Digest 2: Best of 2018
I don’t watch nearly enough movies, listen to enough albums, or read enough books to write a proper year-end list of my own … there’s always something I missed out on. So I usually spend the first month of the new year pouring through other people’s lists. It’s a great way to discover hidden gems and find new things to consume. Here are some of the lists I found that stood out, along with a few of my own recommendations.
Movies
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The Best Movies of 2018
I think the Rolling Stone list does a better job of ranking this years films, but it only has 20 movies. Thrillist ranked 55 movies, which is great for finding lesser-known films that you might have missed.
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The Best Documentaries of 2018
This is a nice little list of 13 documentaries to check out. Polygon has a bunch of other 2018 lists, including a really good one for the best comics.
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A24 on Kanopy
Kanopy is free with your local library card, and you can watch up to 5 movies a month with it. They have the entire A24 catalog availble to stream ... I recently enjoyed The Florida Project and First Reformed.
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Ace in the Hole
Kirk Douglas turned 102 years old in December. I still can’t get over that. I think that Ace in the Hole is one of his finest performances, and the themes in the movie are particularly relevant almost 70 years later.
Music
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The 50 Best Albums of 2018
I feel like Paste hits on all my Dad vibes ... it's hard to find a list nowadays where I've still heard of half the bands. I'm still nostalgic for the old CD sampler they used to ship with the magazine every month...
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The 40 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2018
I listen to more Country and Americana than any other genre, and Rolling Stone Country seems to have the best grasp on it nationally. Texas is well represented on their list, as it should be.
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How Our Cruelty Killed Hootie and the Blowfish—and Damaged Our Souls
I’m going to see Hootie this summer, and I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks. From the article: “We thought that our neighbors thought that Hootie was no longer cool and, afraid of appearing uncool ourselves, we threw them overboard. We began constructing and altering our tastes and personalities for public consumption. No wonder reality television and Instagram were right around the corner.”
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Electric Black Man
I came across Eric Mercury listening to Crate Digger’s Gold over on KOOP radio. I can only describe his music as a crazy combination of soul, psychedelic, funk, and even a little bit of country.
Books
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NPR’s Book Concierge: Our Guide To 2018’s Great Reads
This is a nice little microsite that NPR does for their year-end book list. Some of my favorite categories include Comic & Graphic Novels, For Music Lovers, and Mysteries & Thrillers.
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Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion
One of my favorite reads of 2018. Not only do you get to read about the rise of aritsts like Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, and Booker T. Jones - but the story of Stax also parallels the civil rights movement.
Design
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10x18
I’m starting to think you could convince designers to do anything if it involves making a playlist. In all seriousness, I’m really glad that people are still making things for the internet just because it's fun. The site, the artwork, everything is top-notch.
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2018 Staff Favorites
It’s still hard to believe that CSS-Tricks is a free website. Getting an end-of-year cheat sheet from some of the web’s smartest people is such a gift. They also recently re-designed their website, and it is straight 🔥.
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Artwork Personalization at Netflix
The Netflix development team posted a popular Medium article a few years back about A/B testing their artwork. Now they can personalize artwork based on the user’s viewing habits. Fascinating or kinda creepy?
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The Extraordinary Album Art by Mozelle Thompson
I had never heard of Mozelle Thompson. He tragically passed away in 1969, and was the first and only African American to illustrate album covers within the first 15 years of their existence.
Texas
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H-E-B Forever
I visit the H-E-B down the street about 2-3 times a week. I waited in line for the grand opening of the one in my hometown. I think we all take for granted just how lucky we are to be able to shop there. It’s the quintessential Texas shopping experience, and this article by Priya Krishna hits on all the feels.
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The Conspiracy Theory That Alex Jones Is Actually Legendary, Long-Dead Texas Comedian Bill Hicks
I stumbled upon this old theory recently, and I must admit it made me laugh. I did not watch the 33 min “irrefutable proof” video because it’s total nonsense, but I will plug the 2011 documentary about Hicks and the upcoming Richard Linklater biopic.