IT'S OUR ONE YEAR BLOGAVERSARY!
Hello loyal readers! It was one year ago today that we launched The Couch, with goals of being: a chance for friends to participate in collaborative creativity, a great outlet for input from your peers regarding sports and pop culture, and becoming so expertly crafted and well-renowned that we catch the eye of investors and become the next Grantland. 365 days on, I'm happy to report that all but one of those things are true!
It's been a fun flagship year for all of us, and wouldn't have really been that fun if it weren't for your continued interest, so I thought it might be fun to reward all of you by telling you our Top 10 most-read posts since this blog's inception! There are, of course, hyperlinks on each listing in case you want to revisit its glory. Enjoy, and thank you!
(And a begrudging congratulations to Sierra, who somehow got the most people to read her thing.)
Author: Daniel Woodiwiss
(Nov. 2016)
"I have no doubt in my mind that the Dave Chappelle/Tribe Called Quest episode will go down in the annals of "Saturday Night Live" history. The episode was simply a masterclass for how to respond to intense political times, how to validate people's deep-seated emotions, and how to get all laughing again."
Author: Micah Veldkamp
(Dec. 2016)
"Now, let me make something clear: This isn’t an honorable mention list. It’s not a 15-11 list of albums that didn’t quite make the Top 10. Nor is it my view of the absolute 5 best albums of 2016. Rather, it’s a list of amazing albums whose creators don’t have quite enough sway to infiltrate the inner sanctum of music royalty (meaning: they’re not in the Illuminati)."
Author: Daniel Woodiwiss
(Apr. 2017)
"The reason why the 2016 Championship was so painful for myself, for all Tar Heel fans is the same reason why the 2017 victory is oh-so-sweet: this was just a bunch of incredible guys. This team had nowhere near the collection of NBA talent that any past UNC Champions did. But no team has had more heart, emotion, humor, intelligence, and easygoing personality than the squads of the last two years."
Author: Daniel Woodiwiss
(Apr. 2017)
"Yes, DAMN. deserves the hype. If you're new to Kendrick Lamar, or rap in general, and are wondering why people lose their minds over the short, harmless-looking 29-year old, this is why. He's changing the game entirely, doing things no other mainstream rapper can dream of replicating successfully. There's a reason President Obama shouted out him and the upstart Chance The Rapper specifically"
Author: Daniel Woodiwiss
(Dec. 2016)
"I hope you know this is not a definitive list of the best music of the year, but rather the top 2016 albums of those I actually listened to. So it's a strange mixture of artists/bands I already liked with some critically acclaimed albums I proactively sought out after reading about them.
It was a good year in music, not a great one."
Author: Kevin Kredit
(May 2017)
"At this point, it would be easy to review season one of Aziz Ansari and Alan Wang’s Netflix original Master of None by simply reading a handful of the thousand reviews already published and regurgitating the words in a new order without saying anything original. Fear not, dear reader, because that is exactly what I have done."
Author: Daniel Woodiwiss
(Jun. 2017)
"Though I consider myself invested in good cinema, I'm not enough of a student nor snob to overlook the higher-budget, more widespread releases you all might be familiar with. So, I thought my list of 25 might strike a nicer balance for those of you who love movies but also love movies you can talk about with your whole family, not just your weird cousin who stays up in his room all Christmas and doesn't shower but then comes downstairs and describes in full detail how Jean-Luc Godard is the genius we don't deserve."
Author: Julia LaPlace
(Oct. 2016)
"Jane the Virgin tells a story about a vibrant woman, Jane Villanueva, who finds herself mixed up in the intrigues, love triangles, and dramatic reversals of a telenovela (with plenty of humor and charm as well). But I would claim that the show is really about a woman’s virtue-- and all the complex, difficult, important questions surrounding what it means to be a “good” woman. I’ve broken down my convoluted thoughts on this subject into two and a half points (just like a sermon, but shorter)."
Author: Daniel Woodiwiss
(Mar. 2017)
"'Daniel,' you say, 'this is all good and fun, but we really just want to know what your favorite movie is of all time.' Well, here you have it. I'm a sucker for socio-political plots in movies and true stories anyway, and then you throw in a quotable and poignant screenplay and incredible acting jobs from Russell Crowe and Al Pacino? Dynamite."
Author: Sierra Slaughter
(Jan. 2017)
"Every year when making my Top Ten list, I cop out because I can’t order them. Every year I sound like a broken record: “It wasn’t a great year for movies." Why on earth would I study films if it seems like I don’t love them? Who knows! Here are ten films I loved/liked a lot more than La La Land in no particular order."