New Classics

I'm a big fan of EW (Entertainment Weekly). If you're a pop culture junkie, it sums everything up. If you're a media drop out, it gives you all you need to know to keep your ear to the ground. This past week EW released a double issue called the New Classics, putting together a list of the top movies, albums, and books of the past 25 years. Since I'm 26, this list is very intriguing.

There's no explanation of the criteria for these selections, but one could gather it includes pop-lore, sales, cult following, influence, and niche. Remember these are the best of the last 25 years in "pop" movies, books, TV, and music.

Here's a rundown of the top 10, plus some others that caught my eye on each list.

Movies

1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
2. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-03)
3. Titanic (1197)
4. Blue Velvet (1986)
5. Toy Story (1995)
6. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
9. Die Hard (1998)
10. Moulin Rouge (2001)

Phil's Notables:: 32. Fight Club, 34. Fargo - Both should have been much higher on the list. Film that should have not been on the list... Speed.

Albums

1. Purple Rain - Prince and the Revolution (1984)
2. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill (1998)
3. Achtung Baby - U2 (1991)
4. The College Dropout - Kanye West (2004)
5. Madonna - Madonna (1983)
6. American Idiot - Green Day (2004)
7. The Blueprint - JayZ (2001)
8. Graceland - Paul Simon (1986)
9. Back to Black - Amy Winehouse (2007)
10. In Rainbows - Radiohead (2007)

Phil's Notables:: This is the most frustrating list of them all, but I understand the basis for their criteria. Other notables on the list include, 30. Appetite for Destruction - Guns N' Roses (1987), Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams (1998), American IV: The Man Comes Around - Johnny Cash (2002), 49. A Rush of Blood to the Head - Coldplay (2002)

Books

1. The Road - Cormac McCarthy (2006)
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000)
3. Beloved - Toni Morrison (1987)
4. The Liars' Club - Mary Karr (1995)
5. American Pastoral - Pilip Roth (1997)
6. Mystic River - Denni Lehane (2001)
7. Maus - Art Spiegelman (1986/1991)
8. Selected Stories - Alice Munro (1996)
9. Cold Mountain - Charles Frazier (1997)
10. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami (1997)

Phil's Notables:: 21. On Writing - Stephen King (2000), The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien (1990)

TV Shows

1. The Simpsons (1989-present)
2. The Sopranos (1999-2007)
3. Seinfeld (1989-98)
4. The x-files (1993-2002)
5. Sex and the City (1998 - 2004)
6. Survivor (2000-present)
7. The Cosby Show (1984-92)
8. Lost (2004-present)
9. Friends (1994-2004)
10. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)

Phil's Notables:: This is the list that I have the least problems with for obvious reasons. A few notes though, 11. The Wire - (2002-08) One of the greatest and grittiest shows of all-time. Simply amazing. 17. The Office (UK Original Version, 2001-03) Hands down, the greatest Television Series in the history of television. Hands Down!

Pop culture baby...

In the words of Kurt Cobain, "Here we are now... Entertain us."