Vanessa Carlton |
Tue. December 21.2004 12:00 AM EST |
TOP OF THE POPS: Artists Pick Their Fave CDs, DVDs, and Movies of 2004Who dug Eternal Sunshine? Who's a Killers fan? Anybody into "Lean Back"? Nelly, Los Lonely Boys, and lots of others give it up. by VH1 Staff |
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Hey, actors, musicians, and celebs are people, too. They buy CDs, go to the movies, dig through DVD bins, and spend time in front of the tube -- just like you. From Ashanti's fave film to Vanessa Carlton's fave disc, we asked a bunch of famous folk
Nelly The best movie, by far, is Ray. I can really relate to Ray Charles, about him just wanting to do his music, the deals that he went through before he really got to the deal that he wanted to get, people second-guessing him when he wanted to do something good with his music, and him trying to do something in business and music that no one has ever done. That's really what I'm trying to do. But nobody ever says to me, "Nelly, you can't do that" no more. That's not even an issue no more, because of everything that I've done. They don't judge it, nobody judges it now. I used to even second-guess myself sometimes on should I do this or should I not? Now, with the fans' approval, I just do me. Bonnie McKee Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was an amazing movie. That was like one of the only ones that I walked out of and said, "Wow." I'm actually still thinking about this one a lot. I love Michel Gondry. If I could, I'd get him to make a video. Of course, I tried all the big directors first. I went for the top. I always go for the jugular. But I'm a baby artist, so nobody cares yet. But they will! Lil Jon Album of the year? Usher, man: Confessions. That's the biggest record of the year. How many other albums have had four No. 1s? And I liked City of God. That didn't come out this year, but it came out on DVD this year. That City of God sh*t was gangster. When I watched it I was like "Oh sh*t, this sh*t is hard!" I don't know if I could survive on the streets of the Rio de Janeiro. I feel like I'm a Navy SEAL. You drop me into any environment, I can adapt and figure out how to survive. People respect realness, though. As long as you don't try to be something you ain't, and you be yourself and you come at people correctly, they respect that. Los Lonely Boys' Henry Garza Best album? Are you kidding me? Los Lonely Boys! Actually, I don't think the best album of this year was created. It's hard to say anything is the best because there's a lot of good music out there. I'd like to think that our album was the best that came out because it's us. To us, ours is the best. To any artist, you're doing the best. The Music's Robert Harvey Definitely K-Os' Joyful Rebellion. He was actually doing interviews in Canada at the same time we were, so we got to meet him briefly and he seemed dead cool. It's an amazing record. He's addressing important issues. That's why I really like it. I like "Crabbuckit." There's a little bit of hip-hop in there, isn't there? But there's also quite a lot of soul. It's not really about the genre that makes it for me; it's more about what he's talking about. It's good for any young individual growing up. He inspires confidence and self-belief. It's intelligent music. Vanessa Carlton The most impressive album, lyrically, was the Streets' A Grand Don't Come for Free. I think he [Mike Skinner] is an amazing guy. It's just really brave writing. The Futureheads' Jaff The Zutons album Who Killed the Zutons rates highly. I think it's excellent. I bought it just before we went on tour with them, and I remember, I was just like, "Whoa!" They've got interesting takes on quite obvious situations. Do you know that song "Remember Me?" His best friend gets a girlfriend and he never sees his mate anymore. That's really pertinent to loads of my relationships in the past with friends. It blew my mind when I heard it. Juliette Lewis I love The Killers' Hot Fuss, with that driving beat and mixing a dance feel with rock 'n' roll. I love the keyboards and the long beautiful melodies. It's an uplifting album and everything is just yummy in its own way. I don't know the songs by title, but my favorite is Track 3 -- "Smile Like You Mean It." Ashanti I'm going to share a little secret with you but you can't tell anyone. The last movie I saw was Barbershop 2. Why is that a secret? Because it's so old! You know how many movies have come out since then? But I thought it was good. Do I like looking in on that all-male universe? Man, I get that every day! Do you know who I'm surrounded by? But I'm going to see Ray before this week is out, so that's going to be my pick. Jamie Foxx is dope. I actually just did a Louis Vuitton affair that he hosted. He was singing at the piano. He can definitely pull it off. Jin Without being biased, I really like Jadakiss' "Why." I'm just a fan of Jadakiss, first off. I like that record because it accomplished what he wanted to do, to spark the interest of the typical person that never really listened to Jadakiss. He was an artist that a lot of people slept on. I've always felt that. There's a remix out with Nas and Common -- and Jadakiss said it himself! Like, "Why did I have to do 'Why' for you to listen?" The song is him saying all types of questions -- why this, why that. In the remix he summed it all up -- "And why did I have to do 'why' in order for you to listen?" G. Love I saw Spider-Man 2 with my son, who was just turning three. It was my favorite movie because of the experience we had. Every time Dr. Octopus came on screen my son Aidan would grab my hands and put them over his eyes until I said it was ok to look. Favorite album? I would have to say G. Love's The Hustle because it was the album that I listened to the most. I was working on it, mixing it and it took up a lot of my time. But if I had to pick one I didn't do I would pick The Black Keys' Rubber Factory. Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody My favorite film this year is Garden State. Just before I saw it I read a really bad review saying horrible things about it. So I watched it thinking, "Oh, it's not going to be that good." I was totally blown away by how heart-warming it was, really. I wondered whether that person watched the same film. I related a lot to Zach Braff going to Hollywood to pursue something -- although you don't really get the impression that he went to pursue a dream -- but then he still had to come back home again. Coming back home is hard. The people that you hung out with when you were a kid, a lot of times they resent you. It really struck a chord with me, wondering how old friends are going to take to me, because we have had ridiculous success in Ireland and the UK. There will probably be a few burning torches. The Zutons Sean Payne: N.E.R.D.'s Fly or Die. I think they are not as big over here [in England] because they are very hip-hop-orientated, but they don't really do hip-hop. Abi Harding: It's just boss: The music, the beats and everything about it. Pharrell's voice is brilliant. All the playing is boss. My favorite song is probably "Breakout," where the beat goes mad. "Maybe" is a good one as well. Ben Lee My favorite film was a tie between What the Bleep Do We Know? and I Heart Huckabees. Two very different takes on the existential crisis that eventually awaits everyone. It feels like a new era is upon us where intelligent sensitive people are asking important spiritual questions without a lot of the silly aesthetics of the "new age." My favorite album? I loved Lovers by the Sleepy Jackson - full of wonderful songs delivered by a true artist. Dogs Die in Hot Cars' Laurence Davey I have to pick two albums, because I feel I'm doing an injustice to Britain if I name an American band. From Britain, it's the Futureheads' debut album. The Futureheads is like full-on punk but it's a lot edgier. There's quite a lot of clean guitar in it as opposed to thrashing away. It's very intricate and there are a lot of little nuances, and their cover of Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love" is a stroke of genius. Modest Mouse's Good News for People Who Love Bad News is my first introduction to them and I absolutely loved it. They've literally just scraped into the scene in Britain and it's a bit of a shame, because it seems like there's quite a catalog of stuff that's been out in America for years. They seem to find these absolutely killer melodies but never shape it into a boring structure that you've heard before. Ministry's Al Jourgensen Fahrenheit 9/11, of COURSE!!! Malcolm in the Middle's Bryan Cranston When you're working a lot you don't get a chance to see a lot of movies, but one movie I really liked was Napoleon Dynamite. Oh man, this poor guy. This guy was beaten up in school everyday, and his life is so bizarre and you can't help but root for the guy. My favorite album? You got me there. I'm really bad at that because I'll say, "Remember that great song such and such? Who sang that?" Sean Astin Did Green Day just put out an album? I listened to that the other day. I'm doing this thing where I go onto iTunes iStore and I get peoples' play-lists. I downloaded Michael Moore and Eric Stoltz's playlists. So those aren't albums but they're playlists. The only movie I can remember seeing so far at the moment was The Village. I thought it was alright. I got into it. Bruce Hornsby This is not a movie from 2004 but for the first time this year I saw Sling Blade. So in 2004 I discovered the great Billy Bob Thornton vehicle Sling Blade. As far as a movie this year I've seen tons but Fahrenheit 9/11 was pretty fun. A lot of people would howl and protest at my answer but I remember that it was a very mixed racial audience, mostly black, at the first screening I went to. As I walked out I said "Every vote counts," and a lady said to me, "Not necessarily." Michael Tolcher I hate to say this, but the song I got the most entertainment out of was Terror Squad "Lean Back." I love that song. That's our intro music. I really liked Switchfoot's The Beautiful Letdown. I really liked that song [sings] "We were meant to live for so much more." Let me change it to that. "Lean Back" is for fun but I think that song means something. Tonic's Jeff Russo and Dan Lavery Russo: The No. 1 movie for me has got to be Garden State. It's a fantastic film that moved me. I was born and raised in the Northeast right across the river from New Jersey and I knew a lot of people from Jersey. That whole thing of going back home for something serious - in this case his mother dies -- had a real serious impact on me. I laughed, I cried, it did the whole thing. And the music in that movie was unbelievable, like The Shins. Men at Work's Colin Hay has a song on that soundtrack that is just unbelievable. Who knew? And albums? Wow, I really love that Keane record. But no, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say AC Newman's The Slow Wonder was my favorite of 2004. Lavery: I think The Passion of the Christ was a film that moved people in a huge way. I saw it before it came out, then I saw it the first night it came out. It was definitely the only movie that has really affected me in such a way that you can't even explain. It took me back to everything I learned as a child then brushed aside. It was a little bit of a slap in the face, in terms of thinking, What is it I actually believe in my faith? I'm not a born again or anything like that; I just had to think about it again. I think that did it for a large number of people. Ingram Hill's Phil Bogard Best movie of 2004 is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, easy. Jim Carrey finally got that role he needed. When he started off in comedy everyone was like "When this guy gets the right dramatic role, he's just gonna have it." He did The Truman Show and he did that one with the theater, The Majestic. But he nailed it with this one and it was so not what you expected for that dramatic role. You thought it was going to be something glittery but it was real dry and dark and cool. Best 2004 album? I'll say there were three best new records: The Lost Trailers' Welcome to the Woods, Marc Broussard's Carencro, Michael Tolcher's I Am. I'm not a music snob. I listen to what my friends put out. We sit in the van and just listen to our friends. If I haven't played with you I might never hear you until you come on the radio at home. Sister Hazel's Ryan Newell I haven't been watching too many movies, but I thought The Butterfly Effect was pretty good. It wasn't my favorite movie, but I thought Ashton Kutcher did a great job just because of his reputation of being one-sided as actor. I thought he definitely showed a different side. Box 'Em Up -The 10 Best Box Sets This Year Twangtronica & Punk-Hop: 2004's Best CDs Hear and Now: 2004's Overlooked CDs |
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