Entertainment Weekly's New Classics

[mokin]

So if anyone wants to discuss these things, let's give it a go...I'm not necessarily hoping for a total bashing of the list, but maybe an opportunity for a list of FOT New Classics.

Scarhead is definitely up there on my movie New Classics list.

[Fido]

The Lord of the Rings trilogy at #2 and Titanic at #3? Come on, people. There are some pretty good movies on that list, I have to say. And it's not nearly as pompous as the AFI's Top 100 movies of all time that was issued a few years ago.

[Bryan]

Anyway: Knowing Me Knowing You w/ Alan Partridge is an obvious contender for a FOT classic television show.

I could never get into it.  But I love Saxondale, so I ought to try again.

I'm with Samir that I'm Alan Partridge is probably an easier way into the character. KMKY was really innovative at the time, but has aged a lot worse than I'm Alan Partridge.

[Stupornaut]

Just once I would like to see one of these stupid lists with a late '90s electronic dance record on it that isn't goddamned Play by stupid-ass Moby.

[iAmBaronVonTito]

i didnt get very far.

i had a hard time stomaching classic (used in the literal sense) albums/television shows/movies/books/etc. thrown on the same list, and sometimes at lower rankings!, as "classics" that really only have a social impact or were just plain bad.  with the stench of these lists, its very peculiar what is on there and what isn't. 

my guess: they took the top five in each category from twenty people and grabbed them out of a hat. 

[emma]

goddamned Play by stupid-ass Moby.

I would probably give this album a chance if that was its real title.

[ericluxury]

Lists like these are always a terrible idea. That said, other than the music list and the rankings (which are always suspect), it's not that bad. Since I became an adult I've always hated these kinds of lists, but I remember being in high school and discovering The Minutemen and about 10 other great albums by artists I'd never heard of because of Rolling Stones' Top 500 Albums of All-Time list. I am sure that I could nitpick the hell out of that list at this point in my life.

So, with that mind-frame, young people would do well to seek out the stuff in those lists.

[John Junk 2.0]

Anyway: Knowing Me Knowing You w/ Alan Partridge is an obvious contender for a FOT classic television show.

I could never get into it.  But I love Saxondale, so I ought to try again.

I'm with Samir that I'm Alan Partridge is probably an easier way into the character. KMKY was really innovative at the time, but has aged a lot worse than I'm Alan Partridge.

I guess you guys are right, but for some reason I totally prefer KMKY.  I don't know why, I just really like it a whole lot more.  And I disagree that it's an easier way into the character, because I watched I'm Alan Partridge before KMKY, and I had no idea who the hell this guy was supposed to be.  The KMKY DVD fixed that right up.  It was a much clearer view into what makes him tick. I would like to go back to "I'm Alan Partridge..." now that I've seen the first series.  I'll defer that I'm Alan Partridge is probably more Best Show Classics appropriate, however.

[<<<<<]

Wow, that's a seriously... focked up music list.

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

Topdog/Underdog at 48?!  Nonsense. 

Is this because you thought it shouldn't be on the list at all? or thought it should be higher? I never saw it, but I did read it and remember hearing good things about it (Mos Def & Jeffrey Wright?)

It was originally Don Cheadle and Jeffrey Wright.  Mos Def replaced Cheadle later on. 
I think I'd put it at #2 behind Angels in America which, come to think of it, also featured Jeffrey Wright.

Jeffrey Wright is a god.  He's playing Colin Powell and Muddy Waters in two upcoming movies.  No matter how bad those movies might be, he's going to bring it.

I saw it on Broadway with Wright and Mos Def.  It was good (Wright was awesome and Mos was actually pretty good on stage), but honestly I don't even think it was Suzan-Lori Parks' best play.  I briefly glanced at the play/musical list (someone emailed it to me) but I couldn't bear to read the whole thing.  I think they just Googled a few big awards like the Tonys and Pulitzers and used that.

[Son of Dorvid]

I've read Venus and The America Play, but TopDog/Underdog is the only one I've seen performed.  Recommendations?

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

I'd recommend The Red Letter Plays, published by TCG.  They're basically her two riffs on The Scarlet Letter, but they're both pretty cool.  I think Topdog is better than the other two you mention, though.

[dave from knoxville]

Oftentimes these lists are a mess because they use some sort of democratic aggregation of lists from individual contributors. As a result, any sort of opinions that are out of bounds with the group as a whole get minimized. That's why I always liked the Pazz and Jop list; while the "master" list was frequently kind of goofy, Village Voice has for years provided open access to each individual's picks, and you can frequently find a few of those that square with your own tastes. If you see a list for which you agree with 6 of the top 10, you can be pretty confident about using the pieces from that list that you don't know as some sort of personal recommendation.

This "rounding off" of the edges to provide a homogenous hive-mind list is also frequently taken into account  by the participating individuals. If I were invited to contribute, for example, and I was convinced that the new Urban Verbs cd is being unfairly overlooked, even though I might think it's only the 25th-30th best of the year, I might overcompensate and place it at number 3-5 in an attempt to get it to register at all on the final aggregate list. That sometimes explains the  "that list looks OK, but how the hell did THAT get placed so high?" syndrome.

There's not a new Urban Verbs CD to my knowledge. It was purely illustrative.

Man oh man, do I love lists and ranking schemes. For a recent example, see http://gaughin.edublogs.org/2008/05/26/the-actors-project-so-far-a-h/

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

Thanks for the mathematical analysis, Dave - very illuminating.  I too like Pazz and Jop, but like a lot of what the Voice does, the sheer volume of it sometimes paralyzes me.  I wonder if there's some sort of similar analysis regarding how the internet is changing word-of-mouth-based buying habits; for example, instead of listening to (most) critics, I've limited my music resources to a few trusted sources (WFMU and this board among them).  The final result, though, is that I purchase, download and listen to a great deal more music than I used to - narrowing down my sources has allowed me to better sort things out, I guess, while before, I was just listening to whatever new albums made it through the white noise of the media.

[jbissell]

Thanks for the mathematical analysis, Dave - very illuminating.  I too like Pazz and Jop, but like a lot of what the Voice does, the sheer volume of it sometimes paralyzes me.  I wonder if there's some sort of similar analysis regarding how the internet is changing word-of-mouth-based buying habits; for example, instead of listening to (most) critics, I've limited my music resources to a few trusted sources (WFMU and this board among them).  The final result, though, is that I purchase, download and listen to a great deal more music than I used to - narrowing down my sources has allowed me to better sort things out, I guess, while before, I was just listening to whatever new albums made it through the white noise of the media.

I agree with this statement 100%.