New Discoveries of 2007

Every end of year, lists come out. The top 10 blah of 200x. The worst 15 of the year. Such and such. I don’t consume enough new entertainment each year to write a list comprised of new material. Yet I can’t avoid the tendency to list things; I blame Curt for this. I can’t impose on ordering on this list of books, films, and music, but here’s an unordered list of my favorite things that were new to me in 2007.

Iron & Wine - The Shepherd’s Dog (2007)
I’m always on the lookout for good driving albums and this one fits the bill perfectly.

Radiohead - In Rainbows (2007)
You don’t know a thing about music today if you haven’t heard about Radiohead’s latest album In Rainbows and their choose your own price distribution. It may not be as good as their earlier masterpieces, but it’s a collection of beautiful songs and is nonetheless a worthy addition to their already legendary discography.

Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas - Directed by Martin Scorsese (1976, 1980, 1990)
Until I watched Goodfellas this summer, the only Scorsese movie I’d viewed was Gangs of New York. I thought it was alright; Daniel Day Lewis’s performance was fantastic, but the movie is overly long and ridiculously over the top (not to mention incredibly inaccurate from a historic perspective which is something irritates me). Then, I saw Goodfellas and understood why Scorsese is so respected. Then, I saw Raging Bull and Taxi Driver and understood why he’s one of the greats.

Esa-Pekka Salonen - Piano Concerto (2007)
Thanks to a Texan named Greta (I may never slander the State of Texas again), I was able to obtain a copy of this yet-to-be-recorded concerto. Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen wrote it last year, and it’s a fun piece that sounds nearly impossible to play.

Shostakovich - Cello Concerto #1 (1959)
Shostakovich was a Russion composer, who lived and wrote under in Russia during communist rule. Prior to listening to this concerto, I’d only heard 3 of his symphonies, and was not impressed. Way too much bombast for my taste, not to mention lack of stylistic variation. But his concerti, wow. His violin concerti are great, but this one, for cello, is my favorite. It’s catchy, brooding and a little bombastic without being over the top, and it’s dripping with satire.

Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala (2007)
Perfect indie-emo from a Swede

Rear Window - Directed by Alfred Hitchcock (1954)
I’ve been of fan of Hitchcock since high school, but had only seen a couple of his movies, Psycho and The Birds, and a handful of his TV series until this summer when I viewed most of his famous flicks — Rear Window, North By Northwest, Vertigo, Psycho, Rope, and Dial M for Murder. Of these, Rear Window has become my favorite Hitchcock film and one of my favorite films by anyone.

No Country for Old Men - by the Coen Brothers (2007)
Fargo was great, maybe not as great as this dark thriller, but I need to see No Country for Old Men again just to make sure. Ok, who am I kidding? I need to see this one again because it’s so brilliant. I read the first 50 pages of the novel the other day, the film follows the first bit of the book almost perfectly; much dialogue was lifted straight from the novel.

Tender is the Night - F. Scott Fitzgerald (1934)
For some reason I never read Fitzgerald’s more famous The Great Gatsby in high school like many other Americans, so I read it for the first time last year and found it worthy of its lofty reputation. When I finished Tender is the Night this year, I wondered why more people don’t talk about this arresting tale of Dick and Nicole Diver. It might not be better than Gatsby, but it’s at least as good and worth a read.

Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)
Spoon has pretty much perfected the stripped-down rock sound as illustrated by their latest album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Ridiculous title aside, I dig this album.