Politics & Pop Culture

2006's Top 5 Reasons I've Heard for Coming Back to Chicago
"That fresh air was starting to make me soft."
"New York City really doesn't care as much about the live music scene as they say they do."
"I'm just here for the trial, then I'm gone again."
"So I was out there milking a goat when I started thinking, 'What the fuck happened to me?'"
"After a few months in Iraq, you can really appreciate a Chicago-style hotdog."
--ELR

2006's Top 5 Most Blogged About Topics in Chicago
Marshall Fields
The bureaucracy/delays/derailments/rerouting/never-ending construction of the CTA
Barack for President
Thax Douglas: Lost in New York and Homeward Bound
Snakes on a _____
--Sarah Dahnke

2006's Top 5 Chicago Streets with Bike Lanes
Clark Street, north of Addison
California Avenue, Augusta to Montrose
Cortland Avenue, Clybourn to Damen
Damen Avenue, North to Wilson
Lincoln Avenue, north of Fullerton
--John Alex Colon

2006's Top 5 Places to Get in Trouble
V.I.P. Spa, 4422 North Milwaukee
Night Prowler Social Club, 3343 West Chicago
Jack Binion's Horseshoe Casino, 777 Casino Center Drive, Hammond, Indiana
Illegal Parking Spot on the Corner of Wabash and Randolph
Cook County Jail, 26th and California
-- Paul Massignani

2006's Top 5 Things That Ain't Gonna Happen in 2007
GPS Readouts at CTA Bus Stops
An Irony-Free Recycling Program In Chicago
An Irony-Free Election in Chicago
You and Me, Baby
Honorary Tank Johnson Way
--Emerson Dameron

2006's Top 5 Chicago Coffeeshops Most Likely to Spawn End-of-the-World Cults
Atomix, 1957 West Chicago
Metropolis Coffee Co., 1039 West Granville
Gourmand Coffee & Teas, 728 South Dearborn
Bourgeois Pig Café, 738 West Fullerton
MoJoe's Hot House, 2849 West Belmont
--Emerson Dameron

Film

2006's Top 5 Domestic Films
"Children of Men," Alfonso Cuaron
"United 93," Paul Greengrass
"Little Children," Todd Field
"The Departed," Martin Scorsese
"Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," Larry Charles
---Ray Pride

2006's Top 5 Non-U.S. Films
"Pan's Labyrinth," Guillermo del Toro
"Climates," Nuri Bilge Ceylan
"Death of Mr. Lazarescu," Cristi Puiu
"Overlord," Stuart Cooper
"Fateless," Lajos Koltai
--Ray Pride

2006's Top 5 Nonfiction Films
"Deliver Us From Evil," Amy Berg
"Jesus Camp," Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
"Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple," Stanley Nelson
"Iraq in Fragments," James Longley
"An Inconvenient Truth," Davis Guggenheim
--Ray Pride

2006's Top 5 Films
"United 93," Paul Greengrass
"The Proposition," John Hillcoat
"The Departed," Martin Scorsese
"Children of Men," Alfonso Cuaron
"V for Vendetta," James McTeigue
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Leading Performances
Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"
Helen Mirren, "The Queen"
Peter O'Toole, "Venus"
Laura Dern, "Inland Empire"
Sacha Baron Cohen, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"
--Ray Pride

2006's Top 5 Supporting Performances
Jackie Earle Haley, "Little Children"
Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed"
Rinko Kikuchi, "Babel"
Jennifer Hudson, "Dreamgirls"
Bill Nighy, "Notes on a Scandal"
--Ray Pride

2006's Top 5 Film Performances
Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"
Danny Huston, "The Proposition"
Kate Winslet, "Little Children"
Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Departed"
Helen Mirren, "The Queen"
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Best Films for Cinematography
Guillermo Navarro, "Pan's Labyrinth"
Emmanuel Lubezki, "Children of Men"
Mark Lee Ping-Bin, "Three Times"
Eric Gautier, "Clean"
Dion Beebe, "Miami Vice"
--Ray Pride

2006's Top 5 Films You Can't See Yet
"Inland Empire," David Lynch
"Woman on the Beach," Hong Sang-soo
"The Dead Girl," Karen Moncrieff
"Day Night Day Night," Julia Loktev
"In Between Days," So Yong Kim
--Ray Pride

Music

2006's Top 5 Records
"Roots & Crowns," Califone (Thrill Jockey)
"Everything All The Time," Band of Horses (Sub Pop)
"Ys," Joanna Newsom (Drag City)
"Ferocious Mopes," Say Hi to Your Mom (Rebel Group)
"Appreciation Night," Bound Stems (Flameshovel)
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Local Records
"Appreciation Night," Bound Stems (Flameshovel)
"Plume Delivery," The 1900s (Parasol)
"This Harness Can't Ride Anything," Chin Up Chin Up (Suicide Squeeze)
"Of Course," Make Believe (Flameshovel)
"The Sufferer & The Witness," Rise Against (Geffen)
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Records
"Orchestra of Bubbles," Ellen Allien & Apparat (Bpitch Control)
"Lunatico," Gotan Project (XL)
"Scale," Herbert (Studio K7)
"Supernature," Goldfrapp (Mute EMI)
"Happiness," Sebastien Schuller (Minty Fresh)
--Brad Knutson

2006's Top 5 Records
"Living Like a Refugee," Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars (Anti)
"Ainadamar," Osvaldo Golijov (Deutsche Grammaphon)
"Living with War," Neil Young (Reprise)
"Savane," Ali Farka Toure (Nonesuch)
"Shostakovich Complete Symphonies," Mariss Jansons (EMI Classics)
--Dennis Polkow

2006's Top 5 Shows
Tom Waits, Auditorium Theatre, 8/9/06
Sonic Youth, Double Door, 8/5/06
Sleater-Kinney, Lollapalooza, 8/4/06
The Rentals, Double Door, 8/1/06
Eric Bachmann, Schubas, 9/14/06
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Classical Concerts
Yo-Yo Ma & the Silk Road Ensemble, Millennium Park
Renée Fleming, Dominican University's Lund Hall
West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Harris Theatre
James Conlon & the Chicago Symphony, Verdi Requiem
Daniel Barenboim Chicago Symphony Farewell Concert, Symphony Center
--Dennis Polkow

2006's Top 5 Shows
Wolf Parade, Metro, 8/8/06
Phosphorescent, Schubas, 12/13/06
Islands, Metro, 10/27/06
Tokyo Police Club, Schubas, 11/30/06
Rogue Wave, Lakeshore Theater, 6/23/06
--John Alex Colon

2006's Top 5 Memorable DJ/Live Sets
Cajmere, Derrick Carter and Dajae, SummerDance, Grant Park, 8/23/06
Superpitcher, Smart Bar, 2/10/06
Richie Hawtin, Sound-Bar, 11/20/06
Stewart Walker, Smart Bar, 2/10/06
DJ Krush, Metro, 9/22/06
--John Alex Colon

2006's Top 5 Chicago Club Events
Ellen Allien & Apparat, Smart Bar
Triple Five Soul and The Fader's 2nd Soul Sessions Tour featuring Theo Parrish, Aloe Blacc, Benji B., Ge-Ology and Twilite Tone, Sonotheque
Flosstradamus one-year anniversary party, Town Hall Pub
Soulwax/Nite Versions/2 Many Dj's, Double Door
Justice at Smart Bar
--Jarrett Spiegel

Top Five Festival Shows at Places Where You Don't Usually See Shows
Southkore Fest with Los Crudos, Tropietzo and Condenada at The Black Hole (arcade)
The Noise District 6/6/6 with the Bang Bang Circus, Black Bear Combo, Genderfuck Burlesque, blood wrestling and Satanic Marriage at the Beach House (house)
Mauled by Tigers Fest with Screamin Cyn-Cyn & the Pons and Totally Michael at Ronny's (bar)
Trans-Sexual Express with Waterbabies, He Not In, TK Raptor and Velcro Lewis at the Tastee Freez (ice cream shop)
Pitchfork Fest: Diplo, Aesop Rock, Spank Rock, Os Mutantes, Flosstradamus and Tarantula at Union Park (park)
--ELR

2006's Top 5 Live Records
"Little Drummer Boy," Mark Kozelek (Caldo Verde)
"Live at Metro," Smoking Popes (Victory)
"Okonokos," My Morning Jacket (Ato Records)
"Live at KEXP: Volume Two," Various Artists (KEXP)
"With Strings: Live at Town Hall," Eels (Vagrant)
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Electronic Records
"Silent Shout," The Knife (Rabid/Mute)
"The Eraser," Thom Yorke (XL)
"Harmony in Ultraviolet," Tim Hecker (Kranky)
"Polo Club," Greenskeepers (Om Records)
"So This is Goodbye," Junior Boys (Domino)
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Hip-Hop Records
"The Shining," J Dilla (BBE)
"The Death of Frequent Flyer," Psalm One (Rhymesayers)
"Blue Collar," Rhymefest (J Records/Allido)
"Two/Three," Dabrye (Ghostly International)
"Food & Liquor," Lupe Fiasco (Atlantic)
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Metal Records
"Age of Winters," The Sword (Kemado)
"Hell Songs," Daughters (Hydra Head)
"Enter," Russian Circles (Flameshovel)
"A Senile Animal," The Melvins (Ipecac)
"A Matter of Life and Death," Iron Maiden (Sanctuary)
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 "Comeback" Records
"The Lemonheads," The Lemonheads (Vagrant)
"Pearl Jam," Pearl Jam (J Records)
"I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass," Yo La Tengo (Matador)
"Rather Ripped," Sonic Youth (Geffen)
"Dreamt For Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain," Sparklehorse (Astralwerks/EMD)
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Rock/Pop Remixes
Death From Above 1979, "Sexy Results" (MSTRKRFT Edition)
Justin Timberlake, "SexyBack" (Linus Loves Remix)
Kelis, "Bossy" (Switch Remix)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Gold Lion" (Diplo Remix)
Depeche Mode, "Shake The Disease" (Tiga Remix)
--Duke Shin

2006's Top 5 Electronic Singles
"Rej," Ame
"Shake & Pop," Green Velvet
"Chacaron," Tommy Largo
"The Whistler," Claude VonStroke
"Bump," Spank Rock (Switch Remix)
--Duke Shin

2006's Top 5 Dance Tracks
"Waters Of Nazareth," Justice
"A Bit Patchy," Switch
"Bossy (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix)," Kelis
"Dundun-Dun," Para One
"I Feel Music in Your Heart (Lifelike & Kris Menace Remix)," Kris Menace Presents Stars on 33
--Jarrett Spiegel


2006's Top 5 Unclassifiable Records
"A Life without Fear," Ekkehard Ehlers (Staubgold)
"The Drift," Scott Walker (4AD)
"Harmony in Ultraviolet," Tim Hecker (Kranky)
"Ritualistic School of Errors," Ritualistic School of Errors (Respiscent)
"A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," Josephine Foster (Locust)
--Emerson Dameron

2006's Top 5 Labels
Freerange
Kitsune
Dirtybird
Tiny Sticks
Modular
--Duke Shin

2006's Top 5 Breakout Artists
Hot Chip
The Knife
MSTRKRFT
Uffie
Boys Noize
--Duke Shin

2006's Top 5 Band Breakups
Sleater-Kinney
Rainer Maria
Film School
Out Hud
The Like Young
--Tom Lynch

Books

2006's Top 5 Books
"Voices from Chernobyl," Svetlana Alexievich (Dalkey Archive Press)
"Gate of the Sun," Elias Khoury (Archipelago Books)
"The Letters of Martha Gellhorn," Caroline Moorehead, ed. (Henry Holt)
"The Yacoubian Building," Alaa Al Aswany (Harper Perennial)
"Fun Home," by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin)
--John Freeman

2006's Top 5 Fiction Books
"Against the Day," Thomas Pynchon (Penguin Press)
"The Road," Cormac McCarthy (Knopf)
"Absurdistan," Gary Shteyngart (Random House)
"Icelander," Dustin Long (McSweeneys)
"The Echo Maker," Richard Powers (Farrar, Strauss & Giroux)
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Nonfiction Books
"The Horizontal World: Growing Up Wild in the Middle of Nowhere," Debra Marquart (Counterpoint Press)
"A Death in Belmont," Sebastian Junger (W.W. Norton)
"Thunderstruck," Eric Larson (Crown)
"My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up," Stephen Elliott (Cleis Press)
"Possible Side Effects," Augusten Burroughs (St. Martin's Press)
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Local Books
"Don't Go Where I Can't Follow," Anders Nilsen (Drawn & Quarterly)
"The Boy Detective Fails," Joe Meno (Akashic)
"Free Burning," Bayo Ojikuto (Three Rivers Press)
"The Adventuress," Audrey Niffenegger (Harry N. Abrams)
"Sons of the Rapture," Todd Dills (Featherproof Books)
--Tom Lynch

2006's Top 5 Graphic Novels
"Don't Go Where I Can't Follow," Anders Nilsen (Drawn & Quarterly)
"An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories," Ivan Brunetti (Yale University Press)
"Curses," Kevin Huizenga (Drawn & Quarterly)
"Lost Girls," Alan Moore & Melinda Gebbe (Top Shelf)
"The Fate of the Artist," Eddie Campbell (First Second)
--Ray Pride

2006's Top 5 Film Books
"American Movie Critics: From the Silents Until Now," Philip Lopate (Library of America)
"Awake in the Dark: The Best of Roger Ebert," Roger Ebert & David Bordwell (University of Chicago Press)
"Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination," Neal Gabler (Knopf)
"Michael Mann," F. X. Feeney & Paul Duncan (Taschen)
"Not Quite a Memoir: Of Films, Books, the World," Judy Stone (Silman-James Press)
--Ray Pride

Art & Museums

2006's Top 5 Photography Shows at Galleries
Vivian Van Blerk, Bell Studio
Lalla, Schneider Gallery
Brian Ulrich, Rhona Hoffman Gallery
Zhang Dali, Walsh Gallery
Christopher Hauck, Inspire Fine Art
--Michael Weinstein

2006's Top 5 Photography Shows at Museums
Jane Fulton Alt, DePaul University Art Museum
Persian Visions: Contemporary Photography from Iran, Chicago Cultural Center
Lou Oates, Chicago Cultural Center, Renaissance Court Gallery
Wolfgang Tillmans, Museum of Contemporary Art
Jin Lee, Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum
--Michael Weinstein

2006's Top 5 Art Shows You Needed to See More Than Once
"Massive Change: The Future of Global Design," Museum of Contemporary Art
"Sun Ra: Pathways to the Unknown," Hyde Park Art Center
"The Art of Richard Tuttle," Museum of Contemporary Art
Steven Husby, Fraction Workspace
"Alter Ego," DvA Gallery
--Sarah Dahnke

2006's Top 5 Alternative Art Spaces You Should Visit in 2007
Roots & Culture, 1034 N. Milwaukee
South Union Arts, 1352 S. Union
Fraction Workspace, 1711 N. Honore
Country Club Chicago, 1100 N. Damen
DvA Gallery, 2568 N. Lincoln
--Sarah Dahnke

2006's Top 5 Museum Shows
"Tutankhamun & the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," Field Museum
"Art of the Islamic World: Unity & Diversity," Art Institute
"Leonardo da Vinci: Man, Inventor, Genius," Museum of Science & Industry
"Lost Nubia," Oriental Institute
"Girodet: Romantic Rebel," Art Institute
--Dennis Polkow

2006's Top 5 Chicago Street Artists
blUtt
Cyro
Melt
Loony
Elisa Harkins
--ELR

Stage

2006's Top 5 Stage Productions
"TJ & Dave" (i.O.)
"A Number" (Next)
"The Earl" (A Red Orchid)
"Proving Mr. Jennings" (Actors Workshop)
"Roustabout: The Great Circus Train Wreck!" (Neo-Futurists)
--Nina Metz

2006's Top 5 Stage Productions
"Waiting for Godot" (Curious Theatre Branch)
"Letter Purloined" (Theater Oobleck)
"Fences" (Court Theater)
"Hurlyburly" (Gift Theater)
"Request Programme" (Trapdoor Theater)
--John Beer

2006's Top 5 Musical Theater Productions
"Urinetown: the Musical" (Mercury Theatre)
"110 in the Shade" (Light Opera Works)
"Altar Boyz" (Broadway in Chicago)
"The Pirate Queen" (Broadway in Chicago)
"Don't Shed a Tear" (Black Ensemble Theater)
--Dennis Polkow

2006's Top 5 Opera Productions
"Nixon in China" (Chicago Opera Theater)
"Salome" (Lyric Opera)
"Rigoletto" (Lyric Opera)
"Die Fledermaus" (Lyric Opera)
"The Mikado" (Light Opera Works)
--Dennis Polkow

2006's Top 5 Theatrical Experiences
Director Declan Donnellan's all-male, Russian-language "Twelfth Night" (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre)
Molière's "Tartuffe" in a translation by Ranjit Bolt (Remy Bumppo Theatre)
Those loveable and lusty Latinas in Playwright Tanya Saracho's "Quita Mitas" (Teatro Luna)
Playwright Yussef El Guindi Silk Road Theatre's 9/11-inspired "Back of the Throat" (Silk Road Theatre)
The rarely staged "The Two Noble Kinsmen"(Chicago Shakespeare Theatre)
--Fabrizio Almeida

2006's Top 5 New Plays
"100 Saints You Should Know" by Kate Fodor (Steppenwolf Theatre)
"Back of the Throat" by Yussef El Guindi (Silk Road Theatre)
"Quita Mitos" by Tanya Saracho (Teatro Luna)
"Vigils" by Noah Haidle (Goodman Theatre)
"The Bloody Romantic" by Greg Beam and Eric Poulin (Broken Compass Theatre Company)
-- Fabrizio Almeida

2006's Top 5 Memorable Productions by Smaller Theater Troupes
"Extremities" (Actors Revolution Theatre)
"Electra" (Bohemian Ensemble Theatre)
"Tape" (Oracle Productions)
"She Stoops to Conquer" (Signal Ensemble Theatre)
"Ambition Facing West" (Thunder & Lightning Ensemble) --
Fabrizio Almeida


2006's Top 5 Female Performances
Carolyn Shoemaker, "Request Programme" (Trap Door)
Tania Richard, "Voyeurs de Venus" (Chicago Dramatists)
Merrie Greenfield, "Invasion of the Minnesota Normals" (WNEP)
Sue Gillian, "Chicagoland" (Annoyance)
Audrey Francis, "Closer" (MOB Productions)
--Nina Metz

2006's Top 5 Male Performances
Andy St. Clair, "Disposable Nation" (Second City)
Danny Goldring, "The Earl" (A Red Orchid)
Thomas Middleditch, "Improvised Shakespeare" (i.O.)
Eric Burgher, "autobahn" (Profiles)
Eric Roediger, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" (Drury Lane Water Tower/Broadway in Chicago)
--Nina Metz

2006's Top 5 Guilty Pleasures
"Altar Boyz" (Broadway in Chicago)
"Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine" (Next Theatre Company)
"The Bloody Romantic" (Broken Compass Theatre Company)
"S-e-x-Oh!" (Teatro Luna)
"Can You Spot Me?" (Sandbox Theatre Project)
--Fabrizio Almeida

2006's Top 5 Shows I Would Just as Soon Forget
"The Pirate Queen" (Broadway in Chicago)
"Electronic Baby" (Bobkat Productions)
"Porno" (Side Project)
"UU7: A Magician Never Tells His Tricks" (Harvey Finklestein Institute)
"Trueblinka" (Collaboraction)
--Nina Metz

2006'a Top 5 Biggest Theatrical Disappointments
"King Lear" (Goodman Theatre)
"Hamlet" (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre)
"Henry IV, Parts I & II" (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre)
"Hecuba" (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre)
"Sisters 3.0" (Big Picture Group)
--Fabrizio Almeida


Television

2006's Top 5 TV Shows
"Deadwood," HBO
"The Colbert Report," Comedy Central
"Real Time with Bill Maher," HBO
"Dexter," Showtime
"Countdown with Keith Olbermann," MSNBC
--Tom Lynch


(2007-01-02)

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