Mr. Chair's picks of the year!

What better thing to do on a holiday devoted to a hangover, than start the ball rolling on some best of the year lists? This is a pretty informal list, so I make no guarantee that these are in fact best of the year, not to mention whether they even came out this year. They are also unranked unless specified.

Best Movies:
1. Spiderman 2. I'm biased, but what an outstanding movie. I've seen it three times now and the train chase scene still leaves me in complete awe.
2. I Heart Huckabees. I was very skeptical because it sounded like it was going to be really pretentious. Considering it's a comedy about existentialism, it should have been awful. Instead I enjoyed every minute.
3. The Grudge. "Not as good as the Japanese version, blah blah ... Sarah Michelle Gellar not so good blah blah ... Weak plot blah blah ..." It scared the piss out of me like no other movie has. Argument over.
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Charlie Kaufman can't make a bad movie. Kate Winslet can do no wrong. Jim Carrey is a better actor than anyone gives him credit for.
5. Shaun of the Dead. I also really liked the Dawn of the Dead remake, but two zombie movies might be a bit much. Shaun was so damn original and funny.
Worst Movie: The sleeper indie hit of the year, What the Bleep Do We Know? is in fact a veiled propaganda piece from a southern Washington-state cult founded by a former cable tv saleswoman who goes by the name Ramtha. The directors and most of the experts are cult members, and one expert has publicly objected to the manipulation of his ideas. That and the narrative that goes alonside the documentary is nauseatingly bad.

Best Albums:
1. Modest Mouse, Good News for People Who Love Bad News. Whether you're a rock snob or a radio listener, Modest Mouse was the band of the year. Deny it.
2. Elliott Smith, From a Basement on a Hill. Tragic lyrics, fun music. From the grave a great release.
3. Calexico, Convict Pool. Even with just five songs, my favorite band strolls into the best of the year.
4. The Streets, a grand don't come for free. The most ambitious album of the year is also one of the best, easily. No genre.
5. Wilco, a ghost is born. Hard to overlook this one. Not the masterpiece that Yankee Hotel Foxtrot was, but still stellar.
Best Album that shouldn't be missed despite the strange concept: William Shatner, Has Been. I can hardly listen to Pulp's original version of Common People without wishing it was Shatner, Ben Folds and Joe Jackson. A solid album to be taken seriously.

Best Songs:
1. Common People, William Shatner.
2. Float On, Modest Mouse. Song of the year hands down.
3. Work, Jimmy Eat World. Not the best album, but definitely a great pop single.
4. U2, Vertigo. This album should be in my best list, and would have been if it were anyone but U2 and I didn't have to judge them against the rest of their body of work. U2 still does and always has kicked ass, and Vertigo proves they never lost it.
5. Wilco, The Late Greats. Buried on their newest album of progressive pop rock is a little gem that could be plucked right from classic Wilco. It's a reminder of why we like the band.

Best TV:
1. Arrested Development. For the first time, mainstream comedy uses David Cross effectively.
2. The O.C. I fucking love this show. Everyone needs a little teen drama, and this one is smart, funny, over the top, and features great music often from bands that aren't even signed.
3. Six Feet Under. Talk about over the top, this season was nuts. Still minute for minute one of most intelligent dramas I've ever seen, in any artform.
4. Desparate Housewives. I resisted this show for a long time, and finally caved and watched an episode on Tivo. I have problems with it, namely the sickly sweet tone that's really obnoxious and overkill. But I became addicted to the extremely brave concept and weekly plot twists that make up for any network primetime cheesiness. It's high concept is very much like Twin Peaks and will probably burn out in similar fashion. Should be fun!
5. Nip/Tuck. I don't know how FX gets away with the shit they do on Nip/Tuck. I have to close my eyes during the surgery scenes, and I can't turn away during the naked scenes. This show is great dark parody that I can't get enough of.
Worst TV: All reality shows. Fuck! Enough! It's fake, it's not fun to watch, and has no artistic merit. It's shit like "Heir to the Throne," and "The Biggest Loser," that give snobs like Finnagain fodder for slamming TV.

Best DVD's:
1. The Simpsons, season 4. Probably the best Simpsons season, it's packed with commentary on every single episode and documentaries.
2. Hellboy. An awesome movie, but Guillermo del Toro makes the DVD with pop-up mini-comics written and drawn by del Toro and Mike Mignola, Hellboy's creator. The best extra I've seen in a while.
3. Freaks and Geeks, the entire series. Can't say enough good about this show. Watch it right this second.
4. Firefly, the entire series. Squandered in a deadly timeslot and butchered by Fox execs who felt the two-hour pilot wasn't action packed enough. The DVD resurrects Joss Whedon's third series in original form and order, with three unaired episodes.
5. Dawn of the Dead. Featuring a mini documentary about how to make heads explode.

I'll probably post this and then think of several unforgivable omissions, but anyway. There's what comes to mind. Anyone?