Esquirette’s Best of 2012

If you’re reading this post, friends, it means the world didn’t end as the Mayans predicted. Yay for us! Hopefully this Apocalypse nonsense will die down for a bit and we can get back to what truly matters: reality TV. Just kidding! Reality TV sucks and our souls die a little every time we watch it. Which is why The Tweed is here to tell you what pop culture goodies you should be enjoying, and what you should avoid like the plague.

If you’ve been diligently reading my posts this year, you know what television shows, movies and music I’ve been digging. If you haven’t, here’s your chance to catch up! Below is everything I thought was cool from 2012.

Best Movie: The Avengers
Obviously, this was my favorite movie of the year. Written and directed by Joss Whedon! Featuring an all-star cast of great, wise-cracking actors! Explosions! Character development! Tom Hiddleston! There was absolutely nothing I didn’t love about this movie. I watched it 4 times in the theater, once at home on Blu-ray, and I’ll probably sneak another viewing in before January 1st. As superhero movies go, this was the best of the best. Bringing Iron Man, Thor, the Hulk and Captain America together, adding Hawkeye, Black Widow and Nick Fury to the mix, and somehow making it all seamless and compelling was no small feat, and Joss Whedon pulled it off beautifully. As he does.

Best Sitcom: The Mindy Project
Every fall the major networks trot out their new offerings, and most of them seem to fail by Christmas. This year was no exception, but as fellow Tweedster Paul noticed, there seemed to be more shows written by and starring women. The Mindy Project is by far the best of the bunch. While it’s pretty early to tell if this show will hold its own in the long run, its parentage is a great indicator. Mindy Kaling has proven herself to be a fantastic, hilarious writer, and a damn fine actress. I expect this show to have a long, successful run. If you’re not watching it already, Hulu that shit immediately.

Best Dramatic Series: Homeland
Technically this show premiered in 2011, but I didn’t hear about it until 2012, so it counts dammit! Starring Claire Danes and Damien Lewis, this show has me on the edge of my seat every single week. It’s intriguing, compelling, and smart-as-hell. Claire Danes is absolutely amazing as CIA agent Carrie Mathison: troubled but brilliant, intuitive and emotional. Her tête-à-tête with Lewis’ Sgt. Brody is one of the more intense and engaging relationships on television. I haven’t finished Season 2 yet, but I hope to see this show around for quite a while.

Best Musical Trend: EDM
Dance music just absolutely exploded this year. Sirius has three EDM stations (and more on the way!), it’s all over the traditional radio stations, and the electronic music festivals have been major hits. DJs’ tours have been selling out all over the country. They’re even winning Grammys! I’ve been a fan since college, but it’s been so great to have so much accessible electronic music easily available.

Best New App: NextIssue
NextIssue was featured by Lifehacker after its launch in July of this year, and seems to be faring well among the e-reader apps. Instead of paying for individual magazine subscriptions as you would through the iOS Newstand (or whatever the Android version of that is), with NextIssue you pay one monthly price ($10-$14) to access dozens of magazine titles. All the issues are managed by the NextIssue app, and you can even download them for off-network viewing. I’ve been using the app since August and I am obsessed.

Best Food Trend: Coffee
Maybe I’m just late to the coffee game, but it seems 2012 was a banner year for the addictive drink. Everyone I know now seems to own a Keurig, and coffee flavoring is popping up everywhere (I received some coffee-flavored olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette for my birthday!). Whether you have a daily Starbucks habit or you brew your own at home, coffee seems to be everyone’s vice now. For me, it’s like liquid Xanax; when momma doesn’t have her morning cup o’ joe, watch out!

While it seems everyone I know had a rough go of it this year, at least our pop culture outlets didn’t leave us wanting. The bar has been set pretty high, 2013. You’d better bring it!