Best of 2021: Television

Oh, hello!

Yes, ranking Television is dumb. Especially since there are now more shows than there are hours in a year to consume them. Perhaps we’re reaching an inflection point, the moment when there is truly too much of a good thing, the first sign of the impending singularity? Or perhaps we’re in the golden age of short-form, visual storytelling? It’s a real glass-half-full/glass-might-become-sentient-and-destroy-humanity situation.

That being said, here are thirteen(ish) shows we enjoyed that stood above the field in our eyes.

Best of 2021: Books

Welcome!

This isn’t a “Best of 2021” list. Reading is long, arduous, known to be difficult when you’re quarantined with Covid and having trouble making it through the first paragraph of the new Franzen novel. And then there’s the reality that the whole of the written word is far too rich for us humble gentlemen to restrict to a mere 12 months of releases.

So instead, this is the “12 Books We Read In 2021 That Changed Our Lives” list. Only the cream of the crop. No filler. Not in any particular order, apart from 1 & 2. It consists mostly of recent releases, but also some older selections, such as the requisite selection from our leader, our beacon, our queen, Agatha Christie.

Buy these books immediately! (or borrow them from us)

Best of 2021: Songs

We’re back!

Wow, what a year – in life, in music, in everything!

For this particular list, we abide by a complex, mathematical system, from which point we argue and debate until everyone is reasonably satisfied. This year, 69 unique songs received votes.

Disclaimer: This year we’ll be stealing the disclaimer of Uproxx writer (and fellow Fox Valley native) Steven Hyden in relation to the pastime of ranking music:

1. Ranking songs is dumb…we all know this. Art isn’t a competition. We can’t really distinguish between our 13^th favorite song and our 19^th favorite. This is all talk. None of it really matters.

2. …but it’s kind of fun…of course it is! Because it’s about sharing music recommendations. And we do mean share – make your own lists and show them to us, especially if you’re the sort inclined to complain about lists. Put yourself out there and let us complain about you too!

3. …because it’s really about discovering a song or two (or possibly more) that you might not have known about otherwise. Exactly! Now let’s rank!

And so with no further adieu, we present to you, the Giltner Bros’ Top 69 Songs of 2021:

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Best of the Decade – Albums

 

There are few things Jason and Casey care about as deeply as they do about music. We took the task of listing our favorite albums of the decade just about as seriously as humanly possible. Arguments were had. Tears were shed. In the end, we just decided to list our own favorites and not combine them into one list.

Things That Didn’t Suck 2019 – Part II

As you can see above, 2019 was the year the Giltner Brothers discovered a treasure trove of old pictures of their parents in less than flattering circumstances. Click below and check out what else didn’t suck about 2019!

For Part One, go here.

Things That Didn’t Suck 2019 (Part One)

Welcome to the Giltner Brothers’ fourth annual “Things That Didn’t Suck” list.

As in previous iterations, we should first of all confirm that yes, 2019 did, in fact, suck. Because….of course it did. But as is our custom, we have endeavored to identify some tiny fraction of 2019 that didn’t suck; some of the small bits that made life just sweet enough to endure all the terrible terrible things that transpired in 2019.

This year we have to start things on a more serious note. As the Giltner Brothers were preparing this list, real life interfered. Our mother of 33, 31, and 29 years respectively, suffered sudden cardiac arrest. Her heart stopped and she needed to be resuscitated. She was rushed to the hospital. Through a series of mini-miracles (and presumably a lifetime of positive karma) we are happy to report she is nearing a full recovery and is in excellent overall health. Why her heart stopped, we’ll never know for sure. But she now has a pacemaker/defibrillator combo device that will protect her in the future.

So with that caveat, perhaps you’ll forgive us for not digging quite as deep as years past to find things that didn’t suck about 2019. Because the only one that truly matters to the Giltner brothers this year, is #1….

The 2010s In Review: Things That Didn’t Suck

 

Casey: Per it being the end of the decade, we are contractually required by WordPress and our sponsors (Shoutout to Jay’s Muffler Shop on Nicollet!) to provide context for the arbitrary delineation of time known as the decade. So, Jason, what do you think about the decade? Did it suck? 

Jason: Oh, most definitely. But the real question, as is custom around here, is whether there were any things about the decade that didn’t suck? 

Brett: I can’t think of any. Second worst decade of my life. 

Casey: What was the worst?

Brett: The 80s. 

Casey: Oh, definitely. The 80s sucked.

Jason: On that, at the very least, we can all agree. 

Brett: You know what didn’t suck about the 10s? 

Casey: What?

Brett: The Bucks!

Casey: Not true. They were terrible for the vast majority of the decade.  

Brett: Do you call the 8 seed in the East terrible?!

…Radio silence…

Brett: You guys still there?

Casey: On a serious note, the 10s continued the trend toward global connectivity. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and a collection of since acquired apps made the world a much smaller place-

Jason: And you’re saying this is a good thing?

Casey: Just an observation.

Jason: We’re not here to observe, we’re here to declare what sucked and what didn’t!

Brett: Get your head in the game, bro!

Casey: Sorry, I was channeling Jake Tapper for a moment. Speaking of Jake Tapper-

Jason: NO! Nothing political!

Brett: There was nothing political about this decade that didn’t suck!

Casey: This is harder than I expected.

Brett: That’s what she said!

Jason: It’s 2019, Brett. You can’t make that joke anymore.

Brett: But the Office definitely didn’t suck.

Casey: Did you even watch the James Spader season?

Brett: There were still good episodes that season-

Casey: And the Office ended in 2013. That means six Office-less years this decade. And that definitely sucks.

Brett: You can still stream every episode on Netflix.

Casey: Ahh, Netflix, our one beacon of hope in an otherwise worthless decade.

Jason: You know the Office is leaving Netflix in 2020 to join something called Peacock?

Brett: NOOOOOooooooooooo……

…Radio Silence…

Casey: Brett?

Jason: I think he left.

Casey: Well, let the record show we tried to summarize the decade. Hopefully we fulfilled our contractual duties. Jay needs to sell those mufflers after all!

Jason: Our corporate overlords will not be pleased.

Best of the Decade – Movies and TV

 

Best Movies of the Decade

According to Brett, the best movies of the decade were:

1. Inception
2. Toy Story 3
3. Django Unchained
4. Coco
5. Get Out
6. Interstellar
7. 50/50
8. It Follows
9. Black Swan
10. Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Movie Casey is most wrong about:  “The social network is really the best movie of the decade?! Solid movie, but best of the decade?! THE DECADE?!”

According to Casey, the best movies of the decade were:

1. The Social Network
2. The Master
3. Grand Budapest Hotel
4. Inception
5. Mad Max: Fury Road
6. Her
7. Inside Llewyn Davis
8. Call Me By Your Name
9. Inside Out
10. Lady Bird

Movie Brett is most wrong about:  “It Follows. Good movie, but did you even watch that climax fight in the pool against the invisible assailant?”

Best of 2019 – Songs

We don’t agree on much, but we agree on the following ten songs: