a very serious retrospective

Happy New Year! So. Dear old Scotty has been urging us for some time now to put together a “top ten” list looking back on 2009. I have spent a very serious amount of my break considering what sort of list to write. Some ideas included top ten albums that dropped in 2009 (too cliche and I think we’d all have the same list) and the top ten Christmas gifts we could all do without (I really, really hate Kindles and those new toy fake hamster things for kids are ridiculous; seriously? If my roommates and I can keep a hedgehog alive in a Trinity College dorm I think a suburban mother can handle a real hamster)… but I think I’m going to go with the simple and say here are five (ten is too big and everything I like about 2009 is either already on this blog or super embarrassing) things that got my attention last year.

5. Walt Whitman stars in Levi’s commercials?

I was a little bit creeped out and annoyed when Levi’s first started airing these commercials towards the end of the year, mostly because it resulted in my little sister’s Facebook friends changing their status to Whitman quotes and giving the credit to a denim company… but, oh well, I have decided to deal with that heart-wrenchingly sad cultural reflection and admit that these commercials are, well, kind of genius. Who doesn’t want to be a thin, tan, wide-eyed child making out with multiple people around a campfire and running through the ocean spray in a flickering black and white filter? Levi jeans still are way too long for me but I want them now, I do, I do.

4. Gilt Groupe & Rue La La own my 11 to noon time slot.

I know that I am way behind on this but, really, really?! Betsey Johnson dresses for $24, $600 purses discounted to $100, not to mention the army of up and coming designers (see the instantly sold-out Mara Hoffman sale from two months ago) and tested and true geniuses like Vera Wang, Marchesa, and Valentino… 2009 was the year of me living by the alarm on my cell phone to check the designer presales and sample sales on the swanky Gilt Groupe and Rue La La web sites. Style whores, beware, I’m sure you’re already all members but you have to be invited… just one more addition to the allure of these sites. So ladies, next time you see some leggy blonde on the long walk and hate her not only for her calves but for her Fendi sunglasses… relax, she probably didn’t pay full price.

3. And my high school love endures through another year…

I don’t even remember the first time I heard anything by Bright Eyes; Conor Oberst and his first, most well-known and well-hated band has pretty much been a ubiquitous part of my life ever since I was (barely) old enough to understand his references to sex, drugs, and that hallowed, dark depression… This is something I’ve allowed to slip into the back of my mind as I get older but the love is still there, and was absolutely rekindled with Conor’s second grown-up album, Outer South, which he recorded with his Mystic Valley Band and released in April of last year. It’s the ultimate summer driving record, with fun throwback tracks like “Air Mattress.” Of course we can’t escape Conor’s (yes, we are on a first name basis) introspection but he has grown up a lot and this album really is a winner.

2. Burberry gets more and more delicious!

Yum! Ever since Christopher Bailey took over as creative director of Burberry we are seeing less and less of that over-used Burberry check that seems to overwhelm every single scarf my mother owns. We hardly see any of it in this spring ad campaign, and ooh it just gets better when Emma Watson joins the party looking absolutely stunning and not at all like bushy Miss Granger. I love when labels manage to undergo change while still remaining classic and elegant; that what Burberry’s always been about and even if we see a touch of grunge in these greenhouse campaigns, the label cleans up so nice with Watson as its covergirl and I am drooling over those damn trench coats all over again.

1. Lady Gaga is brilliant.

Move on over, Conor Oberst, because I have a new obsession and her hair isn’t greasy and I don’t think she will cry after we make love. When her first singles hit the frats and my roomies and I blasted “Poker Face” in the car at the beginning of her rise to super-stardom I knew she was fun- but I am absolutely stunned and amazed by how Lady Gaga has transformed from the “cherry cherry boom boom” little blonde of her single “Eh Eh” to a full-fledged monster. I don’t want to hear it: the bitch is hot, and whether or not you love her or hate her she has absolutely grabbed your attention this year. She finally proves that a pop artist can actually be an interesting person (even if interesting means crazy), she does whatever she wants and if you hear her earlier stuff and even “Speechless” on the new album, she can belt it out pretty well too. She’s already headlining her own tour and has modeled for Vogue… and while we are on the subject of fashion, I think Gaga is empowering women and men to wear what they want and to stop being afraid of couture. Some of her looks really are out there but they are also easy to spot on any catwalk during fashion week… should I stop now? Let’s just say that Lady Gaga made 2009 more fun for me and if the old lady in the Cadillac judges me while I sing “Bad Romance” at a stoplight, well, so be it. It ain’t gonna stop in 2010.