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Josh & Josh's Dozen Favorite Books of 2008

Josh & Josh read 40 books in 2008. Here are our dozen favorite, alphabetically by author's last name.

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman | Josh H. had it on his list last year, and when Josh K. read it this year he named it one of his favorites, too. A lushly written, passionate, literary gay love story that you'll want to read again. (Josh H. did. Even better the second time.)

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood | This dystopian vision of the future is both darkly comical and thought provoking in the hands of the inestimable Margaret Atwood.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke | Selected last year by Josh K., Josh H. read it on JK's recommendation and really enjoyed it as well. Think Harry Potter, but written and reimagined by Jane Austen (if she also had a side gig as a stand-up comedian) and edited by Oscar Wilde.

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins | Josh K. particularly enjoyed Richard Dawkins' erudite argument for atheism. (The section on "the flying spaghetti monster" is not to be missed.) If you've ever found yourself in need of a step-by-step take-down of the traditional narratives of why God exists, this is your book.

Swish by Joel Derfner | We consider any memoir that has you both laughing and crying in a matter of pages wholly worth reading. This is one of them.

Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey | Yes, it's that James Frey. But in his first (admitted) work of fiction, Frey strikes a few notes worth a listen. Critics either lavished praise or wanted it banished. We say take 'er for a spin.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert | Okay, so it's been a little hyped and it's certainly been Oprah-fied. But it's still a good book. This memoir of a life in transition is worth a read, especially if you're contemplating (or going through) some changes yourself. And it'll make you want to travel, stat.

The Whole World Over by Julia Glass | Josh H. selected Glass's first novel, Three Junes, as one of his favorites a few years ago. He also loved this sophomore effort, following the lives of several New Yorkers during a time of some big personal transitions. When a character from Three Junes reappeared in Whole World Over, Josh H. almost peed himself because it was so good to "see" him again. Lovely and well-done.

Matrimony by Joshua Henkin | One of Josh H.'s absolute top picks of the year, the talented Brooklyn author Joshua Henkin brings to life the story of a young couple, before and after marrying. Not serially depressing, not saccharine, and lovingly rendered with wonderful details and characters you can't help but begin to care about, it handily earned its spot both on our list and on the Times' Best Books of 2008 list as well.

I'm Not Myself These Days by Josh Kilmer-Purcell | A hilarious, striking, and compulsively readable memoir. A rich and satisfying treat.

Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons | The epic graphic novel that started and defined a genre. We recommend checking it out before the story hits the silver screen this spring.

The Terror by Dan Simmons | This vivid story of the horrors, trials, and tribulations of an arctic exploration of the Northwest Passage in the 1840s also takes a supernatural twist. Mix and serve cold--very, very cold.

Who Josh & Josh Interviewed in 2008

Dustin Lance Black (screenwriter, Milk), Josh Brolin, Augusten Burroughs

 

Kim Cattrall, Kristen Davis, James Franco

Emile Hirsh, Jennifer Hudson, Mario Lopez

Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sean Penn

 

Alison Pill (Milk), Christopher Rice (author), Seth Rogen

Gus Van Sant (director), Kiefer Sutherland, Rainn Wilson (The Office)

And, of course, there was Reese Witherspoon. The interview comes out in the magazine in the spring, so I can't give away too much of the content, but you can check out a 30-second teaser below if you're curious.

Josh & Josh's Favorite Netflix Rentals of 2008

A dozen of our favorite Netflix rentals from this year:

Arrested Development | Deadpan comedy perfection.

Battlestar Galactica | The brilliant TV series goes off air forever in 2009. You'll love it even if you're not a sci fi fan. Think The West Wing set on a space ship, but with a few brilliant twists. (Bonus? The yummy Jamie Bamber. Mmmm.)

Company | Raul Esparza is a revelation in this modern musical, filmed on stage in New York.

Helvetica | Yes, it's a documentary about a font. And it's totally worth it.

John Adams | The second president was never so interesting. Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti shine in this HBO original.

Michael Clayton | Superb acting, a rich visual style, and a compelling, suspenseful story make this an easy favorites pick. The final scene with George Clooney and Tilda Swinton? Priceless.

Once | This little indie musical love story that could is charming and moving and deserved the music Oscars it collected this year.

Shut Up & Sing | Don't like country? Neither do we, particularly. But you don't have to in order to love this documentary about the Dixie Chicks and their battle with George W. Bush and country music fans after saying during a concert that they were ashamed W. is from Texas.

The Comeback | Lisa Kudrow is perfect in this darkly comic HBO series, the first from Michael Patrick King after Sex and the City wrapped. (This series, by the way, has almost nothing in common with SATC.) See it especially for Lisa, whose comic timing has never been better.

Torchsong Trilogy | One of our favorite gay-themed films of all time, written by and starring Harvey Fierstein. Rent it tonight. Don't wait. You deserve the treat.

A New York Minute: Snow in Manhattan

On Friday morning we got our first real snow in New York City. I grabbed my Canon digital camera, flipped it to video mode, and shot this one-minute video.

Music: "Avril 14" by Aphex Twin. (Hey cinema lovers, recognize this song? It's from the Sofia Coppola film Marie Antoinette.)

"We Were Generation X"

Kirsten Major, the novelist, essayist (check out her stuff in the New York Times!), musical book writer, blogger, and Josh & Josh amigo, recently wrote a darkly comic and bittersweet essay about being part of Generation X. We enjoyed it so much that we just had to share it with you. Check it out.

In Praise of Doubt; Plus, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

This weekend Josh and I saw Doubt and really enjoyed it.

Doubt, based on John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play (he also wrote and directed the film), follows the story of a priest (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in the Bronx in 1964 whom two nuns (Meryl Streep and Amy Adams) believe may have molested their Catholic school's only black student.

Is every single last detail of the movie absolutely perfect? Not necessarily. But are the performances from Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman extraordinary and compelling? Yes. Absolutely. Amy Adams and Viola Davis (as the mother of the student in question) are also quite lovely. Just watching these actors work makes every frame worth it. (There's a reason the Screen Actor's Guilt nominated each for awards.) Without giving anything away, let me just say that Meryl in the last two minutes will make your jaw drop. Bam!

Check out Doubt. You won't regret it. [watch the trailer]

FROM THE DEPT. OF OPTIONAL CINEMATIC DRINKING GAMES

Take a shot every time Meryl deftly delivers a deadpan one-liner as sourpuss Sister Aloysius in Doubt. You'll be drunk thisfast. Love it! In some ways this is Devil Wears Prada in a nun's habit, with Miranda Priestly working to solve a mystery in this iteration. And we mean that in the best way possible.

The next Oscar-bait film we can't wait to see?

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON [watch the trailer]

Jonathan, Just Because (Or: What We Did This Weekend)

So, some fun news: Josh K. is in the process of making his very first short film with dialogue. It's really exciting to see Joshie, who's so talented with that fancy camera of his, and an effing whiz with Final Cut Pro, sink his teeth into this project (titled "Jonathan, Just Because").

What's it about, you ask? Well, without giving away too much, here's the log line (a.k.a. "summary") from the 12-page script (written by Kirsten and yours truly in a tag team approach that's been both fun and fruitful):

Kiki tries to coax Jonathan back into regular daily life after a bad breakup. Will that involve a romance between Jonathan and her friend Nick?

The cast? Well, um: Kirsten as Kiki and me as Jonathan. And then, last week, the lovely and talented Adam Lehman joined the cast as Nick. So we're rockin' and a rollin'. We've got a second table read on Tuesday night and we hope to start principal photography very soon. (Muahahaha--did I seriously just say "principal photography"? Somebody please smack me. Seriously.) (Ow, you bitch! Not that hard.)

So anyway, all this leads us to this weekend. On Saturday we needed to do some scouting and test the camera with a few of the locations we had in mind. We shot video in a cafe in the East Village (P.S. love that you can ask cafe managers favors like this in this city and they don't bat an eyelash), we trekked out to the promenade in Brooklyn, then did a bit in the subway, and even some in my apartment.

The video, below, is a compilation Josh K. made of all of that random footage he shot on our Saturday scouting adventures. Check 'er out.

But first, a recommendation on how to optimally view the video: Double click in the middle of the video box below, opening the video in full screen. When it's full screen, click "scaling is on" on the right side of the screen (clicking it will scale the video down to its original size). Perfect! Then hit play and have at it. You'll like it more that way, I promise.

So, here goes:

Video and editing: Josh K. Music supervisor: Matt Allard.

We can't wait to bring you the whole project. So fun.

The One Where Josh H. Sings Sam Sparro's Black and Gold

Okay, so remember how I mentioned that I've been obsessed with Sam Sparro's song "Black and Gold" as of late? And remember how when I mentioned that in the last post readers started posting comments about the song and some even started sending me e-mails about how much they love "Black and Gold"?

Well, (dear Lord please forgive me for my capricious and precocious nature) I got this idea, see.

Dangerous, I know. (Duck and cover!)

But okay, so I went to iTunes and found a karaoke version of "Black and Gold" and then tonight -- see this is where the trouble starts -- I was alone in my bedroom with my laptop and my microphone and I, um, sort of started eyeing my laptop and my mic and then suddenly -- bam! -- I was doing a cover of "Black and Gold."

So, um, I hope it amuses you, even if it's just to giggle about the mental image of me standing in my bedroom with my laptop all askew on my bed and singing my buns off in my jammies in Brooklyn.

Here's the end result from this evening's efforts:

Check out Sam Sparro's original.

Brave enough for another? Check out "Swing Low" if you dare.

12 Songs Matt Allard Can't Live Without Right Now

Josh & Josh amigo and general dreamboat writer Matthew Allard tells us about the dozen songs he can't live without right now.

one | "About Today" | The National | Cherry Tree
Their 2007 disc The Boxer is one of my favorite records of all time. This song from a 2004 EP sticks out, though. It's flawless. It's stripped and simple and easy and, at the same time, gorgeous and honest and moving.

two | "Ice & Storm" | My Brightest Diamond | A Thousand Shark's Teeth
I'd heard of them before, Shara Worden and her band, so I jumped at the chance to review their latest album for a freelance gig earlier this year. I think I described her as one to watch, unique. I also—this I know for sure—panned the album. So this is me apologizing. I was very wrong. Clearly, since I've continued to listen to it almost everyday since.

three | "Gentle Samui" | Milosh | III
This is my most played album of 2008, hands down. Dreamy, dreamy electronica. I listen to this track a lot before bed and while wishing that it rained more in Los Angeles. Buy this album! You are encouraged to cancel all your plans and lay in the dark on a Saturday night with this. Heck, bring a friend.

four | "Space Hero Suits" | Those Dancing Days | In Our Space Hero Suits
Five peppy teenage girls from Sweden cannot be denied. "If you lift me up a couple of inches, I can lift you. Then we can both fly above the ground until one of us lets go. Please don't, please don't, please don't let go."

five | "Hospital Bed" | Seabear | The Ghost That Carried Us Away
These guys are from Iceland. I have never been there, but their sound is very nostalgic to me. I cannot get enough. Right around the two-minute mark on this track, it breaks into a sort of waltz that catches my breath every time.

six | "Skinny Love" | Bon Iver | For Emma, Forever Ago
One of the most passionate lost love anthems I've recently encountered. It was released in 2007, then re-released earlier this year. But this will be timeless. Bon Iver (bohn evair) is French for "good winter." I dig this so.

seven | "Sex on Fire" | Kings of Leon | Only By the Night
A song about me. In my dreams. Starring Ryan Gosling. The end.

eight | "Find Me to Forget" | William Fitzsimmons | The Sparrow and the Crow
This is "upbeat" for a William Fitzsimmons song, but that's not saying anything. He's perhaps depressing on the whole, but fuck if he's not making some haunting music. I love him. That's the type of abusive relationship we have; his songs knock me down a flight of stairs and I still come back for more.

nine | "Sideways" (Asa Taccone Mix) | Let's Go Sailing | Sideways Remix
Their debut album, The Chaos in Order, and the original cut of this track are distant, flow-y and barely there. This remix, on the other hand, is the opposite. I play it loud and on repeat. (Fun Fact: Asa Taccone is actually responsible for producing the famous B&W" Natalie Portman SNL Digital Short.)

ten | "Dancing in a Minefield" | Plushgun | Pins & Panzers
The full-length isn't out until early 2009, but you'll find it holds more of this sublime sound from Brooklyn's Daniel Ingala. I like the spirit of this song and how his vocals get warmer as it builds. Also, it's likely that there were "boys kissing boys at the moment when the cops came."

eleven | "Half Asleep" | School of Seven Bells | Alpinisms
Turn this up in your headphones. The vocalists are actually twin sisters, Claudia and Alejandra Deheza, and they're at their winningest here. The sound is big and sometimes psychedelic, and I like it in heavy rotation on my hiking playlist.

twelve | "Giggling Again for No Reason" | Alanis Morissette | Flavors of Entanglement
My favorite off her latest album, which I guess sort of faded pretty quickly from everyone's radar. Too bad. There are really great tunes here. This one has a silly name, but I love it for sweet, personal reasons. I will also confess it's my most-played single of 2008.

Want more Matt (and great music recommendations as well as writing)? Check out Matt Allard's website.

JOSH H DISCLAIMER: If you download Matt's songs above (like I did this weekend) and put them in a playlist, you will. Not. Stop. Listening to it.

You've been warned.

Also, I cannot, cannot stop listening to this song. It's been on repeat with the volume up all night long. (Also, just for trivia's sake, please note that he's one of this year's Out 100.)

POST SCRIPT: Matt has a surprise for you in the comments section. Investigate for yourself.

12 Songs We Love Right Now; Plus Babs' Fascinating People, Britney's Worthy Downloadables, and Some Reese Witherspoon

Here are a dozen songs that we can't get enough of right now.

one | "All Over Now" | Eric Hutchinson | Sounds Like This

two | "Human" | The Killers | Day & Age

three | "Kids (Soulwax Remix)" | MGMT | Kids (Soulwax Remix) - Single

four | "Audition / Be Thou As Thou Wast Wont" | Tanner Cohen | Were the World Mine soundtrack

five | "Time to Pretend" | MGMT | Oracular Spectacular

six | "You and I" | Ingrid Michaelson | Be OK

seven | "Trouble" | Britney Spears | Circus

eight | "Signs" | Bloc Party | Intimacy

nine | "Poker Face" | Lady Gaga | The Fame

ten | "Sebastian" | Adrian Johnson | Brideshead Revisited soundtrack

eleven | "Death of a Boy (feat. Chris Garneau) | The Gray Kid | Vultures

(We love Chris Garneau so much that we downloaded this track even though he's only featured on it. We're dying for his next album to come out. We're so there.)

twelve | "I Won't Go Home Without You" | Maroon 5 | It Won't Be Soon Before Long

GENTLEMEN, SET YOUR DVRs

Thu Dec 4 @ 10 p.m. | Barbara Walter's 10 Most Fascinating People of 2008

BRIT BRIT

Curious about which songs on Britney's new album Circus are actually worth downloading? (We just know that you were obsessing about that question all day!) Here's our shortlist:

Womanizer | Circus | Unusual You | Trouble

FROM THE DEPT. OF 'I CAN'T BELIEVE I GET TO DO THIS STUFF'

So, um, on Saturday? I'm interviewing Reese Witherspoon for the magazine.

I think I just swizzled in my undies a little bit. It's definitely an OMG moment.

Do you think it'd be unprofessional to ask Reese if her boyfriend has ever mentioned being wildly and irrevocably in love with me? No?