The 2013 Ho Media Awards
Here is more than you ever wanted to know about the books, movies, and music that stood out for me in 2013.
Website of the Year - alterslash.org
Finally - something that waters down the firehose of information that is Slashdot. Very phone friendly as well.
Book of the Year - The Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson
Last year at this time I was assuming that the long-awaited conclusion to the Wheel of Time could not possibly fail to own everything else that would be released through 2013. This behemoth, which closed 15 years of reading and waiting for me, was satisfying in many ways, but also suffered significantly more than the previous two volumes finished by Sanderson due to the choppy mix of voices (it was his intent to leave as much unaltered Jordan in the work as possible) and the [SPOILER] seemingly-last-minute-addition of some Sharan forces led by a much-anticipated bad guy [END SPOILER]. The short story that was published in the Unfettered anthology would have given some much needed preparation for that spoiler - it's highly recommended reading, whether it's officially considered canon or not.
No, the true ending of the year goes to Mr. Donaldson, who closed a story arc even longer than the Wheel of Time by bringing the saga of everyone's favorite curmudgeon to a close. TLD eschewed the raging emo of the last book and a half or so and really provided what we've all been waiting for - more action and more Covenant. It's tough to say much without spoiling a really good read, but I can say I felt much better about the way this series closed than WOT. Some have argued that the ending leaves an opening for further novels, but I'm pretty sure the story ends here.
Gollancz fucked up the release - no question about that. But that seems to be their M.O. recently. See below for more details.
A very close second was the "puzzle book" by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams called S.. Both stories work on their own whether you solve the puzzles or not, but the additional online side of things adds a slowly unfolding dimension to it that is unlike anything I've ever read.
I also read a lot of John Burroughs and John Muir this past year, though most of those works only qualified for HMA's 100 years ago!
Movie of the Year - Star Trek Into Darkness
The only other Star Trek film I've seen was Abrams' 2009 reboot, which I also enjoyed quite a bit. This continues the Abrams' Standard of Awesomeness pretty well, even if long-term fans of the series were less than thrilled by its plot/resolution.
My movie exposure last year was very, very limited. The second Thor flick was also good. Despite my credentials, I haven't seen either Hobbit film yet and won't until all three are available in extended Blu-ray releases.
$4 Artist (Discovery Artist) of the Year - Hey Marseilles
Funny how every year I'm afraid I won't find someone really worthy of this award, and every year I'm proven wrong. Hey Marseilles is good, clean, violin-and-accordion style indie rock. If Margot and the Nuclear So-and-So's had gone more indie instead of more rock after The Dust of Retreat, you'd have something like Hey Marseilles. Both this year's album and their first release are fantastic works that would probably sound great on vinyl...except that I'd wear the grooves out within a year.
Album of the Year - Time Stays, We Go
I really spent a lot of time listening to this album to make sure that I wasn't just impressed with it because it was better than Sun Gangs. I'm happy to state with confidence that this isn't just a rebound - this is a emphatic and lasting statement of a band realizing its fullest potential. This is an album with absolutely no filler. An album for any mood. An album you can play around your kids (or your parents!). An album that chills ("Candy Apple Red"), shrieks ("Through the Deep, Dark Wood"), dances ("Turn From The Rain"), and finally ends with a song to make you lay down on the floor and drum your heels ("Out from the Valley & Into the Stars").
While you can, I'd recommend picking up the special edition with the Abbey Road EP - five tracks off of the album recorded live in the studio AND packing even more brass. Can't go wrong!
Song of the Year - Every Time, from David Ford's Charge
Warning: Not safe for work, family, church, etc.
I hesitated a little on this one simply because of the expletive that necessitates the warning above, but it doesn't change the fact that I want to beat my chest in time with this build-up:
"Hey, What About THAT Album?" - The Almost-Made-It Edition
---B.R.M.C.'s Specter at the Feast
This release caught me by surprise, coming as quickly as it did on the heels of the last effort. It's a great album, but starts a little weakly with a cover and the plodding "Lullaby," falters once in the midsection with "Teenage Disease," and finishes strong with 4 good tunes and one phenomenal closer "Lose Yourself."
---I Am Kloot's Let It All In
No real complaints, just nothing that makes it rise above the level of "a decent album" either.
---Hanson's Anthem
Early enough in the year, this was a top ten contender. It's definitely their second best work after The Walk. "Tragic Symphony" is a winner.
---The Civil Wars' The Civil Wars
In spite of the nearly perfect rating with hundreds of reviews on Amazon, there are only a couple of songs that grab me here. Too much of Joy's voice and not enough of John Paul's, making the whole effort too effeminate.
---Arctic Monkeys' AM
I still don't know what to do with this. Clearly they've moved on from the punk that they broke the scene with over a decade ago. And this album doesn't sound bad, it's just not what I want to hear when I'm in a mood for some Monkeys.
"Hey, What About THAT Album?" - The ...wtfuck? Edition
---Stornoway's Tales From Terra Firma
Their first album was outstanding. This album was outstandingly dull.
Dumbass of the Year - Gollancz Publishing
Last year I noted that I've never given this award to a group of people instead of a single person, but that I was willing to make an exception for the terrible job being done by the folks at Gollancz. This year I have the distinct honor of being able to award the first back-to-back DotY awards to: Gollancz! This year, not only was it a massive pain in the rear trying to figure out when the trade paperback would be available to someone in the US (partially mitigated by a single helpful fellow from VG who replied to a question on their website, who is excluded from wining this award), but mostly for the botched release of Stephen R. Donaldson's Covenant capstone - The Last Dark. Not only was the internal design changed from the previous three books to match the US editions, but the physical size of the hardcover is different! I've imported the UK versions of the entire Last Chronicles because they look superior to the US hardcovers (and because they changed the art direction on the US hardcovers after The Runes of the Earth), but now it's impossible for anyone to have a complete, matching set. All for what? No one can explain. And it's doubtful that any explanation would satisfy all of the people irritated by this ignorant decision.
Best Things I've Heard This Year
---Hey Marseilles' To Travels and Trunks
- I would walk into a burning building to save a copy of this album.
---Andrew Bird's I Want To See Pulaski At Night
- Great 7 track EP that gave me my Bird fix for the year.
---Natalie Merchant's The House Carpenter's Daughter
- Until I picked it up at Half Price in Indy this summer, I thought Nat's only album of folk songs was the recent Leave Your Sleep.
---Josh Garrels' Over Oceans
- A slightly dimmer (darker would be too strong) collection than Love and War and The Sea In Between.
Playlist of the Year
Any of the album highlights mentioned over the last few weeks combined with these tracks would make a great "best of 2013" CD:
Local Natives - "Columbia"
The Head and The Heart - "Gone"
Turin Brakes - "Blindsided Again"
Andrew Bird - "Pulaski at Night"
Passenger - "Let Her Go"
Arctic Monkeys - "Fireside"
Amos Lee - "Scared Money"
The Boxer Rebellion - "Diamonds"
Looking Ahead: 2014
There are a number of big releases in the year that I'm looking forward to. The sidebar will be updated soon. I'm probably looking most forward to Words of Radiance by Sanderson and the next two Malazan books - Assail by Esselmont will finally explain where Silverfox went after MoI and Fall of Light by Erikson will continue the Kharkanas trilogy.
The only album that's a lock for a 2014 release that I'm aware of is Elbow's sixth LP titled The Takeoff and Landing of Everything. Noel may or may not be working on something that could be released later this year; he's fairly tight-lipped on the subject.
Movies are a mixed bag too. The fourth live-action Transformers film comes out this summer with a new cast of humans, for better or worse. The first part of the adaptation of the third installment in the Hunger Games trilogy lands in late fall too, I believe.
There you have it! If you can't find something here you like, well, there's no accounting for taste. Enjoy your 2014!
Website of the Year - alterslash.org
Finally - something that waters down the firehose of information that is Slashdot. Very phone friendly as well.
Book of the Year - The Last Dark by Stephen R. Donaldson
Last year at this time I was assuming that the long-awaited conclusion to the Wheel of Time could not possibly fail to own everything else that would be released through 2013. This behemoth, which closed 15 years of reading and waiting for me, was satisfying in many ways, but also suffered significantly more than the previous two volumes finished by Sanderson due to the choppy mix of voices (it was his intent to leave as much unaltered Jordan in the work as possible) and the [SPOILER] seemingly-last-minute-addition of some Sharan forces led by a much-anticipated bad guy [END SPOILER]. The short story that was published in the Unfettered anthology would have given some much needed preparation for that spoiler - it's highly recommended reading, whether it's officially considered canon or not.
No, the true ending of the year goes to Mr. Donaldson, who closed a story arc even longer than the Wheel of Time by bringing the saga of everyone's favorite curmudgeon to a close. TLD eschewed the raging emo of the last book and a half or so and really provided what we've all been waiting for - more action and more Covenant. It's tough to say much without spoiling a really good read, but I can say I felt much better about the way this series closed than WOT. Some have argued that the ending leaves an opening for further novels, but I'm pretty sure the story ends here.
Gollancz fucked up the release - no question about that. But that seems to be their M.O. recently. See below for more details.
A very close second was the "puzzle book" by Doug Dorst and J.J. Abrams called S.. Both stories work on their own whether you solve the puzzles or not, but the additional online side of things adds a slowly unfolding dimension to it that is unlike anything I've ever read.
I also read a lot of John Burroughs and John Muir this past year, though most of those works only qualified for HMA's 100 years ago!
Movie of the Year - Star Trek Into Darkness
The only other Star Trek film I've seen was Abrams' 2009 reboot, which I also enjoyed quite a bit. This continues the Abrams' Standard of Awesomeness pretty well, even if long-term fans of the series were less than thrilled by its plot/resolution.
My movie exposure last year was very, very limited. The second Thor flick was also good. Despite my credentials, I haven't seen either Hobbit film yet and won't until all three are available in extended Blu-ray releases.
$4 Artist (Discovery Artist) of the Year - Hey Marseilles
Funny how every year I'm afraid I won't find someone really worthy of this award, and every year I'm proven wrong. Hey Marseilles is good, clean, violin-and-accordion style indie rock. If Margot and the Nuclear So-and-So's had gone more indie instead of more rock after The Dust of Retreat, you'd have something like Hey Marseilles. Both this year's album and their first release are fantastic works that would probably sound great on vinyl...except that I'd wear the grooves out within a year.
Album of the Year - Time Stays, We Go
While you can, I'd recommend picking up the special edition with the Abbey Road EP - five tracks off of the album recorded live in the studio AND packing even more brass. Can't go wrong!
Song of the Year - Every Time, from David Ford's Charge
Warning: Not safe for work, family, church, etc.
I hesitated a little on this one simply because of the expletive that necessitates the warning above, but it doesn't change the fact that I want to beat my chest in time with this build-up:
Well the Sun's going down on what's left of today,
And the tide drags what's left of this moment away,
And so I kick through the dirt and the red autumn leaves,
What I had and what I lost and what I still believe,
And I have no regrets for the time that I spent
barely paying my dues and barely paying the rent,
For a simple pursuit of more honest a life,
Yeah I don't cheat on my taxes, I don't cheat on my wife,
Now the fire's burning out and the walls closing in,
And I'm dragged by the gravity into the sin,
Of obedient service of some twisted machine,
Blowing smoke in our faces of each little scene,
Set to form a distraction just to buy up some time,
Misdirected by swagger and beaten by rhyme,
Telling tales of a life you might one day attain,
If you just keep your focus relentlessly trained,
On the things you can get and not who you can be,
No the innocent dream of the sky and the sea,
And the word and the truth and the spirit of man,
And a history that promises one day we can,
With a love for your brother and your sister and yourself,
Get there one day together in good cheer and good health,
But it comes at a cost, yeah there's a price that you pay,
For a sweet bowl tomorrow you gotta give up today,
It's a sacrifice way beyond mortals like me,
For an age that never was and never could ever be,
So I don’t dwell on the past, I don’t rue my mistakes,
And I’m proud that I never had whatever it takes,
Now I’m stood on the deck of this leaky old boat,
With just a shirt on my back and a song in my throat,
And I’m the luckiest boy on the face of the earth,
‘Cause I know about love and I know what it’s worth,
So I’m not giving up, and I’m not giving in,
Though I know it’s a fight that I’m not gonna win,
And I still scream in the face of more powerful men:
I choose this, motherfucker, and I choose it again!
"Hey, What About THAT Album?" - The Almost-Made-It Edition
---B.R.M.C.'s Specter at the Feast
This release caught me by surprise, coming as quickly as it did on the heels of the last effort. It's a great album, but starts a little weakly with a cover and the plodding "Lullaby," falters once in the midsection with "Teenage Disease," and finishes strong with 4 good tunes and one phenomenal closer "Lose Yourself."
---I Am Kloot's Let It All In
No real complaints, just nothing that makes it rise above the level of "a decent album" either.
---Hanson's Anthem
Early enough in the year, this was a top ten contender. It's definitely their second best work after The Walk. "Tragic Symphony" is a winner.
---The Civil Wars' The Civil Wars
In spite of the nearly perfect rating with hundreds of reviews on Amazon, there are only a couple of songs that grab me here. Too much of Joy's voice and not enough of John Paul's, making the whole effort too effeminate.
---Arctic Monkeys' AM
I still don't know what to do with this. Clearly they've moved on from the punk that they broke the scene with over a decade ago. And this album doesn't sound bad, it's just not what I want to hear when I'm in a mood for some Monkeys.
"Hey, What About THAT Album?" - The ...wtfuck? Edition
---Stornoway's Tales From Terra Firma
Their first album was outstanding. This album was outstandingly dull.
Dumbass of the Year - Gollancz Publishing
Last year I noted that I've never given this award to a group of people instead of a single person, but that I was willing to make an exception for the terrible job being done by the folks at Gollancz. This year I have the distinct honor of being able to award the first back-to-back DotY awards to: Gollancz! This year, not only was it a massive pain in the rear trying to figure out when the trade paperback would be available to someone in the US (partially mitigated by a single helpful fellow from VG who replied to a question on their website, who is excluded from wining this award), but mostly for the botched release of Stephen R. Donaldson's Covenant capstone - The Last Dark. Not only was the internal design changed from the previous three books to match the US editions, but the physical size of the hardcover is different! I've imported the UK versions of the entire Last Chronicles because they look superior to the US hardcovers (and because they changed the art direction on the US hardcovers after The Runes of the Earth), but now it's impossible for anyone to have a complete, matching set. All for what? No one can explain. And it's doubtful that any explanation would satisfy all of the people irritated by this ignorant decision.
Best Things I've Heard This Year
---Hey Marseilles' To Travels and Trunks
- I would walk into a burning building to save a copy of this album.
---Andrew Bird's I Want To See Pulaski At Night
- Great 7 track EP that gave me my Bird fix for the year.
---Natalie Merchant's The House Carpenter's Daughter
- Until I picked it up at Half Price in Indy this summer, I thought Nat's only album of folk songs was the recent Leave Your Sleep.
---Josh Garrels' Over Oceans
- A slightly dimmer (darker would be too strong) collection than Love and War and The Sea In Between.
Playlist of the Year
Any of the album highlights mentioned over the last few weeks combined with these tracks would make a great "best of 2013" CD:
Local Natives - "Columbia"
The Head and The Heart - "Gone"
Turin Brakes - "Blindsided Again"
Andrew Bird - "Pulaski at Night"
Passenger - "Let Her Go"
Arctic Monkeys - "Fireside"
Amos Lee - "Scared Money"
The Boxer Rebellion - "Diamonds"
Looking Ahead: 2014
There are a number of big releases in the year that I'm looking forward to. The sidebar will be updated soon. I'm probably looking most forward to Words of Radiance by Sanderson and the next two Malazan books - Assail by Esselmont will finally explain where Silverfox went after MoI and Fall of Light by Erikson will continue the Kharkanas trilogy.
The only album that's a lock for a 2014 release that I'm aware of is Elbow's sixth LP titled The Takeoff and Landing of Everything. Noel may or may not be working on something that could be released later this year; he's fairly tight-lipped on the subject.
Movies are a mixed bag too. The fourth live-action Transformers film comes out this summer with a new cast of humans, for better or worse. The first part of the adaptation of the third installment in the Hunger Games trilogy lands in late fall too, I believe.
There you have it! If you can't find something here you like, well, there's no accounting for taste. Enjoy your 2014!
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