2004 in review
FEATURE: Year in review -- the best of 2004
THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2004

10. Real Gone - Tom Waits: The bittersweet clank-and-boom majesty of Tom Waits is not for all tastes – sometimes not even his own fans can easily fall into step. With Real Gone, the eclectic artist brings aboard his son Casey, who seems to be making a go of inheriting Waits’s share of the offbeat music market. More often than not, though, the end results are mixed. It almost seems as if the father is simplifying his creativity for the benefit of letting his offspring feel comfortable joining in. Only well after the halfway mark does the album pick up steam, and these songs do the rest of the potty training justice. One listen to the first notes of “Day After Tomorrow” and it’s easy to hear that though there may be a prodigy waiting in the wings, he’s unlikely to ever fill the shoes of the true originator.

9. Medulla - Bjork: Few can accuse Bjork of stagnancy. She has always marched to her own drum and her new release Medulla is no exception. The album has been recorded featuring the Icelandic Choir and many of the tracks feature minimal, if any, instruments. Written, produced, performed, and, in several instances, programmed by Bjork, it is at turns jarring and beautiful, distant and intimate all at once. Although the central quality of the work seems to be the ability to discard traditional music frameworks such as verses, tempo, instruments and melody, the strongest songs cheat a little in order to yield the greatest impact. “Desired Constellation” and the marvelous “Who Is It” are the standouts here, but there is no denying the skill required in bringing hip hop to a song – and a catchy one at that – such as “Triumph of A Heart” using nothing but a synthesizer and a cacophony of human voices.

8. Musicology - Prince: If his Purpleness had squandered the nineties and the first half of this decade with obtuse marketing decisions and self-indulgent projects, his heralded album Musicology helped remind the general public why they fell in love with him so many years before. The disc is at its best when Prince commandeers his creativity from his infamous studio and lets loose. The bristling title track ambitiously and urgently beckons the dance floor and slower, soul-soaked numbers like “A Million Days” and “Call My Name” retain the breathy Prince of long ago, a sensual James Brown/Marvin Gaye aching just to get it on like an uber-funky sex machine. It’s been five years since the actual “1999”, and although it’s almost a certainty that his next project will go in yet another direction, Musicology may soon end up being a distant memory. But for now it is certainly worth savouring.

7. Love, Angel, Music, Baby - Gwen Stefani: For her first solo album, No Doubt's lead singer begs, borrows and steals from the synth-heavy sounds of yester-year to yield one of the more infectious releases of the year. The verses for her breakout first hit "What You Waiting For?" call to mind Weezer's "Hash Pipe", the bristling "The Real Thing" summons vintage New Order and Depeche Mode, and "Serious" is classic Teena Marie and Company B fluff gold. Heck, even the titles are retro: "Danger Zone" was also the name of a Kenny Loggins song, and "Long Way To Go" was a Phil Collins song. The army of guest artists and producers lend authenticity and quality to the look and feel of the album, and by the time the ode to, of all things, the musical "Fiddler on the Roof" rolls around (the hip-hop smackdown "Rich Girl" featuring Eve), Gwen Stefani's Love, Angel, Music, Baby has long since crashed through any number of musical stylings headfirst, strong, and setting the stage for a promising solo career.

6. How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb - U2: The crackling hit "Vertigo" may very well be the best single of the year, but U2's long-awaited new album doesn't have a lot of company for the scorching tune. There are some moments when the group shines with renewed promise, however more often than not these materialize in the form of fleeting riffs and chords, and not from the full songs themselves. From Achtung Baby to Zooropa to Pop, I have long admired U2 as a band willing to re-invent their sound at the risk of taking a hit with their record sales, but How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb sounds more like a sequel to 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind than a brand new discovery, and that will disappoint some of their diehard fans. Still, U2 can't be faulted for producing more of their customary guitar anthems and triumphant pop requiems. For a band that's been around for 25 years, they've still got what it takes, and once again they earn the unflappable accolades awarded them.

5. Contraband - Velvet Revolver: For years, I've been thinking what Guns N' Roses needed to do was simply to replace Axl Rose as lead singer and continue pumping out their blazing brand of hard rock on their own terms. With Scott Weiland helming the newly formed Velvet Revolver, the members of Roses were able to substitute a gritty lead vocalist without sacrificing any of the tough public image they needed to sell their brand of grinding rock and roll. Contraband has all the serenity of a locomotive in a pillow factory and the musicianship is every bit as aggressive. The punked out opener "Sucker Train Blues", the sly rocker "Set Me Free", the radio-friendly "Fall To Pieces" and the anthemic "Slither" (complete with a Tea Party teaser at the opening) are but four examples of the hard-edged, leather-clad ditties that make this album one of the best of the year.

4. To the 5 Boroughs - the Beastie Boys: If anyone from the rap world was eventually going to put out an album with the Twin Towers on the cover, it was the Beastie Boys. To the 5 Boroughs, their splashy, serious and spectacular NYC roller coaster that epitomized the idea of "going back to their roots", is a stomping romp prompted by the need to record a requiem for the city they've lived in all their lives. As somber as the subject matter is, though, there's no denying their familiar in-jokes and hilarious pop culture references. Where else can you hear mention of Trekkies, Lorne Greene, the classic cartoon "Shazam!" and Miss Piggy all one cut (the groovy opener "Ch-Ch-Check It Out")? MCA, AdRock and Mike D are as spry as ever, fusing warbly reverbs ("Hey ---- You"), kooky harpsichords ("Right Right Now Now"), and Chic-ly grooves ("Triple Trouble") like nobody's business. Barely any of the songs breach the 3 minute mark, and tight hooks mixed with rapid-fire rhymes are squeezed into every ounce here.

3. SMiLE - Brian Wilson: For a Beach Boys fan, no news in 2004 was more welcome than the impending arrival of SMiLE, the most famous album never released. When Brian Wilson started to work on it in the late sixties, only two tracks survived in their completed form: the swirling, influential hit "Good Vibrations" and the under-appreciated masterwork "Heroes and Villains". Over the years, anticipation of hearing the rest of the tracks in their raw form as demos (or in some other constructed form) dwindled when rumours surfaced that the tapes were destroyed, and when Wilson's mental health reached breaking point. A labour of love and a gift to fans, Wilson recently set to work re-constructing SHiNE, and the result is a compilation soaked in nostalgic refrains that provide a bittersweetly perfect coda to the Beach Boys legacy. Sparing no expense in recreating his vision note for note, trombones, timpanis, banjoes, woodwinds, theremins, saxophones and choirs of singers all bring this timeless, special music to life.

2. Feels Like Home - Norah Jones: Her album sat in the top 40 for most of the year, so it's easy to temporarily forget that Norah Jones's Feels Like Home came out in February of 2004 and is therefore eligible for an array of best-of lists. On her strong debut record Come Away with Me, Jones showed a unique promise, and now she is delivering on that promise. Armed with a fleet of talented supporting musicians, Jones demonstrates a seasoned demeanour on her second album that belies her years. A co-writer on most of the thirteen tracks, she keeps the arrangements minimal but spry, and her voice caresses the microphone as if summoning many of the best jazz and blues singers of the last century. Whether successfully covering the frequently obtuse Tom Waits ("The Long Way Home") or pouncing through a duet with country legend Dolly Parton ("Creepin' In"), Feels Like Home blends a number of haunting, fascinating melodies and styles into this intimately soothing album.

1. Around the Sun - R.E.M.: Deciding on my favourite recording of 2004 proved to be most difficult. The top spot could very easily have gone to Norah Jones's sophomore album, which overflows with genuine feeling and raw talent, but in the end I have to give a slight edge to the band from Athens, Georgia that consistently crafts some of the best and most finely constructed songs, year after year. With their fourteenth album, R.E.M. had reportedly returned to the politically motivated stance that characterized their early work, but to label the haunting Around the Sun a political record is a misnomer and does not do justice to its affecting, stunning musicianship. Certainly, there are stabs at the Bush administration between the lines, but they are veiled in lyrics that hint at greater fears and uncertainties, not specific and pointed Moore-esque accusations. These refrains will resonate long after the wartime president has left office. What results is a record fueled by anger and resentment of America's current state, but expressed in a myriad of different ways. And unlike their previous offering Reveal, which featured some strong individual tracks but lacked a cohesive throughline, Around the Sun successfully functions as a musical journey through both bright and dark moments that co-exist until the final cut (the cautious, exultant title track) builds to a satisfactory climax. From the elegiac first single, "Leaving New York", to the sullen yet majestic "I Wanted To Be Wrong", this is clearly a return to form for a group that perhaps had assumed it had already said all there was to say. Yet it is one thing to know what one wishes to say and another to find the perfect means to express it. R.E.M. does so on every track here, and have, for the fourth time in ten years, released my favourite album of the year (along with Monster in 1994, New Adventures in Hi-Fi in 1996, and Up in 1998).

Honourable mentions: Lucid Blue - Mike Cowie; Me & Mr. Johnson - Eric Clapton

THE BEST MOVIES OF 2004


This year I found it most difficult to get swept away by mainstream successes, such as the overwhelmingly popular Spider-Man sequel, but was pleasantly surprised by other pictures that did not always receive unanimous critical acclaim. As of January 1st, 2004, the films below are my favourites to date, and I will continue to make changes to this list during 2005 if the title would have been included originally (had I had the opportunity to see it).

10. Super Size Me: This sometimes manipulative documentary by Morgan Spurlock nevertheless confirms what we've always suspected: that fast food is not only a poor substitute for proper eating habits, but is downright hazardous to our health. Watching Spurlock trudge through a 30-day diet of McDonald's food is like watching someone slowly committing greasy, bloated suicide by ingestion.

9. Finding Neverland: Not so much a movie starring Peter Pan as an account as to how the author, J.M. Barrie, first got the idea to write is now-famous play. Johnny Depp makes Barrie a more fascinating character than he probably was in real life. The story is less a rehashing of Pan mythology as a parable on the eternal importance of retaining our youths at all stages of life.

8. Shrek 2: The first Shrek film was a relentlessly satirical assault on familiar children's nursery rhymes and stories. The sequel travels further down that road, with even more in-jokes and pop culture references to disarm all but the stodgiest of critics. At its heart, there are some successful morals about social acceptance and the importance of family, but these pale in comparison to the outlandish gags, set-ups and payoffs in bellylaughing scene after scene. There were times when I completely forgot I was watching an animated movie, and that rarely ever happens to me.

7. Fahrenheit 9/11: By now, Michael Moore's neon, left-ist halo has lost some of its luminous luster, but when this feature first came out, it incited mass discussion, sparked controversy surrounding current issues, and called into question the decisions that politicians make, like no other movie in history. This accomplishment aside, the film is inherently thought-provoking, emotionally stirring, and downright hilarious in its careful montages which underscore the ineptitude of the Bush administration. Regardless of one's opinions on the subject itself, as a piece of pure and biased commentary, it also happens to be one of the most entertaining movies of the year.

6. Hotel Rwanda: The horrors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide are depicted on a smaller scale in this memorable film by Terry George. Don Cheadle as a Casablanca-esque hotel owner, Sophie Okonedo as his wife, Nick Nolte as a frustrated peacekeeper and Joaquin Phoenix as a young journalist head up the cast as people bound by the limits of their power to change an inconceivably dire situation. The fact that the events have only transpired a decade ago makes the film all the more dramatic and sobering.

5. Million Dollar Baby: This dark horse continues to turn heads as it builds momentum towards Oscar’s finish line. The movie, over-publicized as having a big plot twist, is nevertheless a well-presented sentimental endeavour. Clint Eastwood, hot off his successes from last year’s dazzling Mystic River, stars in the story of a struggling boxer in her thirties (Hilary Swank) who needs a trainer. Eastwood wears many hats here to different degrees of success, including director and composer of the musical score, and these provide further proof the film was a formidable labour of love.

4. The Aviator: Having not yet seen films such as Bringing Out the Dead and Gangs of New York, I was unaware that Martin Scorsese was even going through a small critical slump in recent years. Consider these rumblings quashed; this Howard Hughes biopic is a triumph of storytelling, top-notch drama, and even adventure. Where Leonardo DiCaprio may falter in any resemblance to the legendary tycoon, he more than makes up for in internalizing a man who frequently refused to stand still long enough to be examined. Flanked with an all-star supporting cast and a relentless, driving pace, this movie raced along so quickly that I was completely surprised when the credits started to roll... and hungry for more.

3. Closer: Weeks after having seen it (and, I suspect, for months and years afterwards as well), this small film still resonates with me. Based on a stage play, few movies delve so far into the brutally harsh nature of relationships and the raw pain that infidelity, jealousy and polygamy can cause. Much of the dialogue is compact and too facile in parts, but the meat of its content, as delivered by Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen, comprises some of the most intimate and gritty expressions and reactions in recent cinema. Daring to make a disturbing movie is risky, and audience feedback has been mixed. Director Mike Nichols does not soften blow for us, because the blows are never softened for us in real life either.

2. The Terminal: There is no way to predict when a movie will capture you or which one it will be. That’s part of the inevitable fun of watching movies, in my opinion. Here is a case of a film that took me completely by surprise by one-upping itself in scene after scene. Steven Spielberg directs this affecting (not affected, as the critics would have you believe) story about a simple man who is forced to live in an airport terminal when the United States goes to war with his country. Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones are wonderfully sweet, but it’s the script that shines brightest, as points that could have come off as contrived instead win you over. At turns humourous and touching, it is a movie that leaps from the screen directly into your heart.

1. Sideways: What a delight to have stumbled across this humourous, poignant film. Good movies try to tell a story while simultaneously throwing in a bit of everyday life that may or may not stick with the audience. This pristine picture, adapted and directed by Alexander Payne, never hits a false note and crams so much of everyday life into each frame, it will stay with me for a long time to come. It is disarming in its relentlessly truthful -- and accurate -- character traits and is inspirational in its attention to details both big and small. Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh star less as fictional characters and more as themselves in this tale about healing, relationships, and friendship, all the while set against the backdrop of California's wine country. One of the most piercing and provocative movie experiences I have yet had.

Honourable mentions: Dodgeball: A True Underdog's Story: Certainly not a classic for the ages, but a great comedy all the same, with lots of laughs. Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller are pitted against each other at a Las Vegas tournament based on the schoolyard game.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Although it could have used another run through the typewriter for the benefit of narrative cohesion, there's no denying the creativity behind this abstract and colourful journey through the depths of the human mind.
Open Water: At times, this film seemed to play like a documentary, which is a compliment. When a young couple is abandoned at sea after a group scuba dive, they must wait and pray to be noticed missing and rescued. Suspenseful and slick.
I, Robot: Expectations were low coming into this summertime Will Smith vehicle, but by successfully fusing sci-fi ideas with a film noir murder mystery, it became one of the pleasant surprises of the year. A great looking action / adventure movie.
Wilby Wonderful: A Canadian offering that veers into many movie styles, it is bolstered by a deep ensemble cast and quirky dialogue courtesy of playwright Daniel MacIvor. Some of the subject matter is familiar, but is nevertheless handled well.
Collateral: As good as Tom Cruise is in this taut thriller from Michael Mann, Jamie Foxx is even better. When a cab driver is manipulated by a professional hitman to become an accomplice one night, all hell breaks loose. A solid, gripping feature.
The Village: This is a film that works better if one temporarily disconnects one's M. Night Shyalaman radar and allows the events to unfold naturally on the screen. Beaten to a pulp by audiences and critics alike, I found the suspenseful camera techniques, strong characters and imaginative storytelling quite compelling.

THE WORST MOVIES OF 2004

5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: While perhaps not on the same scale as the other bad movies on this list, the mystical charm and beloved status of this series for millions of young and old alike continues to elude me.

4. New York Minute: As bad as the Olsen twins are in this movie, they're not as bad as Andy Richter, whose talents are dreadfully wasted as a limo driver, and Eugene Levy, who foolishly takes any role that comes his way these days.

3. Scooby-Doo 2: The biggest caper the Mystery Gang has yet to solve is what any of them are doing in such a ghastly, feeble monstrosity as this. There should be a quality warning label on the box to this so-called children's movie.

2. Torque: In the small pantheon of motorbike racing movies, this is about as wrench-ingly wretched as they come. A cast of soap opera stars preen for the camera while ludicrous gravity-defying stunts make your stomach turn in all the wrong ways.

1. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou: Technically, Torque is an even worse movie than The Life Aquatic, but with the expertise in front of and behind the camera, Aquatic has the dubious honour of claiming this year's top spot. Infuriating, cloying, and stale, it authoritatively dethrones writer-director Wes Anderson as the undisputed young genius of his generation. There's a reason this stinker takes place either on water or under it; many in the audience will feel the need to take a bath immediately afterwards.

THE BEST TV SHOWS OF 2004

10. TIE: Six Feet Under / Las Vegas
9. Law and Order
8. the O.C.
7. the Practice
6. the Simpsons
5. Boston Legal
4. Lost
3. Ebert & Roeper at the Movies
2. ER
1. 24


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