Greatest Hits

Last night Lost delivered another solid episode as it continues its comeback from the early season malaise that it suffered through. Without spoiling much for those of you that haven’t seen it one of the characters on the show flash backed to the five greatest memories of their life up the present. Not only was it a great storytelling device but it actually caused me to pause for a moment of introspection. While I’m still working on my personal list, which I may or may not share on here, I did come up with a more blog appropriate list and that’s the 5 greatest hits of my entertainment life. Media is intrinsically tied to all our memories. It can be a song on the radio while you’re driving cross country, a movie you remember from a first date, or a book a loved one gave to you. In much the same way memories can influence our feelings towards media and that’s what I discovered as I made this list. These aren’t necessarily my favorite movies, bands, books, or TV shows but rather these are the ones that produce my strongest memories.

Finding Someone on Lost Highway
David Lynch is like the crazy creepy uncle I never had, sure he scares me but deep down I love him and appreciate all he has to show me. I pretty much worship all his films, but Lost Highway holds my favorite memory. I went to see it opening weekend at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis which is a grand old movie house that’s still in relatively good repair and any movie I’ve seen there instantly sticks in my head. However, more importantly I saw it with my friend Steve who I had just begun to get to know. Not only was the movie great but it really solidified the fact for both Steve and I that we were on the same page creatively which led to not only a great friendship but also a business partnership where we’d make films of our own.

Buffy Killing Angel
In this day and age of spoilers it’s hard to believe I was ever completely and genuinely surprised by the ending of a TV show but that’s just what happened as Buffy wrapped up it’s second season. Sure as we sat down that night to catch the show we knew a confrontation between the two former lovers was inevitable and since the show was called Buffy and not Angel we had a lot of faith in our girl but the way it all went down left our jaws on the floor and some tears on our cheeks.

Dillinger 4 at the Turf Club
Don’t ask me for a date of when this show was but for many reasons this one show stands out in my head above all the countless other times I’ve seen this band. Perhaps it was the fact that it was an afternoon show. Maybe it was that the band was all over the place (even more so then normal). Maybe it just sticks out because one of my friends wore his D4 shirt to a D4 show and I never let that go. I don’t know maybe it’s just that it was watching one of my favorite bands with my favorite people in a bar that was just right for a hot summer afternoon.

Star Wars Re-Release
Before we got the prequel trilogy, whose pros and cons could be discussed for pages on much geekier sites than this, George Lucas “cleaned up” the original trilogy and put it pack in the theaters making me happier then a wookie on Life Day. Even though I’d seen the flicks over and over and over again especially during my college years (nothing better then Empire and a La Bamba’s burrito to cure a hangover), I was so excited to see these movies on the big screen again that it was almost like catching them for the first time. I’ll never forget the day Episode IV was re-released, I think I was working nights so I was standing in line outside of the theater bright and early Friday morning and after getting tickets for the first show I immediately got tickets for the second showing. Sure in retrospect the so-called Special Editions have their flaws (Greedo shoots first, fake looking young Jabba) but the pure childhood joy I recaptured that day still makes me smile.

Conquering The Stand
My parents really pushed me to read for enjoyment as a child and for the most part I didn’t rebel. Sure I read a lot of comics but I think I was able to argue their literary significance to a satisfactory level that my parents didn’t mind them as long as I also had a “real” book on the side. I think it’s safe to say that reading a good book can give one a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment and I still remember the first time I felt that feeling and that was reading Stephen King’s The Stand. I think I was about 15 when I picked up The Stand. It had just been re-released in its unabridged format and was quite the volumey text. I think I was just beginning to hit the King stage which is something that I believe anyone under the age of 35 has gone through in some form or another. No matter how high brow or low brow your taste is in literature I think that most people from my generation on down go through a period where all they can do is read King book after King book. I think my period lasted from age 13 to 18 although I’ve picked up a few in the following years. Anyway The Stand which is arguably King’s greatest work demands your full attention and I must admit as a kid who at 15 was insecure about so many things, the pressure to finish the book only added another rung to the ladder of insecurity. What I didn’t know then was how good the book was going to be. That book literally grabs your attention right out of the gate and by the time I was on page 1,204 only a couple of days had passed and when I finish that last chapter I had a feeling of pride which at the time in my life was somewhat foreign.