2014: Year in Review

Person of the Year- Taylor Swift. Thank god for T Swift. She killed it this year after months of forgettable banality from the rest of the entertainment industry. Her album 1989 was a monster hit and cemented her status at the top of the music industry. I'll admit I used to hate her because she seemed too much of a goody goody princess. However after her last album I was won over. I think what I like best about her is that she's taken a different path to stardom. She's classy, nice, and genuinely talented. So many other pop stars have chosen skankhood as their path to stardom but Swift has stayed true to herself and taken her own path. I'm not knocking the slutty stars but it's simply nice to have different alternative. Thank you Taylor Swift for saving what would have been an epically beige year otherwise.

Best New Show- Last Week Tonight w/ John Oliver. I love this show. John Oliver's weekly Sunday night show is a must see. You can see the heavy influence of his Daily Show background but he brings a fresh and unique perspective to the format. While he covers weekly headlines, it's his in depth stories that I enjoy the most because they are not the same stories being covered by every other show. He's discussed the sugar industry, net neutrality, state legislatures, the world cup and civil forfeiture.

Song of the Year- Do It Again Robyn & Royksopp. I LOVE this song. It's been on constant repeat while I'm at work. It's so good. So so good. I should admit I'm sort of biased to anything new from Robyn. 

I Give In- Chandelier by Sia. I named this category I Give In because I gave into liking this song. The song is actually horrible but because it was played so often on the radio I couldn't help but start to like it. "Ok I give in. I like it... please stop playing it now!" Science has proven that if you listen to anything long enough you will start to like it and Chandelier made the most of that truth. 

Scene Stealer- Bill Hader in Skeleton Twins. Kristen Wigg is known for creating funny situations with a sad undertone and The Skeleton Twins was no different. While the movie was more of a direct drama Bill Hader brought charm and laughs to the 2 hour downer. He stole the show and gave life to the role of Milo.

I Need To Start Watching- Key and Peele. I don't regularly watch this show but I keep seeing clips online that are hilarious. It's refreshing to have a comedy skit show features someone else beside a nerdy white guy. I was sold after seeing this clip:

MVP- Lady Gaga. 2014 wasn't a good year for Gaga's career. Her album went head to head with Katy Perry and she lost is an early knockout. Although I really liked all three singles from Art Pop I was in the minority. Perry's Roar and Dark Horse went on to become big hits and Gaga was forgotten about. Although she deserves the MVP award just for her album, that's not why I'm giving it to her. Throughout the entire year Lady Gaga has continued to go out in public in ever more ridiculous outfits even though none of us have been paying attention. I adore her for it because it shows that's genuinely who she is and not just an act created by a PR manager. In fact I would point to Katy Perry as the perfect example of someone who started out in crazy outfits and has now shown she was doing it just to get attention because her current wardrobe has been safe and expected. I applaud you Lady Gaga for having the courage to continue to be yourself despite the attention or lack there of. Look for her concert tour with Tony Bennett in 2015.

Double Duty- Lisa Kudrow on Web Therapy and The Comeback. Kudrow is the only person I can think of who has a show on HBO and Showtime at the same time. That's quit an accomplishment. Although I haven't gotten into The Comeback, I binged watched Web Therapy a couple weeks ago and really liked it.





I Want You As A BFF- Emma Stone. Stone appeared on Jimmy Falon and took part a lip sync battle to end all lip sync battles. SHE NAILED IT! Seriously, she wins at life.

Totally Forgettable- The Movies Industry. 2014 was an epically bad year for movies. It's like all the movie studios got together and decided they would all dump their forgettable movies in the same year. There was barely a major summer blockbuster (Guardians of the Galaxy). The real proof is the current Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. Reese Witherspoon in a movie you don't care about, Jennifer Aniston in a movie you didn't see... Apart from a few exceptions, there weren't many quality memorable films this year. Maybe the movie industry should see what Taylor Swift is doing in 2015 seeing as how she saved the music industry who was in the exact same situation before Shake It Off came out.

WTF- Birdman. Seriously WTF? Thank god my BFF Emma Stone was in this bizarro acid trip.

Heart Warmer- Chef. This came out early in the year but was one of my favorite films of 2014. Written, directed, and stared in by John Favreau, this is a movie about a disgraced chef who buys a food truck. A perfect movie to watch with your parents that you'll actually enjoy.

I Totally Forgot That Happened This Year- The Olympics, The World Cup, and the missing Malaysia Airlines flight. This was a three way tie because I would have sworn that all three events occurred last year. I remember the Malaysian flight the best. As for the Olympics and The World Cup I couldn't tell you anything about them. Totally forgotten.