Truthfully, after decades of comics, I’d gotten a little jaded with straight-up superhero tales, with sky-high stakes and failure not being an option.
Then, I came across “Hawkeye.” Like a lot of people, it took the recent Marvel movies (specifically “Thor”) to make me take a second look at the third-string Marvel hero. I’d read comics of his in the past, and they were more of the same, albeit with a terrible costume (and a wife with an even worse one).
Not Matt Fraction’s “Hawkeye.”
Here’s a book with stakes that shrink from the cosmic down to a single apartment building in an outer borough of New York City, where Hawkeye’s costume is the work uniform doffed when Clint gets home and where the stakes are having a good relationship with his neighbors or being able to set up his DVR.
The book is light, breezy, fits well into actual save-the-world Avengers continuity but requires no knowledge or caring about such things (the tagline is that this book is what Clint Barton does when he’s not off being an Avenger), and gorgeous to look at.
The best superhero comic book in years seems almost parachuted in from some other, better-written, more engaging future.
Whether you bleed in four colors, or don’t know your Earth 616 from your Earth-2, “Hawkeye” is a must-read for every sort of superhero fans.
Another year with only a dozen books read, but still, that’s a pace that, after the birth of my son, was hard to maintain even recently. (Ignore how quick and easy many of these books would be for more voracious readers, please.)
My goal for 2013: At least 13 books read. Dare to dream.
(Last year’s list.)
Jan. 26.: I Shall Wear Midnight (Discworld) by Terry Pratchett
Feb. 27.: Raylan by Elmore Leonard
March 23: Snuff by Terry Pratchett
May 6: Flashman on the March by George MacDonald Fraser
June 9: Storm Front by Jim Butcher
July 29: Headless Body in a Topless Bar by the Staff of the New York Post
Aug. 18: Last Call by Tim Powers
Sept. 30: Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber
Oct. 20: The Influencing Machine: Brooke Gladstone on the Media by Brooke Gladstone and Josh Neufeld
Nov. 22: Write More Good by The Bureau Chiefs
Dec. 31: The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
That’s an increasingly inaccurate title, but “iOS Top 100” sounds like something that ought to be sponsored by Apple, and until such time as it is, the name stays as it is.
(Previous editions: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.)
1. “Howlin’ for You” – The Black Keys
2. “Victory Song” – Scott H. Biram
3. “Devil’s Right Hand” – Johnny Cash
4. “Get You Some (feat. Brit Lauren)” – Captain Planet
5. “Hold On” – Alabama Shakes
6. “Do It Anyway” – Ben Folds Five
7. “Ho Hey” – The Lumineers
8. “A Little Revolution” – Firewater
9. “Curse Me Good” – The Heavy
10. “Devil’s in the Detail” – Ian Segal & the Youngest Sons
11. “By Your Hand” – Los Campesinos!
12. “The Only Place” – Best Coast
13. “Lonely Boy” – The Black Keys
14. “Underdog” – The Dirtbombs
15. “Journey of the Sorcerer” – Eagles
16. “La Grande” – Laura Gibson
17. “Make the Money” – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
18. “Bugs” – Wavves
19. “Tighten Up” – The Black Keys
20. “California” – Delta Spirit
21. “Cult Boyfriend” – Jeffrey Lewis
22. “I’m Gonna Leave” – Levee Town
23. “The Diaz Brothers” – The Mountain Goats
24. “We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe)” – Fun.
25. “Bright Whites” – Kishi Bashi
26. “Sinnerman (Felix Da Housecat’s Heavenly House Mix)” – Nina Simone & Felix Da Housecat
27. “Looking for Love” – Anuhea
28. “Run Right Back” – The Black Keys
29. “Pharaohs of Elysium (Danny Massure Remix)” – Cascadia ’10
30. “Roman Tick” – Fergus & Geronimo
31. “Same Love (feat. Mary Lambert)” – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
32. “Love Don’t Wait” – Michael Franti & Spearhead
33. “Time Bomb” – Old 97’s
34. “Dreaming” – Seapony
35. “Holy Moses” – Washington
36. “Sweet Emotion” – Aerosmith
37. “Dirty Money” – Antibalas
38. “Bedroom Eyes” – Dum Dum Girls
39. “Bust-Out Brigade” – The Go! Team
40. “(If) You Want Trouble” – Nick Waterhouse
41. “I Will Dare” – The Replacements
42. “Isoprene Bath” – Reptar
43. “Teardrop Windows” – Benjamin Gibbard
44. “Mr. Eastwood” – Dead Combo
45. “Pitch In on a Party” – DJ Quik
46. “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings” – Father John Misty
47. “Winds of Change” – Fitz & the Tantrums
48. “October” – The Helio Sequence
49. “Andrew in Drag” – The Magnetic Fields
50. “Everything Dies” – Mariachi El Bronx
51. “Some Place” – Nick Waterhouse
52. “Stay Away From Downtown” – Redd Kross
53. “Blank Maps” – Cold Specks
54. “Bad Thing” – King Tuff
55. “San Francisco” – The Mowgli’s
56. “I’m Not Your Man” (Single version) – Tommy Conwell & the Young Rumblers
57. “Baro (feat. Bertrand Cantat)” – Amadou & Mariam
58. “Live and Die” – The Avett Brothers
59. “What Did the Hippie Have in His Bag?” – Cornershop
60. “Masochist” – Devin
61. “Gun Has No Trigger” – Dirty Projectors
62. “Electric Fever” – Free Energy
63. “Cold Shoulders” – Gold Motel
64. “The House That Heaven Built” – Japandroids
65. “Mud Flap Momma (feat. Slash)” – Leslie West
66. “Dotted Line” – Liz Phair
67. “Stubborn Love” – The Lumineers
68. “Polish Girl” – Neon Indian
69. “People In Her Mind” – Poor Moon
70. “Closer I Get (feat. John Popper)” – Rebelution
71. “Punjabi Wedding Song (Balle Balle)” – Red Barat
72. “Romance” – Wild Flag
73. “Railroad Track” – Willy Moon
74. “Marathon Runner” – Yellow Ostrich
75. “Caught Me Thinking” – Bahamas
76. “Dance With You” – Black Lips
77. “When the City Lights Dim” – Cold Specks
78. “How They Want Me to Be” – Best Coast
79. “Dawned On Me (iTunes Session)” – Wilco
80. “Beggar in the Morning” – Barr Brothers
81. “Better Girl” – Best Coast
82. “The Ride of the Valkyries” – Chicha Libre
83. “Misty Mountains” – The Dwarf Cast
84. “Take Me Home Country Road” – Israel Kamakawiwo’ole
85. “Rockin’ in the Free World” – The Moog Cookbook
86. “The Wind” – Zac Brown Band
87. “V-12 Cadillac” – Jewel
88. “Black Hole Sun” – The Moog Cookbook
89. “Theme from ‘Endless Summer'” – The Sandals
90. “Telstar” – The Tornadoes 74
91. “Summertime” – B.B. Seaton
92. “Change” – Churchill
93. “Ace of Spades” – Eli “Paperboy” Reed
94. “Mud Football” – Jack Johnson
95. “Revolution Girls” – Mariachi El Bronx
96. “Breakfast at Tressels” – Rhythm Rockers
97. “Man of Constant Sorrow” – Soggy Bottom Boys
98. “Screenwriters Blues” – Soul Coughing
99. “Funkytown” – Toucans Steel Drum Band
100. “No One Like You” – Best Coast
This seems like a paltry list to some (like a teacher I know who seems to read this many a month), but this marks the most books that I’ve read since James was born in 2007. Granted, several books on this list are real softballs. The goal is to read more still in 2012.
OK, I haven’t listened to an “iPod,” per se, for years now, but that’s how this started back with the 2005 list, so I’m not changing it now! (Also available: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010.)
1. “Finally Moving” – Pretty Lights
2. “Sex with an X” – The Vaselines
3. “Machine Gun Blues” – Social Distortion
4. “Waterfall” – The Fresh & Onlys
5. “Moneygrabber” – Fitz & The Tantrums
6. “Ten-Twenty-Ten” – Generationals
7. “Resolution” – Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3
8. “Be Your Bro” – Those Darlins
9. “Hard Lesson” – The Burned
10. “The Youth Die Young” – Mad Rad
11. “Girls FM” – Happy Birthday
12. “Damn These Vampires” – The Mountain Goats
13. “Forget That You’re Young” – The Ravenoettes
14. “Street Fighting Man” – The Rolling Stones
15. “How Soon is Now?” – The Smiths
16. “Ace of Spades” – Eli “Paperboy” Reed
17. “Gunfight Epiphany (Theme from Terriers)” – Robert Duncan
18. “The Coming Days” – Hello Echo
19. “It’s a Long Way to the Top” – Lucinda Williams
20. “Blackout Baby” – My Goodness
21. “California (Hustle and Flow)” – Social Distortion
22. “Over the Ocean (iTunes session)” – Best Coast
23. “48 Roses” – Mariachi El Bronx
24. “Rollerblades” – Eliza Doolittle
25. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” – The Rolling Stones
26. “Fluorescent Adolescent” – Arctic Monkeys
27. “When I’m With You” – Best Coast
28. “Coming Down” – Dum Dum Girls
29. “Mayhem” – Imelda May
30. “Paint It Black” – The Rolling Stones
31. “Cinderella” – The Sonics
32. “Knee Deep (feat. Jimmy Buffett)” – Zac Brown Band
33. “Dream On” – Aerosmith
34. “Sun Was High (So Was I)” – Best Coast
35. “Bad Vibrations” – The Black Angels
36. “Don’t Stop the Music” – Easy Star All-Stars
37. “Sympathy for the Devil” – The Rolling Stones
38. “Marathon” – Tennis
39. “Screws Get Loose” – Those Darlins
40. “Pumped Up Kicks” – Foster the People
41. “Psycho” – Imelda May
42. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” – Jake Shimabukuro
43. “Matador” – Maria Taylor
44. “One Day” – Sharon Van Etten
45. “My Body” – Young the Giant
46. “Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair” – Arctic Monkeys
47. “Tainted Love” – Imelda May
48. “Revolution Girls” – Mariachi El Bronx
49. “Cuddly Toy” – Roachford
50. “Midnight Rambler (Live)” – The Rolling Stones
51. “Rocket Queen (iTunes Session)” – Slash
52. “Under Cover of Darkness” – The Strokes
53. “Like the Wheel” – The Tallest Man on Earth
54. “Rumour Has It” – Adele
55. “The Beat Goes On” – Beady Eye
56. “Birth of Serpents” – The Mountain Goats
57. “I Learned the Hard Way” – Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings
58. “Fall to Pieces (iTunes Session)” – Slash
59. “Rock ‘N’ Roll is Free” – Ben Harper
60. “Summer Mood” – Best Coast
61. “Johnny Got a Boom Boom” – Imelda May
62. “Redemption Song” – Playing for Change
63. “Oh My Heart” – R.E.M.
64. “Old Number Seven” – The Devil Makes Three
65. “Ritual Union” – Little Dragon
66. “Hotel California” – The Moog Cookbook
67. “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” – Red Hot Chili Peppers
68. “Play with Fire” – The Rolling Stone
69. “Back from Cali (iTunes Session)” – Slash
70. “Simple Love Song” – Anuhea
71. “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” – Bauhaus
72. “JB-Still the Man (feat. Rev. Al Sharpton)” – Bootsy Collins
73. “Bloodletting (The Vampire Song)” – Concrete Blonde
74. “Hard Times” – Gillian Welch
75. “Big Wave” – Jenny and Johnny
76. “Banana Republics (Live)” – Jimmy Buffett
77. “So Long & Thanks for All the Fish” – Jody Talbot
78. “Whole Lotta Love” – The Moog Cookbook
79. “Honky Tonk Women” – The Rolling Stone
80. “Sucker Train Blues (iTunes Session)” – Slash
81. “Red Light Love” – Those Darlins
82. “Werewolves of London” – Warren Zevon
83. “Where the Boat Leaves From” – Zac Brown Band
84. “So Long” – Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward
85. “Beggar in the Morning” – The Barr Brothers
86. “Hey Ladies” – Beastie Boys
87. “Hey Yea” – Booker T.
88. “Spectacular Girl” – The Eels
89. “Cryin’ Shame” – Ferocious Few
90. “Cowboy in the Jungle” – Jimmy Buffett
91. “Re: Your Brains” – Jonathan Coulton
92. “Easy” – Liz Phair
93. “I Would Die 4 U” – Mariachi El Bronx
94. “More than a Feeling” – The Moog Cookbook
95. “Ruby Tuesday” – The Rolling Stone
96. “Communication Breakdown (iTunes Session)” – Slash
97. “Take Your Medicine” – Cloud Cult
98. “Young Americans” – David Bowie
99. “Friend of the Devil” – The Grateful Dead
100. “I Hate People” – Jemina Pearl & Iggy Pop
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by Christie Golden
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