{image1}Three members of OnMilwaukee.com's editorial department offer their picks and pans for 2003. Share your own using the talkback feature at the bottom.
Jeff Sherman
Movie -- It was a fine year for flicks. In fact, there are several that I loved. Top nods go to the perfect Pixar release "Finding Nemo" and the Sofia Coppola/Bill Murray masterpiece "Lost in Translation." I'll give additional Sherman Oscar awards to "Shattered Glass" (probably my overall favorite movie experience of the year) and the best general audience movie of the year, "Sea Biscuit."
Concerts -- The Willy Porter show at the East Side Block Party during Harley was short, sweet and enormously entertaining. Elton who? The Blind Boys of Alabama's Jazz in the Park gig was very good, too, as was Down to the Bone's show at Cathedral Park. And, the surprise show of the year had to be Lisa Marie Presley at The Pabst. I went in thinking it would be horrible and the former Mrs. Jackson truly held her own.
CD -- It was a pretty good year for music, but who buys CDs anymore when you can download 'em or I-Tunes them? I loved Matt Wertz's "Twenty Three Places," Sting's "Sacred Love" Seal's "IV" and say what you will about John Mayer, but his "Heavier Things" is a good, solid pop-rock collection. Single of the year is a slam dunk, Outkast's "Hey Ya." Simply a great song! "Shake it like a Polaroid Picture!"
TV -- Thank God for Tivo and HBO. When I find time for television, only three shows are consistency worth the effort and entertainment value: "Alias," "Scrubs" and HBO's "Real Sports" with Bryant Gumbel.
Event -- I've always thought that what Milwaukee needs is more people, like 300,000 more and then things are darn near perfect. Well, Harley's 100th did just that and Milwaukee did itself proud and partied like no other city can. Thanks, Harley and thanks, too, for bringing the extra population and big party to town!
Stories of the Year -- All the continued development in our downtown neighborhoods, Governor Doyle's Thanksgiving eve veto of expanded school choice and Marquette University's return to the Final Four.
Milwaukee Person of the Year -- Quietly, the executive director of the Spirit of Milwaukee, Dean Amhaus, is changing Milwaukee from the inside out. I'll be upfront and say that I know Dean and consider him a friend, but that relationship doesn't prevent me from giving credit where credit is due. He's a cheerleader, consensus-builder and is building unique collaborative efforts that continue to position Milwaukee as the innovative and creative city that we all know it is. His efforts and that of his organization and board are having lasting impact on the way Milwaukee is perceived across the country. On Milwaukee!
Bobby Tanzilo
Movie -- There were quite a few good movies this year and most were to be found, as usual, at the Oriental and Downer. "Lost in Translation" was a great mix of happy/sad, "Shattered Glass" was an interesting examination of lies and the people who tell them. "City of God" was stunningly violent and gritty but oddly compelling, and you could say almost the same thing for "Dirty Pretty Things," which might be my movie of the year. "Talk to Her," "Spellbound" and "Owning Mahoney" would also make the list.
Concerts -- 2003 hardly seemed like a great year for gigs, if you ask me. Usually I manage to see at least a few that I loved, but I'm hard-pressed to conjure one great one, sadly. But Coldplay at The Rave and Clem Snide at MSOE'S Todd Wehr Hall were fun, if not life-changing.
{image2}CD -- Nick Cave's "Nocturama" has a sophisticated but edgy feel, making us wonder how the madman from The Birthday Party ever managed to become a guy with a record that has a sophisticated but edgy feel. It came out in 2002, but Carmen Consoli's "L'eccezione" was the best rock and roll record no one heard because she wasn't singing in English. I also loved The Delgados' "Hate," Placebo's "Sleeping With Ghosts," Yann Tiersen's soundtrack to "Goodbye Lenin," "Underneath the Stars," the latest from British folkstress Kate Rusby and the (presumably) final LP from Joe Strummer, despite its ill-advised cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" (what could be more naff than a white guy singing, "old pirates, yes they rob I, sold I to the merchant ships"?)
TV/Books -- There was "The Simpsons," the BBC's brilliant and lamentably kaput "The Office," and the off button. There were plenty of great books, though, including new crime novels by Michael Dibdin ("Medusa") and Andrea Camilleri ("The Snack Thief" and "The Voice of the Violin"). Jennifer Guglielmo and Sal Salerno edited "Are Italians White," an engaging anthology that explores race and how our perceptions of race are malleable. So much so that while southern Italians were not considered "white" upon their arrival in the U.S., they somehow managed to attain "whiteness" in 20th century America. What is especially depressing is that while most immigrant groups arrived in America unaware and unaffected by racial stereotypes and biases, they were quickly drawn in by societal pressures here.
Event -- The reopening of Groppi's. The store had been in decline for years and when Mario Groppi passed away in 2002, it seemed fated to be shuttered for good. But the Nehrings came in and have breathed new life into a wonderful landmark.
Stories of the Year -- Two sad and maddening stories: the Brewers fiasco and the ups and downs at the Avalon in Bay View. Milwaukee's last atmospheric movie house -- designed by Russell Barr Williamson -- is now apparently doomed to be destroyed as a theater and converted into office space, which Bay View hardly seems to need.
Milwaukee Person of the Year -- The working man that built Milwaukee and keeps it running every day.
Andy Tarnoff
Movie -- I didn't spend too much time at the theaters in 2003 (must've been cooped up editing OMC or something), but I did enjoy a few flicks. I liked "Swimming Pool" and "28 Days Later", but most of all, I loved "A Mighty Wind." Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer were great again in a parody that was slightly darker than "Waiting For Guffman" or "Best In Show." And the best part, the music was actually really good!
Concerts -- I can't tell you the best concert I saw in 2003, but I can certainly comment on the worst: the debacle Harley-Davidson staged with Elton John, Tim McGraw and Kid Rock (though the Kid was pretty cool). I said it then, and I'll say it again: whichever Harley intern ran the focus groups that made this ridiculous decision should be fired. John, while a blast three decades ago, is now just a washed-up light rocker, certainly not the huge star Harley riders were expecting to play Milwaukee.
CD -- I particularly enjoyed the new Dandy Warhol's album, "Welcome To The Monkey House." Proving that this band reinvents its sound on each new CD, this latest effort sounded more electronica than in previous efforts. A nod also goes to Radiohead's "Hail To The Thief," a refreshingly rocking CD, especially in comparison to their post-"OK Computer" albums.
TV -- I loved HBO's new series, "Carnivale." Yes, those crazy carnies kept me confused for an entire season, but the actors portrayed their characters with great emotion, and the cinematography simply was outstanding. Looking forward to the second season as the showdown between good and evil unfolds, Great Depression style.
Event -- Picking the big Harley party would be a little too easy, so I will choose a slightly more self-serving event: September 1 -- the five-year anniversary of OnMilwaukee.com. No, we haven't changed the world too much nor have we cured world hunger, but in our small way, we've helped changed the entertainment and media landscape in Milwaukee. In a town that people told me was too conservative to support a dot com company, we proved in 2003 that we're here to stay. And that, I think, is pretty exciting.
Stories of the Year -- I'm not going out on much of a limb to point out the Brewers/Ulice Payne scandal. After all the dust cleared, we the fans were the ones who ultimately lost. Neither side is blameless, and even the true blue Brew Crew supporters are left wondering if Milwaukee will ever field a competitive baseball team. The real answer: when the Selig family gives back the keys to Miller Park (so don't hold your breath). Here's to 2005?
Milwaukee Person of the Year -- My apologies if this seems a little lame, but I vote for Brett Favre. As my favorite Packer approaches the twilight of his magnificent career, I frequently find myself watching thankfully in awe, even when he tosses the occasional ill-advised interception. While Bears fans have endured dozens of quarterbacks, us Packers fans have spent nearly a generation with Favre tucked under center. No injury can stop him, it seems (and I hope). Ol' Number Four has brought us some great joys as fans, and I hope he keeps on keepin' on for just a little longer.
