The 10 Best EPs of ’16
Artists across all genres delivered a plethora of powerful, insightful, confrontational tunes throughout all twelve squares in the calendar, and there was no shortage of important entries in the EP department.
Miss Sloane
“Miss Sloane” is an incredibly well-made film about lobbying, lobbyists, politics and the lengths people will stoop to for a political agenda. It’s well-written, wonderfully acted and yes, there’s a progressive viewpoint to the thing.
Citrus’ NSTYLDY is Urgent, Resolute, Dreamlike
What is most striking about the album’s hot tempered and loving compositions – horns as hot as railroad tracks in the summer sun, drums as vicious as a lion’s incisors (I’m not even being hyperbolic) – is that there is a real sense of peril in the proceedings.
Things to Come
In a year where nuance has been thrown to the wolves, director Mia Hansen-Løve crafts a story without crashing symbols and whirling parasols. “Things to Come” is simply about the aching, sometimes acerbically humorous, moments in life.
Top 10 Songs of ’16
From Niki & The Dove’s saltwater splashed “Everybody’s Heart is Broken Now” to Vince Staple’s sardonic and saliva flecked “Prima Donna”, there was a wealth of important voices and challenging dialogue.
Interview w/ Alfred Howard
In shorthand, Alfred Howard has a great mind. In wanting to bother one of my favorite people, I decided to ask him about the carnival of terror that was 2016, the social relevance of Myspace, and the greatness of The Redwoods.
Manchester by the Sea
There’s distinct danger in the bluing of an Essex County sky, a spectral rumble more gossamer than soapy dishwater. Director Kenneth Lonergan doesn’t rack the shotgun when it comes to weather as motif, but in his latest film, “Manchester by the Sea”, you know its there in both indifference and might.
Edge of Seventeen
Kelly Fremon Craig’s “Edge of Seventeen”, already destined to be one of the most underrated movies of 2016 at least in part due to the familiarity of its setting, avoids generic pitfalls by focusing on strong original characters, an organic plot flow based on an acute understanding of interpersonal relationships, and a sharp sense of humor.
Top 11 Music Videos of ’16
Here are eleven electric picks that perforated the discord of 2016, and provided creative clarity and astute madness.
Being 17
Being 17 is a confusing enough time, emotions awaken and collide inside a person in new and confusing ways almost daily. Techine is an experienced director with what turns out to be a very clear memory of what it’s like to be just short of adulthood. Co-written with Celine Sciamma, “Being 17” is also a film about romance.
