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Sunday, March 25, 2018

The 43rd Annual IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS FOR 2017

The 43st Annual IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS -- 2017

The IRAs are a mysterious but august film society that has voted on the best films of the year since 1976. Officially known as the New York Independent Film Critics Awards -- but lovingly nicknamed the IRAs -- it is more international and indie focused than the Oscars, more mercurial than the LA Film Critics and more loyal to their favorites than the Golden Globes. The IRAs are proud to announce their picks for the best movies released in New York City in 2017.

Note that caveat: though IRA members are now dispersed across the country, its roots are in New York City. For a film to be eligible it must pass one test and one test only -- a commercial release of at least one week in New York City. Streaming may upend that rule in some way soon. But this explains -- for example -- why the unjustly overlooked 2016 film The Founder copped two IRA awards voted on in March of 2018. Yes, it came out in LA in 2016 for Oscar consideration, but it wasn't released commercially in NYC until 2017. This Michael Keaton drama about the early days of the McDonald's restaurant chain came and went from theaters over a year ago. But you can catch it online or on DVD or on demand any time you want, just like virtually everything else on our list. So no excuses!

The IRA goes to...

Best Picture: BPM

Best Director: Robin Campillo for BPM

Best Actor: Michael Keaton for The Founder

Best Actress: Daniela Vega for A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica)

Best Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe for The Florida Project

Best Supporting Actress: Lesley Manville for Phantom Thread
Best Nonfiction Film: Dawson City: Frozen Time
Best Screenplay: Robert Siegel for The Founder

Best Cinematography: Alexis Zabe for The Florida Project

Best Production Design: Stephonik Youth for The Florida Project
Best Score/Use Of Music: Daniel Lopatin aka Oneohtrix Point Never for Good Time

Best Editing: Robin Campillo, Stéphanie Léger and Anita Roth for BPM

Best Costumes: Pascaline Chavanne for Frantz
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): The Post
Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): mother!
Mechanical Actress: Emma Watson for Beauty and the Beast and The Circle
Mechanical Actor: James Franco for The Disaster Artist, et. al

This year featured an unprecedented infusion of new blood: John and David and Julia and Jim, to be exact. Four new members in one year is the most in decades and perhaps the most ever in IRA history. Would they fit in or simply be offended by sophomoric insults, crude comments unworthy of progressive sensibilities and faux Algonquin Circle stabs at wit? Would an eight+ hour evening at the IRAs seem more like 80 hours of hell, never to be repeated? Despite the delicious bundt cake courtesy of Andy? With John proffering up obscure titles some had never heard of (a classic IRA bona fide and no mean feat when members attend film festivals and haunt art houses) and David, Julia and Jim chalking up their own scathing comments, strategic balloting and caustic votes by the end of the night, the answer was clearly yes.

Eight different films received at least one IRA award, including:

BPM
Dawson City: Frozen Time
A Fantastic Woman
The Florida Project
The Founder
Frantz
Good Time
Phantom Thread

But that only tells half the story. For example, Call Me By Your Name was a contender in seven different categories, coming within an agonizing one vote of tying the ultimate winner in Best Actor and coming in second three different times. So check out all the films that received nominations and you'll see a terrific cross-section of the best films of 2017.

We argue and campaign and grumble over winners we disagree with. Still, the point of the IRAs is to recommend films to each other worth checking out...and then impose an arbitrary deadline to create a false sense of urgency. Suddenly, you have to screen that Albanian documentary because the IRAs are mere days away! So here are the winners and nominees in every category. Almost all are available on DVD, streaming services or on demand with minimal fuss. So it's never been easier to see the best films of the year and we hope you dive deep into our favorites. You'll discover some gems and of course watch some that you passionately disagree with, but that's half the fun.

And the IRA goes to...

BEST PICTURE

1. BPM -- 42 pts. (out of a possible 65 pts.)
2. The Florida Project -- 29 pts.
3. Call Me By Your Name -- 21 pts.
4. The Founder -- 14 pts.
5. Land Of Mine -- 13 pts.

NOTE: This year thirteen ballots were submitted. With a top score for each film of 5 pts, the maximum any one film could achieve in any category was 65 pts.

The IRAs are voted on from Best Costumes up to Best Picture. So this award comes towards the end of the evening. Ultimately, you can justify any winner (BPM crushed the competition in the editing category -- it was obvious this would win!) and explain away any loss. The Florida Project scored impressive early wins (it really was eye-popping on a small budget, hence wins for Cinematography and Production Design) and Call Me By Your Name was a lurking presence all night ready to play spoiler right up to the final votes. But with 13 people voting, BPM appeared on the vast majority of ballots. Passionately embraced by many, admired by virtually everyone, this was a very popular winner.

BEST DIRECTOR

1. Robin Campillo for BPM -- 45 pts.
2. Sean Baker for The Florida Project -- 25 pts.
3. Luca Guadagnino for Call Me By Your Name -- 15 pts.
4. David Lowery for A Ghost Story -- 13 pts.
5. John Lee Hancock for The Founder -- 9 pts.

NOTE: While the IRA voters are not officially signatories to the International Code Of Auteurs, they do tend to link picture and director pretty strongly. That happened again this year. The Florida Project and Call Me By Your Name and perhaps The Founder were clearly contenders...until the Best Director Vote. BPM almost doubled the points of runner-up Sean Baker (whose film Tangerine won Best Picture just two years ago) with an impressive 45 pts. That appeared especially impressive because one year earlier we had a only eight voters submitting ballots which meant point totals were correspondingly smaller than this time around. Hence the call for new voters and the hefty jump in ballots to thirteen. In any case, nearly doubling the points of the runner-up is a huge statement. Campillo made a great film, of course, but he was also admired for his screenwriting contributions to films by director Laurent Cantet like The Class, Time Out and Heading South, not to mention Campillo's previous films Eastern Boys and an early directorial effort Les Revenants that inspired both French and US TV series called The Returned. That's a lot of goodwill to build upon with a breakout feature that also won the Cesar for Best Film but was wrongly ignored by the Oscars. With this decisive win, it seemed likely that BPM would take the top prize handily.

BEST ACTOR

1. Michael Keaton for The Founder -- 38 pts.
2. Timothée Chalamet for Call Me By Your Name -- 37 pts.
3. Nahuel Pérez Biscayart for BPM -- 33 pts.
4. Robert Pattinson for Good Time --14 pts.
5. Josh O'Connor for God's Own Country -- 12 pts.

NOTE: All year IRA voter Aaron had been touting The Founder. The film was given an Oscar qualifying run in LA in 2016 but was roundly ignored by critics, despite the director John Lee Hancock having a serious commercial record, Keaton coming off hot Oscar winners Birdman and Spotlight (both Best Picture winners) AND the film itself being about the birth of the fast food chain McDonald's. Didn't matter. With critics ignoring it, the film was dumped in January of 2017 and disappeared as fast as a Happy Meal tossed at a hungry tyke. OK, so it was an ultimately jaundiced view of capitalism where you slowly realize the hero of the film may not be a "bad guy" strictly speaking but that capitalism isn't concerned with good guys or bad guys or quality but just winners and losers and everyone likes a winner and the winner is the guy that makes the most money. So maybe it was never gonna be a triumph at the multiplex. ("Mom, where's Ronald McDonald? Where's the Hamburglar?") But tub-thumping by one member kept prodding others to check it out. Slowly they did and each time the verdict was the same: that's a really good film and Keaton's performance is about the best he's ever done. It was a nail-biter with fans of Call Me By Your Name touting the hot young talent Timothée Chalamet and the fact that everyone loved BPM and its lead. But Keaton prevailed with one of the closest votes of the evening.

BEST ACTRESS

1. Daniela Vega for A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica) -- 20 pts.
2. Danielle Macdonald for Patti Cake$-- 18 pts.
3. Cynthia Nixon for A Quiet Passion -- 17 pts.
4. (tie) Sally Hawkins for Maudie and The Shape Of Water --16 pts.
(tie) Paula Beer for Frantz -- 16 pts.

NOTE: Ok, so this time the IRAs and Oscar are almost in accord. The Academy Awards named Una Mujer Fantástica the Best Foreign Film and the IRAs crowned the fantasic Daniela Vega as Best Actress. It will be interesting to see if Chilean cinema can find other projects for Vega that don't depend on her back story to power the project. (She also appeared on stage in a work about transgender people that ultimately ran for years.) Vega edged past Danielle Macdonald and her rapping abilities in Patti Cake$, as well as the best performance by a potential future Governor of New York courtesy of Cynthia Nixon. (She was about the only element of that film anyone liked.) And right behind them was Paula Beer in the respected French film Frantz by director Francois Ozon, a prolific talent who is actually making good movies again. Meanwhile, Sally Hawkins was at the center of a tug-of-war over The Shape Of Water. Some of the veteran IRA members really liked this film, prompting the worried question by others, "In the end, do we all become like Academy voters?" No insisted others, who thought Hawkins was terrific in the little-seen film Maudie (co-starring IRA favorite Ethan Hawke) but couldn't stand The Shape Of Water. Only the churlish would say any problems with the film were her fault but the IRAs do not lack for the churlish. Besides the snide youngsters should remember that just last year both IRA and the Oscars named Moonlight the best film of the year.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1. Willem Dafoe for The Florida Project -- 35 pts.
2. Michael Stuhlbarg for Call Me By Your Name -- 31 pts.
3. Barry Keoghan for The Killing Of A Sacred Deer -- 13 pts.
4. Caleb Landry Jones for American Made and The Florida Project and Get Out and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri --12 pts.
5. (tie) Rob Morgan for Mudbound -- 11 pts.
(tie) Arnaud Valois for BPM -- 11 pts.

NOTE: Two winners at the IRAs were nominated in the same category at the Academy Awards. But Oscar got it wrong both times, failing to honor either Willem Dafoe in The Florida Project (and otherwise ignoring that film entirely) or Lesley Manville in Phantom Thread. Of course, it's just an honor to be nominated! At this stage of the evening, The Florida Project had scored nominations and won three (or four, depending on how you count) of those seven, making it an early favorite to dominate the evening. However, BPM had been nominated in four categories and won Best Editing so it and The Founder and scrappy, always-the-bridesmaid Call Me By Your Name all demonstrated enough strength to make clear the night was far from over.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1. Bria Vinaite for The Florida Project -- 26 pts. RESCINDED
2. Lesley Manville for Phantom Thread -- 24 pts.
3. Laurie Metcalfe for Lady Bird -- 22 pts.
4. Holly Hunter for The Big Sick --21 pts.
5. Allison Janney for I, Tonya -- 18 pts.

VOTE TO RESCIND -- By a majority vote, the top vote getter is replaced by the runner-up.

Lesley Manville for Phantom Thread is the official winner of Best Supporting Actress. More drama ensues than was ever seen on screen.

NOTE: The IRAs have the RESCIND option. After every winner is announced, an automatic vote to rescind is held. If a majority of members present vote to rescind, that award is rescinded and the runner-up is crowned the winner. Then a vote to rescind THAT winner is held and so on until the vote to rescind fails. This year, Bria Vinaite garnered the most points for her widely admired work as the desperate, train wreck of a mother in The Florida Project. Close behind was Lesley Manville in the generally disliked PTA film Phantom Thread. It was already clear that The Florida Project was a huge favorite and coming up was a potential win for Willem Dafoe in Best Supporting Actor. The feeling of a sweep -- those years where one film gobbles up awards in almost every category it can -- was strong. Maybe that explains the weird success of the vote to rescind. Most liked The Florida Project and most who did certainly thought Vinaite was great in it. Perhaps a combination of those debating if she was a lead or supporting performer as well as those who liked Manville AND those who hate to see one film dominate every award is the reason seven people voted to rescind. Manville was now the official winner. To the chagrin of some, the vote to rescind HER and crown Laurie Metcalf for her excellent work on Lady Bird fell short. Hoping for two successful Rescind votes in a row is a fool's errand and that gambit failed here, not for the first time.

BEST NONFICTION FILM

1. Dawson City: Frozen Time -- 30 pts.
2. The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography -- 17 pts.
3. (tie) In Transit -- 10 pts.
(tie) Jane -- 10 pts.
(tie) Risk -- 10 pts.

NOTE: The Best Nonfiction Film is a recent add to the IRAs. The explosion in documentary, experimental and other non-narrative films made it seem essential. On the other hand, nonfiction films had snagged the top prize before, including the landmark documentary Eyes On The Prize (which had a theatrical run before airing on PBS) and Bill Morrison's Decasia. Here is Morrison again, doing his usual magic with found footage of crumbling movie stock while telling the story of the gold rush town Dawson City, its many links to Hollywood and the discovery of a cache of silent film reels decades after the town's heyday had come and gone. Still the category was added in the hope it would encourage more viewing of documentaries. As of yet -- given the many ballots that didn't even include five nominees -- it seems to have merely put those films in a ghetto of their own, a la the Best Animated Film at the Oscars. Would Dawson City: Frozen Time have made our Top Five films if it hadn't already been honored in its own category? We'll never know.

BEST SCREENPLAY

1. Robert Siegel for The Founder -- 31 pts.
2. Robin Campillo and Philippe Mangeot for BPM -- 20 pts.
3. James Ivory for Call Me By Your Name -- 19 pts.
4. Sean Baker (ampersand) Chris Bergoch for The Florida Project --15 pts.
5. Emily V. Gordon (ampersand) Kumail Nanjiani for The Big Sick -- 11 pts.

NOTE: The John Lee Hancock film had two key assets: the lead performance by Michael Keaton and the subtle screenplay by Robert Siegel. In retrospect, the awards were parsed out very wisely, honoring different films for their strengths rather than letting the best movie of the year simply sweep aside all comers, which is always kind of boring, no matter how great any particular film might be. The Founder's win here is a great example of that.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. Alexis Zabe for The Florida Project -- 31 pts.
2. Sayombhu Mukdeeprom for Call Me By Your Name -- 22 pts.
3. Darius Khondji for The Lost City Of Z -- 15 pts.
4. Jeanne Lapoirie for BPM -- 13 pts.
5. Mikhail Krichman for Loveless -- 12 pts.

NOTE: We live in a golden age for cinematography so this category is often hotly contested. Not so, this year. Call Me By Your Name had cinematography that benefited greatly from both real estate porn and the visceral appeal of Chalamet and Hammer. The Lost City Of Z had the visual sweep of a Hollywood epic despite an indie budget. BPM was thrilling in its blurring of work and protest and life. And Loveless gave the bleakness of modern Russia an almost tactile feel. Despite a lot of impressive films, the marvelous work of The Florida Project (look ma, no phone!) was the clear favorite. The only real question was how much credit went to the cinematographer of record Alexis Zabe and how much goes to director Sean Baker, who is seen operating the camera in almost every still image one sees from the movie's set.

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

1. Stephonik Youth for The Florida Project -- 29 pts.
2. Michael Corenblith for The Founder -- 28 pts.
3. Samuel Deshors for Call Me By Your Name -- 18 pts.
4. Paul D. Austerberry for The Shape Of Water -- 12 pts.
5. Harley Jessup for Coco -- 10 pts.

NOTE: Again, The Florida Project came out on top, though the spot-on work of The Founder came damn close. The story of McDonald's was period without being kitsch, while The Florida Project gave the run-down sections of Orlando the colorful magic of a world seen through a kid's eyes...without ignoring the poverty of their situation. The animated film Coco was a modestly controversial choice but hey -- those films don't design themselves just because they're animated!

BEST SCORE/USE OF MUSIC

1. Daniel Lopatin aka Oneohtrix Point Never for Good Time -- 17 pts.
2. Jonny Greenwood for Phantom Thread -- 14 pts.
3. Philippe Rombi for Frantz -- 13 pts.
4. Jason Binnick and Jeremy Gasper for Patti Cake$ --11 pts.
5. (tie) Daniel Hart for A Ghost Story --8 pts.
(tie) Alexandre Desplat for The Shape Of Water --8 pts.

NOTE: The category of Best Score was recently renamed Best Score/Use Of Music to accommodate the endless ways in which films make use of music. You've got original scores like Phantom Thread. You've got original scores that employ a ticking clock in a rather modern fashion but then pull out a key piece of classical music at the film's high point, as in Dunkirk and its use of Elgar. You've got Call Me By Your Name, which uses an original score, period songs played prominently (like "Love My Way" by the Psychedelic Furs) alongside original new songs by Sufjan Stevens. You've got Frantz which has an original score and classical pieces performed by the characters. You've got Patti Cake$ which has a score, some original raps and some contemporary hip hop songs. You've got full-on musicals like The Greatest Showman and Coco. And you've got Baby Driver, which made clever use of setting action scenes to the beat of classic tunes both offbeat and familiar. Most of those films don't fall into a neat category of Best Score versus Best Use Of Pre-Existing Music. Hence the IRA decision to say, "Consider the many ways a film uses music and make your choice accordingly." Hey if it's 1968 and you think Kubrick's use of pre-existing pieces in 2001: A Space Odyssey is the best use of music, make your case. (You'd be right.) If you think Ennio Morricone's original score for Once Upon A Time In The West is better, fight back. If you prefer Yellow Submarine's perfect capturing of the Beatles and their vibe by showcasing classic tunes (and a few so-so originals), tell everyone else they're crazy. Short of creating two or three (or four?) music categories and finding out most can't name five worthy nominees for each, what are you gonna do? The winner this year? Good Time, which triumphed thanks to a terrific electronic score by the artist Oneohtrix Point Never, including an original song featuring Iggy Pop that was so spot-on I actually assumed it was a pre-existing Iggy classic I simply didn't know.

BEST EDITING

1. Robin Campillo, Stéphanie Léger and Anita Roth for BPM -- 37 pts.
2. (tie) Sean Baker for The Florida Project -- 17 pts.
(tie) Tatiana S. Riegel for I, Tonya -- 17 pts.
4. Ronald Bronstein and Benny Safdie for Good Time -- 14 pts.
5. (tie) David Lowery for A Ghost Story -- 10 pts.
(tie) Andrew Weisblum for mother! -- 10 pts.

NOTE: Documentaries often score highly in the editing category because they typically include a wealth of footage and the movie is "discovered" in the editing. Not so this year, which may reflect a weak year for documentaries. With BPM winning by a vote total more than double The Florida Project (and Call Me By Your Name and The Founder nowhere in sight), this was the early category that tea leaf readers could examine and see exactly where we'd end up come Best Picture and Director.

BEST COSTUME

1. Pascaline Chavanne for Frantz -- 25 pts.
2. Mark Bridges for Phantom Thread -- 21 pts.
3. Daniel Orlandi for The Founder -- 19 pts.
4. Fernando Rodriguez for The Florida Project --15 pts.
5. Holly Waddington for Lady Macbeth -- 14 pts.

NOTE: While the work on the Oscar-winning Phantom Thread was exquisite, the category is Best Costume, not Best Couture Collection, which may be why the subtler but still lovely work in Frantz narrowly won.

SOMINEX (The movie that put you to sleep)

1. The Post -- 20 pts.

2. Darkest Hour -- 14 pts.

3. The Florida Project -- 13 pts.

4. Professor Marston and the Wonder Women -- 10 pts.

5. Wonderstruck -- 9 pts.

DRAMAMINE (The film that made you sick)

1 1. mother! -- 14 pts.

2. Detroit -- 12 pts.

3. (tie) I, Tonya -- 10 pts.

(tie) The Shape Of Water -- 10 pts.

(tie) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri -- 10 pts.

MECHANICAL ACTRESS

1. Emma Watson for Beauty and the Beast and The Circle -- 18 pts.

2. Robin Wright for Blade Runner 2049 and Justice League and Wonder Woman -- 17 pts.

3. Michelle Williams in All The Money In The World, The Greatest Showman, Wonderstruck -- 16 pts.
4. Meryl Streep for The Post -- 14 pts.
5. (tie) Jessica Chastain for Molly's Game and The Zookeeper's Wife -- 10 pts.
(tie) Elizabeth Olsen for Ingrid Goes West and Wind River -- 10 pts.

NOTE: The Mechanical awards are for actors relying on familiar tricks we've seen them personally use time and again or those tackling a role in a cliched manner. It's a moment for poisonous comments, getting revenge on movies and talent we once admired that have let us down or never fooled us in the first place but keep making moves we have to see.

MECHANICAL ACTOR

1. James Franco for The Disaster Artist, Queen Of The Desert, et. al -- 24 pts.

2. (tie) Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour -- 18 pts.
(tie) Mark Wahlberg for All The Money In The World and Daddy's Home 2 and Transformers: The Last Knight -- 4 pts.

4. Armie Hammer for Call Me By Your Name --15 pts.
5. Daniel Day-Lewis for Phantom Thread -- 13 pts.

THE 2017 FILMS HONORED BY THE IRAS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

American Made
The Big Sick
BPM
The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography
Call Me By Your Name
Coco
Dawson City: Frozen Time
Dunkirk
A Fantastic Woman
The Florida Project
The Founder
Frantz
Get Out
A Ghost Story
God's Own Country
Good Time
In Transit
I, Tonya
Jane
The Killing Of A Sacred Deer
Lady Bird
Lady Macbeth
Land Of Mine
The Lost City Of Z
Loveless
Maudie
mother!
Mudbound
Patti Cake$
Phantom Thread
A Quiet Passion
Risk
The Shape Of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

WHO OR WHAT ARE THE IRAS? A HISTORY

The IRAs are a mysterious but august film society that has voted on the best films of the year since 1976. Officially known as the New York Independent Film Critics Awards -- but lovingly nicknamed the IRAs -- it is more international and indie focused than the Oscars, more mercurial than the LA Film Critics, more loyal to their favorites than the Golden Globes. The IRAs are proud to announce their picks for the best movies released in New York City in 2017.

The IRAs began when passionate film students and friends complained about the parade of annual awards shows, declaring, "We could do better!" What followed was an all-night, knock-down, drag-out fight to establish the very first winners of the IRAs. (One of the members is named Ira, but how his name became the name of the award is a story lost in the mist of time.) The IRAs has been profiled in The New Yorker so it is officially a New York institution, though no one has ever heard of it. Over the years, its rotating cast of voting members have included Oscar-winning writers, major directors, top studio execs, best-selling and critically acclaimed authors of books on movies, critics, screenwriters, budding playwrights, plain old film buffs and so on.

Every year, the IRAs shine a light on some of the best films of the year. The secret reason the IRAs flourish is that its members are passionate film lovers. Many have careers involving the arts but it's not always easy to stay in the swim of things and keep on top of the flood of new releases every year, especially when the movies favored by IRA members are not always playing at your local multiplex for weeks at a time. The movies they appreciate tend to be harder to catch, playing in theaters only briefly before popping up (hopefully) on some streaming service or DVD if you miss it. Quite simply, the IRAs force them to stay committed to seeing new movies with the same fervor they felt in their college days when going to see a film was the only purpose in life, before jobs and family made claims on their time. So if you want to stay on top of great cinema every year or explore its history, there's no better place to start than the award winners of the IRAs.

True, the IRAs have no more claim to pronounce the best films of the year than anyone else. But they've been doing it for decades so, hey, it's tradition!

PAST IRA WINNERS

THE COMPLETE IRA MOVIE AWARD WINNERS

1975 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Barry Lyndon
Best Director: Claude Chabrol for La Rupture and Just Before Nightfall
Best Actor: Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
Best Actress: Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Best Supporting Actor: François Perrier in Just Before Nightfall
Best Supporting Actress: Blythe Danner in Hearts Of The West
Best Screenplay: Tom Stoppard and Thomas Wiseman for The Romantic Englishwoman
Best Cinematography: John Alcott for Barry Lyndon

1976 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: (tie) Lipstick and The Marquise Of O
Best Director: Eric Rohmer for The Marquise Of O
Best Actor: Sean Connery in Robin And Marian
Best Actress: Sissy Spacek in Carrie
Best Supporting Actor: Jason Robards in All The President’s Men
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Bancroft in Lipstick
Best Screenplay: Alain Tanner and John Berger for Jonah Who Will Be 25 In The Year 2000
Best Cinematography: Nestor Almendros for The Marquise Of O

1977 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Annie Hall
Best Director: Wim Wenders for The American Friend
Best Actor: John Gielgud in Providence
Best Actress: Dianne Keaton in Annie Hall and Looking For Mr. Goodbar
Best Supporting Actor: G. D. Spradlin in One On One
Best Supporting Actress: Vanessa Redgrave in Julia
Best Screenplay: Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman for Annie Hall
Best Cinematography: Robby Müller for The American Friend

1978 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Days Of Heaven
Best Director: Terence Malick for Days Of Heaven
Best Actor: Jon Voight in Coming Home
Best Actress: Jane Fonda in Coming Home
Best Supporting Actor: Dom DeLuise in The End
Best Supporting Actress: Stephane Audran in Violette
Best Screenplay: Eric Rohmer for Perceval
Best Cinematography: Nestor Almendros for Days Of Heaven

1979 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Fedora
Best Director: Blake Edwards for 10
Best Actor: Clint Eastwood in Escape From Alcatraz
Best Actress: Hanna Schygulla in The Marriage Of Maria Braun
Best Supporting Actor: Denholm Elliott in Cuba and Saint Jack
Best Supporting Actress: Frances Sternhagen in Fedora and Starting Over
Best Screenplay: Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond for Fedora
Best Cinematography: Tak Fujimoto for Last Embrace and Remember My Name
Best Music: Miklos Rozsa for Fedora and Last Embrace
Best Production Design: Dean Edward Mitzner for 1941

1980 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: The Big Red One
Best Director: Sam Fuller for The Big Red One
Best Actor: Lee Marvin for The Big Red One
Best Actress: Jodie Foster for Carny and Foxes
Best Supporting Actor: (tie) Joe Pesci in Raging Bull and Harry Dean Stanton in The Black Marble, The Long Riders, Private Benjamin and Wise Blood
Best Supporting Actress: Pamela Reed in The Long Riders and Melvin And Howard
Best Screenplay: Sam Fuller for The Big Red One
Best Cinematography: Jordan Cronenweth for Altered States
Best Music: Dana Kaproff for The Big Red One
Best Production Design: Tambi Larsen for Heaven’s Gate

1981 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Cutter’s Way
Best Director: Ivan Passer for Cutter’s Way
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges in Cutter’s Way
Best Actress: Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest
Best Supporting Actor: Jack Nicholson in Reds
Best Supporting Actress: Mona Washbouurne in Stevie
Best Screenplay: John Guare for Atlantic City
Best Cinematography: Jordan Cronenweth for Cutter’s Way
Best Music: Georges DeLerue for The Last Metro, Rich and Famous, True Confessions and The Woman Next Door
Best Production Design: Ken Adam for Pennies From Heaven
Best Costume Design: Shirley Russell for Reds

1982 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Victor/Victoria
Best Director: Blake Edwards for Victor/Victoria
Best Actor: Jack Lemmon in Missing
Best Actress: (tie) Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria and Jessica Lange in Frances
Best Supporting Actor: Robert Preston in Victor/Victoria
Best Supporting Actress: Lesley Ann Warren in Victor/Victoria
Best Screenplay: Blake Edwards for Victor/Victoria
Best Cinematography: Xaver Schwartzenberger for Lola and Veronika Voss
Best Music: Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse for Victor/Victoria
Best Production Design: Rodger Maus for Victor/Victoria
Best Costume Design: Patricia Norris for Victor/Victoria

1983 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Berlin Alexanderplatz
Best Director: Andrzej Wajda for Danton
Best Actor: Eric Roberts for Star ’80
Best Actress: Shirley MacLaine for Terms Of Endearment
Best Supporting Actor: Jerry Lewis for The King Of Comedy
Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis for Trading Places
Best Screenplay: Bill Forsyth for Local Hero
Best Cinematography: Sven Nykvist for Star ’80
Best Music: Peer Raben for Berlin Alexanderplatz
Best Production Design: Fernando Scarfiotti for Scarface
Best Costume Design: Yvonne Sassinot DeNestle for Danton
Sominex Award: The Dresser
Dramamine Award: The Big Chill
Mechanical Actor: Matt Dillon for The Outsiders and Rumble Fish

Mechanical Actress: Nastassja Kinski for The Moon In The Gutter and Exposed

1984 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: (tie) L’Argent and Once Upon A Time In America
Best Director: Sergio Leone for Once Upon A Time In America
Best Actor: Clint Eastwood in Tightrope
Best Actress: Helen Mirren in Cal
Best Supporting Actor: Jean-Luc Godard in First Name: Carmen
Best Supporting Actress: Christine Lahti in Swing Shift
Best Screenplay: Franco Arcalli, Leonardo Benvenuti, Piero De Bernardi, Franco Ferrini, Sergio Leone, Enrico Medioli for Once Upon A Time In America
Best Cinematography: Robby Müller for Paris Texas and Repo Man
Best Music: Ennio Morricone for Once Upon A Time In America
Best Production Design: James Singelis for Once Upon A Time In America
Best Costume Design: Mic Cheminal for Entre Nous
Sominex Award:
Dramamine Award:
Mechanical Actor:

Mechanical Actress:

1985 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Prizzi’s Honor
Best Director: Martin Scorsese for After Hours
Best Actor: Jack Nicholson in Prizzi’s Honor
Best Actress: Mia Farrow in The Purple Rose Of Cairo
Best Supporting Actor: William Hickey in Prizzi’s Honor
Best Supporting Actress: Anjelica Huston in Prizzi’s Honor
Best Screenplay: Joseph Minion for After Hours
Best Cinematography: Andrzej Bartkowiak for Prizzi’s Honor
Best Music: Brian Gascoigne and Junior Hamrich for The Emerald Forest
Best Production Design: Jeffrey Townsend for After Hours
Best Costume Design: Ann Roth for The Jagged Edge and Sweet Dreams
Sominex Award:
Dramamine Award:
Mechanical Actor:

Mechanical Actress:

1986 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Eyes On The Prize
Best Director: David Lynch for Blue Velvet
Best Actor: (tie) Daniel Day-Lewis in My Beautiful Laundrette and Jeff Goldblum in The Fly
Best Actress: Laura Dern in Smooth Talk
Best Supporting Actor: Steve Buscemi in Parting Glances
Best Supporting Actress: Mary Stuart Masterson in At Close Range
Best Screenplay: Hanif Kureishi for My Beautiful Laundrette
Best Cinematography: Frederick Elmes for Blue Velvet
Best Music: (tie) George Delerue for Platoon and Herbie Hancock for Round Midnight
Best Production Design: Patricia Norris for Blue Velvet
Best Costume Design: Jenny Beaven and John Bright for A Room With A View
Sominex Award: Brighton Beach Memoirs
Dramamine Award: Crocodile Dundee
Mechanical Actor: Jon Cryer for Pretty In Pink

Mechanical Actress: Meryl Streep for Heartburn

1987 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Housekeeping
Best Director: Bill Forsyth for Housekeeping
Best Actor: Gary Oldman in Prick Up Your Ears
Best Actress: Christine Lahti in Housekeeping
Best Supporting Actor: John Mahoney in Moonstruck and Tin Men
Best Supporting Actress: Vanessa Redgrave in Prick Up Your Ears
Best Screenplay: Bill Forsyth for Housekeeping
Best Cinematography: Phillippe Rousselot for Hope And Glory
Best Music: David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su for The Last Emperor
Best Production Design: Santo Loquasto for Radio Days
Best Costume Design: Mary-Jane Reyner for Housekeeping
Sominex Award: Dark Eyes
Dramamine Award: Fatal Attraction
Mechanical Actor: Eddie Murphy for Beverly Hills Cop II

Mechanical Actress: Sean Young for No Way Out and Wall Street

1988 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Dead Ringers
Best Director: David Cronenberg for Dead Ringers
Best Actor: Jeremy Irons in Dead Ringers
Best Actress: Jodie Foster in The Accused
Best Supporting Actor: Divine in Hairspray
Best Supporting Actress: Claudia Karvan in High Tide
Best Screenplay: Christopher Hampton for Dangerous Liaisons
Best Cinematography: Vittorio Storaro for Tucker: The Man And His Dream
Best Music: George Fenton for Dangerous Liaisons
Best Production Design: Dean Tavoularis for Tucker: The Man And His Dream
Best Costume Design: Van Smith for Hairspray
Sominex Award: Wings Of Desire
Dramamine Award: Mississippi Burning (by acclamation!)
Mechanical Actor: William Hurt for Broadcast News

Mechanical Actress: Maria Conchita Alonso for Extreme Prejudice and The Running Man

1989 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Story Of Women
Best Director: Claude Chabrol for Story
Of Women
Best Actor: John Hurt in Scandal
Best Actress: Isabelle Huppert in Story Of Women
Best Supporting Actor: Ethan Hawke in Dad and Dead Poets Society
Best Supporting Actress: Anjelica Huston in Enemies: A Love Story
Best Screenplay: Blake Edwards for Skin Deep
Best Cinematography: Jeff Preiss for Let’s Get Lost
Best Music: Michael Kamen for The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti for The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen
Best Costume Design: Jane Robinson for Scandal
Sominex Award: Batman
Dramamine Award: Steel Magnolias
Mechanical Actor: Spike Lee for Do The Right Thing

Mechanical Actress: Roseanne Barr for She-Devil

1990 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: GoodFellas
Best Director: Martin Scorsese for GoodFellas
Best Actor: Michel Blanc in Monsieur Hire
Best Actress: Anjelica Huston in The Grifters
Best Supporting Actor: Joe Pesci in GoodFellas
Best Supporting Actress: Lorraine Bracco in GoodFellas
Best Screenplay: Craig Lucas for Longtime Companion
Best Cinematography: Oliver Stapleton for The Grifters
Best Music: Elmer Bernstein for The Grifters
Best Production Design: Dennis Gassner for The Grifters
Best Costume Design: Richard Bruno for The Grifters
Sominex Award:
Dramamine Award:
Mechanical Actor:

Mechanical Actress:

1991 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: The Man In The Moon
Best Director: Robert Mulligan for The Man In The Moon
Best Actor: River Phoenix in Dogfight and My Own Private Idaho
Best Actress: Judy Davis in Barton Fink, Impromptu, and Naked Lunch
Best Supporting Actor: Harvey Keitel in Bugsy, Mortal Thoughts, and Thelma & Louise
Best Supporting Actress: Juliette Lewis in Cape Fear
Best Screenplay: Michael Tolkin for The Rapture
Best Cinematography: Freddie Francis for Cape Fear and The Man In The Moon
Best Music: Ennio Morricone for Bugsy
Best Production Design: Dennis Gassner for Barton Fink and Bugsy
Best Costume Design: Albert Wolsky for Bugsy
Sominex Award:
Dramamine Award:
Mechanical Actor:

Mechanical Actress:

1992 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Raise The Red Lantern
Best Director: Robert Altman for The Player
Best Actor: Tim Robbins in Bob Roberts and The Player
Best Actress: Emma Thompson in Howards End
Best Supporting Actor: Jaye Davidson in The Crying Game
Best Supporting Actress: Judy Davis in Husbands And Wives
Best Screenplay: Michael Tolkin for The Player
Best Cinematography: Zhao Fei and Lun Yang for Raise The Red Lantern
Best Music: Lenny Niehaus for Unforgiven
Best Production Design: Marc Caro for Delicatessen
Best Costume Design: Alexander Julien for The Player
Sominex Award: A Few Good Men
Dramamine Award: Basic Instinct
Mechanical Actor: Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct
Mechanical Actress: ****

1993 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Six Degrees Of Separation
Best Director: Nancy Savoca for Household Saints
Best Actor: Dennis Quaid in Flesh And Bone
Best Actress: Stockard Channing in Six Degrees Of Separation
Best Supporting Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio in A Boy’s Life and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?
Best Supporting Actress: Regina Tourney in Like Water For Chocolate
Best Screenplay: Mike Leigh for Naked
Best Cinematography: Michael Balhaus for The Age Of Innocence
Best Music: Elmer Bernstein for The Age Of Innocence and The Cemetery Club
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti for The Age Of Innocence
Best Costume Design: Gabriella Pescucci for The Age Of Innocence
Sominex Award: Heaven And Earth
Dramamine Award: Falling Down
Mechanical Actor: Richard Gere in Sommersby
Mechanical Actress: Madonna in Body Of Evidence

1994 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Red
Best Director: Krzyzstof Kieslowski for Red and White
Best Actor: Terence Stamp in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Best Actress: Linda Fiorentino in The Last Seduction
Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale in Little Women
Best Supporting Actress: Kristin Scott Thomas in Four Weddings and a Funeral
Best Screenplay: Steve Baranczek for The Last Seduction
Best Cinematography: Stephen Czapsky for Ed Wood
Best Music: Zbigniew Preissner for Red and White
Best Production Design: Dennis Gastner for The Hudsucker Proxy
Best Costume Design: Lizzie Gardiner and Tim Chappel for Priscilla, Queen of The Desert
Sominex Award: Wyatt Earp

1995 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Exotica
Best Director: Terry Zwigoff for Crumb
Best Actor: John Travolta in Get Shorty
Best Actress: (A three-way tie) Mia Kershner in Exotica; Alicia Silverstone in Clueless; Nicole Kidman in To Die For
Best Supporting Actor: Tim Roth in Rob Roy
Best Supporting Actress: Mare Winningham in Georgia
Best Screenplay: (tie) Atom Egoyan for Exotica and Buck Henry for To Die For
Best Cinematography: Newton Thomas Sigel for The Usual Suspects
Best Music: John Ottman for The Usual Suspects
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti for Casino
Best Costumes: Mona May for Clueless
Sominex Award: The Brothers McMullen
Dramamine Award: Braveheart
Mechanical Actor: Dennis Miller in The Net and the cast of The Brothers McMullen
Mechanical Actress: Annette Bening in The American President

1996 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: La Ceremonie
Best Director: Claude Chabrol for La Ceremonie
Best Actor: Ewen McGregor in Trainspotting
Best Actress: (tie) Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient and Emily Watson in Breaking The Waves
Best Supporting Actor: Ian Holm in Big Night
Best Supporting Actress: Mary Kay Place in Citizen Ruth and Manny and Lo
Best Screenplay: John Sayles for Lone Star
Best Cinematography: (tie) Darius Khondji for Stealing Beauty and Oliver Stapleton for Kansas City
Best Music: Tiffany Anders, Burt Bacharach, David Baerwald, Carole Bayer Sager, Ed Berghoff, Elvis Costello, Gerry Goffin, Louise Goffin, Tonio K, Larry Klein, J. Mascis, Joni Mitchell, Boyd Rice, David A. Stewart, and J. Mayo Williams for Grace Of My Heart
Best Production Design: Harley Jessup for James And The Giant Peach
Best Costume Design: Dona Granata for Kansas City
Sominex Award: The English Patient
Dramamine Award: A Time To Kill
Mechanical Actor: All the men in She’s The One
Mechanical Actress: Maxine Bahns in She’s The One

1997 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: (tie) Crash and Grosse Pointe Blank
Best Director: David Cronenberg for Crash
Best Actor: John Cusack for Grosse Pointe Blank
Best Actress: Julie Christie in Afterglow
Best Supporting Actor: Kevin Spacey in L. A. Confidential
Best Supporting Actress: Christina Ricci in The Ice Storm
Best Screenplay: Neil LaBute for In The Company Of Men
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins for Kundun
Best Music: (tie) Eleni Karaindrou for Ulysses’ Gaze and Michael Nyman for Gattaca
Best Production Design: (tie) Dan Weil for The Fifth Element and Jan Roelfs for Gattaca
Best Costume Design: Denise Cronenberg for Crash
Sominex Award: The Pillow Book
Dramamine Award: Con Air
Mechanical Actor: Billy Zane in Titanic
Mechanical Actress: Elisabeth Shue in Deconstructing Harry and The Saint

1998 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Gods And Monsters
Best Director: (tie) Bill Condon for Gods And Monsters and Todd Solondz for Happiness
Best Actor: Ian McKellen in Gods And Monsters
Best Actress: Christina Ricci in The Opposite Of Sex
Best Supporting Actor: Dylan Baker in Happiness
Best Supporting Actress: Lisa Kudrow in The Opposite Of Sex
Best Screenplay: Bill Condon for Gods And Monsters
Best Cinematography: Maryse Alberti for Happiness and Velvet Goldmine
Best Music: Carter Burwell for Gods And Monsters
Best Production Design: Thérèse DePrez for Happiness
Best Costume Design: Bruce Finlayson for Gods And Monsters
Sominex Award: Dangerous Beauty
Dramamine Award: Stepmom
Mechanical Actor: Bruce Willis in Armageddon, The Siege and Mercury Rising
Mechanical Actress: Jena Malone in Stepmom

1999 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Fight Club
Best Director: (tie) David Fincher for Fight Club and Spike Jonze for Being John Malkovich
Best Actor: Terence Stamp in The Limey
Best Actress: (tie) Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut and Hillary Swank in Boys Don’t Cry
Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman in Magnolia and The Talented Mr. Ripley
Best Supporting Actress: Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich
Best Screenplay: Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor for Election
Best Cinematography: Robert Richardson for Bringing Out The Dead and Snow Falling On Cedars
Best Music: Trey Parker and Marc Shaiman for South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
Best Production Design: Owen Paterson for The Matrix
Best Costume Design: Michael Kaplan for Fight Club
Sominex Award: The World Is Not Enough
Dramamine Award: The Green Mile
Mechanical Actor: Kevin Spacey in American Beauty
Mechanical Actress: Annette Bening in American Beauty

2000 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: L’ Humanite
Best Director: (tie) Terence Davies for The House Of Mirth and Jim Jarmusch for Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai
Best Actor: Forrest Whitaker in Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai
Best Actress: (tie) Severine Caneele in L’ Humanite and Michelle Yeoh in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best Supporting Actor: Jack Black in High Fidelity and Jesus’s Son
Best Supporting Actress: Lupe Ontiveros in Chuck And Buck
Best Screenplay: Kenneth Lonnergan for You Can Count On Me
Best Cinematography: Remi Adefarasin for The House Of Mirth
Best Music: RZA for Ghost Dog: Way Of The Samurai
Best Production Design: Gideon Ponte for American Psycho and Hamlet
Best Costume Design: Monica Howe for The House Of Mirth
Sominex Award: Mission Impossible 2
Dramamine Award: The Replacements (aka The Scabs)
Mechanical Actor: Ian Holm in Joe Gould’s Secret
Mechanical Actress: Charlize Theron in Reindeer Games

2001 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: The Werckmeister Harmonies
Best Director: Bela Tarr for The Werckmeister Harmonies
Best Actor: John Cameron Mitchell for Hedwig And The Angry Inch
Best Actress: Naomi Watts in Mulholland Drive
Best Supporting Actor: Steve Buscemi in Ghost World
Best Supporting Actress: Scarlett Johansson in Ghost World and The Man Who Wasn’t There
Best Screenplay: Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff for Ghost World
Best Cinematography: (tie) Peter Deming for From Hell and Mulholland Drive and Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin for In The Mood For Love
Best Music: Mihály Vig for The Werckmeister Harmonies
Best Production Design: Edward T. McAvoy for Ghost World
Best Costume Design: Mary Zophres for Ghost World
Sominex Award:
Dramamine Award:
Mechanical Actor:
Mechanical Actress:

2002 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: (tie) Far From Heaven and The Son’s Room
Best Director: (tie) Todd Haynes for Far From Heaven and Aleksandr Sokurov for Russian Ark
Best Actor: Greg Kinnear in Auto Focus
Best Actress: (tie) Emmanuelle Devos in Read My Lips and Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven and Samantha Morton in Minority Report and Morvern Callar
Best Supporting Actor: Eddie Izzard in The Cat’s Meow
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Clarkson in Far From Heaven
Best Screenplay: Bill Condon for Chicago
Best Cinematography: Tilman Büttner for Russian Ark
Best Music: Elmer Bernstein for Far From Heaven
Best Production Design: Mark Friedberg for Far From Heaven
Best Costume Design: Sandy Powell for Far From Heaven and Gangs Of New York
Sominex Award: Naqoyqatsi
Dramamine Award: Bowling For Dollars
Mechanical Actor: Anthony Hopkins in Red Dragon
Mechanical Actress: Catherine Keener in Lovely And Amazing

2003 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Decasia
Best Director: Bill Morrison for Decasia
Best Actor: Johnny Depp in Pirates Of The Caribbean
Best Actress: Hope Davis in American Splendor and The Secret Lives Of Dentists
Best Supporting Actor: Max Pirkis in Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World
Best Supporting Actress: Ludivine Sagnier in Swimming Pool
Best Screenplay: Shari Springer Bergman and Robert Pulcini for American Splendor
Best Cinematography: Peter Suschitzky for Spider
Best Music: Michael Gordon for Decasia
Best Production Design: Andrew Laws for Down With Love
Best Costume Design: Daniel Orlandi for Down With Love
Sominex Award:
Dramamine Award: In My Skin
Mechanical Actor: Anthony Hopkins in The Human Stain
Mechanical Actress: Nicole Kidman in The Human Stain

2004 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Kinsey
Best Director: Bill Condon for Kinsey
Best Actor: Ethan Hawke in Before Sunset
Best Actress: Laura Linney in Kinsey and P.S.
Best Supporting Actor: Peter Sarsgaard in Kinsey
Best Supporting Actress: Kirsten Dunst in Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind
Best Screenplay: Bill Condon for Kinsey
Best Cinematography: Christopher Doyle for Hero, Last Life In The Universe and Days Of Being Wild
Best Music: Alberto Iglesias for Bad Education
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti for The Aviator
Best Costume Design: Emi Wada for Hero and House Of The Flying Daggers
Sominex Award: The Village
Dramamine Award: The Passion Of The Christ
Mechanical Actor: Cate Blanchett in The Aviator
Mechanical Actress: Anthony Hopkins in Alexander

2005 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Mysterious Skin
Best Director: Gregg Araki for Mysterious Skin
Best Actor: Joseph Gordon-Leavitt in Mysterious Skin
Best Actress: Maria Bello in A History Of Violence
Best Supporting Actor: Paddy Constantine in My Summer Of Love
Best Supporting Actress: Catherine Keener in Capote
Best Screenplay: Gregg Araki for Mysterious Skin
Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit for Good Night And Good Luck and Syriana
Best Music: Howard Shore for A History Of Violence
Best Production Design: William Chang Suk Ping for 2046
Best Costume Design: William Chang Suk Ping for 2046
Sominex Award: Saraband
Dramamine Award: Crash
Mechanical Actor: Tom Cruise for War Of The Worlds
Mechanical Actress: Dakota Fanning for War Of The Worlds

Complete coverage of the 2005 IRAs here.

2006 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: L’Enfant
Best Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne for L’Enfant
Best Actor: Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson
Best Actress: Maggie Cheung in Clean
Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Mackie in Half Nelson
Best Supporting Actress: Carmen Maura in Volver
Best Screenplay: (tie) Guillermo Del Toro for Pan’s Labyrinth and Jean- Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne for L’Enfant
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki for Children Of Men
Best Production Design: Eugenio Caballero for Pan’s Labyrinth
Best Music: Philip Glass for Notes On A Scandal and The Illusionist
Best Costume Design: Sharon Davis for Dreamgirls
Sominex Award: The Da Vinci Code
Dramamine Award: Babel
Mechanical Actor: Robert Downey, Jr. in Fur and A Scanner Darkly
Mechanical Actress: Julianne Moore in Children Of Men

Complete coverage of the 2006 IRAs here.

2007 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Best Director: Andrew Dominik for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Best Actor: Casey Affleck in The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and Gone Baby Gone
Best Actress: Marina Hands in Lady Chatterley
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Schneider in The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and Lars And The Real Girl
Best Supporting Actress: Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone
Best Screenplay: Corneliu Porumboiu for 12:08 East Of Bucharest
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, In The Valley Of Elah and No Country For Old Men
Best Production Design: Patricia Norris for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Best Music: Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Best Costume Design: Patricia Norris for The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Sominex Award: Youth Without Youth
Dramamine Award: Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead
Mechanical Actor: John Travolta in Hairspray
Mechanical Actress: Meryl Streep in Lions For Lambs and Rendition

Complete coverage of the 2007 IRAs here.

2008 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: The Edge Of Heaven
Best Director: Fatih Akin - The Edge Of Heaven
Best Actor: Michael Shannon - Shotgun Stories
Best Actress: Anamaria Marinca - 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Best Supporting Actor: Emile Hirsch - Milk
Best Supporting Actress: Hanna Schygulla - The Edge Of Heaven
Best Screenplay: Fatih Akin - The Edge Of Heaven
Best Cinematography: Jody Shapiro - My Winnipeg
Best Production Design: Rejean Labrie - My Winnipeg
Best Music: Carter Burwell for In Bruges and Burn After Reading
Best Costumes: Danny Glicker - Milk
Sominex: The Happening
Dramamine: The Reader
Mechanical Actor: Mark Wahlberg for The Happening
Mechanical Actress: Meryl Streep for Doubt

Complete coverage of the 2008 IRAs here.

2009 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: Hunger
Best Director: Olivier Assayas - Summer Hours
Best Actor: Sharlto Copley - District 9
Best Actress: Catalina Saavedra - The Maid
Best Supporting Actor: Liam Cunningham - Hunger
Best Supporting Actress: Anna Faris - Observe And Report
Best Screenplay: Olivier Assayas - Summer Hours
Best Cinematography: Sean Bobbitt - Hunger
Best Production Design: Philip Ivey - District 9
Best Music: Marvin Hamlisch - The Informant!
Best Costumes: Janet Patterson - Bright Star
Sominex: Public Enemies
Dramamine: Anti-Christ
Mechanical Actor: Peter Sarsgaard for An Education
Mechanical Actress: Hilary Swank for Amelia

2010 IRA Film Award Winners
Best Picture: A Prophet/Un Prophete
Best Director: Jacques Audiard - A Prophet/Un Prophete
Best Actor: Edgar Ramirez - Carlos
Best Actress: Tilda Swinton - I Am Love
Best Supporting Actor: Niels Arestrup - A Prophet/Un Prophete
Best Supporting Actress: Dale Dickey - Winter's Bone
Best Screenplay: Thomas Bidegain and Jacques Audiard - A Prophet/Un Prophete
Best Cinematography: Yorick Le Saux - I Am Love
Best Production Design: Francesca Balestra Di Mottola - I Am Love
Best Music: John Adams - I Am Love
Best Costumes: Antonella Cannarozzi - I Am Love
Sominex: Cairo Time
Dramamine: Black Swan
Mechanical Actor: Vincent Cassel for Black Swan
Mechanical Actress: Natalie Portman for Black Swan
The Governor Scott Walker Award For Achievement In Political Thuggery: Waiting For "Superman"

Complete coverage of the 2010 IRAs here.

2011 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS
Best Picture: The Tree Of Life
Best Director: Terrence Malick - The Tree Of Life
Best Actor: Peyman Moadi - A Separation
Best Actress: Leila Hatami - A Separation
Best Supporting Actor: Hunter McCracken - The Tree Of Life
Best Supporting Actress: Sareh Bayet - A Separation
Best Screenplay: Ashgar Farhadi - A Separation
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki - The Tree Of Life
Best Production Design: Dante Ferretti - Hugo
Best Score: Alberto Iglesias - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Skin I Live In
Best Editing: Hank Corwin, Jay Rabinowitz, Daniel Rezende, Billy Weber, Mark Yoshikawa - The Tree Of Life
Best Costumes: Jacqueline Durran - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): Midnight In Paris
Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): The Help
Mechanical Actress: Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Mechanical Actor: Owen Wilson - Midnight In Paris

Complete coverage of the 2011 IRAs here.

2012 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS
Best Picture: Once Upon A Time In Anatolia

Best Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan - Once Upon A Time In Anatolia

Best Actor: Jean-Louis Trintignant - Amour

Best Actress: Rachel Weisz - The Deep Blue Sea

Best Supporting Actor: Taner Birsel - Once Upon A Time In Anatolia

Best Supporting Actress: Cecile De France - The Kid With A Bike

Best Screenplay: Ebru Ceylan and Nuri Bilge Ceylan and Ercan Kesal - Once Upon A Time In Anatolia

Best Cinematography: Gokhan Tiryaki - Once Upon A Time In Anatolia

Best Production Design: Arvinder Grewal - Cosmopolis
Best Score: Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin - Beasts Of The Southern Wild

Best Editing: Todd Woody Richman and Tyler H. Walk - How To Survive A Plague

Best Costumes: Kari Perkins - Bernie
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): (tie) Les Miserables and Beasts Of The Southern Wild

Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): The Intouchables

Mechanical Actress: Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Mechanical Actor: Russell Crowe - Les Miserables

Complete coverage of the 2012 IRAs here.

2013 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS
Best Picture: Laurence Anyways

Best Director: Xavier Dolan for Laurence Anyways and I Killed My Mother

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix for Her

Best Actress: Hadas Yaron for Fill The Void

Best Supporting Actor: Daniel Bruhl for The Fifth Estate and Rush

Best Supporting Actress: Nathalie Baye for Laurence Anyways

Best Screenplay: Sarah Polley for Stories We Tell

Best Cinematography: Asaf Sudri for Fill The Void

Best Production Design: K.K. Barrett for Her
Best Score: (tie) Alex Ebert for All Is Lost and Arcade Fire for Her

Best Editing: Mike Munn for Stories We Tell

Best Costumes: Francois Barbeau, Xavier Dolan for Laurence Anyways
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): Faust

Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): The Great Gatsby

Mechanical Actress: Meryl Streep for August: Osage County
Mechanical Actor: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club

Complete coverage of the 2013 IRAs here.

2014 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS
Best Picture: Nightcrawler

Best Director: Dan Gilroy for Nightcrawler

Best Actor: Jake Gyllenhaal for Nightcrawler

Best Actress: Essie Davis for The Babadook

Best Supporting Actor: Ethan Hawke for Boyhood

Best Supporting Actress: Agata Kulesza for Ida

Best Screenplay: Dan Gilroy for Nightcrawler

Best Cinematography: Robert Elswit for Nightcrawler and Inherent Vice

Best Production Design: Suzie Davies for Mr. Turner
Best Score: Mica Levi for Under The Skin

Best Editing: (tie) Simon Njoo for The Babadook; Jay Cassidy, Stuart Levy and Conor O'Neill for Foxcatcher

Best Costumes: (tie) Kasia Walicka-Maimone for Foxcatcher and A Most Violent Year (but not St. Vincent); Jacqueline Durran for Mr. Turner
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): The Monuments Men

Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): The Imitation Game

Mechanical Actress: Lilla Crawford for Into The Woods
Mechanical Actor: The Entire Cast of The Monuments Men

Complete coverage of the 2014 IRAs here.

2015 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS
Best Picture: Tangerine

Best Director: Miroslav Slaboshpytski for The Tribe

Best Actor: Jason Segel for The End Of The Tour

Best Actress: (tie) Anne Dorval for Mommy
(tie) Kitana Kiki Rodriguez for Tangerine

Best Supporting Actor: Alexander Skarsgård for The Diary Of A Teenage Girl

Best Supporting Actress: Mya Taylor for Tangerine by acclamation
Best Nonfiction Film: In Jackson Heights

Best Screenplay: Donald Margulies for The End Of The Tour

Best Cinematography: Sean Baker and Radium Cheung for Tangerine

Best Production Design: (tie) Judy Becker for Carol
(tie) Colin Gibson for Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Score: (tie) Junkie XL for Mad Max: Fury Road
(tie) Atticus Ross and Brian Wilson for Love And Mercy

Best Editing: Sean Baker for Tangerine

Best Costumes: Shih-Ching Tsou for Tangerine
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): The Assassin

Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): Chi-Raq

Mechanical Actress: Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl
Mechanical Actor: John Cusack for Chi-Raq and Love And Mercy

Complete coverage of the 2015 IRAs here.

2016 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS

Best Picture: Moonlight

Best Director: Barry Jenkins for Moonlight

Best Actor: Antonythasan Jesuthasan for Dheepan

Best Actress: Annette Bening for 20th Century Women

Best Supporting Actor: Ralph Fiennes for A Bigger Splash and Hail, Caesar!

Best Supporting Actress: Linda Emond for Indignation
Best Nonfiction Film: O.J.: Made In America
Best Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan for Hell Or High Water

Best Cinematography: James Laxton for Moonlight

Best Production Design: (tie) Craig Lathrop for The Witch
(tie) Ryan Warren Smith for Green Room
Best Score: Nicholas Britell for Moonlight

Best Editing: Andrey Paperniy for Under The Sun

Best Costumes: Madeline Fontaine for Jackie
Sominex Award (The Movie That Put Us To Sleep): Girl On A Train

Dramamine Award (The Movie That Made Us Sick): Nocturnal Animals

Mechanical Actress: Nicole Kidman for Lion
Mechanical Actor: Aaron Taylor-Johnson for Nocturnal Animals

Complete coverage of the 2016 IRAs here.

2017 IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS

Best Picture: BPM

Best Director: Robin Campillo for BPM

Best Actor: Michael Keaton for The Founder

Best Actress: Daniela Vega for A Fantastic Woman (Una Mujer Fantástica)

Best Supporting Actor: Willem Dafoe for The Florida Project

Best Supporting Actress: Lesley Manville for Phantom Thread
Best Nonfiction Film: Dawson City: Frozen Time
Best Screenplay: Robert Siegel for The Founder

Best Cinematography: Alexis Zabe for The Florida Project

Best Production Design: Stephonik Youth for The Florida Project
Best Score: Daniel Lopatin aka Oneohtrix Point Never for Good Time

Best Editing: Robin Campillo, Stéphanie Léger and Anita Roth for BPM

Friday, March 23, 2018

Theater: "Escape To Margaritaville"

ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE ** out of ****

MARQUIS THEATRE

I can't quite call myself a Parrothead but I definitely boast some Jimmy Buffett bona fides. I grew up in South Florida, I've had margaritas in the Keys, one of my first album purchases was A White Sport Coat and A Pink Crustacean (on cassette) and my first concert was Buffett himself. (Or Billy Joel; I can't be sure but they were definitely the first two.)

So if -- like me -- your ears perk up when a minor character is called "Mr. Utley," I can report that the new musical Escape To Margaritaville was made for you. That's the bad news since this friendly, innocuous show does not transcend its Buffett fanbase.

Like I said, that's the bad news. The sad news, however, is the unexpected and affecting power of certain tunes in this show. When they're anchored to a specific character and a specific moment, songs like "Son Of A Son Of A Sailor" and "He Went To Paris" and even "Margaritaville" -- if you can believe it -- actually pack an emotional punch. (That last number is of course a song about a guy realizing the failed relationship is his own damned fault.) Even as a fan, I really did not expect any of his songs to register in quite that way on stage. When you see some of his songs really work in a musical, you realize that a better, truer show might have made the most out of Buffett's catalog.

Instead we have a Mamma Mia sort of show, with a plot so paper thin (and slightly out of sync with his ethos) that it's the barest of excuses to shoehorn in one favorite after another. The good news is that Escape To Margaritaville is certainly amiable enough. While it won't match that ABBA blockbuster, at least it doesn't betray the faithful fans, you can buy tropical drinks at the bar (unlike Once On This Island -- they really are leaving money on the table at that hit) and hey, you might snag a free beach ball at the finale!

The setting is a Caribbean island (with a volcano, of course) and specifically the bar Margaritaville. The owner is the sharp-tongued Marley (Rema Webb, making the most out of very little) and the denizens include a schlubby but lovable bartender named Brick (Eric Petersen), the aging J.D. (Don Sparks) who is always looking for his lost shaker of salt and the laid-back bar band singer Tully (Paul Alexander Nolan). He romances the ladies and sends them gently on their way after a little sun and fun.

That changes when two best friends show up for a week of escape. Tammy (Lisa Howard) is getting married after this vacation, even though her husband-to-be puts this full-figured charmer on a diet and instead of buying her an engagement ring he got her an engagement TV. (No points for guessing her story arc.)

Rachel (Alison Luff) is her fetching maid of honor. Rachel wants to help save the planet with alternative energy sources (namely the potato?) and of course she freaks out when there is no cell phone signal or even wifi. Offer her a drink at ten in the morning and say "It's five o'clock somewhere" and she just doesn't get it. The bartender woos Tammy, Tully finds himself falling hard for Rachel and the show spends the rest of the evening coming up with reasons -- a volcano, the temptation of a cheeseburger, Grammy Awards! -- to delay the inevitable happy ending. Another problem? Rachel's big number "It's My Job" doesn't quite work -- even with altered lyrics to fit her story -- and Buffett's songs in general don't suit Luff's voice. Just as not every Broadway singer can rap, not all can handle the particular vocal demands of a pop song. To be fair, "It's My Job" has one of Buffett's more ungainly melodies (the song was actually written by Mac McAnally) and finding a song in his catalog to work for her character can't have been easy. Uptight and professionally driven is not Buffett's wheelhouse.

It's all directed with perfunctory professionalism by Christopher Ashley, though act two feels drawn out and the costumes, set design and choreography rarely feel inspired. The main problem is the book by Greg Garcia and Mike O'Malley, who spent too much time figuring out cute ways to signal a song, like having Brick name things that make him happy, things like...grapefruit! And ten speed bikes! Fans sigh happily, knowing they're about to hear "Grapefruit -- Juicy Fruit."

Worse, Garcia and O'Malley get sidetracked into having both Rachel and Tully achieve huge success in their careers. Garcia has created not one but two of the best sitcoms in recent years. Both My Name Is Earl and Raising Hope capture the working class with candor and heart. So he should have been an ideal fit for the Buffett ethos of enjoying life now and paying the bills later. Instead, our two leads have it all. But a beach bum winning over a woman with his easy going charm is one thing. A platinum-selling, Grammy winning beach billionaire pairing up with an entrepreneur on her third round of financing is quite another story and not one that's nearly as down-to-earth.

Honestly, all anyone expects here is a good time and some Buffett numbers delivered with verve. Nolan certainly handles that with charm and casual sex appeal. (The bar Margaritaville clearly has a gym in the back somewhere.) But much more was possible. Want proof? The simple straightforward appeal of "Son Of A Son Of A Sailor" as Tully strums his guitar and shares his story with Rachel is a quiet highlight.

Instead the musical mixes and matches songs almost interchangeably throughout the show, giving us party tunes and secondary storylines like a slow-burning romance between J.D. and Marley that has no reason for not taking place, a dishwasher with a broken arm (so inexplicable I assumed the actor really had a broken arm and they worked it into the show...until it healed in the second act) and other pointless bits like some wire work to reveal our lead couple scuba diving or a jokey scene with Tammy floating towards food. On the plus side, the chorus is happily diverse, right down to a gay couple dancing alongside everyone else without raising an eyebrow. On the down side, that means the four white leads stand out even more as notably monotone.

Suddenly you realize what's wrong: they didn't take Jimmy Buffett's songs seriously enough. Instead of seeing where they worked emotionally, the show just grabs at lyrics and tosses them into the book for fans to discover, like Easter eggs in a video game. Heck, even "Grapefruit -- Juicy Fruit" is a potentially sexy number (as is "Volcano") but in the context of the show it's a tossed-off joke. Instead of story songs that push the show forward, we watch Brick have a pointless acid flashback (a poor running gag that continues up to the curtain call) and Tully go through the paces of a burgeoning pop career, including such time filler moments as his first time recording in a studio.

They could have made every song matter. Since Tully is the casual lothario, wouldn't it have been fun to give Rachel the blunt pickup line of a number "Why Don't We Get Drunk (And Screw)?" The show already has her switching roles on Tully and seeing their fling as just a one-off bit of fun. They missed the perfect spot for a song that would feel that much fresher being sung by a woman. Similarly, Buffett's wistful "Coast Of Marseilles" (written by Keith Sykes) flits by so quickly in a medley of sorts that it never has the impact it could.

Rachel cares about nature, so the delightful sing-along "One Particular Harbor" shouldn't have been a throw-away at the finale. It should have been a song Tully wrote for her, showing Rachel's passion for the planet was his passion as well. What if she were a single mom or he was a single dad and Tully delivered "Little Miss Magic" (a song not in the show) to demonstrate he'd care for a daughter as much as he'd care for her? The possibilities are endless if you treat his songs as numbers to build a story around, rather than hits to mine for punchlines. Escape To Margaritaville is a jukebox musical just for Jimmy Buffett fans when they could have created a musical that would turn the rest of the world into Jimmy Buffett fans too.

Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the founder of  BookFilter, a book lover’s best friend. Trying to decide what to read next?Head to BookFilter! Need a smart and easy gift? Head to BookFilter? Wondering what new titles came out this week in your favorite categories, like cookbooks and mystery and more? Head to BookFilter! It’s a website that lets you browse for books online the way you do in a physical bookstore, provides comprehensive info on new releases every week in every category and offers passionate personal recommendations every step of the way. It’s like a fall book preview or holiday gift guide — but every week in every category. He’s also the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion makers as guests. It’s available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website. Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also available for free on iTunes.

Note: Michael Giltz is provided with free tickets to shows with the understanding that he will be writing a review. All productions are in New York City unless otherwise indicated.

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

Music: The Best Albums Of 2017 or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Streaming

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2017 -- AN INTRODUCTION (FULL ESSAY AT THE BOTTOM)

If I'm honest, the albums I obsessed over the most in 2017 were by Doris Day and Dick Haymes. Thanks to a new book, I headed down a rabbit hole of great music from the glory days of pop singers like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. "The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums" is a collection of essays by Will Friedwald, each piece focusing on a different artist and album(s). Essentially, these are his Desert Island Discs and Friedwald (one of the great experts on jazz singers and other swingers) brings passion and enthusiasm to everything from classic albums by Sarah Vaughan and Sinatra (natch) to relative obscurities by Tiny Tim (!) and a Latin jazz piece by Della Reese....

And that brings me to the other sea change in my music-listening life: streaming. Along with the thousands of CDs, hundreds of cassettes, dozens of LPs and terabytes of digital audio I've compiled over the years, I now subscribe to Spotify. (Forgive me, artists! I campaign for higher royalty rates all the time.) While the service is woefully inadequate on contemporary jazz and world music, pathetic when it comes to the vast libraries of sound out there in many categories throughout history and lacking in a million other ways...it sure does offer a lot of music on tap, including pretty much anything remotely mainstream put out in the last few years....

So here's a chance to make good use of your favorite streaming service. If one of these albums sounds intriguing to you, it's never been easier for you to check it out. I'm not even bothering to include YouTube videos for key songs or links to artist websites anymore. If you don't have a streaming service, obviously you can indeed go to YouTube and check out key tracks from any of the acts mentioned. So here are my favorite albums of the year, followed by a breakdown of what excited me about each particular act. Enjoy!

[Read the full essay at the bottom.]

THE (ROUGHLY) FIFTY BEST ALBUMS OF 2017

CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT -- Dreams And Daggers
CHRIS STAPLETON -- From A Room, Vol. 1
ORCHESTRA BAOBAB -- Tribute To Ndiouga Dieng
SZA -- Ctrl
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Hadestown Original Cast Album (Off Bway)
JOHN MORELAND -- Big Bad Luv
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS -- 50 Song Memoir
SIA -- Everyday is Christmas
THE JOHN SALLY RIDE -- A New Set Of Downs
COURTNEY BARNETT AND KURT VILE -- Lotta Sea Lice

KASEY CHAMBERS -- Dragonfly
BOB DYLAN -- Triplicate
DANIEL CAESAR -- Freudian
JASON ISBELL -- The Nashville Sound
MARGO PRICE -- All American Made
KENDRICK LAMAR -- Damn
KRONOS QUARTET AND TRIO DA KALI -- Ladilikan
STANTON MOORE -- With You In Mind
AIMEE MANN -- Mental Illness
JAKE XERXES FUSSELL -- What In The Natural World
LORDE -- Melodrama
DON BRYANT -- Don't Give Up On Love
ROBERT CRAY AND HI RHYTHM -- Robert Cray and Hi Rhythm
CURTIS HARDING -- Face Your Fears

CHARLY BLISS -- Guppy
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Sunday in The Park With George (Bway 2017)
THE NATIONAL -- Sleep Well Beast
MOSES SUMNEY -- Aromanticism
SAMPHA -- Process
WESLEY STACE'S JOHN WESLEY HARDING -- Wesley Stace's John Wesley Harding
DORA FREEMAN -- Letter Never Sent
ANNA TIVEL -- Small Believer
KAMASI WASHINGTON -- Harmony of Difference
CHEAP TRICK -- We're All Alright!
SAZ'SIO -- At Least Wave Your Handkerchief At Me
INDIA.ARIE -- Songversation: Medicine

LARRY CAMPBELL AND TERESA WILLIAMS -- Contraband Love
KHALID -- American Teen
ZULI -- On Human Freakout Mountain
LEWIS CAPALDI -- Bloom
AIDA CUEVAS -- Arrieros Somos: Sesiones Acusticas
NATALIA LAFOURCADE -- Musas Un Homenaje al Folclore Latinoamericano...
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Southern Soul Crate
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Baby Driver OST
RODNEY CROWELL -- Close Ties
JOHN MELLENCAMP -- Sad Clowns and Hillbillies
OZUNA -- Odisea
LIAM GALLAGHER -- As You Were
DAVID RAWLINGS -- Poor David's Almanack
JUANES -- Mis Planes Son Amarte
LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO -- Songs Of Peace and Love

THE (ROUGHLY) FIFTY BEST ALBUMS OF 2017 -- IN DEPTH

1-10

CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT -- Dreams And Daggers

The most exciting jazz vocalist since Cassandra Wilson broke through with Blue Light Till Dawn, my favorite album of 1993. Salvant won the Grammy for this double album and no wonder. But what exactly is she doing? She's not expanding the Great American Songbook the way Wilson did by embracing everything from the Monkees to Tom Waits. She's not pushing the envelope musically. She's not radically reinterpreting songs with some meta narrative or re-contextualization. And yet, she's doing all of this quietly, subtly, brilliantly. Salvant digs up some obscurities but they aren't presented as curios or quaint novelties, just good songs worth singing. She's got a terrific band, led by pianist Aaron Diehl. Her originals nestle comfortably alongside classics by Noel Coward and Irving Berlin. And her singing just...illuminates the songs without any muss or fuss. Somehow she can sing a number like "If A Girl Isn't Pretty" (which I'd never heard before) and do justice to the tune, earn the laughs it genuinely deserves (without winking at the audience) and yet also in some mysterious way get you thinking about its out-dated attitudes towards women. And yet it's also just a wonderful old tune performed with style. She effortlessly deconstructs it with the x-ray intelligence of her singing; look, ma -- no hands! (Salvant's mom was in the audience during these live performances, a fact she brought up right after a particularly risque number.) Unlike Vaughan (who I shamefully have only just warmed up to, a little) Salvant never curlicues her singing, never indulges in showboating even if her voice could do so with ease. A lesser singer would have a blast with the bluesy, sexy double (or triple) entendre that is "You've Got To Give Me Some." Salvant makes it sexier and funnier than anyone else by not underlining the jokes. With the restraint and lyrical focus of Blossom Dearie and the dynamics of Dinah Washington and the thoroughly modern sensibility of Wilson (this is no throwback chanteuse), Salvant just delivers. She embodies these 23 numbers like a cabaret performer and she swings these numbers like a jazz singer and she reinvigorates these standards like an artist.

CHRIS STAPLETON -- From A Room, Vol. 1

Is it the voice? God knows the gravelly, distinctive vocals of Chris Stapleton make you sit up straight in your seat the second they dig into a line. It has the comforting rasp of Bob Seger and the deep-bone authenticity of Willie Nelson and even when he's goofing off on a duet of "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" with actor Chris Pratt during a late night talk show sketch, you just believe whatever he's saying. Heck, maybe they did have the time of their life. This is country or rock or country rock or Americana or whatever you wanna call it. Nine damn good songs and an excellent follow-up to his excellent debut "Traveller." He followed this up months later with "From A Room, Vol. 2" and that's a solid album too but he put his best foot forward right here. The guy just released his first album in 2015 but damned if he doesn't seem like a beloved veteran we've been listening to for years. That's pretty special.

ORCHESTRA BAOBAB -- Tribute To Ndiouga Dieng

New music from old friends. While they had a flood of music in their first heyday during the 1970s and early 1980s (probably on hard-to-find cassettes), Orchestra Baobab is known in the West for just a handful of beguiling releases. Their most famous album was recorded in 1982, released in 1989 after they broke up and became a sensation around the world when it was reissued by World Circuit records. I have to turn to the experts to tell you they combine Afro-Cuban rhythms with Griot culture and other strands of African music like the Mandinga music of the Casamance. (Hey, this is world music, after all.) Not to worry -- you won't have to consult anyone if you put on the album "Pirate's Choice." Your body will start swaying of its own accord with music that is as joyous as anything by Duke Ellington or Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. The band reformed and toured the world but instead of overwhelming us with music when international fame struck, they've produced just three more studio albums, all brilliant: "Specialist In All Styles" in 2002, "Made In Dakar" in 2007 and now a decade later this tribute to one of their original singers, Ndiouga Dieng. Fifty years on, the tradition continues with his son Alpha Dieng joining some of the original lineup on this album that looks backwards and forwards with disarming ease. Think Buena Vista Social Club.

SZA -- Ctrl

I worried the drama surrounding this debut album might prove far more interesting than the actual music. SZA is a talented songwriter with a passionate fanbase and she agonized over "Ctrl." It sucked! It wasn't worth releasing! She should just erase the whole damn thing and start all over again.! Not since the La's got all Hamlet over its first album has a debut act seemed so paralyzed by self-doubt. But that insecurity isn't a bug; it's a feature. SZA's songs charm with their second-guessing and their third-guessing and fourth-guessing until you're thoroughly won over by her self-aware teen girl anxieties (as on "Drew Barrymore") that aren't a sign of immaturity but the sign of a budding maturity. On the other hand, she also delivers an hilarious ode to the vagina called "Doves In The Wind" that is nutty and sexy and so awesome you can imagine Prince shaking his head in admiration and saying, "Damn!" Janet Jackson may have been the first woman to extol "Control," but SZA is doing it with fewer letters and more vulnerability and thus more strength. A very promising debut.

VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Hadestown Original Cast Album (Off Broadway)

Hadestown is a musical adaptation of the myth about Orpheus and Eurydice. That's the story of a singer who follows his beloved down to the Underworld. The voice of Orpheus is so beautiful he actually wins the right to lead her back to freedom...as long as he doesn't turn around. This classic tale has been turned into a marvelous rock and roll song cycle that would have been perfect for Jeff Buckley. The story is also a stinging indictment of corporate capitalism run amuck, all wrapped up in an immersive show brimming over with talented actors, great songs by composer Anaïs Mitchell and a villain for the ages embodied with relish by Patrick Page. It was one of my favorite shows of 2016 and I've been dying to see it again. Now, finally, they've released a live recording of the show from its Off Broadway run. Even better, they staged the show again in Canada last fall, figuring out a way to put this musical on a proscenium stage without the prohibitive cost of tearing a theater apart a la Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812. Listen to this cast album and you'll hear the best rock musical since oh, Spring Awakening?

JOHN MORELAND -- Big Bad Luv

Here's an Okie who started out in punk, moved towards rock and then went stone cold acoustic after he heard Steve Earle and saw the (folk) light. Hell, anyone who can have a conversion experience thanks to Steve Earle is ok in my book. Now Moreland has recorded with a full band for the first time. Apparently Rachel Maddow sang his praises. (Moreland amusingly said it was the first time his dad ever agreed with a single thing Maddow ever said.) And darned if she isn't right. Reading a review of the another-terrific-album variety, I said, "Wait, who is this guy? What have I missed?" and dove right in. About three seconds after it was over, I played it again and three seconds after that I downloaded "In the Throes," which is more acoustic but just as satisfying and now I'm headed on to "High On Tulsa Heat." Think Steve Earle, because he does.

THE MAGNETIC FIELDS -- 50 Song Memoir

True, it didn't garner quite the attention of the sprawling "69 Love Songs." But this opus by Stephen Merritt has a terrific hook: he recorded one song for every year he's been alive, from 1966 right up to 2016. Clever! Merritt has a seemingly effortless gift for quirky pop songs that sound like nothing and everything else, jumping through stylistic hoops that lead you from one genre to the next but always anchored by deeply funny and piercing lyrics. But hold on a second. Aren't we just wowed by the meta-concept of it all? Yes and so what. While I've loved some of Merritt's more conventional albums under Magnetic Fields and other monikers -- albums of the 12-or-so song variety; 35 minutes and then you're done --the fact is that Merritt benefits from the epic approach. His eclectic tunes thrive in context. Some film directors need the discipline of 90 minutes while others can't be appreciated until the three hour mark has been left in the dust. So it is with Merritt. His hopscotch through pop history can sometimes feel forced and head-snapping on brief albums. But give him a few hours, let yourself be fully immersed in his world and the sheer variety of songs, the dazzling breadth of his musical landscape and the deadpan beauty of his lyrics develop their own giddy power. You need a dozen or so songs just to orient yourself to his sensibility and then you're off, giggling over hilarious song titles when you're not blindsided by his characters. Before you know it, Merritt-land doesn't feel quirky or disorienting but the most natural place in the world. He's also damn funny, but humor may be the least appreciated element in pop music so I'll leave you to discover that for yourself. Despairing and romantic and elegiac, usually all at the same time.

SIA -- Everyday is Christmas

Confession: I haven't really paid much attention to Sia before. I admired her gimmick of sort of not showing her face most of the time, even when performing or appearing on a talk show. She hid her face behind wigs that would give Cousin Itt pause and I thought, "That's cool." But somehow I thought this commentary on popularity and our need to fixate on appearances meant her music wasn't as important as her shtick. But I'm a huge sucker for Christmas music. (Really, I own more Christmas albums on CD than you can shake a candy cane at). So I'll sample pretty much any Christmas record, hoping to discover a decent cover of a classic tune or an original worthy of being added to my holiday playlists. If I find one good song on a new Christmas album, I'm happily surprised. The first track here is the slightly demented "Santa's Coming For Us," a pop gem that is technically straightforward but has an air of menace that makes you think of the Santa from "Silent Night, Deadly Night" more than jolly ol' Saint Nick. But my god it's catchy. I played it again. And again. That's a terrific song, I thought. Then came "Candy Cane Lane," which Phil Spector would have given the thumbs up. And then "Snowman," which made me think of Kate Bush with its slightly loopy ode to a romance with a snowman and the transitory nature of love (especially when said love melts in the heat). "Snowflake" had a similar wistful vein and I thought maybe it wasn't the smartest song to follow a similar our-love-is-melting theme. But what the heck was going on? I was four songs in and I liked, even loved, every single song. "Puppies Are Forever," a warning to those who think puppies make great gifts, should be adopted by PETA, but from start to finish ("Underneath The Christmas Lights") I was delighted. Ten Christmas originals and while some are stone cold classics, they are all good to great. That just doesn't happen much when it comes to holiday albums. Clearly I need to go back and listen to Sia again for the first time. Think Phil Spector's "A Christmas Gift For You," but shinier and newer and all originals.

THE JOHN SALLY RIDE -- A New Set Of Downs

Power pop? Rock n roll? However you label it, this is music played by adults who remain driven by a need to create music long after their dreams of radio hits and incipient stardom have died and been buried and resurrected and killed again and zombie-fied to stagger around some more and dismissed again and yet lurks in the background even as they hit their 30s or 40s but who are they kidding? Think John Hiatt and "Bring The Family." An album that grabs the brass ring because they aren't trying to do anything but make the best damn music they can and please themselves. And it's funny! Looking back through my Top 10, I see a lot of music spiked with humor, from Salvant's dizzying jazz covers that have her live audience cracking up to the black humor of "Hadestown" to the nonstop wry wit of Magnetic Fields and just below this album the Mutt and Jeff routine of Barnett and Vile. You'll start smiling at the opening line "One of these days you'll have one of those days," a play on words that's not a joke but mines a vein of self-aware self-deprecation that is this album's sweet spot. It helps when the words are married to an arrangement that harkens back to Fountains of Wayne or Marshall Crenshaw and any number of power pop bands you want to namecheck. The tune "Your Closest Friends" nails the description of a close friend as the people "you never got around to telling 'take a hike!" But by the time lyricist and singer John Dunbar is talking about "The Girl You Won't Leave Your Life For" or "I Could Really Disappoint You," you realize they're not delivering jokes but making you smile because they're nailing complex emotions you've experienced but never quite voiced, certainly not with a tight band and spot-on production to underline your insights. The band and Len Monachello do a great job with the production, segueing neatly between songs or adding in processed vocals that add just the right atmosphere without ever getting in the way of the melody. It's only on a careful fourth or fifth listen that you realize how much is quietly going on here. Dunbar shines with a string of solos on the guitar that flow effortlessly out of the tune at hand, absolutely never calling undue attention to themselves even as they rock out. And he gets excellent support from the two Sals: Maida on bass that is needless to say the album's pulse and Nunziato's drumming, percussion and backing vocals that offer Ringo-like solidity with flourishes that (like Dunbar's guitar) add just the right touch with a minimum of fuss. They're too grown up to show off and too passionate to do less than everything they can in service of the songs. The finale "Forgetting That I Am Forgotten" should be the ironic finale to an album that garners critical acclaim. But if it becomes an epitaph for a super group of journeymen that didn't turn into Cream and rise to the top, well it's a proud one anyway.

COURTNEY BARNETT AND KURT VILE -- Lotta Sea Lice

OK, I'll admit I've been suspicious of Courtney Barnett, the hype and her particular style. The drawling, offhand singing felt too gimmicky to last. Surely we'd tire of her or decide she wasn't all-that after an album or two? Nope. Barnett's whip-smart lyrics and sui generis genre of one are proving more irresistible the more I hear them. And what sort of mind meld has she pulled with Kurt Vile? On this album where they trade vocals or duet, you'd swear Vile is channeling Barnett. Clearly he heard a kindred spirit the first time he heard her. Their back and forth sounds like that person you met in college and felt an immediate connection to because you had read the same books and seen the same movies and thought the same thoughts and finished each other's sentences while laughing with recognition. A bluesy, rocking, Dylanesque (but not Dylan-imitating) left-field delight, just like everything Barnett has done.

11-24

KASEY CHAMBERS -- Dragonfly

If you're Australian you're probably proud to see Kasey Chambers make a list halfway around the world but also wondering why she isn't in the top 10 or topping them all. Chambers is a superstar Down Under, performing since she was a kid in a traveling troupe with her family. I fell hard for two albums she recorded with her then-husband Shane Nicholson, rootsy stuff that felt like a modern spin on The Anthology Of American Folk Music. They split up and I soon realized her part in this duo was just a sliver of Chambers' wide-ranging career. It all comes together on this double album, one half a collaboration with Aussie legend Paul Kelly and the other half with her longtime producer (and brother) Nash Chambers. It covers the waterfront in terms of Americana (Australiana?), offering up everything from protest songs to country to country rock to a Woody Guthrie goof that talk-sings its way through a mini-bio of her life and pretty much wowing you every step of the way.

BOB DYLAN -- Triplicate

Yes, I'm the guy who is delighted by Dylan's string of albums where he goes all Sinatra on us. The man can do anything (including falling flat on his face) and this is further proof his risks usually pay off. Actually it's proof of his claim to a stake to all of popular music. The man who rebelled being labeled as just a folk singer, who wouldn't be bound by an acoustic guitar and a harmonica when there were instruments to plug in, a lyricist who could wrestle with faith and draw upon the Bible or Scottish ballads or murder songs for inspiration, a person who heard music of all sorts and drew upon it all -- blues, rock, jazz, gospel, country, Stephen Foster and Stephen Sondheim and yes folk -- well, why the hell wouldn't he tackle the Great American Songbook? No one blinked an eye when he delivered albums of standards, but that was because Dylan knew his place and sang old folk tunes and blues songs and ditties like "Froggy Went A' Courting." That was all well and good. But show tunes? The love song from "Casablanca?" Why would he croak his way through them? Because he can. Wisely, Dylan avoids strings and classic pop arrangements. He uses a rock band to anchor these tunes and make his case that a song is a song -- it's all music and he can do it all. The proof is that I can jump in anywhere on this three CD set of 30 songs and be immediately struck by the arrangements, the cracked and bruised voice that is a shadow of its former self but which he deploys with more insight and wisdom than ever and most of all by the songs.

DANIEL CAESAR -- Freudian

Dear lord, I'm never going to finish this list! Believe me, I could wax enthusiastic about every one of these albums, but let me just give you an idea of what you'll be sampling if you sample these. In Caesar's sexy smart case, it's state of the art rhythm and blues. Like many acts in that genre, he stands in the shadow of Marvin Gaye. But this isn't "Let's Get It On." Caesar proves even more appealing by wanting a committed, meaningful relationship. What could be sexier than a man who acknowledges his frailties, his flaws? From "Get You" to "Blessed," this is an especially mature, grown-up album of love songs. And the guy is only 22 years old? A terrific debut.

JASON ISBELL -- The Nashville Sound
MARGO PRICE -- All American Made
KENDRICK LAMAR -- Damn

Righteous rock. Committed country. Political pop. Whenever I'm going crazy over headlines and the latest outrage, it's great to put on Margo Price's "All American Made" and Jason Isbell's "The Nashville Sound" and know people are paying attention, documenting lives, speaking up -- and kicking ass musically while doing it. Who says no one is writing good protest music? It's everywhere from Isbell's fiery call to arms to Price's stories from the heartland to Lamar's more wide-ranging critique of modern society. It took me a while to warm up to Lamar's acclaimed album. At first all I heard were his complaints about the burden of celebrity. I thought he'd been too burdened by fame and the need to deliver a Very Important Album to deliver a good one. But taking a break and letting it sneak up on me and giving it a second and third and fourth chance proved the followup to "Butterfly" (which wowed me right off the bat) has a sinewy strength. It didn't hurt to see him knock it out of the park at the Grammys.

KRONOS QUARTET AND TRIO DA KALI -- Ladilikan

I used to be bothered by the ideas of acts that became "brand names," a moniker used by an ever-changing roster of musicians decades after some (or all) of the original members were gone. But that's been done in the classical world for a long time and if they maintain standards or mutate into something new but just as worthy, who the heck cares? Kronos Quartet has featured three of its four members for 40 years now, but I won't be surprised if it continues for another forty. Their main legacy will surely be commissioning new music by countless composers and unique collaborations. Truly, Kronos is so prolific I sometimes lose track of their work. But here they partnered with griot musicians from Mali and the result is just...lovely.

STANTON MOORE -- With You In Mind

An all-star album of New Orleans jazz that doesn't feel like one of those dutiful all-star events but a late night jam that we've stumbled on, the sort of unforgettable night where you walk into a bar and say, hey is that...? And is that...??!! Contains the 37th cover this year of "Southern Nights" and you got a problem with that? As Joni Mitchell snapped at a reporter who complained that every Christmas album contained a cover of her classic song "River" -- "It's called a standard! That used to be considered a good thing."

AIMEE MANN -- Mental Illness

A treat from one of pop/rock's most reliable talents. Like Ron Sexsmith, she's perennially taken for granted. Somehow, this won the Grammy for Best Folk Album? Folk? Well, whatever, but she sure as hell deserved the trophy.

JAKE XERXES FUSSELL -- What In The Natural World

Nope I've never heard of him either but this came courtesy of William Tyler, who produced and who I know as a purveyor of spaced out instrumental pop (think Jimmie Dale Gilmore sans vocals -- lots of wide open spaces). Fussell has gorgeous guitar work, sharp lyrics, an adult's perspective on life and Tyler knows how to open the windows and doors and let the music breathe. Now I've got to scramble back and listen to his debut.

LORDE -- Melodrama

She was robbed! Heck, Lorde should have at least performed at the Grammys since she gives magnetic performances every time I see her on TV. (No small feat.) Damned if this isn't the dreaded second album that hints at the burden of fame while really delving into the burden of life (for a twenty year old) and yet somehow doesn't seem tiresome about any of it. She's here for the long haul.

DON BRYANT -- Don't Give Up On Love
ROBERT CRAY AND HI RHYTHM -- Robert Cray and Hi Rhythm
CURTIS HARDING -- Face Your Fears

Three soul albums to give you strength: a comeback from a guy who never came, a revival for a bluesman who never went away (but got a little boring) and a young turk who shows he's been paying attention. Bryant is the veteran and he's paired with musicians from the heyday of Al Green and Hi Records, namely the famed Hi Rhythm section and some of the Bo-Keys for good measure. It's not a last lap or a nostalgic tip of the hat, but a full-on success story. The Hi Rhythm guys have been busy: they paired with Robert Cray and their tightness slapped him around a little and proved Cray (known for polite vocals and stinging guitar) to prove his singing could get a little down in the mud, too. It's his best album in ages. The sloppy funky soul of Curtis Harding is old school enough without being remotely retro. Good, good stuff.

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CHARLY BLISS -- Guppy

Punk-pop that glories in teen and young adulthood obsessions with blissful indiscretion.

VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Sunday in The Park With George (Bway 2017)

As much a memento from a glorious night of theater as an album in its own right. But boy did Jake Gyllenhaal blow me away and Sondheim's ode to the artistic process remains mystifyingly moving to me. Why is this the show that should move me so deeply every time I see it? In all honesty, I don't play the cast album(s) much because I worry about thinning out its impact. Marvelous in its own right but I'd be happy to give it up forever if I could see this production just one more time.

THE NATIONAL -- Sleep Well Beast

Seeing them live at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music has kept me linked to The National for years, even as album after album proved merely good -- and not great as their early magnetism promised. Here again, for some reason, the bleak paranoia and unease strikes the right balance and lets them glimpse the mountaintop again if only for a moment.

MOSES SUMNEY -- Aromanticism
SAMPHA -- Process

Last year it was the women (Laura Mvula, Esperanza Spadling, Corinne Bailey Rae) who seemed to launch into space with their wigged-out, delirious spin on r and b and pop. This year it's the men who sound like the love children of Marvin Gaye at his dreamiest married to Sun Ra's celestial musings. Sumney hits his falsetto and rarely misses while Sampha wrestles with his conscience and the world and it all delights.

WESLEY STACE'S JOHN WESLEY HARDING -- Wesley Stace's John Wesley Harding

The Jayhawks are proving a secret weapon when it comes to collaborations. Certainly they do exceptional work here with Wesley Stace aka John Wesley Harding aka an act I've never appreciated as much as I do here. Shedding his alter ego (or at least taking his place beside it) and letting the Jayhawks push him into more bracing territory proves a happily combustible mix.

DORA FREEMAN -- Letter Never Sent
ANNA TIVEL -- Small Believer

Two acts coming from different sides of folk-pop/country. Dora Freeman is deceptively subtle, produced to perfection by Teddy Thompson on a collection of songs that builds on her grow-on-you debut. Tivel comes from the rockier side of life and isn't taking any guff from anyone as she details the world as it's lived in by a woman with a guitar and Gram Parson's eye for the telling detail. Spend some time with the albums and they'll sneak up on you.

KAMASI WASHINGTON -- Harmony of Difference

Streaming services sure have their weaknesses and jazz is most certainly one of them. Kamasi Washington relit my passion for the genre like nothing in ages. Frustratingly, every time I heard about an album worth checking out it proved to be unavailable (at least on Spotify). At least that didn't happen with Washington's followup to his three-CD opus. "Harmony of Difference" is supposedly a stop-gap until his next major work but it is bursting with ideas and melodies and bracing originality as much as anything out there.

CHEAP TRICK -- We're All Alright!

Sometimes I miss the radio, even though I never listened to it very much. Certain albums just benefit from becoming big hits or getting played to death on album rock stations. Surely those outlets should have embraced the latest from a legacy act like Cheap Trick. I had to be my own taskmaster and keep listening to this on heavy rotation until what began as simple pleasure became more and more insistent with each repeat. If you've ever dug them, dig back in.

SAZ'SIO -- At Least Wave Your Handkerchief At Me

World music is a treat because music in another language from another part of the world usually doesn't come to our attention unless it's damn popular or damn good or often both. I mean, somebody has to be a passionate supporter for any world music album to come to the US. Still, I do feel like a tourist. Have I pulled out that Bulgarian Women's Choir album out recently? No, but if I did I'll bet it would sound as overwhelming and awesome as ever. So I'll set aside my fears of drive-by music appreciation and embrace this terrific celebration of "the joy and sorrow of Southern Albanian music." (Is the music of Northern Albania not worth a damn or that radically different?) Anyway, it caught my eye because of the involvement of producer Joe Boyd (of Hannibal Records and Richard Thompson fame) and that was enough for me. It should be enough for you. You'll find exactly what you expect and want from world music: a certain "exoticism" because you haven't heard anything quite like this before. But it's not the faux exoticism of Yma Sumac. It's strange and new but also universal the way the best music always proves. Female voices lament and celebrate and intermingle and the music taps into something primal and for the love of god, the title of the album and the kitschy image on the cover is so damn wonderful how can you resist? I couldn't and the music did the rest. Ok, I won't become an expert in Albanian music but that doesn't make my appreciation of this any less sincere.

INDIA.ARIE -- Songversation: Medicine

I hate the tag of "song-versation" but I'll follow India.arie anywhere, from pop perfection to committed protest music to where she's ended up today: in the New Age section of the Grammys. Unlike Aimee Mann's inexplicable placement in folk, this actually makes sense since India.arie is definitely in New Age, yoga music territory here, exploring the power of minimal lyrics repeated over and over combined with elegantly beautiful melodies and her assured vocals. Medicine indeed.

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LARRY CAMPBELL AND TERESA WILLIAMS -- Contraband Love

A folk rock duo delivering the (contraband) goods. Another who-the-heck-are-they moment since the No Depression crowd has clearly been grooving on them for a while. Every time I play their album it nudges higher up on my list, always a good sign. Larry Campbell has recorded with damn near everyone (and I do mean everyone), they've got an earlier duets album that is apparently just as good and I've got more homework to do.

KHALID -- American Teen
ZULI -- On Human Freakout Mountain
LEWIS CAPALDI -- Bloom

Ah youth. Three young acts to get all hyped over. Khalid held up for me, despite the star-making machinery keeping me wary of him for too long. Zuli was a stumble-on-him treat. I'm not even sure where I got wise to him, but he's produced one of those pop gems by recording all the instruments in his room like a teen god Todd Rundgren and it's pure pop-rock pleasure. Really impressive. Lewis Capaldi has just put out an EP so far but that's one hell of a voice, the sort that gives you a ripple of pleasure and has any A and R person worth their salt scrambling to sign him. I'm very, very eager to hear more from each of them soon.

AIDA CUEVAS -- Arrieros Somos: Sesiones Acusticas
NATALIA LAFOURCADE -- Musas Un Homenaje al Folclore Latinoamericano...

I know slightly less about Mexican music than I do about the joys and sorrows of Southern Albanian music. But you don't need to know a thing to appreciate these two acoustic-focused sets. Cuevas gave me the fix I needed after revisiting Linda Ronstadt's celebration of Mexican mariachi music. Cuevas has an earthy, powerful presence fitting for the Queen of ranchera music. Far different is the pop singer Lafourcade, who is just a kid with a lovely pure voice exploring the roots of her country's music. Ceuvas bubbles up from the earth, Lafourcade sounds like a singer in a big city cabaret. But they both connect effortlessly to the material, though surely only Lafourcade would be cheeky enough to toss in a cover of "That's Amore."

VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Southern Soul Crate
VARIOUS ARTISTS -- Baby Driver OST

With streaming comes my embrace of playlists. And what were compilation albums and soundtracks but -- often -- playlists before the word even existed? Certainly it ain't easy to come up with a compilation like "Southern Soul Crate," an album that avoids the most obvious hits (at least to a rube like me) but wows with one gem after another. It's the sort of thing Rhino turned out with ease back in the day. A different sort of playlist can be found on the soundtrack to "Baby Driver," a silly flick with a few fun action scenes staged to the rhythm of the songs playing on the soundtrack. (The shtick is that a getaway driver works best when jamming out to his own playlist on headphones.) Rather than diving into a genre with insight and an ear for little known jewels, "Baby Driver' takes a lot of songs you might have heard but makes them come thrillingly alive again thanks to their juxtaposition with other songs that are also terrific but which have pretty much never been played back to back before by anyone ever. It starts with "Bellbottoms" by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and never lets off the gas, driving through everything from Dave Brubeck to the Damned to Young MC. Fun, fun, fun.

RODNEY CROWELL -- Close Ties
JOHN MELLENCAMP -- Sad Clowns and Hillbillies

There's bark in those old dogs yet. Crowell was the happier surprise since I really didn't expect anything truly great from him again. But he matches his best with this late career peak. Mellencamp I just knew wasn't done yet -- he's been too consistently good for too long, if not always scaling the heights. Here his singing partners bring out the best in the rascally fellow, with Martina McBride and especially Carlene Carter (who appears on five tracks) going toe to toe with delightful results.

OZUNA -- Odisea

Hey, I loved "Despacito" but the reggaeton album that had me smiling the most throughout the fall was by Ozuna. Sure, "Te Vas" got me to the party but there's plenty more where that came from.

LIAM GALLAGHER -- As You Were

I was always more Blur than Oasis but they both made great music. And while Noel always seemed the brother to bet on, damned if Liam hasn't delivered the solo goods. High flying indeed.

DAVID RAWLINGS -- Poor David's Almanack

David Rawlings and Gillian Welch have collaborated on her albums and his albums and they're both in peak form on this terrific work of Americana.

JUANES -- Mis Planes Son Amarte

Peace and love offered up in a musical mix that sounds utterly rooted in classic Latin rhythms but contemporary at the same time. And it's a visual album a la "Lemonade" with Juanes as an astronaut bringing peace and love and great tunes to outer space. Mind you, I didn't know there was a visual album too until writing this, which is what I get for streaming instead of buying the CD!

LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO -- Songs Of Peace and Love

Here's an album for kids that will please anyone. This really shouldn't work -- the legendary South African band explains what each song is about and offers up platitudes of peace and love (just like Juanes!) that should have me rolling my eyes. Guys, your message of peace and love is implicit in every gorgeous song you sing. There's no need to spell it out! That's what I want to say. But their radical sincerity is so winning, so sweet and kind and direct that you get over your embarrassment about someone expressing such banal but undeniable truths and start to smile and then grin and then sing along and eventually you say, "They're right!" And as always, the songs are delivered with a precision and purity that never fails to inspire. All you need is love, but sometimes it takes a choir from halfway across the world to remind us of what we already knew.

THE BEST ALBUMS OF 2017 -- AN INTRODUCTION

If I'm honest, the albums I obsessed over the most in 2017 were by Doris Day and Dick Haymes. Thanks to a new book, I headed down a rabbit hole of great music from the glory days of pop singers like Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. "The Great Jazz and Pop Vocal Albums" is a collection of essays by Will Friedwald, each piece focusing on a different artist and album(s). Essentially, these are his Desert Island Discs and Friedwald (one of the great experts on jazz singers and other swingers) brings passion and enthusiasm to everything from classic albums by Sarah Vaughan and Sinatra (natch) to relative obscurities by Tiny Tim (!) and a Latin jazz piece by Della Reese. I already knew a lot of these albums, but it's impossible to hear Friedwald wax rhapsodic about some of these wax cylinders and NOT give another listen to Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong. On the other hand, reading about 15-20 works I HADN'T heard before and having them ranked alongside some of the greatest albums of all time was equally irresistible. Suddenly a little-known Jack Teagarden work or a masterpiece by Johnny Hartman became something I had to hear RIGHT NOW!

And that brings me to the other sea change in my music-listening life: streaming. Along with the thousands of CDs, hundreds of cassettes, dozens of LPs and terabytes of digital audio I've compiled over the years, I now subscribe to Spotify. (Forgive me, artists! I campaign for higher royalty rates all the time.) While the service is woefully inadequate on contemporary jazz and world music, pathetic when it comes to the vast libraries of sound out there in many categories throughout history and lacking in a million other ways...it sure does offer a lot of music on tap, including pretty much anything remotely mainstream put out in the last few years.

Spotify gave me instant access to Doris Day's "Day By Day" and "Day By Night," two incomparable albums of Day at her peak, not to mention a studio recording of songs from the great musical "Annie Get Your Gun" starring Day and Robert Goulet that was a revelation for me in terms of Day and Goulet and the musical (which I've never seen but which features a lot of great songs). And Dick Haymes! The poor man's Sinatra? Never given him a second thought, but by God for one brief moment on Capitol the guy recorded two sublime albums that can stand proudly alongside Sinatra's best (namely "Rain Or Shine" and the slightly less perfect but still great "Moondreams").

So streaming has left me drowning in music possibilities. Wonderfully, I began the year diving deep into Tom Petty (before he died) and marveling how consistently good he was for so many years. I ended the year BingeListening to Billy Joel from start to finish. (Turns out he was probably wise to stop when he did. And yes, "An Innocent Man" and "Turnstiles" are his two best albums just as I imagined, but he had more good songs in those last few years than I remembered.) And in the middle I savored Joni Mitchell. What a legend! Streaming allowed me to fill in the gaps on Mitchell and listen to her peak music from a great debut in 1969 up to 1979's "Mingus." (I haven't braved the relatively lesser works of the 1980s yet.) It's a sustained level of greatness few can come close to equalling (the Beatles, Dylan) and if you haven't heard "Blue" or "Court and Spark" or "For The Roses," what the heck are you waiting for?

Yet just as Spotify allowed me to check out some of music's major artists with unparalleled ease, I also stayed on top of new releases like never before. I checked out hundreds of new albums. Why? Because I could! I listened widely if not wisely, broadly if not deeply. It's an eternal struggle: do I focus on the many classic albums I could listen to again and again and discover new facets? (Stuff like Miles Davis and the Beatles and so on.) Or do I try and discover the next new thing? It's a tricky balance and streaming has left me more bewildered than ever. I think a lot of people are facing the problem critics have faced for years: too much damn stuff and not enough time to listen to it all.

I fear people are responding by taking the easy way out. They probably just jump to a new song or two, maybe glom onto a playlist for their daily workout or spend their commute depending on an algorithm to offer up music from their high school/college days that is familiar enough to be comforting and yet has a random song or two mixed in that's new to them, just enough to make them feel they're not repeating themselves. Are they diving deep into a great artist like Steely Dan by actually paying attention to "Pretzel Logic" or "Aja?" Or are they barking out, "Alexa, play Steely Dan" and then moving on after she spins four or five familiar hits? Don't worry. I haven't found the proper balance yet either.

So here's a chance to make good use of your favorite streaming service. If one of these albums sounds intriguing to you, it's never been easier for you to check it out. I'm not even bothering to include YouTube videos for key songs or links to artist websites anymore. If you don't have a streaming service, obviously you can go to YouTube and check out key tracks from any of the acts mentioned. So here are my favorite albums of the year, followed by a breakdown of what excited me about each particular act. Enjoy!

Sunday, March 25, 2018

The 43rd Annual IRA FILM AWARD WINNERS FOR 2017

Friday, March 23, 2018

Theater: "Escape To Margaritaville"

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

Music: The Best Albums Of 2017 or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Streaming

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