For the first months of any new year, we all find ourselves caught in the cultural detritus of last year. As awards season zips past, we're still trying to catch up with the records and movies from the pre-holiday rush that passed us by, staring blankly at a wall of CDs or a theatre marquee trying to remember which ones made that year end list we read. But while critical blather is often just that, the assessments made by readers are always the best, the most interesting, the oddest and the most confusing. Seemingly little seen films like Dancer In the Dark and Requiem For A Dream struck a chord with readers this year, while a critical fave like Erin Brockovich got fewer votes than Dude, Where's My Car. Radiohead ran away with the album category, but the diversity of responses after it bodes remarkably well. And the lack of consensus amongst concert-goers more than 300 different shows got votes demonstrates the death knell for live music hasn't rung yet.
Top 25 Films As Voted By Exclaim! Readers
1) Dancer In the Dark (Directed by Lars Von Trier)
2) Gladiator (Directed by Ridley Scott)
3) Almost Famous (Directed by Cameron Crowe)
4) X-Men (Directed by Bryan Singer)
5) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Directed by Ang Lee)
6) Requiem For A Dream (Directed by Darren Aronofsky)
7) High Fidelity (Directed by Stephen Frears)
8) American Beauty (Directed by Sam Mendes)
9) Chicken Run (Directed by Nick Park and Peter Lord)
10) Magnolia (Directed by P.T. Anderson)
11) Unbreakable (Directed by M. Night Shyamalan)
12) The Cell (Directed by Tarsem Singh)
13) Fight Club (Directed by David Fincher)
14) Road Trip (Directed by Todd Phillips)
15) Being John Malkovich (Directed by Spike Jonze)
16) Scary Movie (Directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans)
17) Virgin Suicides (Directed by Sophia Coppola)
18) Charlie's Angels (Directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol)
19) Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Directed by Jim Jarmusch)
20) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Directed by Ron Howard)
21) Run Lola Run (Directed by Tom Tykwer)
22) Waydowntown (Directed by Gary Burns)
23) Best In Show (Directed by Christopher Guest)
24) Gone In 60 Seconds (Directed by Dominic Sena)
25) Meet the Parents (Directed by Jay Roach)
25 Best Albums as Voted By Exclaim! Readers
1) Radiohead - Kid A (Capitol)
2) Weakerthans - Left and Leaving (G7)
3) Kid Koala - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (Ninja Tune)
4) Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (Constellation/Kranky)
5) NOFX - Pump Up the Valuum (Epitaph)
6) Rancid - Rancid (Epitaph)
7) Sarah Harmer - You Were Here (Zoe/Universal)
8) Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (Interscope)
9) Amon Tobin - Supermodified (Ninja Tune)
T-10) Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia (Capitol)
T-10) Neko Case - Furnace Room Lullaby (Bloodshot)
12) AFI - The Art of Drowning (NIT)
13) At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command (Virgin)
14) New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (Mint)
15) Mike O'Neill - What Happens Now? (Perimeter)
16) PJ Harvey - Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (Island)
17) Deftones - White Pony (Warner)
18) Primal Scream - XTRMNTR (Creation)
19) Various - Xen Cuts (Ninja Tune)
20) Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out (Matador)
21) Sleater-Kinney - All Hands On the Bad One (Kill Rock Stars)
22) Isis - Celestial (Escape Artist)
23) Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica (Sony)
24) St. Germain - Tourist (Blue Note)
25) Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water (Interscope)
Best Concerts As Voted By Exclaim! Readers
1) Warped Tour
2) Coldcut
3) Godspeed You Black Emperor!
4) Nine Inch Nails
5) Summersault
6) Weakerthans
7) Radiohead
8) No Means No
9) Rancid
10) Sonic Youth
11) At the Drive In
12) Kiss
13) Misfits
14) Tragically Hip
15) Deftones
16) Korn
17) Limp Bizkit
18) Motorhead
19) Neko Case
20) Hawksley Workman
21) Kid Koala
22) Rheostatics
23) Sloan
24) Blonde Redhead
25) (International) Noise Conspiracy
FEEDING BACK
We Rock
"Fine work here, kids. Eclectic without being prejudiced or overly judgmental." Matt Steringa, Clive, AB
"Great format, beautiful writing, warm, fertile young minds passionate about it! Keep up the great work, please!" Tim Balcombe, Toronto, ON
"Best free music paper in Canada, quite possibly the planet." Jamie Fulton, Victoria, BC
"With the demise of Paul Gott's Rear-Guarde several years ago, I became kinda despondent until I saw yer guyz mag it's good to have a new fix!" Mark St. Pierre, La Salle, PQ
"As a relative neophyte to the world of music not of the mainstream persuasion, Exclaim! provides me an excellent and insightful musical education." Matthew Porter, London, ON
"Thanks a million times for introducing me to tons of new music that I otherwise may never have discovered." Andrew Duffels, Victoria, BC
"I look forward to reading your mag and use it to show my young buck guitar students that there is more to rock than Korn and Limp Bizkit. It's a fun read and I like the layout." John Jacob Karwandy, Vegreville, AB
"Still the best monthly magazine around. You guys help me to boost my CD collection." Alan Wong, Fredericton, NB
"Give Sean Palmerston a raise. His reviews haven't steered me wrong yet." Daniel Hodgson, Amherst, NS
"I adore your magazine. Thanks for keeping tabs on all the concerts I can't go to & the records I can't afford. but most importantly, thank you for keeping me in the know. You make me sound very smart while I'm doing my radio show." Tyson Lennox, Calgary, AB
"I thank the lord each month for Exclaim! because not only do you cover the things I want to read about, the goddamn magazine is free! Bless you (in a completely non-religious way.) Keep it up!" Brent Mundy, Winnipeg, MB
"I feel that Exclaim! is the best free paper in the country. It is a great way for someone from a punk rock wasteland like Halifax, to keep up on what is going on in the rest of the world." Rob Hansen, Halifax, NS
"Best entertainment magazine in Canada! Good to see you cover all types of music." Wesley Oldham, Hamilton, ON
"You guys keep getting better and better! As well, the ads for bands & labels that accompany the metal reviews page get scarier and scarier! Seriously, your staff has all the goods, 99% pretension free." Aron Papernick, Thornhill, ON
"This is a great little paper you got here. Because of you I bought Kid Koala, the Magnetic Fields, and various other things. Keep up the good work." Joe Dicker, Essex, ON
"I love your zine! And the web site. I save all my issues of Exclaim! and reread them a lot." Nikki, Thunder Bay, ON
"Great mag. Your hard work is appreciated. Exclaim! makes Canada a better place." Phil Marvy, Toronto, ON
"I like the fact that Exclaim! doesn't feel like its content is driven by its advertising dollars. I feel that the band articles were written because someone has an interest in its subject." Shaun Cowan, Calgary, AB
"Who gives a fuck about your detractors you're doing it better than anyone else in Canada! Oh yeah, there is no other free monthly music mag with good taste in Canada no one's perfect, but there are a lot shittier magazines that people plop down five bucks down." Jeff Carter, Victoria, BC
"I love Exclaim! My favourite thing about it, is that you cover all genres of music, and expose me to many artists I would otherwise not hear of. I find it interesting to hear other's opinions on more obscure bands I enjoy because, there is no other place (major media outlets) where I can hear a second opinion of the type of albums I buy." Mike Gowland, Toronto, ON
"It is the only music magazine worth reading." Damon Sklar, Regina, SK
"Exclaim! is a vital part of my existence. Don't stop, please!" Garner Brown, Lethbridge, AB
"Exclaim! is the only reliable music magazine around. You guys do an amazing job." Mark Bertolini, Brampton, ON
"Exclaim is stellar. I read it through with a fine tooth comb every month, it helps me keep on top of what's happening." Luke, Chapel Arm, NF
"Exclaim is the source for music and information, keep it up." William Singer III, Standoff, AB
"I just wanna take this opportunity to thank you for providing a paper that both entertains and edifies. I love Cdn. music and Exclaim! helps me to keep informed 'bout the scene' both locally and nationally." David St. Pierre, Verdun, PQ
"You guys do a great job. You know lots about the music you write on, and you cover real music, and up and coming music. It's a life saver for me cause I'm obsessed with music, but a lot of my friends only listen to crap." Keith Sutherland, Montreal, PQ
"Exclaim is one the only media sources about punk that I can get my hands on." Adam Acorn, Murray River, PEI
Cliches About Critics Cliches
"I thank you for having Exclaim available at the building in which I work. I look forward to finding your new issues and scour over them on my lunch hours. Keep it up. I think Critics Cliches is both amusing and tired. I love that you continue to concentrate on Canadian music. You have opened my eyes to acts I would not have ordinarily heard, like the New Pornographers. Long live the Flashing Lights." Nathan Gordon Far, Pickering, ON
"Really great magazine! I love Critics' Clichés, most of all. I wouldn't mind if there was more info on where to get vinyl and independent music, and more ska! You can never get enough ska!" Bill Cameron, Kapuskasing, ON
"I find that the Critics Cliches (while a great idea for a column, one that I always read) definitions are often somewhat inaccurate and demonstrate a misunderstanding of the style in question (especially with emo, ska and soul), and often the examples are inappropriate or not representative." Ben Hardy, Montreal, PQ
Ludicrous Shrimpy and Paul
"Great reviews about bands no one else writes about. Thanks! Blow Shrimpy and Paul up to half a page so we can see it." Paul Corby, Scarborough, ON
"I think my favourite part of Exclaim! is the comic Shrimpy and Paul. I don't always get it (hell, I rarely get it), but the total ludicrousness (is that a word?) of it never fails to make me laugh." Devin R. Bruce, Edmonton, AB
Blab In the Bath?
"Exclaim! is the only music mag I read on a regular basis, it provides great entertainment value (free!) to poor students. It has been enlightening me since age 16. I quite enjoy reading Blab in the bath." Dana Hajik, London, ON
"Excellent magazine. Writers don't have their head up their asses. Very down to earth. Bruce Labruce is the man. 20 Questions and the record reviews are my fave sections. I am still reeling over the "Pet Sounds sucks" article, though!" Edward Canning, Whitby, ON
Nobody's Perfect
"Newsprint gets all over my hands, you bastards!!" Mike Small, Mississauga, ON
"Your ads are expensive, but I enjoy reading them." Langston Murphy, Toronto, ON
"Consistent, insightful music coverage. More UK music, please." Alex Tristlewood, Summerland, BC
"This mag is pretty good. I think you need to concentrate on more women-dominated bands though. Overall, it's a pretty rockin' zine tho." Peter Maitland, Calgary, AB
"The reviews are usually on the money. I would like to see more general articles about trends' in the music industry, such as post-rock, glitch music, etc. But that would just be icing on the cake." Christian Jordan, Waterloo, ON
"Great metal reviews. Thanks for the freeness of the mag. Helps us students. It would be cool if you covered some more Canadian metal bands in detail (Solus, Jaww, Lesser Known, Martyr, Anonymus, etc)." Matthew Kieswetter, Waterloo, ON
Top 25 Films As Voted By Exclaim! Readers
1) Dancer In the Dark (Directed by Lars Von Trier)
2) Gladiator (Directed by Ridley Scott)
3) Almost Famous (Directed by Cameron Crowe)
4) X-Men (Directed by Bryan Singer)
5) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Directed by Ang Lee)
6) Requiem For A Dream (Directed by Darren Aronofsky)
7) High Fidelity (Directed by Stephen Frears)
8) American Beauty (Directed by Sam Mendes)
9) Chicken Run (Directed by Nick Park and Peter Lord)
10) Magnolia (Directed by P.T. Anderson)
11) Unbreakable (Directed by M. Night Shyamalan)
12) The Cell (Directed by Tarsem Singh)
13) Fight Club (Directed by David Fincher)
14) Road Trip (Directed by Todd Phillips)
15) Being John Malkovich (Directed by Spike Jonze)
16) Scary Movie (Directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans)
17) Virgin Suicides (Directed by Sophia Coppola)
18) Charlie's Angels (Directed by Joseph McGinty Nichol)
19) Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (Directed by Jim Jarmusch)
20) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Directed by Ron Howard)
21) Run Lola Run (Directed by Tom Tykwer)
22) Waydowntown (Directed by Gary Burns)
23) Best In Show (Directed by Christopher Guest)
24) Gone In 60 Seconds (Directed by Dominic Sena)
25) Meet the Parents (Directed by Jay Roach)
25 Best Albums as Voted By Exclaim! Readers
1) Radiohead - Kid A (Capitol)
2) Weakerthans - Left and Leaving (G7)
3) Kid Koala - Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (Ninja Tune)
4) Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (Constellation/Kranky)
5) NOFX - Pump Up the Valuum (Epitaph)
6) Rancid - Rancid (Epitaph)
7) Sarah Harmer - You Were Here (Zoe/Universal)
8) Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (Interscope)
9) Amon Tobin - Supermodified (Ninja Tune)
T-10) Dandy Warhols - Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia (Capitol)
T-10) Neko Case - Furnace Room Lullaby (Bloodshot)
12) AFI - The Art of Drowning (NIT)
13) At the Drive-In - Relationship of Command (Virgin)
14) New Pornographers - Mass Romantic (Mint)
15) Mike O'Neill - What Happens Now? (Perimeter)
16) PJ Harvey - Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea (Island)
17) Deftones - White Pony (Warner)
18) Primal Scream - XTRMNTR (Creation)
19) Various - Xen Cuts (Ninja Tune)
20) Yo La Tengo - And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out (Matador)
21) Sleater-Kinney - All Hands On the Bad One (Kill Rock Stars)
22) Isis - Celestial (Escape Artist)
23) Modest Mouse - The Moon and Antarctica (Sony)
24) St. Germain - Tourist (Blue Note)
25) Limp Bizkit - Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water (Interscope)
Best Concerts As Voted By Exclaim! Readers
1) Warped Tour
2) Coldcut
3) Godspeed You Black Emperor!
4) Nine Inch Nails
5) Summersault
6) Weakerthans
7) Radiohead
8) No Means No
9) Rancid
10) Sonic Youth
11) At the Drive In
12) Kiss
13) Misfits
14) Tragically Hip
15) Deftones
16) Korn
17) Limp Bizkit
18) Motorhead
19) Neko Case
20) Hawksley Workman
21) Kid Koala
22) Rheostatics
23) Sloan
24) Blonde Redhead
25) (International) Noise Conspiracy
FEEDING BACK
We Rock
"Fine work here, kids. Eclectic without being prejudiced or overly judgmental." Matt Steringa, Clive, AB
"Great format, beautiful writing, warm, fertile young minds passionate about it! Keep up the great work, please!" Tim Balcombe, Toronto, ON
"Best free music paper in Canada, quite possibly the planet." Jamie Fulton, Victoria, BC
"With the demise of Paul Gott's Rear-Guarde several years ago, I became kinda despondent until I saw yer guyz mag it's good to have a new fix!" Mark St. Pierre, La Salle, PQ
"As a relative neophyte to the world of music not of the mainstream persuasion, Exclaim! provides me an excellent and insightful musical education." Matthew Porter, London, ON
"Thanks a million times for introducing me to tons of new music that I otherwise may never have discovered." Andrew Duffels, Victoria, BC
"I look forward to reading your mag and use it to show my young buck guitar students that there is more to rock than Korn and Limp Bizkit. It's a fun read and I like the layout." John Jacob Karwandy, Vegreville, AB
"Still the best monthly magazine around. You guys help me to boost my CD collection." Alan Wong, Fredericton, NB
"Give Sean Palmerston a raise. His reviews haven't steered me wrong yet." Daniel Hodgson, Amherst, NS
"I adore your magazine. Thanks for keeping tabs on all the concerts I can't go to & the records I can't afford. but most importantly, thank you for keeping me in the know. You make me sound very smart while I'm doing my radio show." Tyson Lennox, Calgary, AB
"I thank the lord each month for Exclaim! because not only do you cover the things I want to read about, the goddamn magazine is free! Bless you (in a completely non-religious way.) Keep it up!" Brent Mundy, Winnipeg, MB
"I feel that Exclaim! is the best free paper in the country. It is a great way for someone from a punk rock wasteland like Halifax, to keep up on what is going on in the rest of the world." Rob Hansen, Halifax, NS
"Best entertainment magazine in Canada! Good to see you cover all types of music." Wesley Oldham, Hamilton, ON
"You guys keep getting better and better! As well, the ads for bands & labels that accompany the metal reviews page get scarier and scarier! Seriously, your staff has all the goods, 99% pretension free." Aron Papernick, Thornhill, ON
"This is a great little paper you got here. Because of you I bought Kid Koala, the Magnetic Fields, and various other things. Keep up the good work." Joe Dicker, Essex, ON
"I love your zine! And the web site. I save all my issues of Exclaim! and reread them a lot." Nikki, Thunder Bay, ON
"Great mag. Your hard work is appreciated. Exclaim! makes Canada a better place." Phil Marvy, Toronto, ON
"I like the fact that Exclaim! doesn't feel like its content is driven by its advertising dollars. I feel that the band articles were written because someone has an interest in its subject." Shaun Cowan, Calgary, AB
"Who gives a fuck about your detractors you're doing it better than anyone else in Canada! Oh yeah, there is no other free monthly music mag with good taste in Canada no one's perfect, but there are a lot shittier magazines that people plop down five bucks down." Jeff Carter, Victoria, BC
"I love Exclaim! My favourite thing about it, is that you cover all genres of music, and expose me to many artists I would otherwise not hear of. I find it interesting to hear other's opinions on more obscure bands I enjoy because, there is no other place (major media outlets) where I can hear a second opinion of the type of albums I buy." Mike Gowland, Toronto, ON
"It is the only music magazine worth reading." Damon Sklar, Regina, SK
"Exclaim! is a vital part of my existence. Don't stop, please!" Garner Brown, Lethbridge, AB
"Exclaim! is the only reliable music magazine around. You guys do an amazing job." Mark Bertolini, Brampton, ON
"Exclaim is stellar. I read it through with a fine tooth comb every month, it helps me keep on top of what's happening." Luke, Chapel Arm, NF
"Exclaim is the source for music and information, keep it up." William Singer III, Standoff, AB
"I just wanna take this opportunity to thank you for providing a paper that both entertains and edifies. I love Cdn. music and Exclaim! helps me to keep informed 'bout the scene' both locally and nationally." David St. Pierre, Verdun, PQ
"You guys do a great job. You know lots about the music you write on, and you cover real music, and up and coming music. It's a life saver for me cause I'm obsessed with music, but a lot of my friends only listen to crap." Keith Sutherland, Montreal, PQ
"Exclaim is one the only media sources about punk that I can get my hands on." Adam Acorn, Murray River, PEI
Cliches About Critics Cliches
"I thank you for having Exclaim available at the building in which I work. I look forward to finding your new issues and scour over them on my lunch hours. Keep it up. I think Critics Cliches is both amusing and tired. I love that you continue to concentrate on Canadian music. You have opened my eyes to acts I would not have ordinarily heard, like the New Pornographers. Long live the Flashing Lights." Nathan Gordon Far, Pickering, ON
"Really great magazine! I love Critics' Clichés, most of all. I wouldn't mind if there was more info on where to get vinyl and independent music, and more ska! You can never get enough ska!" Bill Cameron, Kapuskasing, ON
"I find that the Critics Cliches (while a great idea for a column, one that I always read) definitions are often somewhat inaccurate and demonstrate a misunderstanding of the style in question (especially with emo, ska and soul), and often the examples are inappropriate or not representative." Ben Hardy, Montreal, PQ
Ludicrous Shrimpy and Paul
"Great reviews about bands no one else writes about. Thanks! Blow Shrimpy and Paul up to half a page so we can see it." Paul Corby, Scarborough, ON
"I think my favourite part of Exclaim! is the comic Shrimpy and Paul. I don't always get it (hell, I rarely get it), but the total ludicrousness (is that a word?) of it never fails to make me laugh." Devin R. Bruce, Edmonton, AB
Blab In the Bath?
"Exclaim! is the only music mag I read on a regular basis, it provides great entertainment value (free!) to poor students. It has been enlightening me since age 16. I quite enjoy reading Blab in the bath." Dana Hajik, London, ON
"Excellent magazine. Writers don't have their head up their asses. Very down to earth. Bruce Labruce is the man. 20 Questions and the record reviews are my fave sections. I am still reeling over the "Pet Sounds sucks" article, though!" Edward Canning, Whitby, ON
Nobody's Perfect
"Newsprint gets all over my hands, you bastards!!" Mike Small, Mississauga, ON
"Your ads are expensive, but I enjoy reading them." Langston Murphy, Toronto, ON
"Consistent, insightful music coverage. More UK music, please." Alex Tristlewood, Summerland, BC
"This mag is pretty good. I think you need to concentrate on more women-dominated bands though. Overall, it's a pretty rockin' zine tho." Peter Maitland, Calgary, AB
"The reviews are usually on the money. I would like to see more general articles about trends' in the music industry, such as post-rock, glitch music, etc. But that would just be icing on the cake." Christian Jordan, Waterloo, ON
"Great metal reviews. Thanks for the freeness of the mag. Helps us students. It would be cool if you covered some more Canadian metal bands in detail (Solus, Jaww, Lesser Known, Martyr, Anonymus, etc)." Matthew Kieswetter, Waterloo, ON