Every year I try and do a little write up of stuff that I thought was good. Not in any strict top 10 whatever kind of sense, but just as an exercise in forcing myself to remember that maybe not EVERYTHING is horrible. As time goes on this seems to get more difficult. I'm not going to lie, this has been a rough year, and my ability to look on the bright side has been atrophied to the point of extinction. But that's enough about the last series of Doctor Who. We're trying to be positive here. So let's begin shall we.
MUSIC
It's funny, but when I first started thinking about what I wanted to put on my list of best music this year, I wasn't actually sure what would be a good pick. Which is kind of stupid, because the album of the year is OBVIOUSLY The Pale Emperor by Marilyn Manson.
So, why didn't if spring instantly to mind? Simple, I've been listening to this so much that it really didn't feel like it only came out this year. Seriously, they were streaming it before the release and I had it on a near permanent loop then. By the time it actually got released it already felt like an old friend. Seriously, this is simply a REALLY good album. Give it a whirl.
I almost feel guilty about picking Arcane North for my second choice. That's because this isn't something I actually bought myself, but rather I got a promo copy when I ordered the Old Corpse Road / Infernal Sea split L.P. I don't normally buy vinyl, but they were kind enough to send me the MP3 files for the release if I ordered it. And in addition I got Enter The Arcane North. And it was pretty much EXACTLY what I was in the mood for. An awesome slice of Black Metal with a Drudkh / Burzum type vibe and the sort of nature theme that REALLY makes you want to go hang around the woods at night. Plus the first track is called Ravenous & Cavernous, which immediately one me over before I'd even listened to it. So yeah, honourable mentions for Old Corpse Road most certainly, but this is a release I really want to highlight. Although good luck finding a copy.
I would probably be remiss if I didn't include the new Blue Stahli album as well. The Devil is another release that's just... really rather good. Proper, solid songwriting and all that. The highlight for me is undoubtedly the title track, which is possibly the best song about personal responsibility for goths ever written. Good stuff, and probably the most overtly upbeat thing you'll find me recommending, music wise.
Further honourable mentions would I think go out to Alien Vampires for Drag Me To Hell, Grue with Casualty Of The Psychic Wars, and Season Of Ghosts for being a female fronted goth metal band that also somehow becomes patron of the UK Amateur Fossil Hunters. Despite being Greek and living in Japan. Go figure. Musics not bad as well.
Still, moving on...
FILM & TV
So, since we're all just going to pretend that last series of Doctor Who didn't happen, what does that leave us with?
Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D., That's what. What's particularly shocking to me looking back over the years purchases is that I apparently only got the first season of this in May of this year. Because waiting for the second series to come out felt like an AGE. And then that series 2 boxset did come out an I binge watched pretty much the whole thing in a single weekend. This was, it has to be said, somewhat existentially confusing for me, as we were into the run of Doctor Who at that point and I simply couldn't escape the growing conclusion that this was a show that was actually giving me all the things that were so sorely lacking in that benighted season. I.E. Well written, character driven science fiction drama that builds on it's own past and internal mythology in interesting ways, where plots and characters develop across the full run of episodes and events have real, lasting consequences, and most of all where there isn't a single character tha makes me want to punch the screen and gnaw my own legs off in protest.
It was pretty good is what I'm saying.
In terms of movies I guess the most obvious choice is going to be Star Wars.
And it is good, don't get me wrong. But It's also very recent, and I still need to watch it again. I wasn't entirely satisfied with my initial write up, as I was still being a bit issues and I'm sure there's an awful lot more stuff to dig into. Which I guess qualifies the film for some sort of recognition if nothing else. So.. yeah. There we go. The Force Awakens. It's actually not bad. But for my final pick I guess there's only one real choice.
OF COURSE I'm going with Jurassic World. Sure, as a palaeontology documentary it has more than a few issues. But as a big, fun monster movie? It's utterly superb. It's a progression of the franchise with some really good ideas, rather than a tired rehash like certain other sequels we could mention but won't because seriously, fuck The Lost World and everything it stands for. It's another movie in a disturbing trend that seems to be emerging, whereby movie producers are trying to make stuff that's actually GOOD. Between this, Pacific Rim, the Marvel movies and the oncoming storm that is Star Wars there might yet be hope for the cinematic arts.
READING
It's funny. Every year when I come to the books section of this I always complain that I never seem to spend as much time as I'd like reading. And this trend is looking like it's not going to stop. EVER. Admittedly I did spend most of the first half of the year finishing off the Discworld novels. But then I picked those last year, so surely it would be cheating to include them again?
Perhaps, but we can always cheat. The Science Of Discworld books are also pretty good. A mixture of a somewhat brief bit of Wizards bumbling about story, and a somewhat lengthier amount of exposition on various facets of science as highlighted by the events in the story along whatever theme that particular volume is taking. It actually works quite well. With the obvious proviso that must be applied to a lot of popular science discourse where the authors are taking pains not to outright insult anyone's religious sensibilities. You practically hear them squirming over the course of the 4 volumes, especially once you get up to Darwin and narratives explicitly themed around the damage religious ignorance can do to a culture. But I guess there's plenty of other places to go for an angry atheist rant.
Next up I'm picking Dinosaurs Without Bones. Because it's a cool, interesting book. In case the title doesn't give you a clue it's all about the study of trace fossils. Which is awesome, because trace fossils are even more exciting than body fossils. Think about just how unlikely a fossil bone is. Then consider how much MORE unlikely a footprint or skin impression is. BUT WE HAVE THESE THINGS. It's awesome. And this is a book all about that stuff. I liked it, but then I probably would.
And so, speaking of being a massive nerd, comics! After playing a bit to much Marvel Heroes this year I decided to look up some Taskmaster comics. I was playing Tasmaster as it meant I could get the cool shield throwing moves of Captain America whislt having a skull for a face. And HOLY SHIT but Taskmaster: Unthinkable is a damn fine comic. It really gives the character a lot more depth than I ever gave him credit for, and has firmly established him as a genuine favourite of mine. There's a lot of really cool ideas in here, and whilst the tone can seem to shift about pretty wildly it somehow all hangs together remarkably well. The gonzo and comedic stuff offsetting and highlighting the dark and serious bits rather than detracting from them.
Needless to say I really hope they put him in Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. at some point. It would make for an awesome series arc.
GAMING
This one is always tricky, and not getting any less so. These days I don't so much buy computer games as just bundles, and then lose track of everything because I've got like 350 games in my Steam library. And even then I'll end up spending half my time buggering about on Comipo.
Yeah, I know it's not technically a game. But I got it on Steam, so screw you. It's my damn list. Admittedly it's proably not even that great a bit of software. But I do seem to get on all right with it. And I've some encouraging comments regarding the output of comics I've had this year. I'm sure this has nothing to do with massaging the egos of the people who are starring in it, but that's what you get for making autobiographical webcomics I suppose. I just wanted to have a go at playing around with some Yu-Gi-Oh themed comics, but I'm still waiting for them to put an attach point on the character models wrists for the Duel Disks. Ah well, maybe one day...
I've really gotten into Sentinels Of The Multiverse as well. Perhaps because not only do I know a guy with the real world version that we can play on Tuesdays, but I actually got the digital version. And it's a damn fine adaptation. The only real problem being that the PC version is WAY behind the physical one in terms of expansions. But then there's always something interesting and new to try out, so it's hardly the worst problem to have. Having a good, working digital version is always a good way of really learning a game properly.
For my third pick I'D REALLY like to choose Blood Rage. Because it's a giant box of awesome minis and what seems like a really fun game. But we've only actually managed to play it once. But you know what we've played a lot more than once?
Yes, this means that we're probably all horrible people. But I don't think I've EVER laughed quite as hard as I did when that Little Miss Muffet card came up in my whole life. I really should look at getting a couple of expansions at some point.
So... yeah. There you go. Life may horrible, but at least there are things we can buy to distract ourselves from the gaping abyss of sorrow that is conciousness. Happy holidays.
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