I think the interesting theme of this year is the amount of pop culture nostalgia: many old bands and artists reuniting and/or going back to their roots with new albums (Yes, Cars, Peter Murphy, Outfield, and more); movies being remade or properties being brought back (Muppets, Footloose, The Thing, and more); and retro-style gaming becoming more and more normal, and old properties having new incarnations (Zelda, Donkey Kong, several Mario games, etc.).
Overall, there was nothing absolutely amazing that came out of 2011, but there was quite a lot of really good. Below are the more specific sections.
Music:
I didn't discover a lot of new music this year. Some of my regular sources have not been as good at pointing me to new bands, or maybe there just wasn't as much out there to find. Below are the albums that I listened to the most this year:
- Greg Whitehead - Another Fine Mess - Is it egotistical to have listened to my own album the most this year? I am really proud to have finally recorded my own music, and it just happens to be exactly the type of music I like. And, with the slow start to the year musically, it was about all I had.
- Yes - Fly From Here - If you would have told me a year ago that my favorite album of the year would be a new Yes album, I would have said you were crazy. If you would have told me that the new album was made by practically the same line-up as the 1980 Drama album, and sounds like a direct sequel, I would have never believed it. And yet here we are. This is probably now my 3rd favorite Yes album after 90125 and Big Generator. The only thing missing that would make this album better is Trevor Rabin.
- Tally Hall - Good and Evil - I was so happy to finally get a new album from Tally Hall. It seemed like this was never going to come out. On first listen, it was a little slow and different from their first album and it took a while to grow on me, but eventually I came to absolutely love the album. Their first album had some great songs, but also many skippers. All the songs on this are great with maybe one so-so track. This was the soundtrack for our summer vacation driving to Arizona, Utah, and back.
- Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears - Daffy's Elixir (2012) - This is the best album that didn't actually come out this year. It's coming out this year, but I was part of the Kickstarter funding campaign to record the album and was able to preview the album earlier on this year. I guess this may have to show up again next year on my list when it actually comes out.
- Skeleton Staff - Psychomorphism (2011) & Solipsism (2010) - These came in at the end of the year for me, so technically I haven't listened to them more than many other albums this year, but I've been really enjoying them.
- The Feeling - Together We Were Made - I was quite excited for this album and expected it to be one of my top favorites for the year. They released a deluxe 2-CD edition with a whole second album worth of tracks. Unfortunately, it never quite stuck. I like the album a lot, but I was never compelled to listen to it like their previous albums.
- Moon Safari - Lover's End (2010) - A prog rock band with amazing harmonies. My brother introduced me to this retro-prog band who have three albums out. Their latest one is the best of the three. They don't do anything new, but they do old really good.
- Weird Al Yankovic - Alpocalypse - A great Weird Al album that is lessened by the fact that I have almost no connection to anything he parodies any more. But the cover more than makes up for that.
Gruff Rhys - Shampoo Hotel, Peter Murphy - Ninth, Kula Shaker - Pilgrim's Progress, Sonic Executive Sessions - 2010, Sound of Arrows - Voyage Year, The Cars - Move Like This, Alphaville - Catching Rays on Giant (2010), Howard Jones - Revolution of the Heart (2005), Donkeyboy - Stereolife (2010).
Movies:
I saw a little over thirty new releases this year, below are my top 10 favorites this year:
- Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol
- Insidious
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
- Super 8
- The Muppets
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Thor
- Paranormal Activity 3
- The Help
- Unknown
TV:
We got rid of cable this year and switched to streaming, so it was a little more difficult to keep up on all the TV shows we used to watch, but that was sort of the point. We are no longer slaves to the DVR, but we also have to wait an extra day or longer for them to show up on Hulu or other sites. There were very few new shows that we watched or kept watching, so most of these are repeats from the past. Here are some of my favorite shows in 2011:
- Biggest Loser
- Community
- QI (British panel show)
- The Office
- Once Upon A Time (interested, but not sure if it will maintain)
- America's Got Talent
- An Idiot Abroad (UK travel show)
- 30 Rock
- Big Bang Theory
- Simpsons
- Terra Nova (started out promising, but got dumb real quick.)
- Parks and Recreation
- Person of Interest
Games
I played a lot less games on my consoles this year mainly due to competition with my kids who want their turn much more often now! Here are the games I enjoyed/played the most this year:
- Portal 2
- Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
- Batman: Arkham Asylum (I got Arkham City for Christmas but haven't played it yet)
- Donkey Kong Country Returns
- de Blob 2
- Lego Pirates of the Caribbean
- Fruit Ninja/Fruit Ninja Kinect/Fruit Ninja Puss in Boots
- Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
- Angry Birds/Angry Birds Seasons/Angry Birds Rio
- Tiny Wings
- Jetpack Joyride
- Tiny Heroes
- Bloons Tower Defense 4
- Ticket To Ride/Carcassonne (iPhone versions)
Podcasts
I tend to listen much more to podcasts now, especially while exercising and traveling to work, than music. Here are some of the shows I've been enjoying the most this year:
- Movie B.S. with Bayer & Snider - This movie podcast with Eric D. Snider and Jeff Bayer is definitely my favorite and it's one of the few that I can play out loud without worrying about language.
- The Totally Rad Show - Daily video podcast reviewing movies, games, and all things "rad" that nerds like me enjoy.
- Slashfilmcast - One of the oldest podcasts on my list which seems strange because I was listening since the first episode.
- The Nerdist - Comedy interview podcast. Almost always a great nerdy interview guest.
- Pod F. Tomcast - Paul F. Tompkins is probably one of my new favorite comedians. He's been around quite a while, but I'm just now discovering how funny and amazing he is.
- Comedy Bang Bang/Comedy Death Ray - Like Nerdist, there's always an interesting comedy guest, but they usually get interrupted by all the strange characters that show up.
- The Tobolowsky Files - Great storytelling podcast by Steven Tobolowsky.
Books
I don't take the chance to read much, so I'm just going to briefly mention that I read "The Hunger Games" and the two sequels over the summer. The first book was quite good. I really like the world that was created in the stories, and I'm really excited to see the movie they are making this year. The second and third books, however, get progressively terrible, and ultimately the story is disappointing. I wish it had gone in a different direction and I'm curious to see if the movies will stray from the books at all.
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