Top 10 Albums
10) LCD Soundsystem, LCD Soundsystem (DFA)
9) Flanger, Spirituals (Nonplace)
8) Animal Collective, Feels (FatCat)
7) Tom Vek, We Have Sound (Startime International)
6) Jason Forrest , Shamelessly Exciting (Sonig)
5) Cristian Vogel, Station 55 (Mute)
4) Amadou & Mariam, Dimanche a Bamako (Nonesuch)
3) Isolee, We Are Monster (Playhouse)
2) Kelley Polar, Love Songs of the Hanging Gardens (Environ)
1) A Band of Bees, Free the Bees (Astralwerks)

Top 10 Music Videos (by Director)
10) Justin Lowe (w/ E*Rock) - The Blow "Knowing the Things that I Know"
9) Ace Norton - The Willowz "Ulcer Soul"
8) Martha Colburn - Deerhoof "Wrong Time Capsule"
7) Jonnie Ross - Menomena "Cough Coughing"
6) Ali Taylor - Emiliana Torrini "Sunny Road"
5) Dan Wilde - Four Tet "A Smile Around the Face"
4) Reuben Sutherland - Phoenix Foundation "Hitchcock"
3) Dougal Wilson - Dizzee Rascal "Dream"
2) Joel Trussell - Jason Forrest "War Photographer"
1) Lauri Faggioni - Devendra Banhart "A Ribbon"

Top 10 Movies
10) Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
9) Oldboy
8) Thumbsucker
7) 5x2
6) Syriana
5) The Constant Gardener
4) Me and You and Everyone We Know
3) Cache
2) 2046
1) A History of Violence

Top 10 Albums
10) The Perceptionists, Black Dialogue (Definitive Jux)
9) Brian Eno, Another Day on Earth (Hannibal)
8) Four Tet, Everything Ecstatic (Domino)
7) Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, Worn Copy (Paw Tracks)
6) Magnolia Electric Company, What Comes after the Blues (Secretly Canadian)
5) Gang Gang Dance, God's Money (The Social Registry)
4) Black Mountain, Black Mountain (Jagjaguwar)
3) Six Organs of Admittance, School of the Flower (Drag City)
2) Animal Collective, Feels (FatCat)
1) Anthony and the Johnsons, I Am a Bird Now (Secretly Canadian)

Top 10 Albums
10) Low, The Great Destroyer (Sub Pop)
9) Cocorosie, Noah's Ark (Touch & Go)
8) Dead Meadow, Feathers (Matador)
7) Gang Gang Dance, God's Money (The Social Registry)
6) Maximilian Hecker, Lady Sleep (Kitty-Yo)
5) The Decemberists, Picaresque (Kill Rock Stars)
4) Depeche Mode, Playing the Angel (Sire)
3) The Double, Loose in the Air (Matador)
2) Animal Collective, Feels (FatCat)
1) Antony and the Johnsons, I Am a Bird Now (Secretly Canadian)

Top 10 Books (in no particular order)
Jerry Brougher et al, Visual Music: Synaesthesia in Art and Music Since 1900 (Thames & Hudson)
Julie Müller Stahl, Dish (Princeton Architectural Press)
Michael Cunningham, Specimen Days (FSG)
John Thackera, In the Bubble: Designing in a Complex World (MIT Press)
Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking (Knopf)
Floria Sigismondi, Immune (Die Gestalten)
Takashi Murakami, Little Boy: The Arts of Japan's Exploding Subculture (Yale)
Diana Preston, Before the Fallout: From Marie Curie to Hiroshima (Walker)
Lyle Rexer, How to Look at Outsider Art (Abrams)
Steve Mumford, Baghdad Journal: An Artist in Occupied Iraq (D+Q)

Top 10 Albums (in no particular order)
Dangerdoom, The Mouse and the Mask (Epitaph)
Damian Marley, Welcome to Jamrock (Universal/Tuff Gong)
Hot Chip, Coming On Strong (Astralwerks)
Death Cab For Cutie, Plans (Atlantic)
Wolf Parade, Apologies to the Queen Mary (Sub Pop)
Fatlip, The Loneliest Punk (Delicious Vinyl)
Tom Vek, We Have Sound (StarTime International)
Jason Forrest, Shamelessly Exciting (Sonig)
Quasimoto, The Further Adventures Of Lord Quas (Stones Throw)
Blood OF Abraham, Eyedollartree (Master Grip/Basement)

Top 10 Feature Films
Sin City, by Robert Rodriguez
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, by George Lucas
Millions, by Danny Boyle
Land of the Dead, by George Romero
The Aristocrats, by Paul Provenza
Broken Flowers, by Jim Jarmusch
The 40-Year-Old Virgin, by Judd Apatow
A History of Violence, by David Cronenberg
March of the Penguins, by Luc Jacquet
Brothers Grimm/Tideland, both by Terry Gilliam

Best Short Film
Flesh
Directed by Edouard Salier
For those who have not seen Flesh, it is a French short film that fuses the disparate elements of softcore pornography and the 9/11 attacks to highly disturbing effect. Salier and his Strikeback Films team worked for months in Paris to generate a completely CG New York cityscape where all building surfaces are covered in writhing female pornographic imagery. The attacks on the city itself are from multiple flat black planes that don't stop with the World Trade Center, laying waste to the entire city. The film made its North American premiere at RESFEST New York on September 15 and managed to offend at least half the audience that night; throughout the RESFEST tour this film set tongues wagging and brows furrowing. A still image from the short film so offended one Toronto-based commercials editor that he threatened a boycott of the entire festival. While in many ways audacious and crass, Flesh was still a bold and decidely French statement on this cataclysmic event, and was one of the most important short films of 2005. For those who missed it at RESFEST, it has been added to the short film slate of Sundance 2006.

Best Music Video
Jason Forrest "War Photographer"
Directed by Joel Trussell
Sonig Records
In 2004, Jason Forrest dropped a video by an unknown director named Jon Watts, who has since become one of the top new directors plying the waters of music video. For his latest record, Forrest teamed up with southern gentleman animator Joel Trussell to create another truly bizarre yet reassuringly medieval music video. This time it's animated, and instead of Tolkien, it's Vikings. The song is a double-barrelled mash-up of '70s rock riffs, so the horned helmets make sense at least! Trussell had previously hit the RES radar with his video for Kid 606's "The Illness," and his trademark characters and comedic detail are on full display here. This time, the video focuses on a band of Vikings sailing their dragon ship peacefully across the sea. Chaos quickly ensues when a rival ship, piloted by another ill-humored posse, sets upon them for combat. The magic happens when they fight; instead of catapulting boiling oil, the Vikings turn into roadies and set up for a massive arena rock show on the deck of their vessel; their enemies do likewise and the characters shoot musical waves at each other from guitars, wreaking havoc on crew and ship alike. The climactic battle sees both ships transform into giant robot rockers. Beautifully timed, hilarious to watch and a great step up for Trussell.

Best Videogame
Civilization IV
Created by Sid Meier
Firaxis Games
A lot of people like to talk about Playstations and Xboxes, but those of us who first got serious about videogames using the Commodore 64 or Tandy 1000 know that Sid Meier and his amazing Civilization series are where the true hardcores come home to roost. Civilization IV was released in the fall and strategy-minded nerds across the land finally had a new way to alienate themselves from loved ones, work and the petty business of modern life. And who can blame them? The revised Civ has all the epoch-spanning empire building anyone could ask for, and manages to avoid becoming yet another real time strategy game. Don't get me wrong, RTS games like Warcraft, Rise of Nations and many others are great fun, but as any chessmaster can easily tell you, a move well pondered is worth three hasty rushes. A huge graphical improvement over Civ III (which still holds up by the way), Civ IV also ups the ante with new units, technologies and options for online play against other mouse pad despots.

Top 10 Videogames
10) Peter Jackson's King Kong (Ubisoft, multi)
9) Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (Vivendi Universal, multi)
8) The Warriors (Rockstar, PS2, Xbox)
7) We Love Katmari (Namco, PS2)
6) Destroy All Humans! (THQ, PS2, Xbox)
5) Stubbs the Zombie (Aspyr, Xbox, PC)
4) X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse (Activision, multi)
3) Shadow of the Colossus (Sony, PS2)
2) Psychonauts (Majesco, Xbox, PS2)
1) God of War (Sony, PS2)

Top 10 Albums
10) Of Montreal, The Sunlandic Twins (Polyvinyl)
9) Caribou, The Milk of Human Kindness (Leaf/Domino)
8) Isolee, We Are Monster (Playhouse)
7) LCD Soundsystem, LCD Soundsystem (DFA)
6) Kanye West, Late Registration (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam)
5) Vitalic, OK Cowboy (PIAS)
4) Broken Social Scene, Broken Social Scene (Arts & Crafts)
3) Ladytron, The Witching Hour (Rykodisc)
2) Metric, Live It Out (Last Gang)
1) MIA, Arular (XL/Beggars)

Top Five Live Shows
5) Lady Soveriegn/Ghislain Poirier/Cadence Weapon at Revival
4) Damian Marley at The Guvernment
3) Arcade Fire/Wolf Parade/Final Fantasy at Danforth Music Hall
2) Nine Inch Nails at Kool Haus
1) Modest Mouse/Broken Social Scene/Metric at Toronto Island

Top 10 Films
10) Goblet of Fire
9) Crash
8) 40-Year-Old Virgin
7) Batman Begins
6) Wedding Crashers
5) Sin City
4) Murderball
3) Howl's Moving Castle
2) Serenity
1) A History of Violence

Sunday, December 18, 2-6pm and Monday, December 19, 5-9pm
NYU, Tisch School of the Arts
721 Broadway (at Waverly Place, take south elevators to the 4th Floor)
New York, New York
Twice a year, the Interactive Telecommunications Program of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts hosts a two-day exhibition of interactive and sound art, assistive technology, wireless devices and physical computing created by the student artists of ITP. Shows generally draw close to 2,000 visitors over the two days, and feature an exorbitant array of format and media; last spring's show included featured projects PacManhattan, Cellphedia and Codeck. For the show's full program, or for more information about ITP, visit the Web site.
http://itp.nyu.edu/show

January 19-27
Treasure Mountain Inn
Park City, Utah
The Slamdance Film Festival will be held beginning on January 19 at the Treasure Mountain Inn in Park City, Utah, running for the 12th year alongside its avuncular counterpart, Sundance. 26 feature-length films will be showcased in all, of which there will be nine fictional narratives, 11 documentaries, and six special screenings. In addition, 57 short films will also be shown, organized into hour-long blocks which will play three times a day for seven straight days; these short film screenings will also include discussions with the filmmakers and will be open to the public. Despite the recent success of Mad Hot Ballroom (which, having shown at Slamdance last year, was grabbed by Paramount and became something of a box office smash), the founders of Slamdance insist that the festival is staying true to its rowdy roots, and is, more than ever, the best place to see "true independent film." Appropriately featured on opening night will be Wassup Rockers, the new film by Larry Clark (Kids, Bully). For the complete program and to buy festival passes, visit the Web site.
www.slamdance.com

Now through January 15, 2006
Deutsche Guggenheim
Unter den Linden 13/15
Berlin, Germany
A new work by South African artist and filmmaker William Kentridge is currently on display at the Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin. Known for his charcoal animation and multimedia theater productions, Kentridge's latest work includes aspects of animated film, kinetic objects, drawings and a mechanical theater in miniature. Entitled Black Box/Chambre Noire, the piece employs the term in three senses: a "black box" theater, as well as the flight data recorder used to record information in an airline disaster, and a "chambre noire" as it relates to photography. Using vigorously reworked charcoal and pastel drawings as the basis for his films, Kentridge explores process and time in relation to constructions of history and meaning. To learn more about William Kentridge's new project, visit the Deutsche Guggenheim Web site.
www.deutsche-bank-kunst.com/guggenheim/e/ausstellungen-kentridge01.php

ADC Young Guns 5, the Art Directors Club's fifth biennial competition for the best new talent in a wide range of visual communication fields and genres, is calling for entries. Winners will be featured in an international traveling exhibition to premiere at the ADC Gallery in New York in the fall of 2006, and in a book to be published at the same time. Uniquely, judging will be based on an entire body of work, rather than by specific pieces cut into various categories as with most other award programs. Paramount for the competition is its goal to recognize new creative talent within the commercial sphere. There is no minimum number of Young Guns designees in each competition, although the maximum number is limited to 100. In the most recent ADC Young Guns competition, in 2004, a total of 40 winners were selected. Eligible to enter ADC Young Guns 5 are young professionals ages 30 and under working in advertising, publishing, graphic design, illustration, photography, film and video, packaging and environmental design, experimental fashion and interactive media. The deadline to enter is February 1, 2006. For official guidelines, and to enter, visit the Art Directors Club Web site.
www.adcawards.org

To celebrate the release of their second album, No Rest For Ghosts, the burgeoning indie rock outfit Minus Story is calling for a work of art by you, that relates to ghosts. The work can be anything, be it a short story, true tale, tall tale, poem, song, painting, sculpture, interpretative dance, animated GIF banner, etc. One winner will be chosen; prizes tentatively include a vinyl copy of the new album, a personalized song, some artwork, and the Minus Story "Mystery Box." All submissions must be postmarked by January 30, 2006. Send to: Minus Story, 1499 West 2nd St, Bloomington, IN 47401. For updates on the contest, or to listen to the entire new album, visit the Minus Story Web site.
www.countrycore.com/minusstory/main.html

The holidays are upon us, and with all the earthly delights that have come our way throughout year, RES definitely has some suggestions for your holiday gift giving. From The Dick Cavett Show: John & Yoko Ono Collection, to Bruce Mau's book length manifesto, Massive Change, to the video iPod, RES celebrates the shining objects of 2005 to offer you ideas that will surely brighten up your loved ones' holidays. Read our "Sounds Like..." issue for this and other stimulating features on the ecstatic noise of Animal Collective, Christian Marclay's visual sounds, Cristian Vogel and his new studio in Barcelona, Dangerdoom's Adult Swim plunge, Ridge Theater's Shelter, synesthesia and a documentary on the history of heavy metal. Plus Michael Andrews on film scoring, First Person with David Ellis, Q+A with Laurie Anderson, musings by Money Mark and profiles on Konono No. 1, Ali Taylor, Bill Fontana, E*Rock, Boards of Canada and much more.

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