Pop Portrait of a Priest: What Impacted Me from Pop Culture in ‘07

There’s dozens of “Best of” lists swirling around this time of year, and, if you’re like me, you’ll try to read every last one of them (I suggest the top 100 singles list on rollingstone.com to broaden your listening—they’ve got a link for pretty much every song, so you can sample and taste as you read). This, however, isn’t so much a list of what’s best, but what impacted me most from the pop cosmos—a snapshot, if you will, of what I had on repeat or was quoting or suggesting to anyone who’d listen (often, dear reader, you). Also, because I’m generally slow on the uptake (especially where music is concerned), many of these were released years ago. Still, for some reason, they hit home for me this year.

Music
Patti Griffin, Living with Ghosts (1996). Lyrically, the best album I’ve ever heard, Griffin uses her voice like a violin, then a sledgehammer, to drive home every nuanced line. More sacred than any “contemporary Christian” (shorthand for crap) album in years, these songs mirror life in ways that leave me stunned and asking for more. Her territory is Springsteen’s: small town losers, fighters, and lovers. Consider Sweet Lorraine, the tale of a “fiery-haired brown-eyed schemer who came from a long line of drinkers and dreamers, who knew that sunshine don’t hold up to dark, whose businesses fail, who sleep in the park.” Griffin sings, “Her daddy called her a slut and a whore on the night before her wedding day. The very next morning at the church, her daddy gave Lorraine away.” I come from small town Arkansas. You can take the rest of the bull crap country and flush it away. That’s True right there. And that’s Griffin’s gift- she spits the truth and lets you figure what to do with it.

Ryan Adams, Heartbreaker (2000). I discovered Ryan on his Gold album (2001), so I missed this country gem. I’ve reviewed it elsewhere, so I won’t say much here beyond commending To Be the One when you want to cry and Shakedown on 9th Street when you want to some foot-tapping rockabilly.

Neil Diamond, The Essential Neil Diamond (I told you I was slow on the uptake). When Neil made headlines by (creepily) announcing that a toddler-aged Caroline Kennedy was the impetus for Sweet Caroline, I decided I ought to have a little of the Solitary Man in my iTunes. The Diamond I knew was the ‘80’s “Turn on Your Heartlight”-singer. But the early singer-songwriter had a desperation on Solitary Man, Girl, You’ll be a Woman Soon, and I Am, I said, that I couldn’t get enough of.

Greg Laswell, Girls Just Want to Have Fun (2007). Greg takes Cyndi Lauper’s pop classic, slows it way down, and makes it a lament for all the good guys dumped by girls looking for a good time. But the real fun is knowing that Laswell (a good Point Loma boy), trying to make it in the business, had his wife leave and clean out the house while he was at work, which lead him to record this song, which lead to a modest iTunes hit, which lead to his dating Mandy Moore. It almost makes being left worth it. Almost.

Also deserving mention (and primarily not covered more fully here because I’ve already wrote too much about them): Rilo Kiley, More Adventurous (2004) and Under the Blacklight (2007); Radiohead, In Rainbows (2007); The Decemberist, Crane Wife (2006)); Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter (2007); Lilly Allen, Alright, Still (2007); Regina Spektor, Begin to Hope (2006); Glen Hansard, Lies (2007); Beck, Lost Cause (off Sea of Change. Can’t seem to find the year. 2003?).

TV:
Heroes. Due to the death of the DVR days in the priest household (and the utter crap of the first two episodes) I never got into season two. Still, season one had me rabidly asking “Save the cheerleader, Save the world? (and How old is that cheerleader, again…?), and What will become of Peter Parker? and Has there ever been anyone as evil as Silar on network TV?” Yeah, I was one of those. And, although we all figured out during Back to the Future that there are inherent problems in the time travel plotline, I still dug this one to high heaven. Sure, it’s X-Men for TV, but, hey, it’s X-Men for TV!

The Office. I wanted Pam and Jim to work out more than all but two relationships I was ever in (therein, some might say, lies the problem). While Michael Scott was greatness, it was the sum total of all the supporting players that made this the most rewarding show on TV for me last year. I laughed and I cared, something Seinfeld, Cheers, the Cosby Show and even 30 Rock never accomplished.

Craig Ferguson. When Craigers (Kilborn) vacated the Late, Late Show, I was beyond bummed. What was I suppose to watch after Conan? Kimmel? Total Request Live take 2? I shouldn’t have worried. Ferguson’s opening monologue, stories and stream of conscious ranting instead of the set-up/punchline jokefest favored by Leno and the boys, is comic genius. He is late night’s swinging, self-deprecating bachelor. A position Lettermen started vacating with the heart attack and finished with the birth of his son.

The Chris Matthews Show. While I was addicted to Hardball for years, this weekly half-hour is my new favorite political show. Chris brings in four top journalists and they talk shop. My favorite section—“Tell me Something I Don’t Know”—Is information and predictions that these journalists haven’t released yet. Although it’s usually hooey, sometimes its bombshells.

Also deserving mention: Antique Roadshow (I’ll watch a new Roadshow over anything else on TV. Anything); 30 Rock; any This Old House-style home show (love em); How I Met Your Mother (“Suit Up!”);

Books
A Man Without a Country (2005), Kurt Vonnegut. While I’ve never been a huge Vonnegut fan (besides Slaughterhouse and that “Graduation Speech” that was passed around the internet with his name attached to it before he stepped up and disavowed any involvement), Country was my favorite book in several years. Part memoir and part collection of essays, this was side-splittingly funny and so wise. If nothing else, his diagram and analysis of Hamlet (that what makes Hamlet great is that it never says if anything that happens within it is good or bad, right or wrong, because ultimately we’re just too close to know that) is worth the money.

The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days (1985), Frederich Buechner. Pulitzer Prize-nominated Buechner is one of my favorite authors. A Presbyterian minister and the author of 27 books, some “religious”, some not, Sacred Journey is his story of coming to faith. His belief mixed with honest doubt is just the tonic if you’re tired of preachers and writers pretending like all the answers are easy and faith always makes sense. Funny and touching, he’s about as close as I’ve come to finding a kindred spirit out there (and don’t think I don’t know I’m presuming a lot in proclaiming myself a kindred spirit). He reminds us, as does Jon Irving (who had Buechner as a chaplain in high school) in “A Prayer for Owen Meany,” that faith is often grounded in doubt, and vice versa.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007). I’ve already written extensively on this one, but I can’t talk about books this year and not mention it. I dreaded and celebrated the release of this final book, but it was everything it needed to be and a good bit more. This series was worth reading if only because of the excitement I felt before launching into this finale. The closest thing I can compare it to is the release of every new U2 album, of The Return of the King, and of The Return of the Jedi.

Movies
I’ll be writing a true “Best of 2007” for movies, so I’m going to pass right over this one for now….

Web:
The final category is a new one, but one whose time has come.

Film Trailers. Once my favorite thing in the movie theatre, they’re now my favorite thing on youtube. Although basically commercials for films, I like to think they’re little pieces of art in their own right. Whatever, I watched tons this year, many repeatedly.

metacritic.com. Like rottentomatoes.com, but covering music, books, TV, video games, and films, this site assigns a numerical value to about twenty or so reviews per item, then averages it out. They also lift a few key sentences from every review and place it on the website, along with a link to the entire review. You want a thumbnail of what’s worth your entertainment dime? Not a bad place to start.

nytimes.com. If you want a balanced view of the news from the folks that break it (not just buy it) you ought to read both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. The Times, subscription only until a few months ago, just made that easier by posting all content for free. Now, you can either pay a couple bucks a day to get it delivered or check it free on the web. If you make a doctor or lawyer’s salary, I suggest the first. If you’re more in a priest pay scale, I commend the latter. Tragically, the Journal is still subscription only, so a balance (for free) is still a few years away.

usatoday.com’s Pop Candy blog. The best entertainment blog on the web, this one keeps up with music, TV, graphic novels, and film news. Updated throughout the day, the morning news section is what will get you hooked. If you’ve only got three minutes a day to look on-line for entertainment info, it ought to be here.
http://blogs.usatoday.com/popcandy/