Video Games

A big year for gamers with the Wii coming of age and revitalising the dying Nintendo console market. The winner is chosen for good reason, becoming a cultural phenomenon and appearing everywhere in popular culture.

Winner: Guitar Hero series
Runners Up:
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Halo 3
Wii Sports & Wii Play
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
BioShock
God of War II

Websites

The winner has to be the site that brought TV to the internet successfully and has other sites emulating it. Also check it out if you would like to see all of the original and the best Transformers cartoon series and well as other great programming from sport to music videos and news.

Winner: joost.com
Runners Up:
lala.com
stockpickr.com
linkedin.com
netvibes.com
mozy.com
stumbleupon.com
last.fm
deezer.com

TV

As per usual I’ve only looked at new TV for this category, otherwise it would be dominated by HIMYM, Prison Break, Heroes etc. Unfortunately it was a bad year for TV, with most shows going on an extended break due to the WGA strike and a serious lack of good programming for prolonged periods. The good news is that during that period, some great Australian TV was to be had, which includes the return of the hilarious Good News Week.

Winner: Rules of Engagement
Runners Up:
The Big Bang Theory
Summer Heights High
Gossip Girl
Good News Week
Greek

Worst for 07
Just the usual warning of all that was shit in 2007.

Music: Anything by Fergie
Apart from the fact she joined the Black Eyed Peas, destroyed them, and then left them for dead, her music makes my ears want to throw up. She sings like she’s some young hot teenager, guess what? You’re OLD! Grow up already.

But wait, there’s still more:

Gimme More – Britney Spears
Yeah, I don’t think this needs an explanation. Seriously, take some time off and get your shit together. I’m sick of hearing about her everywhere, I don’t freakin care that she drinks coffee at Starbucks. Either it was a slow news day, or there are too many people employed in the media to be able to cover this shit.

Movie: Epic Movie
Seriously a complete waste of time. Watching this is equivalent to more painful than hitting your head with a hammer for an hour and a half.

Website: myspace.com
Yes, myspace takes the gong for the second year in a row. How people are still able to use this site with all the spam and viruses continues to baffle me. Let alone all the poor designs and advertisements which are used and encouraged by other web creators which will ultimately be the downfall of the internet.

TV: Kath & Kim (Excluding all reality TV and Current Affair/Today Tonight which is first by default)
Well this was the year that the show hit the mainstream with the switch to Channel 7 and I’m sorry but I don’t find it funny at all. Seriously it must be doing well because all the bogans out there must be able to relate to it or something, the humour (if you can call it that) is dry and extremely stupid at times. I’m all for stupid humour but it needs to be executed properly to draw laughs. I failed to laugh once and as some of you know, I laugh at almost anything.

If I have missed something you know what to do, so read on:

7) Rugby League legend Andrew Johns announces his retirement following a neck injury. It is later revealed that he was arrested in London for possessing ecstasy and afterward admits to using recreational drugs throughout his career.

6) Geelong win their first AFL Grand Final since 1963, thrashing Port Adelaide by 119 points in the biggest Grand Final margin in VFL/AFL history. The final score was 163 to 44. It is also the first premiership won by a Victorian team since 2000.

5) Barry Bonds became Major League Baseball’s career leader in home runs amid a cloud of controversy regarding his suspected use of performance-enhancing drugs by hitting the 756th home run of his career, surpassing Hank Aaron’s previous mark of 755.

4) The Bathurst 1000 was won by defending champions Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup ahead of two other Ford Falcons. It was the first Ford whitewash of the Bathurst podium since 1988.

3) Motorcycle racer Casey Stoner gains an unbeatable lead in the MotoGP world championships when he finished third in a race in Tokyo. The new world champion then took victory at the Australian MotoGP Grand Prix at Phillip Island, the first Australian to win his home event since Mick Doohan in 1998.

2) Serena Williams, ranked 81st in the world at the time, completes an incredible run at the Australian Open by crushing No.1 seeded Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in the final. It was Serena’s 3rd Australian Open title and 8th Grand Slam overall. She also became the third-lowest ranked player in history to capture a Grand Slam title.

1) A horse is diagnosed with horse flu (equine influenza) in a quarantine station at Eastern Creek. Further horses are diagnosed at the quarantine centre, Centennial Park and outside New South Wales over the next few days, resulting in the cancellation of race meetings Australia-wide and suspension of horse transportation for 72 hours on 25 August. The 2007 Spring Racing Carnival at Randwick Racecourse is also cancelled and brings complete disarray to the horse racing and gambling industry.

Honourable Mentions

Melbourne Storm defeat the Manly Sea Eagles in the NRL Grand Final for 2007, 34-8 for their second title in the club’s history.

Tasmania win the Pura Cup (previously known as the Sheffield Shield) cricket competition for the first time ever, beating New South Wales by 421 runs at Bellerive Oval in Hobart.

The events of the NBA Playoffs 2007: The San Antonio Spurs won their fourth NBA Championship by sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers in four games. Tony Parker was named Finals MVP and the echoes of “Dynasty” can be heard from all. The Dallas Mavericks after securing the 9th best winning percentage in the history of the NBA and the 1st seed lose to the 8th seeded Golden State Warriors in the first round of the Playoffs.

In terms of film, I’ve actually did see quite a few the last year and have created a list based on what I have seen and heard from others. Much like the other lists, it is meant to be a record of what was good and big in the year rather than those big long epic boring films you usually end up falling asleep halfway through. If you would like to see those, please look here. For the others, I present to you the list:

	7) The Simpsons Movie – I always thought this movie could have been way bigger than what it was. Being a Simpsons fan (as all people from my generation) I was obliged to see it. I was always under the impression that the movie format would have been much better served if used for the final episode of the show, but I guess that was not to be.
	6) American Gangster – Pretty much a black version of the Godfather.
	5) Ratatouille – Apparently a great animated movie, of which most are anyway.
	4) There Will Be Blood – Watch this great movie just for the line “I drink your milkshake” which started the new phenomenon.
	3) No Country For Old Men – I hear a lot about how good this is and with all the awards it has won I decided to place it here.
	2) 300 – HA-OOH! HA-OOH! HA-OOH!

And the winner is…

1) Transformers – Anyone who knew me would not be surprised to see this here. This movie fails to disappoint because it is so awesome. Being a Transformers fan I had high expectations and it lived up to them. Megan Fox + Transformers = Win.

7) Good Life – Kanye West feat T-Pain – What can I say? Mr West and T-Pain, its such a simple yet awesome clip. Seriously though, Kanye is one of the few artists that I really look forward to releasing a new music video clip. Every single one of his are well and truly spectacular, funny and creative. On a side note, what’s the deal with T-Pain? He’s in every song these days! I’m not complaining, I love it!

6) Sexual Eruption – Snoop Dogg – Wow! Is it the 80s already? You could be forgiven for thinking so. Snoop takes us back to the days of those trippy videos and clothes. Definitely brings out the nostalgia card and reminds us of how far we have come in terms of music videos, from the days where they used to stand and sing, and emphasises the importance they play as an expression of opinion.

5) What Goes Around… Comes Around – Justin Timberlake – Probably the most epic clip of the year, length wise and story wise. It tells of a familiar story line, where someone cheats on their partner, but stars Scarlett Johansson. Yum! A first I wasn’t a huge fan but it has definitely grown on me enough to be placed on this list.

4) 1 2 3 4 – Feist – Made famous by the iPod ad, this video is actually really good once you look past the association with Apple. Rates highly in creativity with the running in circles part and I love the whole appear out of nowhere, disappear into nothing entry and exit of the clip.

3) Lovestoned/I Think That She Knows – Justin Timberlake – A totally unique yet familiar clip where JT puts himself on screen through visual audio indicators. Then it’s just him, a lone man at the end. A beautiful way to finish a beautiful song.

2) Throw It On Me – Timbaland feat The Hives – From the minute I saw this I loved it. The ‘Sin City’-esque theme, the cool beat to match the visuals and of course the chicks and wresting. Damn, this video had it all!

Find out number one after the jump…

1) D.A.N.C.E. – Justice – I found it extremely difficult to choose the best this year, but I couldn’t go past this one, its just brilliant. The shirts are so cool!!! The way it just seamlessly blends with the song and the colours splashing everywhere, this goes to number one.

With that done, here are some of the funniest of the year:

My Humps – Alanis Morissette – When this song is sung slowly as done here, it emphasises the stupidity of the lyrics which makes for hilarious content. Morissette adds to this with the overacting throughout the whole clip. Worth a look.

Dick in a Box – Justin Timberlake & Andy Samberg – This video from SNL is an insanely funny take of those cheesy 90′s boy band songs and video clips, which turned out to be so big that it became YouTube’s 6th most watched video and it won an Emmy!

Throw Some D’s – Kanye West – This is a hilarious remix of the song of the same name by Rich Boy, with the term “D’s” referring to getting breast implants as opposed to doing up a car with Dayton Wire Wheels (rims). Only someone like Kanye can pull something like this off, he totally changes the context and meaning of the song!

As per usual I’ve included videos for the guys (Possibly NSFW):

LDN – Lily Allen

Umbrella – Rihanna feat Jay Z

Candyman – Christina Aguilera

Destination Calabria – Alex Gaudino feat Crystal Waters

The Creeps – Camille Jones feat Fedde Le Grand

	7) Neon Bible – Arcade Fire – So I did a bit of research and looked at some other top lists and found this on almost every one so I decided to have a listen and must admit it is quite good.
	6) Call Me Irresponsible – Michael Buble – I love his big band voice and swinging tempo. He makes me love Jazz/Blues. It’s a shame there isn’t more artists like him.
	5) Because of You – Ne-Yo – Perfect album, chock full of those cheesy love songs that you love to hate (no pun intended) for example ‘Leaving Tonight’.
	4) As I Am – Alicia Keys – We wouldn’t want her any other way. Includes an awesome song with John Mayer called ‘Lesson Learned’.
	3) Exclusive – Chris Brown – It doesn’t get much better than this. I totally love this album, hip dance beats, slow love songs and duets with the best of the Rap/Hip Hop scene. It complements his absolutely insane and brilliant dancing.
	2) In Rainbows – Radiohead – This is another album I saw on every list and once I listened to it I could see why. Straight from the first track the only way to describe it is different and unique. It’s like nothing I’ve heard before and I like it.

And the winner is…

1) Graduation – Kanye West – Duh! Like I would put anyone else here! The Louis Vuitton Don is back with this killer album which is highly regarded by critics as I’ve seen it rated highly on other lists too. To include production from Timbaland and collaborations with T-Pain, Elton John, Chris Martin, Daft Punk, John Mayer (Bonus Track) and Connie Mitchell (Sneaky Sound System) on the background vocals it’s a no brainer that it goes to number one.

Honourable Mentions

I have to admit I haven’t listened to each and every track of these but they did sound good (what I’ve heard of ‘em) so I included them here:

Back to Black – Amy Winehouse
Young Modern – Silverchair
Black Fingernails, Red Wine – Eskimo Joe
Icky Thump – The White Stripes
Sawdust – The Killers

As for these concerts, the biggest act of the year was The Police in terms of income, followed by Genesis and Justin Timberlake, who incredibly managed to squeeze in 106 concerts and sold out 102 of them.

Interestingly enough the biggest concert in Australia was the U2 and Kanye West act at Telstra Dome in Melbourne (AU$14,522,287 – #10 worldwide) followed by Justin Timberlake at the Acer Arena in Sydney (AU$7,025,882 – #24 worldwide).

This of course does not include the biggest musical event of the year which was of course Live Earth. 7 concerts in 7 continents. It doesn’t get much bigger than that! If you missed out on that one don’t worry I’m sure they will find another reason to have another one soon…

So without further ado I give to you the best and biggest songs of 2007:

7) Hey There Delilah – Plain White T’s – When I first heard this song I thought it was a very cool unknown track but somehow it made its way into the mainstream market which kind of surprised me.

6) What Goes Around… Comes Around – Justin Timberlake – JT. Enough said.

5) The Pretender – Foo Fighters – Can’t compile this list without some good rock and I believe this song is clearly the best this year. Can’t beat good ol’ Foo.

4) No One – Alica Keys – No one compares to Alica Keys, she is simply in a class of her own.

3) Heaven – John Legend – This song is simply heaven to my ears and I just had to include it even though it was released in Dec 06. Did I forget to mention that this song is heavenly?

2) Apologize – Timbaland/One Republic – One of the better songs on the Timbaland album and puts One Republic on the map. Finishes off beautifully too.

*Drumroll* Number one is…

1) Umbrella – Rihanna ft Jay Z – I dont care what you think of this song, it was clearly the BIGGEST of 2007, 11 weeks at number 1 on the US chart and I really like it so it goes to number 1 on here as well.

Honourable Mentions

Stronger – Kanye West – For those of you who know me you know how difficult it was for me to leave this song off the list but to maintain integrity it only recieves a mention. Awesome song though, one of my favourites along with Good Life.
Gravity – John Mayer – Is there anything John Mayer cant do with a guitar?
Grace Kelly – Mika – This song was surprising big and I quite enjoyed it so I have placed it here too.
Lost Without U – Robin Thicke – A nice smooth love song from the smooth man himself.
Rehab – Amy Winehouse – This song is actually quite good as long as its not overplayed because then it can get quite annoying. I really hope she does go to rehab because her daddy’s obviously an idiot.
Hate That I Love You – Rihanna/Ne-Yo – I love you Rihanna.
Everything – Michael Buble – This is a great song to chill to. If you get a chance, listen to his other stuff as well I guarantee you will not be disapointed.
Because of You – Ne-Yo – A massive song at the start of the year but Im afraid the novelty has warn off and he failed to back it up with another cracking hit.
Daydreamin’ – Lupe Fiasco ft Jill Scott – Lupe is an insanely talented rapper, if you get a chance listen to some of his other work.
Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’) – T-Pain – Ok, so while this song wasnt great, it was pretty big so I have included it here as well to remind us of the songs that made the year 2007 great.