RPS

Have you ever seen the Oscars before? On the nominations... you know, there is a lot of division about 5 vs. 10 in best picture... I think it should be 5. The Oscars is about prestige and acclaim, and having 10 movies just seems to dilute significance of being nominated for best picture. And if its to make room for more mainstream friendly movies, I'm against it. The Oscars have a good track record of trying to maintain a balance between critical acclaim and broadened appeal. This isn't the People's Choice Awards (ahem, The Blind Side...), and nor is it some film publication's top movies of the year. It's the Oscars - it's a fine balance between them both.

The only reason I disagree with that is because Apatow clearly sets us up to relate and to like Ben's character. He is the lovable and fun protagonist. While Allison could come across as grounded and fun, the fact we are encouraged by the film to relate and to like Ben's character, Allison realism and down to earth comes across as shrews, as humorless and uptight. Allison and various other females throughout the film are clearly positioned in opposition to the men, who we are supposed to like and relate to, opposing their lovable and carefree existence, and therefore we don't relate to the characters. As I said, I'm not saying Apatow is a sexist, or that he intentionally did it. I just think the movie certainly didn't have the most positive portrayal of females...

I agree. Knocked Up did have a pretty shallow portrayal of females. That's not to say Apatow can't do it - in 40 Year Old Virgin, the women actually stole the show. Catherine Keener, Leslie Mann, and Elizabeth Banks all outshine the men in the movie in the humor department. Leslie Mann practically steals the movie with the scene in the car.

Pretty sure it was this.

A Single Man - 10/10 I believe the New York Times described the movie as "a whole lot of look". That would be how I'd describe this movie. Visually, it's stunning and unmatched this year. Tom Ford works in fashion and knows how to create a mise-en-scene - it's excruciating attention to detail. Ford succeeds - there isn't a single wasted shot and everything is so well thought out. Furthermore, Ford knows how to use color - when to accentuate colors, when to downplay them and when to overload the audience. It's wisely used throughout the film to hammer home the major theme's of the film - isolation and desperation and the feelings of growing old. He even uses colors in many points to bring these two theme's together. The costumes are amazing - obviously as the man works for Gucci. He is here able to bring to life the 1950's and clearly one of the tools used to animate it is the use of costumes. Lastly, the performances in the film are outstanding. Julianne Moore, Gennifer Goodwin, and Nicholas Hoult are fantastic in their supporting roles. It's Colin Firth, however, who delivers a performance of a life time and ultimately steals the show. I don't think it's necessarily going to 'wow' the Oscars, but I'm certain it'll get nominated for a lot of the technical awards and perhaps a few of the acting awards. Definitely one of the best of the decade.

Yeah, Stylo is definitely a departure from what the Gorillaz usually do - come out with an amazing single right off the bat that is insanely catchy. Stylo is definitely a bit more low-key and definitely a lot more subtle. But I really do like it and think it's an intriguing sign of things to come (especially with the insane guest list for the album).

I mean, Kimmel has been pretty vocal about how he feels about the issue - having him on your show isn't a good idea. I think Leno didn't really think he'd go for the jugular like that, let alone just continually trash the guy. I think Leno kept going because what's the alternative on live television? If he shuts it off, he probably would have ended up looking just as bad.

I know it was posted earlier in the thread, but Jimmy Kimmel ripping Leno to shreds was just perfect. I've always really liked Kimmel, but that video solidifies WHY he is so amazing. I can't believe Leno didn't say anything. He just stood there and took EVERY blow.

Honestly, there is no way anyone can defend the hot mess that is Contra. Seriously. I listened to it with a few friends and we thought half way through that maybe somehow we accidentally downloaded the wrong album it was that boring and bad. And it's not even bad in a "so bad, it's good" type way. But hey, different strokes for different folks, maybe lots of people like the album and I'm sniffing glue.

Heard the new Vampire Weekend. Damn that sucked. Like, not even nearly as good as their first album, which after all the initial hype was a good album. Maybe this is something that will grow on me, but if not, wow that stunk.

Anytime you want me on your tits, just give me a call. When I was at the club on Saturday, they played Ke$ha's song and it seemed to me like people were over her... I think she was a case of too much hype too quickly... and after hearing her album, doesn't seem to be any thing else that will keep her relevant. But hey, I thought Lady Gaga was only gonna have two hits in Pokerface and Just Dance and didn't think people would like the rest of her album, but I turned out to be wrong, so what do I know.

Whoa whoa whoa. Hold on one second. Katy Perry can sing? I must have missed the memo. Because all the live performances I've seen of that girl have shown that the girl has a horrific voice live. Seriously, Katy Perry should consider going Britney and lip syncing because her voice is atrocious. What a voice. Well, the one live appearance I've seen of her was on MTV Unplugged, which I found a very good appearance, maybe it was a lucky one-off or 'cause it was more of an accoustic thing, but I found the woman can sing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQv5V2Ljfa4 She starts singing around 1:10... but it's atrocious. Maybe she is more well-fitted to an acoustic setting, but there really is no excuse for how bad that her singing is there...

No, I absolutely agree, but to try and say that in any way Katy Perry is a good singer is ridiculous. That's just one example though - heck, if I could have found a good quality version of her performance at the Grammy's it'd just further illustrate that the woman can't sing. As you said, not the worst singer in the world, but in a world with Whitney's, Mary J's, Christina's, etc. she is far from a good singer. She is a good entertainer and is pretty savvy, but she ain't a good singer. Back on topic about this Ke$ha girl. Usually this stuff doesn't bother me - heck I love most of the other electro stuff out there and Ke$ha is pretty inoffensive. But there is something that really irks me about Ke$ha. I know it's pop music and most of it's heavily contrived, but something about Ke$ha seems particularly contrived and uninspired.

If you're trying to be sarcastic I think you're seriously failing when that is actually the best performance of that song I have ever heard, it felt much more organic than the records version. I am sorry, I thought we were judging if she was a good singer here, which by that song, she is very clearly not. Unless you like it when a singer is off-key, pitchy, and so clearly limited in her range. Heck, half of the time she isn't in sync with the rest of the band. I'm not saying Katy Perry is an awful entertainer; she is not. She should just consider lip syncing.

Whoa whoa whoa. Hold on one second. Katy Perry can sing? I must have missed the memo. Because all the live performances I've seen of that girl have shown that the girl has a horrific voice live. Seriously, Katy Perry should consider going Britney and lip syncing because her voice is atrocious. What a voice.

According to Last.fm... doesn't have to just be 2009. Can be music released in any year... just listened to in this year. Top Albums 1. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest 2. Hercules & Love Affair - S/T 3. Antony & The Johnsons - The Crying Light 4. Kid Cudi - Man On The Moon 5. Lady Gaga - The Fame Top Songs 1. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks 2. Kid Cudi - Day & Nite (Crookers remix) 3. Grizzly Bear - Ready, Able 4. Lady Gaga - Just Dance 5. Lady Gaga - LoveGame Top Artists 1. Antony & The Johnsons (2053) 2. Grizzly Bear (1785) 3. Hercules & Love Affair (1381) 4. Michael Jackson (1257) 5. Kanye West (1134) 6. M.I.A (1029) 7. Lady Gaga (931) 8. Kid Cudi (893) 9. Hot Chip (680) 10. Daft Punk (670) Honorable mentions: La Roux, Basement Jaxx, David Guetta. Definitely was a Grizzly Bear year for me. If there was another month in the year, they definitely would have had been my top artist for the year. Michael Jackson got a healthy amount of spins before he died, as well as obviously after he died and recently as well. Really enjoyed a lot of more pop acts - Lady Gaga, Kid Cudi, MJ, Hot CHip, as well as liked some more eccentric stuff from Grizzly Bear, A&J, M.I.A.. Good year of music listening.

1. grizzly bear; veckatimest 2. antony & the johnsons - the crying light 3. kid cudi; man on the moon 4. la roux; la roux 5. the xx; the xx 6. dizzee rascal; tongue 'n' cheek 7. david guetta; one love 8. patrick wolf; the bachelor 9. basement jaxx; scars 10. peaches; i feel cream really dug the grizzly bear album; had vaguely heard of them before this year, but really after hearing this album it got me hooked. i now am addicted to yellow house as well. i love antony, so obviously i'm going to like to the crying light. i didn't connect too it as much as his last album, but i still dug it. kid cudi's man on the moon is probably the most interesting album of the year; it's weird, fun and a bit alienating, but somehow the dude makes it work. la roux's and xx's self titled debut both served great purposes - they brought something a bit different to mainstream audiences, while still playing it relatively safe so as to make the music enjoyable and strangely addicting.

I totally forgot about Guitar Hero and World Of Warcraft. Two big games that have also penetrated mainstream markets while also appeasing hardcore gamers alike. The only reason I might write off Guitar Hero is because it only came around in 2005, while the Sims & GTA have been around the entire decade, with the Sims kinda losing a bit of it's luster with it's sequel, while GTA continued to cement it's importance with a huge sequel in GTAIV. Guitar Hero has defined this half of the decade for gaming, but I think it's lack of presence in the first half makes it a tough sell for the entire decade. While WoW also suffers from similar problems, I think it more so has to do with the fact that WoW still has that nerd-stigma attached to it. The Sims, GTA and Guitar Hero are all very much mainstream games - WoW has certain connotations behind it that I think damper it's ability to be the defining game of the decade.

Hackerjack beat me too it. The Sim's is the defining game of the decade. My guess is the franchise is probably the biggest selling of the decade, with it's 3 game's and all of their expansion packs. Not to say that sales should dictate this, but it should play a role. As well, the Sims just embodied all of the new changes to the gaming world - complexities, open concepts, pushing graphics further and further, giving the gamer far more control over the gaming experience. The game took something so simplistic and ridiculous - living one's life - and turned it into a gaming revolution. I know people who would never pick up a video game who were or still are addicted to the Sims. The only two things I could see coming close are GTA and/or the Wii Sports/Play/Whatever franchises. If we were talking from a pure "what was the best game?" or something else the answer would be completely different, but these are the games that defined this decade.

So true. I barely watch these type of reality shows like X-Factor, or Got Talent, or Idol, but in an era when the music business is taking a huge hit from illegal file sharing, Simon Cowell and scores of other people have been able to make music at least profitable and, depending on who you talk to, interesting again. I read an interview with the singer from La Roux and she was rightfully pissed, stating that shows like X-Factor bypass the long career path many bands and artists take. However, it's also ignores the fact that this has been happening for years - just nowadays the television audience is playing an active role in being the talent scouts.

Concert wise - La Roux in February when she comes to Canada and probably a show or two while I'm visiting London. Too early to tell who'll be going on tour I wanna see. Album wise - Hot Chip (first two songs have been fan-dabi-dozi), Vampire Weekend (Horchata was awful, Cousins is ace), Hercules & Love Affair (playing some gigs to debut some new material) plus some others I can't remember right now. Plus will be interesting to hear the Strokes and Arcade Fire, considering how I feel they dropped in quality a bit from their previous releases.

Honestly, if you found the first one funny, I'd say odds are you'll at least to be average. Same type of humor, Cohen is spot on in character and there is tons of absurdity to go around.

Whoops, I just saw other people posting multiple songs. I'm a sheep! Anyways, best song of the decade is probably One More Time by Daft Punk. Just a fan-dabi-dozi tune that is likable, danceable and fun.

2000 1. The Hives - Hate To Say I Told You So 2. Peaches - Fuck The Pain Away 3. Coldplay - Trouble 4. Outkast - Miss Jackson 5. Outkast - B.O.B 2001 1. Daft Punk - One More Time 2. Basement Jaxx - Where's Your Head At? 3. The Strokes - Last Nite 4. The White Stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl 5. Fischerspooner - Emerge 2002 1. Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River 2. Missy Elliott - Work It 3. Queens of the Stoneage - No One Knows 4. Justin Timberlake - Rock Your Body 5. Madonna - American Life 2003 1. Outkast - Hey Ya 2. The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army 3. Junior Senior - Move Your Feet 4. !!! - Me and Giuliani Down By The Schoolyard 5. Dizzee Rascal - I Luv U 2004 1. Scissor Sisters - Take Your Mama Out 2. The Killers - Mr. Brightside 3. Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies) 4. Modest Mouse - Float On 5. Snoop Dog - Drop It Like It's Hot 2005 1. Madonna - Hung Up 2. Antony & The Johnsons - Fistful of Love 3. My Chemical Romance - Helena 4. M.I.A - Sunshowers 5. M.I.A - Galang 2006 1. Justin Timberlake - My Love 2. TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me 3. Justin Timberlake - LoveStoned 4. Kelis - Bossy 5. Hot Chip - Boy From School 2007 1. M.I.A - Paper Planes 2. Justice - D.A.N.C.E 3. Battles - Atlas 4. Radiohead - 15 Step 5. M.I.A. - Boyz 2008 1. Hercules & Love Affair - Blind 2. Hot Chip - Ready for the Floor 3. Lady GaGa - Just Dance 4. Lady GaGa - Pokerface 5. Lady GaGa - LoveGame 2009 1. Kid Cudi - Day & Nite (Crookers remix) 2. Shakira - She-Wolf 3. La Roux - In For the Kill 4. Lady GaGa - Telephone 5. Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

It's not acceptable to like Justin Timberlake? What is it 2001 and there are rumors Justin Timberlake is gay? Maybe I'm just a huge JT fan, but ever since Cry Me A River, I thought that it was an accepted fact that he was amazing. The only song I feel slightly embarassed to listen to is that Party in the USA song by Miley Cyrus, because she proved what a fucking idiot she was saying she had never heard a Jay-Z song because it's pop music, than persisted to not listening to pop music, than saying she covered a Britney Spears tracked called 'I Love Rock and Roll'.