Fimoculous's List of Lists 2008

December 14, 2008 11:54 PM

It's that meta-time again: Metafilter's own rex's still-growing Fimoculous List of Lists for 2008. Previously on Metafilter: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken (24 comments total)

Eventually we're going to need another layer of indirection here.
posted by Jpfed at 11:56 PM on December 14, 2008

Meta-meta-meta-meta...
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 11:58 PM on December 14, 2008

But, which lists are the best lists? Is there some sort of numerically ranked index of lists?
posted by stavrogin at 11:59 PM on December 14, 2008

I love Fimoculous.
posted by MLIS at 12:23 AM on December 15, 2008

end of year lists, puts me in a pleasant holiday mood.
posted by jcruelty at 12:31 AM on December 15, 2008

Rex is really missing out on the meta-category "List of Lists of Lists." In addition to his own, there's also Large Hearted Boy, Buzzfeed, and, well, that's about it.
posted by waxpancake at 1:09 AM on December 15, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

I was hoping for a reference point. All I can come up with are America’s Best and Worst Airlines 2008, The 10 worst ads of the season, and MAD Magazine's Dumbest Person of 2008.

I really need a reference point. My whole year has been wasted unless I can compare it with a useful Top Ten list.
posted by twoleftfeet at 2:45 AM on December 15, 2008

I initially came for the lists, but I'm staying for the lists.
posted by not_on_display at 4:23 AM on December 15, 2008

The best TV ads list did not include this, so I can't take it seriously.
posted by jonmc at 5:11 AM on December 15, 2008

The best TV ads list did not include this , so I can't take it seriously.

i'll never think of an arby's hat the same way again...
posted by geos at 5:34 AM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

That ad also really made me crave Arby's and the nearest one is way the hell out in Elmhurst somwhere.
posted by jonmc at 5:36 AM on December 15, 2008

waxpancake: "Rex is really missing out on the meta-category "List of Lists of Lists." In addition to his own, there's also Large Hearted Boy, Buzzfeed, and, well, that's about it."

Large Hearted Boy is excellent for books and music. Buzzfead appears to be abandoned in 2006. Rex's list seems most encompassing, but LHB beats it out for books (my main interest), although it's a bit overwhelming.

Another trend in "best of books" lists are individual lists by authors, so there might be 50 authors writing a paragraph or two on their favorite reads for the year. A Year in Reading for example. In many ways this is better than a list by committee.
posted by stbalbach at 5:44 AM on December 15, 2008

I'm relieved to see that Lush Life made at least a few of the Best Books lists.
posted by jonmc at 5:53 AM on December 15, 2008

ART

...TOP TEN MUSEUM EXHIBITS

......3. El Greco to Velázquez: Art during the Reign of Philip III

.........Juan Sánchez Cotan, whose almost Surreal pictures of vegetables hanging from strings in bright light against black backgrounds are too strange for any art historical categories to account for them.

I can't vouch for all of the TOP TEN MUSEUM EXHIBITS, but I did get a chance to see this and the Cotan vegetables were a stand out.

I was lazy and didn't go to the Bowers museum to see 4. Terra Cotta Warriors and I left LA before 6. Louise Bourgeois, exhibit opened, but I did see 8. Bernini. I saw several other exhibits this last year, but the one that really stood out from all the rest, did not make the list: The Fabiola Exhibit at the LA County Museum of Art. This is a fun exhibit and a great one to take kids to (Can you spot the differences?) It is a wonderful chance to question what art means, what standards should be followed, why elevates one portrait over the rest, etc.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 6:51 AM on December 15, 2008

This post for the most part comprises a list of lists of lists, no?

The whole thing is making me feel rather... listless!
posted by Mister_A at 6:54 AM on December 15, 2008

I'm kind of shocked that the new Sia album didn't make this list.
posted by pxe2000 at 8:45 AM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Thanks, now I just spent $144 on music.
posted by swift at 9:57 AM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I just pirated exactly that same amount!
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:29 AM on December 15, 2008

I was just thinking about how there weren't that many great albums this year, then read some best of lists, pirated a ton of music, and i'm LOVING IT!
posted by saul wright at 12:44 PM on December 15, 2008

I like to see disagreements on lists. From my quick perusal: Santogold was Brain Pickings #4 best album art, and also on Pitchfork's 20 Worst Album Covers of 2008.

Jumping to the reasoning:

The album artwork, much like the music inside, is a bold manifestation of minimalism with a punch, from the quiet, grainy black-and-white photograph blasted with an unexpected burst of gold, to the provocative layout and muted yet unusual typography.

- versus -

Goldschläger before beer, you're in the clear. Beer before Goldschläger...

I see Pitchfork as providing the often-necessary counterpoint to the oft too lofty reviews by Brain Pickings and the like. (Brain Pickings also saidHer eponymous debut album is nothing short of brilliant, with a sound so utterly unique that it may just be the stuff of tomorrow’s music history books. - it's not unique, it's cobbled together from plenty of sources. It sounds grand, let's leave it at that).

And thanks to comments on BP, James Kurtz sees brilliance in the colorful and pleasant collage in Death Cab’s Narrow Stairs where Pitchfork just got a headache.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:11 PM on December 15, 2008

Yeah, I've only had a few encounters with Pitchfork in the past and generally come away wondering what all the griping was about, but that top 20 list has gone aways toward showing me.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 2:56 PM on December 15, 2008

Now what we need is some kind of website where he we can "filter" these lists down, if you will, highlighting the best ones.
posted by !Jim at 8:18 PM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

I'm a list lover from way back, but I gotta warn you, Time Magazine's stuff is puerile and shallow.
posted by telstar at 8:11 PM on December 16, 2008

yeah i learned to skip all the time magazine lists. much like the magazine-- middlebrow horseshit
posted by jcruelty at 2:33 PM on December 31, 2008