Monday, December 16, 2013

The Best Things of 2013 (Pt. I)


This is part one of a two-part series, because several promising films are crammed into the last couple weeks of 2013 and obviously everyone likes reading these (cue Walter Sobchak's "AM I RIGHT?") so I'll stretch this out as long as I can. Or it's also because I'm not up for typing 3,000 words at this exact moment. (Spoiler: it's 2,664, to be exact. Close.).

Weird. Wonderful. Interesting. Frustrating. Idiotic. Stressful. Fun. Those seven words are interchangeable for my feelings on the year 2013, because I've felt that each of those words could aptly describe the most unique year of my time on Earth. I'll/we'll never see anything like it again, and I don't know if I should be sad or thankful. 2013 had a lot going for it and against it, but we'll count that as a net gain.

In this series, I'll be talking about both positives and negatives: things I liked in/about 2013 (spoiler: anything Matthew McConaughey did) and things I didn't. (Spoiler: anything Big Sean did.) I have a lot to talk about and this post features a lot of lists, rankings, and words, so enjoy.

The 25 Best Albums of 2013

The Five Best New Artists of 2013

  • Chance the Rapper
  • Lorde
  • Mutual Benefit
  • Run the Jewels (more of a supergroup-type thing, but still counts)
  • Rhye 
Twenty More Tracks From 2013 You Should Know


This can also be seen as a companion piece to The 30 Best Songs Released in 2013. It can also be identified as "Will found a couple songs that probably should've been on there, so we'll add some more to the list." Some of these are already listed above in the albums article, but here's your emphasis for Spotifying these. ----------------------->Spotify playlist HERE.<----------------------
Best Music Video of 2013 


The National, "Sea of Love." I've posted this five times on this blog, but whatever, it's still amazing. I end up loving something different every time I watch, whether it's the kid or Bryce Dessner's dancing.

Other Best Music Video of 2013


Toro y Moi, "Say That." 1. It's an exercise in brilliantly awkward dancing. 2. Best attempt at recreating the Neature Walk series as a music video to this point. 3. The faux-turtleneck. My God.

Best Vine User


Cousin Terio: singlehandedly making Vine not suck this year.

Best Joseph Fauria Touchdown Dance


All of them, but Bye Bye Bye.

Best Unplanned Moment of 2013


Miguel's Leg Drop. Nothing at an awards show may ever top this again.

Best Thing That I Promise Is Almost Done, Seriously

TIE: The Mixtape Series and the Bruce Springsteen Case Study. I can promise both of these will be of high quality...it's just a matter of finishing both of these up. Mine and JL's first mixtape should be out very soon, as he's out of Arkansas and back into the promised land of Tennessee. The Case Study will be a Christmas break project.

Best Christmas Break Project of 2013

Finishing Breaking Bad (seasons 3-5) and The Wire (entire series) in fourteen days. If this actually happens I may not watch TV of any kind for months.

Most Applicable Quotes of 2013

"God isn't calling us all to go to Indonesia. He's calling some of us to stay here." - Greg Pinkner, associate pastor at Fellowship Church in Knoxville

"As I began to cry in the middle of Starbucks (not from listening to Bon Iver), I could almost hear Jesus saying, 'Yes. But I want to go with you, hold you by the hand, and weep with you there.'" - Sammy Rhodes, RUF pastor at the University of South Carolina, on overcoming hard memories

"I believe in what I've done. I don't apologize for what I've done. If they want to fire me, go ahead." - Bo Pelini, Nebraska football coach, last seen with guns blazing
Things I Liked in 2013 (Part One)

To be fair, a list of things I liked in 2013 could literally go on forever, so I'm only writing about the ten things I tweeted about recently. For space and time, I'm limiting myself to no more than 250 words on each of these items. These are done in article format, they aren't for everyone, and if you hate this I'm sorry.

Matthew McConaughey

"McConaughey here ... just keep livin'." Matthew had a short prologue featuring that quote leading into some Dallas Buyers Club teasers this fall, and they were brilliant. It's nuts, because we're not supposed to be here with him right now. Before 2011, McConaughey had featured in exactly two quality films: 1993's Dazed and Confused (first and perhaps best performance as a high school graduate who still socializes with high schoolers) and 1996's A Time to Kill (I'm being a little flimsy with the term "quality", as this is about the fourth or fifth-best John Grisham film adaptation). Suddenly, a switch flipped in Matthew's head ("I don't have to star in all of these godawful romantic comedies no one talks about anymore") and we're here. Just look at the ridiculous list of nominations over the last two years. Dallas Buyers Club features what will probably be regarded as the performance of his career to this point, Mud is quietly great, and he owns his role in Bernie (a criminally underrated film, by the way). Has anyone surged harder from "forgotten B list actor" to "top tier" in less time? We're comfortable with this, too, because Matthew remains as endearing as ever. Just keep livin', indeed.

The Indiana Pacers


I can't get enough of the 2013 Pacers. Paul George went from "that guy the Pacers overdrafted for in 2010" to a top ten player in one season. The Pacers, formerly known as the New Old Pistons, are now the new guard in the NBA, the first team that we can firmly identify as better than Miami, whose odds at winning a third straight title are dwindling with every hard-nosed Indiana defensive performance (currently on pace to be the best defensive team since the 2003-04 Pistons, as determined by points allowed per 100 possessions). Even though George is easily the best offensive player Indiana has had since in-his-prime Reggie Miller (Danny Granger's two-season stretch in a "take whatever's open" fast-paced offense is looking more and more like an outlier), this is still a very identifiably state of Indiana team: "us against the world" approach, a legitimately annoying team to play against (first time since the mid-90s), and beautifully blue-collar, featuring Roy Hibbert disguised as a 7'2" Mack truck. We're lucky to see a franchise like this in 2013.

Prince's Hot Chicken



We live in exciting times. Food is as important as it's ever been, and quality is at an all-time high. Unfortunately, we're still failing to notice what is our most integral component to enjoying food: originality, creativity, and legitimate quality (we're not talking about that "quality" #5 you just ordered at Wendy's). That's why it's important to take note of truly excellent restaurants, like Prince's Hot Chicken, located in north Nashville. I don't have enough time or space to explain Nashville hot chicken to someone who knows nothing about it, so just read this. It's more of an experience: you have to feel the delayed burn of the cayenne pepper. You have to feel the sweat rolling down your face as your thoughts are screaming "how is this considered 'medium?'" You have to realize for yourself that it's one of the most unique eating experiences you can find, along with being incredibly rewarding.

Bob Warren's Facebook


My words can't really do justice for this, so I'll just save them. Here's a compilation.

Michigan-Area Sports


What a year. Some of these are pending, but these are the things I was excited about in 2013, all relating to this subject:
  • The Detroit Lions sit in first place in the NFC North; they'll gain their first divisional title of any kind since 1993 if they hold on
  • University of Michigan men's basketball finished as national runner-ups, their best season since 1993 (sensing a pattern?)
  • The Detroit Tigers won their third straight AL Central title
  • The Detroit Pistons are somewhat relevant again and currently sit at fifth in the Eastern Conference
  • The Detroit Red Wings made the NHL playoffs for the 22nd (!) year in a row (this isn't quite as important to me as a Predators fan, but they're in different conferences now, so...)
Michigan won 2013. No state was more relevant in every major sport, and what a year to do it when the state and its most prominent city are facing tumultuous times (spoiler: Detroit gets its own short article in part two of this installment). I didn't realize how much I identified with these teams until I was sitting on the MARTA in Atlanta on April 6th, ready to shell out up to $200 for a seat miles from the court at the Georgia Dome (don't worry, they were more expensive than that, so we watched at a bar ten miles north of Atlanta) to watch a group of similar-aged people play the sport I loved the most. It's insane, but it makes sense, because sports make sense. It's why I would've driven to Detroit for the World Series parade had the Tigers won it. It's why my December paychecks are potentially going towards the 16 hour round trip for a Lions home playoff game. Sometimes in life, you latch yourself to things that are rational to no one else but you. I ride an emotional roller coaster with these teams and sports as a whole, and I love every second of it. Have a sub. It's crazy.

Part II will be posted within the next week and will feature writings on my feelings toward Detroit, Vampire Weekend's resurgence, and Big Sean, among other occasionally important things.
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    1 comment:

    1. old bobDecember 16, 2013 at 8:51 PM

      Another great writing by WILL. And to see ME as one of the greats is just a humdinger.

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