8D - New Student Edition The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Daily Arts: Best films and music of 2007 I BEST FILMS Originally ran on Jan. 31, 2008 "No Country for Old Men" (Joel and Ethan Coen) Have you ever seen a flawless film? "No Country for Old Men," the Coen brothers' new masterwork, is nothing less. The film mixes an ingenious cocktail of the finest ele- ments of moviemaking - majestic photography, dramatic tension, peerless performance, symbol- ism and a just plain unforgettable story - into a single, momentous work that stands tall and strong over everything that came out last year. Of all the great movies this year, and there were many, it's the Coen Brothers' opus, blistering and merciless, that has stayed in our hearts, minds and stomachs. This was, without a doubt, 2007's best. BLAKE GOBLE "Superbad" (Greg Mottola) Three high school friends try to get beer for a party. That's it. But that's all that's required for the film to exceed even the best of the high school hijinks genre, "Fast Times" and "Dazed and Confused" includ- ed. Facilitating its achievement is Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's brilliant script, which alternates between disgusting, hilarious and actually, kind of sweet. And let's not forget the passing of the catch- phrase torch from Borat's "Very nice!" to Fogel's "I am McLovin'!" In the year of Apatow, there is no film more representative of his creative infiltration of Hollywood than this instant classic. PAUL TASSI "Eastern Promises" (David Cronenberg) David Cronenberg has proven himself to be an incredibly versatile and nonconformist filmmaker over, the years, and "Eastern Promises" may well be his crowning achieve- ment. A flawlessly acted and con- structed thriller, it's both his most accessible film and his most artistic. At its center is Viggo Mortensen (with whom he also worked on the masterful "A History of Violence"), turning in what is arguably the best performance of the year. He'll be brushed aside at ceremonies thanks to a certain other, towering leading man, but Viggo - thoughless showy - is the far more nuanced and fasci- nating of the two. BRANDON CONRADIS "There Will Be Blood" (Paul Thomas Anderson) More than a film cementing Daniel Day-Lewis's iconic status, though it does that with astonishing force, "There Will Be Blood" shows a keen maturity that has developed "No Country for Old Men" garnered the award for Best Motio last year's Oscars. Daily Arts thought it was pretty good; too. in the work of Paul Thomas Ander- son. After his feature debut, "Syd- ney," Anderson wrote and directed "Boogie Nights," "Magnolia" and "Punch-Drunk Love," emotion- driven filmsrangingfromdisparate- but-somehow-connected tales to a quirky character study starring a maudlin, blue-suited Adam Sandler. In "There Will Be Blood," Anderson takes his most assured steps as an auteur, crafting a haunting, sadistic masterpiece of an oil man (Lewis) and the legacy he burns for himself. NOAHDEANSTAHL "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (Sidney Lumet) Some people call this a Sidney Lumet masterpiece, some call it just horribly, fatalistically depressing. Can't it be both? Lumet's story of a jewelry-store robbery gone terribly wrong features raw performanes from Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke in service of a vicious screenplay that spares no one. How- ever you respond, you definitely won't forget it. PAUL TASSI "Zodiac" (David Fincher) A film based on a story without a real ending is no easy feat. "Zodiac" makes its lack of a conclusion irrel- evant by putting the viewer in the center of the mystery and arguing in favor of a single outcome. Each time the case is opened and closed, exam- ined and re-examined, the film gets more intricate and more engrossing. Added bonus: a crime-solving Jake Gyllenhaal. ANNIE LEVENE "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" (KenLoach) Ken Loach's Palme D'Or winner was criminally under-seen follow- ing its U.S. debut. It's unusual to call a film about guerilla revolutionaries somber and atmospheric, but Loach is more interested in the mood of the IRA resistance against the Brit- ish than the horrific violence that pervaded it (though that's here, too). Intelligent and leisurely paced, the film offers a truly singular peispec- tive on an oft-revisited history. BLAKE GOBLE "Hot Fuzz" (Edgar Wright) Just as "Shaun ofthe Dead" skew- ered the zombie genre, "Hot Fuzz" takes on the American action block- buster: blown-up cars and shoot- outs galore. In truth, with its hefty running time and bizarre eccen- tricities, the movie really shouldn't work. It's a British action movie. But the film has more wit and more energy than any of the films it sends up, and let's face it: High-pitched squeals by grown men sound better with a British accent. SARAH SCHWARTZ BEST MUSIC Originally ran on Jan. 3,2008 Radiohead - In Rainbows Over the course of 10 early Octo- ber days, Radiohead managed to generate a buzz the likes of which most bands will never see. The surprise announcement, the name- your-own-price download and the middle finger to the recording industry are all things that only a band of Radiohead's popularity and stature could pull off. On In Rain- bows, Radiohead has moved in one of the few directions left for such an inventive group: back toward pop. This is by far the least-strange album Radiohead has released in years. Still, it's anything but shal- low. As relatively straightforward as In Rainbows is, it possesses an intensity only a band that's reached the edge of experimentation could achieve. MATTRONEY Animal Collective - Strawberry Jam Most bands don't make it to seven albums, let alone seven great and distinctive LP's, but Animal Collec- tive isn't most bands and its'career arc is almost as reptilian as its sound. After its last two stellar LP's, a let-downwasseeminglyinevitable, and with Panda Bear's Person Pitch blowing minds with its AM psych and setting the bar impossibly high, how could Animal Collective outdo itself? Let Avey Tare take the reins for a while. This is his album and it's his vocals that carry anthems like "For Reverend Green," "Fireworks" and "Peacebone." Strawberry Jam has already gotten me wondering where Animal Collective will go next.:Collaborate withR. Kelly? LLOYD CARGO M.I.A. - Kala Don't mistake M.I.A.'s pop sensi- bilities for aesthetic vapidness. The British-Sri Lankan artist kicked off 2007 with one of the year's most musically diverse offerings with- out compromising the bold political message she delivered on her 2005 debut Arular. Kala takes listeners from the disco streets of the Bolly- wood scene ("Jimmy") to the world of psychedelic '80s new-wave>pop ("20 Dollar") to the unmentionable atrocities of third-world genocide ("Hussel") and then back to con- temporary Top 25-friendly Lon- don ("Come Around"). On "Paper Planes," she samples a series of disturbing gunshots, juxtaposed by the cha-ching of a cash register, overpowering an innocent chorus of chanting children. M.IA.'s addic- tive beats and powerful melodies are entrenching her well-deserved place in modern music. SASHARESENDE Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? In 2005, Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes gothimselfso depressed that he sold the track "Wraith Pinned To The Mist (And Other Games)" to Outback Steakhouse.While the wis- domofthatdecisionisdebatable,the quality of Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, the other product of his depression, is not. An honest- to-God concept album, Fauna tells the story of Barnes' descent with striking clarity - at one point, he begs his own serotonin for help. The record's upbeat electropop belies its thematic darkness, but reinforces the chemical denial of the lyrics. MATTRONEY Sunset Rubdown- Random Spirit Lover Spencer Krug's taking risks. "Should I try some tribal chanting? Sure. How about a track about rid- ingleopards?Definitely."Do they all make sense? Maybe not. But some- where in the swirling, galaxy-sized mind of Sunset Rubdown's leading man, everything does. The same goes for the album. Every track works its way to a riveting clima, and the whole thing explores three different movements of sound. It's a well-tailored suit. Nothing is out of place. Chaos interlocks with car- nival sideshow riffs and falls into melodic, charming running water riffs. You'll hate it if you pick and choose tracks. But if you listen to it in whole, hold onto your head- phones - you'll hear the leading man in indie rock at his best. MATTEMERY Feist - The Reminder Feist's vocal ability wildly mani- fests all over The Reminder. From stackedharmoniesresemblingsynth woodpipesto agrowling, pissed-off- preteen overdrive, she is willfully whimsical. It's gorgeous. Lyrically, she's quainter than Neko Case, more nuanced than Nora Jones. Her hits, "1234" and "I Feel It All" are solid enough, but "The Path" is a single acoustic guitar, a few concert horns and a whole lot of crickets. It's a sin- gular track, a standout on an record full of outstanding tracks. ANDREW SARGUS KLEIN 4 7-9 p.m. n.) Pizza House's perfect combination of salad and sandwich (see below) Add turkey, tuna, chicken, or eta c'he'es. if you like V'iOfYIA T fIITA 1 '-' 9AtKtP ?'W4 ca V?-TA Cs~at if AnAL 1t t' (A9r . $) , r 3?(O . CatC u gaya jam y40 i OrWCm7- VW,,'151N&/ 4 Menomena - Friend and Foe Born of joyously singable melo- dies, plodding though danceable basslinesandsearingguitars,Friend and Foe comes about as close to clas- sic indie rock as any album in 2007. And, miraculously, it didn't suck. For the long-since stagnant genre, Menomena's sophomore effort was like bonging a gallon of Red Bull. It was downtrodden and melancholy, but simultaneously frantic and uncontrollable. It was the embodi- ment of the angst and precision that defined early indie-rock releases without being too derivative. Friend and Foe is a 1997 release that came 10 years later, equipped with the technology and swagger of the new millennium. CHRIS GAERIG SharonJones & The Dap-Kings -100 Days,100 Nights Although the mainstream has taken its time to recognize the dap-dippers and their queen Sha- ron Jones - who,.at 51, sings big- ger, struts sexier and has simply got more it than the girl-child sing- ers currently crowding her on the charts - there couldn't have been a better nudge toward the back cata- logues than 100 Days, 100 Nights. "100 Days, 100 Nights," is the sul- triest goddamn-that-man song in a long time, and when Ms. Jones moans "Maybe I need, to slow it down just a little" and the band slumps accordingly into half-time, it's near impossible for your heart not to break. (And that's only the title track.) KIMBERLYCHOU A. 3 ..