MHJ
Totally immature Top Ten & Five lists
Top three microwave foods from Tesco (June 2004)
1. Vegetarian Sausage & Mash (I'm not veggie, but this stuff works)
2. Chicken korma (can't go wrong)
3. Veggie lasange (maybe it's just that there's something wrong with Britsh beef... oh, wait, there is.)

I figured it would be fun to store a snapshot from my iTunes's "25 Most Played"-smartlist (February 2003). The top ones have been played around 50 times since... the smartlist feature has been available in iTunes?

1 You Can't Go Home Again - DJ Shadow
2 You - Bad Religion
3 Starving In The Belly Of The Whale - Tom Waits
4 Misery Is The River Of The World - Tom Waits
5 God's Away On Business - Tom Waits
6 Darker with the day - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
7 And No One Knows I'm Gone - Tom Waits
8 Who are you - Tom Waits
9 Uno Esta - Yesterday's New Quintet
10 The Passenger - Iggy Pop
11 A Good Man Is Hard To Find - Tom Waits
12 Midnight In A Perfect World - DJ Shadow
13 Here Comes Your Man - Pixies
14 Everything Goes To Hell - Tom Waits
15 Montego Bay Spleen - Saint Germain
16 Head Under Water - Satanic Surfers
17 I Want To Conquer The World - Bad Religion
18 As I sat sadly by her side - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
19 Sun - Muse
20 Blood On The Motorway - DJ Shadow
21 Devil's Dance Floor - Flogging Molly
22 No Direction - Bad Religion
23 Fifteen feet of pure white snow - Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds
24 Sex and Candy - Marcy Playground
25 Flat Earth Society - Bad Religion

Yes, lists like these are totally immature – and refreshingly so. Even as they are subject to constant change, it's nice to keep track of one's taste (this list Apr 2003).

Top ten movies

1. Apocalypse. Now. Redux
2. Lord of the Rings Trilogy
3. Fight Club
4. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
5. Withnail and I
6. Forrest Gump
7. Straight Story
8. Blackout
9. American Beauty
10. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

Apocalypse. Now. Redux

Coppola’s own version of the 1979 movie is the most solid and compelling story ever filmed. It’s strongest point is the steadily growing sense of surrounding madness which peaks as the journey into the jungles of Vietnam is completed. Identifying with the main character is not healthy – even as he reaches the goal set to him, he has clearly seen the darkest side of humanity. Coppola does not tell where his personal journey ends, leaving the viewer frightened by the burden of the moral horror he has witnessed. There seems to be no way out this movie.

Lord of the Rings Trilogy

I list the whole trilogy as my number two with confidence, even as the final part has not been released and the Two Towers' extended version has not come out yet. These Peter Jackson-directed moviesare surely the most efficient adaptation of a literary classic to the silver screen. The subtle changes in scenes, characters and emphasis support the storytelling rhythm on the screen nearly perfectly, much better than if the movies would have been made with lesser freedom. And still every second is faithful to the original story. I never expected to see and experience such epic proportions even on the big screen.

Fight Club

The emptiness of modern life. The lack of reference to sanity. The sheer enjoyment of punching somebody in the face. Edward Norton’s Ikea-boy has had it with his life and with the world and is striving to feel something, which eventually drives him too mad to make a difference between himself and his super-ego (Brad Pitt).

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

A very entertaining piece of two journalists who lose their head (and possible a whole lot of brain cells too) on the way to and in Las Vegas. Depp’s reporter gives quite insightful and verbally clever commentary on the ways of the world and the chemicals they keep using.

Withnail and I

A story of two friends from Camden in the late 60’s. Part-time actors, part-time drunks and whole-time bums, the two friends decide to get out of the city and go on a vacation to a country house. All the main characters – as well as the actors, I suppose – are obsessed with theater, and it shows very nicely through in the habits, behaviour and manners of speech of the characters.

Forrest Gump

The crown jewel of storytelling. The power of the movie is its way of taking the viewer onboard the life journey of Forrest, a lovable dim-wit. Despite the comedy aspects, the story is as solid as they come.

Straight Story

An old man decides to go and see his brother after many years. His only transport is an old lawnmower, which he steadily drives hundreds of miles. This is the Big Easy of storytelling history, and a very different movie from David Lynch.

Blackout

Videotapes, memory losses and irresponsible sex. Yet another one of my favorites that is built on the brink of madness.

American Beauty

Basic Hollywood made very well. Kevin Spacey shines in his role as the fed-up father who decides to quit his job and starts smoking pot with the video-obsessed boy from next door.

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me

Although the movie was a flop, it deserves it place here. Twin Peaks is the greatest TV-series ever made, and Fire Walk With Me is an extension of the series. This is actually a very tricky situation for any movie to build on, but this one stands out of the crowd and offers much more than the TV-series. It also deserves its place for bringing the Lynch imagery and symbolism to the silver screen.

Top Five punk rock songs

1. Bad Religion: Against the Grain
2. Ten Foot Pole: Final Hours (the chorus in the end)
3. NOFX: The Longest Line
4. Project: Birds (total respect to LPR)
5. Bad Religion: Flat Earth Society

Top Five gothic rock / dark songs

1. Sisters of Mercy: Lucretia, My Reflection (hats off to Claudia)
2. Bauhaus: Silent Hedges
3. Joy Division: Love Will Tear Us Apart
4. Sisters of Mercy: Adrenochrome
5. This Mortal Coil: The Jeweler

Top Five Cartoon Characters:

1. Pink Panther
2. Ren (from Ren & Stimpy)
3. Saddam (South Park)
4. Granpa (Simpsons)
5. Gromit (from Wallace and Gromit – ok, he’s a wax character and not a cartoon)

Top Five TV-series (fictional)

1. Twin Peaks
2. Northern Exposure
3. The Osbournes
4. South Park
5. MacGyver