24th
E Dub Classique
I subscribe to one magazine. My fiancée subscribes to Harper’s, Scientific American, and Newsweek. I get Entertainment Weekly. Go ahead and judge.
EW arrived yesterday and after a couple of G&Ts we scanned and debated their latest feature — EW New Classics. I’m not sure what they held themselves to, but I feel they broke the #1 rule of defining “classics” — they allowed works from the last 10 years. You simply don’t have cultural perspective to know what is going to hold up and what is going to seem dated. Since they’re looking for new classics, they cap the time range at 25 years ago.
There’s plenty to argue about in the movie list, but overall I think they’re on firm ground. The other categories we examined just got more and more ridiculous. For Tv, they have such disparate shows as Oprah, Survivor, The BBC Office, and the Simpsons. I think they should’ve limited themselves to individual seasons so that this even makes sense. This list also highlights an issue that recurs in all lists — they give a little to much credence to massive popularity. Baywatch is on the list at 50, ahead of Deadwood, Oz, and NewsRadio. I’ll admit to never having seen an episode (I didn’t want to sully my memories of Michael Knight) but I can’t imagine anyone seriously comparing those. And it’s not just because it’s a soap — I’m OK with Dawson and 90210 making it (speaking of nighttime soaps, no Dallas? They appear to only include shows that debuted within the 25 years, which is a bit silly).
After Tv, things really go to hell because criticism of books and music is so scattered anyway. One glance and you’ll see Radiohead’s latest album, In Rainbows, is #10. Seriously? Kanye gets #4, while the Pixies don’t show up until 58 and the Police at 94. Maybe I’m an old fart but in terms of long term listenability, c’mon. Born In the USA is #75 — QED.
So, go check out the movie list, you’ll see some interesting choices (Pulp Fiction, Die Hard, Crumb up high) and some head scratchers (does anyone own an Ed Wood DVD? Do they ever watch it?). The other lists, probably just give a miss. If you’re like me it’ll get your angina up.