Top 40 Lists

As I count down to 40, I don't want to dwell on the downside, but once in a while the passing of time gives me the blues. This winter, I’ve had to rally the troops. And by troops, I mean the endorphins in my brain. Those brave endorphin boys have been battling their hearts out while I wrap my head around being on this planet for almost four decades. Wowza. 

I have fun with it though. I can laugh at myself. It's just hard to find that right balance of comedy and drama in this life, ya know?

I look like a werewolf did it with a skeleton. I'm finding gray hairs in places that are terrifying. If this were the Middle Ages, I'd be dead by now. I'm so old I remember Atari and Anthony Michael freaking Hall. I mean, what the hell? It feels good to laugh about it.

Another way that I rallied the troops was by making these lists. It's kinda weird, but I enjoy messing around in a notebook, focusing on a list. My brain feels like it's just chilling on a nice round of Tetris or a word or puzzle game. The only downside to nerding out on a list is that I'm not using that time to work on stories/ actually get real shit done, in a literal sense, in the real world.

But like I said, I don't want to dwell on the downside.

So, fixating on these lists was a big win for my OCD. For God's sake, I scrutinized the exact order of a bunch of shit that doesn't really matter. But I know where to draw the line, and that's at Honorable Mentions. Picture me as a no-nonsense bouncer wagging my finger to Honorable Mentions tryna enter the club... Alright, that was fun.

Nick's OCD checking out these lists. 

Whoever reads this, I hope you get at least one recommendation that makes your life very slightly more worthwhile. (I mean, a lot more enjoyable would be nice but we gotta manage our expectations.) Best case scenario, my opinion has a positive impact. Which is another way of saying someone gives a shit.

In doing this project, I realized I want to read more books by women and watch more movies by black directors and, you know, grow as a human being and support the art made by people that are different from me. Don't get me wrong, I stand by my ridiculous lists 1,000%, but Holy White Dudes. Just, white dudes, everywhere. Many of them ranging in age from old to dead. The Babe Ruth New York Yankees of history.

It clicked that I have more to learn from women and people of color and so on. I think it's only gonna take a half-century for me to show those signs of growth. Fingers crossed, anyway.

These are the top 40s of my favorite bands, movies, books, and video games. Don't ask for Honorable Mentions cuz they've been bounced.

With a love that will echo through the ages,*

Nick

Bands/ Singers

40.) Foo Fighters

39.) Blur

38.) Outkast

37.) Prince

36.) Queen

35.) Black Sabbath

34.) Tame Impala

33.) Smashing Pumpkins

32.) Talking Heads

31.) Creedence Clearwater Revival 

30.) Neil Young 

29.) Bjork 

28.) Sheryl Crow

27.) Van Halen

26.) The Replacements

25.) Jawbreaker

24.) Rage Against the Machine

23.) Queens of the Stone Age

22.) Modest Mouse

21.) Johnny Cash

20.) Bob Dylan

19.) Mac Miller

18.) The Rolling Stones

17.) The Ramones

16.) Pearl Jam

15.) Pink Floyd

14.) The Strokes

13.) Cake

12.) The Clash

11.) The White Stripes

10.) Fiona Apple

9.) Spoon

8.) Jimi Hendrix

7.) Beastie Boys

6.) Nirvana 

5.) Led Zeppelin

4.) David Bowie

3.) Beck

2.) Radiohead

1.) The Beatles

Movies

40.) Silver Linings Playbook

39.) The Wrestler

38.) Stand by Me

37.) Aliens

36.) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

35.) Superbad

34.) Borat

33.) Scent of a Woman

32.) Austin Powers

31.) The Sixth Sense

30.) Terminator 2

29.) Office Space

28.) The Dark Knight

27.) The Prestige

26.) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

25.) Best in Show

24.) This Is Spinal Tap

23.) Night of the Hunter

22.) Shaun of the Dead

21.) Dumb and Dumber

20.) Naked Gun

19.) No Country for Old Men

18.) Die Hard

17.) Toy Story

16.) The Empire Strikes Back

15.) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

14.) Fargo

13.) Kill Bill

12.) The Truman Show

11.) The Shining

10.) Napoleon Dynamite

9.) The Shawshank Redemption

8.) Jaws

7.) Alien

6.) Pulp Fiction

5.) Goodfellas 

4.) The Royal Tenenbaums

3.) The Big Lebowski

2.) The Godfather

1.) The Godfather part 2

Books

40.) Dream Team: Michael, Magic, Larry...- Jack McCallum

39.) The Universe in a Nutshell- Stephen Hawking

38.) When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?- George Carlin

37.) The Road- Cormac McCarthy

36.) Life- Keith Richards

35.) The Sirens of Titan- Kurt Vonnegut

34.) Siddhartha- Herman Hesse

33.) Black Dogs- Ian McEwan

32.) Eating the Dinosaur- Chuck Klosterman

31.) The Hunger Games- Suzanna Collins

30.) Of Mice and Men- John Steinbeck

29.) Catch 22- Joseph Heller

28.) Cat’s Cradle- KV

27.) Moneyball- Michael Lewis

26.) Me Talk Pretty One Day- David Sedaris

25.) The Godfather- Mario Puzo

24.) One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest- Ken Kesey

23.) Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72- Hunter S Thompson

22.) A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones- George RR Martin

21.) Based on a True Story- Norm MacDonald

20.) Animal Farm- George Orwell

19.) In Cold Blood- Truman Capote

18.) Winesburg, Ohio- Sherwood Anderson

17.) The Martian- Adam Weir

16.) Life of Pi- Yann Martel

15.) The Green Mile- Stephen King

14.) To Kill a Mockingbird- Harper Lee

13.) Lamb, the Gospel According to Biff- Christopher Moore

12.) The Giver- Lois Lowry

11.) The Catcher in the Rye- JDS 

10.) Omnibus- Roald Dahl

9.) Cathedral- Raymond Carver

8.) Different Seasons- Stephen King

7.) Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs- Chuck Klosterman

6.) Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas- Hunter S Thompson

5.) Nine Stories- JD Salinger

4.) The Great Gatspy- F Scott Fitzgerald

3.) Slaughterhouse 5- KV

2.) Mother Night- Kurt Vonnegut

1.) East of Eden- John  Steinbeck

Video Games

(Oh no, he's writing again.)

Getting back to the matter of growth, I'm a sucker when it comes to the nostalgia of video games. I'm just an old soul with an old school Nintendo. The question is, is nostalgia compatible with growth? And well, I think a little bit of admiration-for-the past is OK, but it's more important to take a leap of faith into uncharted adventures. My note to self goes like this: play some newer shit for the top 50. I realize that games in 2023 are skull-crushingly awesome, it's just that I could legit play these 40 games forever.

40.) Castlevania- Nintendo

39.) NBA Live '95- Super Nintendo

38.) Perfect Dark- Nintendo 64

37.) X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse- Playstation 2

36.) Return of the Jedi- SNES

35.) Super Smash Bros- N64

34.) Overwatch- Playstation 4

33.) TMNT Arcade Game- Nintendo

32.) Castlevania IV- SNES

31.) Earthbound- SNES

30.) Super Metroid- SNES

29.) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time- SNES

28.) Legend of Zelda- NES

27.) Castlevania: Symphony of the Night- Playstation

26.) Silent Hill- PS1

25.) Super Punchout- SNES

24.) Street Fighter II Turbo- SNES

23.) Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty- PS2

22.) Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time- N64

21.) Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past- SNES

20.) Resident Evil- PS1

19.) Grand Theft Auto: Vice City- PS2

18.) Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest- SNES

17.) Starfox 64- N64

16.) Goldeneye 007- N64

15.) Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3- PS2

14.) Super Mario All Stars- SNES

13.) Madden ‘10- PS2

12.) Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball- SNES

11.) X-Men 2: The Clone Wars- Sega

10.) Resident Evil 2- PS1

9.) Super Mario World- SNES

8.) Mariokart 64- N64

7.) Zombies Ate My Neighbors- SNES

6.) WWF No Mercy- N64

5.) NBA Jam- SNES

4.) Donkey Kong Country- SNES

3.) Super Mario 64- N64

2.) Tecmo Super Bowl-NES

1.) Resident Evil 4- PS2/ Gamecube

*Homer says that on The Simpsons.