was the best. My friends, I am that arrogant jerk. I give you my short, short lists of the best books, movies and music of '06. You're welcome.

Books

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

Easily the best book of the year and one of the best I've ever read. The prose is stripped down to the bare bone in a way I've never seen before but it still manages to be absolutely beautiful. Books like this are an EVENT and should be treated as such.

The Last Witchfinder - James Morrow

I waited 7 years for this book. It was worth it. Morrow is my favorite living writer and this book reminded me why that is. While it is much different from his previous work it is every bit as good. I pray he doesn't make me wait 7 more years for the next one.

Against the Day - Thomas Pynchon

If you held a gun to my head and forced me to say who I thought the greatest writer in America is I would probably say Pynchon. This book is massive and that's a whole lotta lovin' for your brainmeats. A whole lotta strange, hilarious, brilliant and often surreal lovin'.

Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman

The short form has always been his strength and these stories are strong indeed. Not the best writer in the world (though he isn't a bad one) but easily one of the very best storytellers and these stories shine.

World War Z - Max Brooks

Y'know what all the very best zombie stuff has in common when you get right down to it? They turn out not to be about the zombies at all. Don't get me wrong, I love a good zombie gorefest as much as the next guy but this isn't that. It's something much better than that. Don't let the surface subject matter fool you, though if you really are that type of genre snob then please me a favor and go play in traffic.

For this I will stop at the (more or less) top five to keep myself from going overboard and listing 50.

Movies

The Departed

Probably the best movie I saw all year and if Scorsese doesn't finally win an Oscar (for his sake, I stopped caring about them a long time ago) there is no justice in this world.

Little Miss Sunshine

Perfectly cast, perfectly acted. I loved everything about it. I'll accept the small amount of black comedy that comes out if what does come out is this damn good.

Hard Candy

A small indie that was only out for a few weeks in not many places and that sucks. A big part of the problem with Hollywood was revealed in a doc on the DVD when the people behind it say that everyone they talked to at the major studios loved the script but wouldn't buy it to save their lives.

Brick

Also only out for a few weeks in a very small amount of theaters and damn did it deserve more. The premise might seem difficult to pull off with a straight face and the whole time I watched it I was waiting for it to wink at me and it didn't.

The Fountain

This was probably the most visually stunning movie I've seen in a long long time. I saw some critics complain that it didn't "succeed" on every level that it tried but perhaps they should have spent a little more time paying attention to what it did succeed at, being an incredible movie.

Borat

Seriously now, this thing was hysterical. At some points I stopped breathing. Sasha Cohen is absolutely fearless.

Honorable Mentions

Thank You For Smoking
The Prestige
Clerks 2
Slither
Casino Royale
Babel

Music

Wolfmother - Wolfmother

When I first heard them I thought they sounded like a mash up of Led Zep and Black Sabbath. The more I listen to it, the more I hear and the more I love it. This begs to be played often and at high volume.

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

Freeform mind altering ear feast with all the trimmings. To even try to describe it and do it justice is pointless. Just go buy it and thank me later.

Johnny Cash - American V: A Hundred Highways

This album is a perfect example of exactly why Johnny will be missed. Rest in peace.

Tool - 10,000 Days

As good as Aenima? Hell no, but then few things are. I still find myself being fascinated by Maynard's total disregard for conventional lyrical rhythms and cadences. Anyway, yeah, it's awesome.

The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers

I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. I thought it would be OK. Good for a listen every once in a while. Then it went and decided to be all...really good. Sometimes it's great to miss the mark a little.

Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere

See above. Much better than I expected and though every song isn't a clear winner, those that are are good enough to bring the thing as a whole up to a nice high level.

So there you have it, one arrogant jerk's look back at the year that was. Feel free to disagree but then, I won't care as you will clearly be wrong.