the most beautiful Britpop song: Let Down
What: Radiohead's meandering, transcendent ballad "Let Down," from the band's 1997 masterpiece album OK Computer. Here's a video which helpfully spells out the lyrics to the song. Why: If Radiohead were reading this—and really, they're much too hip for that—they would be shaking their heads now. From 1993–1997, the period most defined by the term […]
the most beautiful tile-based strategy game: Mississippi Queen
What: Werner Hodel’s 1997 riverboat navigation game Mississippi Queen, published in German by Goldsieber and in English by Rio Grande Games. Why: This category is something of a contradiction. The classic definition of a strategy game is a game which contains no chance and no concealed information, such as go and checkers. The classic definition […]
the most beautiful movie kiss: That Thing You Do!
What: The kiss between Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) and Faye Dolan (Liv Tyler) at the conclusion of writer-director Tom Hanks’ 1996 film That Thing You Do!: Why: Hanks’ directorial debut scored on every possible level. He taught an impressionable quartet how to sing and play their instruments as the Wonders, making a band film […]
the most beautiful time travel story: Days of Future Past
What: The "Days of Future Past" storyline from issues 141 and 142 of The Uncanny X-Men, from January-February 1981. Why: I have extremely high standards for a time travel story. Internal logic matters more than anything. It can't involve Sandra Bullock watching a tree grow like mad or a prisoner seeing Ashton Kutcher spontaneously stigmatize […]
the most beautiful thing to do on Halloween: visit a cemetery
What: Making an after-dark stopover in a local graveyard on All Hallows Eve. Why: I’d like you to meet a friend of mine. She just turned 121 this month. In 1880, her father, John C. Monster, secured a donation claim in the Renton Valley, down the hill from my home. He and his brother Frank […]
the most beautiful standup comedy routine: Bill Cosby’s Noah
What: Bill Cosby’s three-part comedic exegesis “Noah,” from his 1963 appearance on The Tonight Show and his debut album Bill Cosby Is A Very Funny Fellow…Right!, from which this version comes. Why: Let’s see: a black man in 1963 mocking the Bible on national TV. Yeah, that guy had better be damn funny. And turns […]
the most beautiful postseason series: the 2004 ALCS
What: The 2004 American League Championship Series between longtime rivals the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Here’s the back page of the New York Daily News, on the left after Game 3, and on the right after Game 7. Why: Over the decades, what kept Yanks-Sox from standing alongside great team sports […]
the most beautiful television food expert: Alton Brown
Who: Alton Brown, the host of Food Network’s shows Good Eats, Iron Chef America, Feasting on Asphalt, and The Next Iron Chef. Here is Brown from Season 4 of Good Eats, in an episode delightfully titled “Mayo Clinic.” Why: For starters, I hate mayonnaise with the passion of a thousand convection ovens. So what could […]
the most beautiful song about a train: The Train from Kansas City
What: The Shangri-Las’ song “The Train from Kansas City,” written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry. The song was first released on the B-side of the 1965 single “Right Now and Not Later.” No video of the Shangs’ singing the song has emerged, but here is the studio version. Or you can watch lead singer […]
the most beautiful flavor enhancer: garlic
What: The many varieties of the onion species Allium sativum, otherwise known as garlic. Why: I have stated for years that there are very few food dishes which cannot be improved by either the addition of more chocolate or the addition of more garlic (but not both). Chocolate is outside the scope of this category—it […]