I’m getting out in front of the pack and doing a roundup of media I’ve loved this year.

BBC Crush

1. Doctor Who Season Four

With no expectation of romance with a companion this time, the Doctor faces a number of his personal demons–struggling to save the humans, struggling to not change fixed points in history, and losing/finding and relosing/refinding those he loves. This is the second to last season of David Tennant, so enjoy it while it lasts. The new Doctor has not been announced yet.

2. Torchwood Season Three

Captain Jack’s past comes back to haunt the entire team, which ends in a dramatic finish. I loved James Marster’s explosive entrance, as well as the ongoing dynamic between Gwen & Jack.

Sucker for political/spy thrilers…

3. The State Within

A political thriller of the best kind–smart, edgy, with unexpected relationships and subtle acting by some of the US and UK’s best television actors. Jason Isaacs turns in a particularly good performance for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe. I would love to have seen these characters continue on in further stories.

4. MI-5

Known as Spooks in the UK, I watched the first few seasons as part of my crush on Matthew Macfadyen.

5. Burn Notice

As if a spy show with Jeffrey Donovan wasn’t hot enough, they had to add Bruce Campbell. Have you seen Bruce Campbell in anything? Sure you have. He’s That Guy. You should read the interview where he says:

“Because,” he explained, “low-budget movies aren’t released, they escape”.

So while the show is a good watch for its plot and its spy operations, it’s a great watch to see Bruce Campbell at his best.

6. My Own Worst Enemy

I’m really disappointed that NBC has decided to cancel this. For the first time in a long time, there’s a decent  drama wrapped inside an insidious JJ Abrams-style twists & turns thriller. I couldn’t get into Lost, and I dropped off the Alias train only to not be able to get back on. Christian Slater plays both super-spy, super-lover, super-arrogant Edward Albright and boring, family guy Henry Spivey who is struggling with keeping his marriage together and connecting with his kids. While the spy plot is compelling, it’s really the drama of Spivey figuring out who he can trust and Albright trying to fit into a world he’s clearly not cut out for that makes this show succeed. Apparently not enough other viewers thought so though, as NBC announced they won’t be ordering any more episodes after the original nine.

Music

7. Vampire Weekend

Favorite album of the year. Seriously bummed that they only came to town for Austin City Limits and didn’t play a small show. I hope they come back again soon!

8. Panic At The Disco!

Second favorite album of the year. This is the one I put on when I need to get happy fast.

9. Sigur Ros

Third favorite album of the year. I’ve only just gotten it, so I am sure I will come to love it more.

Tech

10. Hulu

We got rid of our TV over the summer, but we’ve been able to keep up on The Daily Show, Bones, and some of the other shows that I like. I especially like not having to watch a lot of commercials – a vast improvement over the DVR even.

11. Twitter

This was the first year I used Twitter, and I love the short format. The pressure’s off to write a big long blogpost, like Media I have Loved This Year.

What have you loved? What have I missed? What should I see? Hear?

I am pretty sure I have mentioned before how much I love the NPR All Songs Considered Live Concert recordings, where they plug into the mixer and you can actually hear everything, including that guy who had one too many Heinekens and is shouting WHOOOOOOO every two minutes. It’s like being at a real concert, only without all the Ticketmaster fees, smoke, and melodramatic fights in the lobby when drunk dude accidentally hits on someone else’s woman.
NPR’s All Songs Considered Concerts are now in podcast form through iTunes, as a result of their recent redesign. Favorites include the recent Stars tour, a brilliant Arcade Fire show, and the French Kicks. Sadly, not all of the concerts get to become podcasts. I’m especially sore about the Decemberists concert.  Hopefully, the music industry will change its ways and see that we love live music — enough that we want to hear it any time we want, like, say, when we’re supposed to be editing that boring work document. Not that I would know anything about that.

Wondering where Biz Markie has been lately? Me too! Turns out he’s bringing beats to a kids TV show–Yo Gabba Gabba. (via Mimi Smartypants)

• Short National Geographic video on the rise of Cuban hip-hop.
• Wikipedia entry on the subject
• Seattle Weekly article on the origin of Cuban hip-hop
• CD releases: Cuban Hip-Hop All-Stars, Vol 1

• Fell in love with Nortec Collective this morning
• Have you seen The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou lately? No, really. You have to see it. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go on an overnight drunk, and in 10 days I’m going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it. Anyone who wants to tag along is more than welcome.”
• Download Mister Leisure’s live PA at Flammable in Seattle. Office chair-dancing is totally acceptable in this case.
• New media-hype vocab: CrowdSourcing. Instead of outsourcing your material, you source it from the world at large–an interested crowd. Watch for it. Wired thinks it’ll be hot.
• Every day I read Go Fug Yourself and laugh until my interns look at me funny. Then I stop and think about what else I can have them work on.

I have finally sorted out my Mac-formatted iPod + PC-based iTunes problem (thanks MacDrive 6) and am able to access the world of new music again. This “podcasting” thing all the kids are into–holy crap what an idea!
So far I have added:

• Indie 103.1 FM – my favorite LA radio station
• KEXP – the best Seattle, Internet, and independent music station
• 3hive which promises new independent music
• French Podclass to keep up my tres rusty Francais

I’m pretty jazzed about new sounds to listen to now that I have a daily commute. I’ll keep an eye out for other interesting (and high quality!) podcasts and post them here.