Best of 2012: Danny R. Phillips

My editor at this fine publication has informed me that I need not stick to 2012 releases for my “Best Of” list. With that in mind, I have made a list of new releases & “classics” that I have gone back to in the last year or so.

Shall we begin?

Music

Album of the Year: Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Meat + Bone

Japandroids, Celebration Rock
The Hives, Lex Hives!
Stiff Middle Fingers, Enemies with Benefits
Justin Townes Earle, Nothing’s Gonna Change The Way You Feel About Me Now
Band Of Skulls, Sweet Sour
Drag the River, Primer
Bob Mould, The Silver Age (reviewed here)
The Ultimate Creedence Clearwater Revival (reviewed here)
Scruffy and the Janitors, Pino
The Replacements, Tim
The Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers
Murder by Death, Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon
Sugar, File Under Easy Listening
Guided By Voices, The Bears For Lunch
Big Star, #1 Record
“Cheap Beer” Compilation from Replay Records
Death . . . For All The World to See
Dinosaur Jr., I Bet on Sky
North of Grand, A Farewell to Rockets
Benkirkland, S/T

Movies/DVD

Film of the Year: The Dark Knight Rises

The Bride of Frankenstein
Color Me Obsessed: A Film About The Replacements
You Can’t Hurt Me: The Story of Big Star
Lincoln
Bernie
Looper
Killing Bono
The Raven
Broken Flowers
Rear Window
The White Stripes: Under Great Northern Lights
Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection
Ghost Blues: The Music of Rory Gallagher
Daydream Nation
The Avengers
It Might Get Loud
You Weren’t There: A History of Chicago Punk 1977-1984
1991: The Year Punk Broke
The Rum Diary
Twelve Angry Men

Television

Best New Show: Elementary

Fringe
Bones
Hoarders
Oddities
Modern Family
Dark Matters: Twisted but True
Big Bang Theory
Castle
Fast and Loud
American Pickers
Prophets of Science Fiction

Books

Best New Book: Waging Heavy Peace by Neil Young

Before Watchmen (comic book series)
We Owe You Nothing: The Punk Planet Interviews
Killing Joke by Ian Moore
Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon
Fear and Loathing at Rolling Stone: The Collected Articles of Hunter S. Thompson
It Still Moves: Lost Songs, Lost Highways & The Search for the new American Music by Amanda Petrusich
Better Not Cry by Augusten Burroughs
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (I read this at least once every other year)
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon (I read this one at least once a year)