Over the past few days, I have complied my 10 favorite moments in pop culture this year. I realized after gathering them together, it could be split into three categories. So here you have them. This is in no particular order, just grouped together.
I. The Renaissance of the Music Video
What an exciting year in music. Equally exciting is what seems to be a return to artists putting some serious thought and innovation into their videos. Some of my favorite nights out this year have been those nights where I end up just sitting at a fun gay bar with a good friend while we watch and critique music videos playing on the screen. Sometimes I feel like I’m watching a return to film in its MGM hay day with the elaborate costumes, sets and choreography. Even better, present day we get deeper meaning and something that can feel tangible with the escape of fanfare. My examples follow:
10. The Year of the Gaga
Lady Gaga is the driving force behind what I believe is the Renaissance of the music video. With her taking it to the next level, artists have been forced to up their game, and the result is so much fun for the fans to watch. Lady G’s debut album, The Fame, brought her into the modern pop lexicon, The Fame Monster took her to that cliché and intangible “other level.” Always unique, always a showman, always amazing, this artist leaves many in my circle with their mouths open and fists pumping. While I am infatuated with her music, it is what she says in interviews that makes me appreciate this artist even more. She is a champion for gay rights, avoids trash talking and always looks exquisite. I love when she said she believed her father thought something was wrong with her (mentally) the first time he saw her perform. Her work caused a rift between them that just now started healing. I love her work. She constantly has me appreciating the moment I live in; that I get to witness, in the present, music history being made. I attach her videos that came out this year, including Video Phone, a video by Beyonce featuring Lady Gaga, which I include because it showcases the influence Gaga has on her peers.
Paparazzi:
Bad Romance:
Video Phone:
9. A New Rihanna
I was at a Rihanna concert recently and after I enthusiastically cheered her entrance and songs a fellow concert goer by my side said to me “Wow, you LOVE Rihanna, don’t you?” Duh! Even though she has been putting out albums since 2005, most of the world is just coming to know this amazing artist. However, long gone are the days of S.O.S. and Please Don’t Stop the music. Though they may again return one day, one cannot deny that the events in Rihanna’s life this year have inarguably made a difference on how this Barbados stunner expresses herself through music and fashion. Our first glimpse of this “new” Rhianna came with the release of Russian Roulette. She called the song a metaphor for falling in love, which I buy. The experience often leads to euphoric highs, but in some cases, and unfortunately for her, it can lead to a collapse of the world you once knew. I am amazed by this woman who claims she picked up the pieces after her loss of innocence all by herself and walked away from what she knew of love for the sake of her sanity and her fans in similar situations. While I am enamored by many of the songs on her new album (Rated R), I attach the videos for Russian Roulette and Hard as they are the only videos shot and released for this album but they also speak to the transformation of one of my favorite artists around today.
Russian Roulette:
Hard:
I love how she’s wearing the same shades SJP wears in the SATC 2 trailer and poster. Mykita & Bernhard Willhelm’s Franz Limited-Edition Aviator Sunglasses. Hawt.
8. Celebrate Madonna
I am one of the few out there who appreciates Madonna’s recent works more than her OG tracks from the 80s. I guess because she always leaves me surprised and unsure if I like what she’s putting out. Eventually, I always come around and before long her music coarses through my veins. The great thing about Madonna is that one can appreciate her for where she’s been and where she continues to go. I absolutely adore Celebration, especially the fan video. While it is not an elaborate or lush video, it is rich in love. You get a sense of just how many people she has left an imprint on, and for how many years she’s been doing it. Plus, seeing her daughter Lourdes paying homage to her momma at the 2:44 mark is so friggin cute (we also see what a beauty the little one is turning into). And who can resist Madonna in a 2009 Balmain with thigh-high Louboutins? To quote Stacy London “SHUT UP!” I attach the fan video below plus follow this jump to pics of Madonna’s “Italian-Neorealism” inspired shoot for Dolce and Gabanna because I love it and her. Amaze. My fave is the one of her washing dishes.
Celebration Fan Video:
II. “Reality” TV As the Ultimate Fantasy
Everyone who knows me knows I love my reality TV. I always have. I remember the first season of The Real World in NYC and being so excited to watch it on weekends at my dad’s house because he had cable. Since then the world has watched this genre grow into an unstoppable force. Viewers like me watch with such devotion that the “real” people on screen become celebrities and start to play out a life as such just by merely being “themselves.” Below are some of my favorite moments of my favorite reality shows of 2009.
7. Kristin Cavallari is Back, Y’all:
I know I will lose some readers with this, but this is my list and I find her fascinating. Also, this is also a little “tongue-and-cheek” because I know Kristin and the rest of the cast of The Hills do nothing to better society or the repuation of the youth in L.A. (or America for that matter). One of the main reasons I tune in is because watching Lauren Conrad, Lo Bosworth and Kristin Cavallari since they were itty-bitty high schoolers in Laguna Beach makes me feel like I’m watching some horribly addictive soap opera like Days of Our Lives, where it’s just comforting to see a familiar face and the evolution of a “character.” And while the show’s main source of flack comes in the sincerity of its authenticity, the drama that plays out is still entertaining. Whether the show is “real” or not, the return of Kristin breathed a breath of fresh air into the series. No more do we have to worry about awkward, producer-staged run-ins between Heidi and Lauren and wonder if Lauren will ever forgive Heidi (so glad Lauren got out of that toxic environment, btw). With Lauren gone so is the original theme of young-girl-following-her-dreams-in-the-big-city, and there is no reason to consider this show anything but a guilty pleasure; aimless youth who get paid to do nothing but gossip, fight and party. The result of capitalism at it’s worst and I can’t. stop. watching. Below is the clip for the season of Kristen’s return, with an ending that left my jaw wide open, y’all:
“She’s like a disease you can’t get rid of”:
6. The Real Housewives of Orange County:
The original housewives have had, what most consider, a lack-luster season 5. People are sick of Tamra’s bitching, Vicki’s neuroses are on the verge of intolerable, and the sanest of the OG – OC housewives, Jeana, left the show. What we are left with is not much, but I absolutely love any argument where Gretchen has to stand up for herself to Tamra and Vicki. Sure Gretchen and her now deceased fiancé had a questionable relationship, but it’s like Carrie Bradshaw said, “In the glass houses of relationships, no one should be throwing stones. Some people are settling down, some people are settling, and some people won’t settle for anything less… than butterflies.” Ugh, I love that bitch. Anyway, I attached this clip because, despite the sluggish season, this war of words between Gretchen and Tamra had me and my friends snapping our fingers all over the place when Gretchen throws out that final dismissal. Tamra’s relentless jabbing at Gretchen so obviously stems from a place of inadequacy and lack of humility. Tamra, your jealousy. ain’t. pretty. Sidenote: I love the shot of Jeana eating her feelings.
Caution: Language alert. Also it’s poor quality but it’s the most concise edit of the fight.
5. Whitney, Olivia, and the new girls on The City:
If you know me, you know I love The City. It seems funny that this show is a spinoff of The Hills, as The City seems to be its complete antithesis. Yes, the loveable, gorgeous and hardworking Whitney Port got her own show that is set in the city that never sleeps, thousands of miles from her hometown of L.A. Most of the drama in The City centers around the careers of 4 young women, with Whitney and Roxy at top fashion PR firm People’s Revolution, and Olivia and Erin at Elle Magazine. Sure there was occasional side drama with boys (enter Freddie Fackelmayer and his weird relationship with his father) but what was so great about this second season of the city was that the producers realized the good television didn’t come from the men in these girls lives, but rather, from their careers. In fact, the only man that was consistenly featured this season was Elle Creative Director, Joe Zee (and come on, what’s not to love about Joe Zee?!). Despite surely being placed at their jobs by MTV, there is an element of reality the City has that escapes The Hills. One such example is attached below (along with the trailer and a ferocious promo for season 2) as Roxy and Whitney dance to Single Ladies in their apartment. I fell in love with those two a little bit harder after watching that. And whether it was watching fashion PR maven Kelly Cutrone guiding Whitney as she creates her own fashion line or Olivia and Erin trying to maintain a civil working relationship at Elle, I enjoyed every second of this season. Trivia sidenote: Did you know Roxy is also on Brothers and Sisters as the surrogate for Kevin and Scotty’s baby? She is also the daughter of Patricia Wettig (who plays Holly, the mistress on B&S) and Ken Olin (who plays Holly’s husband on B&S). I just found this out recently and was totally surprised.
All the single ladies!:
Season trailer:
*!WARNING!* MAJAH FEROSH headed your way in this clip:
Bonus! A gem from the season 1 finale, Whitney gets advice from DVF herself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESvYoPkfobg
4. The Real Housewives of New Jersey
Yes, it was the table flip heard around the country with these gals from the Garden State. New Jersey has always held a dubious distinction in American pop culture. Sure, the stereotype can easily dismissed as brash or uncouth but what I love is that there is always a deep loyalty and appreciation for family and loved ones in anything that ever has to do with New Jersey. This holds true for those highly entertaining Real Housewives of New Jersey. Three of these housewives were related by blood or marriage, a fourth was friends with the related women, and the fifth was an outcast who was an expert at self-sabotage. I loved watching these women this season. Out of all of the franchises, this group seems to have the least amount of entitled children and the most amount of appreciation for the things they have. They also had one of the most explosive season finales when the usually calm and friendly Teresa exploded on the controversial Danielle. Tensions mounted through the whole season whether Danielle was a good friend for the loveable housewife-in-law, Jacqueline. And when “Cop Without A Badge”, a book detailing some real and some fictional times of a younger Danielle, surfaced, the other women were up in arms. The scene below depicts what happened on the finale when all the girls gathered with their families and the topic of the book… just came up. Teresa is so infuriated after Danielle tells her to pay attention, you can’t even understand her words. Her table-flipping, however, seemed to say everything she wanted to get across. The reactions from Caroline’s kids are priceless. I love this group and I can’t wait to “watch what happens” next season.
Caution: Language
3. America’s Next. Top. Model. Is….
Duh, I am a sucker for my next nod. Love her or hate her, Tyra Banks has stuck with a winning format of dwindling down a group of 40 or so contenders at the season premiere, down to one girl who, in the finale, wins the title of America’s Next Top Model. Week to week, the group of models-in-training are forced into extreme modeling conditions to see who has the chops to make it in the industry in this still, after 13 cycles, highly-rated series. The show gets flack for not making household names out of its winners, the way American Idol does. But that doesn’t mean that many of its winners and runner-ups haven’t had their own varying degrees of success (see where-are-they-now clips below). It’s a ridiculous show but at its core, and what I love about it, is the documentation of the growth one goes through on the path of chasing a dream. Many girls come on who have gotten by on their looks their whole lives, and it is those with the ego that are usually the early send offs. This season, in particular, we saw growth from Nicole, the self-proclaimed dork and eventual winner. I love when my early favorite ends up winning (it has only happened one other time). You can see why this girl may not have been the most popular in high school, but it just goes to show how far uniqueness and inner beauty will get you. Go Nicole. I hope this girl has amazing success.
(The most recent) Nicole Wins Cycle 13:
Various “Where-are-they-nows”:
And my all-time favorite winner:
III. Mainstream Film & Television
I recognize there are amazing things that happened in film and television this year that doesn’t have a thing to do with anything I’ve already mentioned. However, I feel those shows get their praise at Emmy & Oscar time. That being said, there is one television show and one film event that happened this year that I loved so much that I (and I hate double negatives) couldn’t not mention them.
2. 500 Days of Summer
I absolutely loved 500 Days of Summer. This quirky, small movie about the process of breaking up and moving on is one of the truest pieces of fiction I have ever seen on the big screen. With the back-and-forth timeline, the honest conversation and the splashes of fantasy to personify (if you will) emotion, there are so many elements of genius in this film. I loved how it showed that the end of a relationship does not invalidate emotions or connections once shared, even and especially if one person in the relationship felt those emotions more intensely. There are seemingly effortless performances by Joseph Gordon- Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, and I was thrilled to see the film earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Comedy or Musical. Yes, it is everything Garden State wanted to be but couldn’t (I know, different themes completely but as far as nerds-in-love stories go….) It also kicked Garden State’s ass in terms of soundtracks. The standout song, for me, being The Temper Trap’s Sweet Disposition. The beat and lyrics completely embody the tone of the movie. I am attaching the trailer to the movie, as well as a link to the teaser which plays “Sweet Disposition.”
Trailer:
Teaser:
1. Juliet and Sawyer – Lost: Season 5
I went without cable this summer and in an effort to entertain myself, I watched my roommate’s copy of the first season of Lost. I had no interest in the show before. It was always described to me as Sci-Fi/Fantasy. Sidenote: That description will instantly make my brain turn off and start thinking about monkeys playing with a jack in the box. Boredom, however, forced me to tune in and I was instantly hooked. Every season got better and better and eventually my favorite character, Juliet, was introduced. Kicking butt since her debut into the series, she helped many beloved characters out of life-threatening situations. Unfortunately, she was always unlucky-in-love as she could never keep Jack’s attention solely on her, his head always turned to Kate. This season, however, we saw her develop a deep and tender relationship with Sawyer. The couple least likely to couple were playing house on the island for three years until the return of the Oceanic Six (mainly Kate and Jack). Juliet, tough as she was, handled their return with grace and respect though you could see the anguish over her confusion on the status of her relationship with Sawyer. Tensions came to a head on the season finale this year, which left every viewer on the edge of their seat. Her character, bad-ass to the very last second of the attached clip of the season 5 finale, carried out what the others in her group could not do while leaving us with so many questions: Is Juliet dead? Will she be on only in flashbacks? Will she be on at all? I love you Juliet. You better not be dead or I hate this show.
(caution: graphic)
oooo…. It still gives me chills.
There you have it. My favorite moments of pop culture in 2009. What a fun year.
Mariah Carey
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