2001: The good, the bad, and oh yes, the sex

Katherine Hill, TD '04: As far as I'm concerned, 2001 makes the most sense when compared to Moulin Rouge. It was long and dizzying, and it catered to the American fascination with pop culture. Highlighted by a parade of forgettable "gitchi gitchi yada yada" hits and a soundtrack that played the same two songs over and over again, 2001 was essentially a bad love story starring Nicole Kidman. To be fair to Baz Luhrmann and the past 300-odd days, however, Moulin Rouge did have some stunning cinematic and musical moments (Memento, HBO's Six Feet Under, U2's Elevation Tour), and although it was virtually obscured by all the showy camerawork (the Yale theater and a cappella scenes), there was definitely some great dancing (YaleDancers, A Different Drum).

Jim Laakso, JE '03: There were 19 records out this year that I'd call "mighty good," and that's nothin' to sniff at, 'cause 19 is only one less than 20, and we've still got 24 days left to hit that number. But 19 ain't all peach: dig 19 as in 19-, as in 1970s, as in prog rock, get it? 2001 is the year in which the beast reared its ugly head and made it clear in what direction we're headed, rawkers. Being: bloated, pompous, prog. Spiritualized, Godspeed, Mercury Rev, Home, Sigur Ros, Flaming Lips; all of 'em fine bands for the most part, but all of 'em leaving huge, bombastic fingerprints that we shoulda picked up on at least three years ago. Get ready for pretention, orchestras, and heavy concepts in 2002. It's gonna get worse before it gets better, bub.

Aaron Lichtig, JE '02: Even though everyone and their brother is bolting from the British Art Center administration, it's been a good year on Chapel Street. Last fall's "Best of Yale" show, designed to get even deeper into the pockets of stodgy alums, gave students a chance to see some of the more well-known, if less exciting, work by alumni. The less pecuniarily focused "Alumni Choice" show at Holcombe T. Green Hall provided a diverse and well-rounded look at why Yale's art school remains a haven for both the absurdly creative and technically talented.

The current exhibitions at the YUAG—The Art of Mu Xin; Myer Myers, Jewish Silversmith in Colonial New York; and Rediscovering Fra Angelico—are wonderful and pedagogical without being pedantic. Angelico is not just an exhibit—it's a narrative. And the other two prove that diversity extends into Group II as well.

Mike LoPresti, DC '05: In 2001, the sitcom came back. After the astronomical ratings of the first Survivor and what seemed like imminent strikes by writers and actors in Hollywood, by the end of 2000, it looked as if reality TV was more than a passing fad. But it wasn't to be. In the end, reality television fell victim to its own limitations. There's only so much that can happen on a desert island. (Are they arguing about rice again?) The Real World even ran out of cities to film in, bringing their 10th season back to New York. With newer sitcoms like Will and Grace and Malcolm in the Middle providing fresh, intelligent plotlines week after week, and old standbys like Friends and The Simpsons getting better with age, who needs Survivor: Africa? Besides, they already voted off all the hotties.

Nathan Littlefield, ES '03: This summer, I'd get back to my apartment around 9 p.m. weeknights to eat. Fear Factor was on then, and The Weakest Link followed. An over-muscled actuarial assistant lying in a vat of cockroaches was the best my 13-channel box could get during Tuesday dinner. Suddenly, coarse simulacra of violence are passé. Enter CNN,MSNBC, FOXNews, and now CNN Headline News, with programming dictated by the assumption that our generation has the attention span of a gerbil. Heard that before? As far as TV is concerned, the cultural shift can, to cop a phrase from the post-Sept. 11 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden, kiss Rupert Murdoch's royal Australian ass.

2am Frank, MC '02: 2002 has 2 2s but 2001 had more! 2wice! Power 2uos: Pink & Brown, guitar & drums, squirm & mess. Lightning Bolt, bass & drums, Squirm und Klang. Moldy Peaches & White Stripes, 2 hype 2 wype, 2 good 2 believe. Fugazi & the Ex, 2 drummers, 2 encores, 2 much of a muchness. Orthrelm, 2 many notes, 2 many beards. Kleenex/LiLiPUT 2-disc reish/hi-NRG Swiss. 2uo power: Quadrophenia rerelease, mods & rockers, 2x2/2^2, 2 die 4. Mulholland Drive, 2x2-timing: blonde/brunette? brunette/blonde? Joy Ride & Legally Blonde, 2wice the trash. The Way We Laughed, 2 broken brothers, 6 days & 6 years. Fat Girl, 2 sisters, 1 svelte, sexy, savage, savaged. Ghost World, 2 fiendish friends, 1 redneck riot. AI, 2 letters, 2 directors, 2bly flawed, 2ble masterpiece. 2-2...I mean ta-ta...I mean 2dle-oo!

Dan Feder, DC '04: Blatant Esquire ripoff: What I've Learned (in 2001). It's entirely possible, in the grand scheme of things, that Mission of Burma sucked just as much as O-Town. Ed Burns can't make an interesting film to save his life. U2 at Madison Square Garden equals best night of this year or any other. Alan Ball could've made a show about a family of dogcatchers and I still would've cared. Benefit concerts can be good. Nick Hornby is funniest in person. Rebecca Gilman's Blue Surge, last summer at the Goodman Theater in Chicago, is ridiculously good, if you can handle it. And, 7 and 7's plus MTV2 makes for good times, good times.

Meredith Levine, TD '03, and Sam Culp, TD '03, in conversation:

February, some TD senior's room

Before Night Falls Special Viewing

Meredith: That was cool when we got an advance DVD of the movie...

Sam: Yeah. Way pretentious visuals, but Javier Bardem was hot in that Robert Downey, Jr. sort of way. Too bad he's gay in the movie.

Meredith: Yeah, and too bad that senior was a freshman counselor. Betty T. and her "rules"...

March, The Tune Inn

The French Kicks play the Junk Culture Fest

Sam: NYC scuzz-hipster heartthrobs rock in New Haven!

Meredith: Sounds like the Strokes to me.

Sam: Hell no—would the Strokes accept an invitation to party at the Chai house? Meredith: But the Kicks didn't show up, Sam.

Sam: Shut up Meredith.

May, Cutler's

The New Weezer Album

Sam: Meredith, what do you see in those indie boys?

Meredith: I dunno, I guess I like the sexual repression in sweater-vests.

Summer, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

Takeshi Murakami's Superflat exhibit

Meredith: Sam would probably say something obnoxious about how the two-dimensionality of Japanese graphic art and animation reflects the ecstatic emptiness of post-modern consumer culture. I say Asiaphilia has never been so much fun.

November, Comedy Central

British cult TV series Absolutely Fabulous returns

Sam: Debauched glamour rules! Chain-smoking, pill-popping, champagne-slugging 50-year-old women are my role models. No, seriously.

Compiled by Dan Feder. Graphics by George Weinberg.

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