We asked our team here at ELMNT FM Ottawa to weigh in with their favourites from the past decade! Check out their responses below:
Aiden Wolf, Wake Up Ottawa Host
- Your favorite movie/TV show of the decade:
Brooklyn 99. My reasons for this are simple. Andy Samberg = Genius
- Your favourite album of the decade:
This one is a no brainer. I view music as an extension of emotions, and much like smell that can cause a visceral reaction of memories, the same happens to me with music. And for that reason, I choose Shinedown’s Amaryllis. When my daughter was born, I was left alone with her when my wife went back to school to complete her degree. The music on this album is the exact soundtrack to that time, and my daughter not only started eating solids to it, but her first crawl and first steps came to those beats.
- Your favorite book of the decade:
The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. Still waiting on the final book in the Kingkiller Chronicles, and it is even being discussed as having a tv show which includes Lin-Manuel Miranda…Much like the book, I am still awaiting that. Fun fact, one year he was signing books in Toronto, and due to my scheduling I was unable to go. But at the time my wife was there, so for a Christmas present, she got a book signed, and several pictures of him holding my daughter. BEST. CHRISTMAS. PRESENT. EVER.
- Your favourite cinematic performance of the decade:
Not gonna lie, I came into this decade with a bit of a distaste for Matthew McConaughey. (Just looked up the spelling of his name for this…) But after seeing him in True Detective season one, I was sold. Amazing performance.
- Your favourite sports moment and/or news story of the decade:
BAT FLIP! It was the ultimate sports moment in history. A lot of people forget a lot of the emotion that was swirling just before that fateful homerun. If you were watching the game live, you felt deflated…you felt like the world was unfair. You had just watched the game slip away for one of the dumbest reasons, and you were already getting ready for next year. And then that happened. I was watching this game in a bar in Peterborough, and I am pretty sure there was movement in the earth when that ball was hit. Completely unforgettable moment!
Caroline O’Neill, Wake Up Ottawa Host & Morning News Journalist
- Your favourite movie and TV show of decade:
In my opinion Call the Midwife continues to be one of the most relevant but underrated shows on TV. Big Little Lies was one of the best book adaptations I’ve ever seen. How can you say no to that stacked cast?
This decade brought me my favourite movie Brooklyn. It is gorgeous both in the cinematography and the storytelling. Spotlight shows the importance of journalism and I think was one of its more realistic depiction. I also think every child should be shown Hidden Figures.
- Your favourite album of the decade:
I actually have my boss Matthew to thank for my album of the decade. We saw Leon Bridges perform at City Folk Fest. After watching him perform, I have Coming Home on repeat. Tegan and Sarah’s Heartthrob, featuring the song, “Closer”, is just one of those magical LPs.
- Your favourite book of the decade:
Asking me to pick one book is like asking me to pick a favorite child. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah devastated me, I still think about the ending. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is my greatest inspiration for journalism. I need someone to make The Book of Essie into a miniseries and I think everyone should read Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates.
- Your favourite cinematic performance of the decade:
Reese Witherspoon had my performance of the decade. Not only did she make Madeline Martha Mackenzie the moral centre of Big Little Lies, she changed the shape of the entertainment industry for women this decade. She produced films with richer roles for women and started a production company that puts women at the forefront. I can’t wait to watch Little Fires Everywhere, season 2 of The Morning Show and Daisy Jones & The Six.
- Your favourite sports and/or news story of the decade:
Watching Cross Lake First Nation hold a parade and ceremony to welcome back Brady Keeper after he made his debut with the Florida Panthers.
Jodi Kantor, Ronan Farrow and Megan Twohey did the most important reporting of the decade by breaking the Harvey Weinstein story. This led to reporting around the world about harassment women experience outside of Hollywood.
Kayla Whiteduck, Midday Host
- Your favorite movie/TV show of the decade:
Bob’s Burgers
- Your favourite album of the decade:
Alabama Shakes
- Your favourite book of the decade:
I don’t read much lol
- Your favourite cinematic performance of the decade:
The Joker – Joaquin Phoenix
- Your favourite sports and/or news story of the decade:
When Erik Karlsson got traded to the San Jose Sharks…. muahah, go Montreal Canadiens!
Jill Kennedy, Afternoon Host
- Your favorite movie/TV show of the decade:
My favourite show of the last decade would have to be Breaking Bad. I love Broad City & You’re the Worst. As far as movies go, I really can’t choose one, honestly! I loved Moonlight, Midsommar, Call Me By Your Name, Roma, The Great Budapest Hotel, Lady Bird & Before Midnight.
- Your favourite album of the decade:
My favourite albums of the decade is something still in progress but I think a few would have to be Wild Nothing’s “Nocturne”, Real Estate’s “Days”, Radiohead’s “A Moon Shaped Pool” and Grimes’ “Art Angels.” I could go on. My favourite Indigenous album of the decade is “At the Party with My Brown Friends” by Black Belt Eagle Scout.
- Your favourite book of the decade:
My favourite book would be Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown. It offered a really solid plan around “radical” self-care and how to stand up for what you believe in to mould the future you want to see. While practical, it was also magical and all-around a beautiful read that helped uncover some individual truths!
- Your favourite cinematic performance of the decade:
Saorsie Ronan in Lady Bird. One heck of a performance and I relate to that storyline on a weirdly deep level. And of course, Moonlight – It’s hard to choose one actor from this amazing film so I’m choosing three – Trevante Rhodes, Ashton Sanders and Alex Hibbert who portrayed the main character Chiron, did it so flawlessly as he grew up.
- Your favourite sports and/or news story of the decade:
Bautista’s bat flip in 2015 was wild. I was actually at the game and the crowd was going nuts! But it’s tied with the Raptors big win in 2019! I was out in the city when that happened and it was an epic moment in time – our city was full of people coming out onto the streets to celebrate!
Matthew Bisson, Station Manager & Afternoon News Journalist
- Your favorite movie/TV show of the decade:
Movies: Us, Black Panther & Spotlight.
TV Shows: The Americans, Fargo & The Mandalorian
- Your favourite album of the decade:
Albums: Feist- Metals, Arcade Fire- The Suburbs, & Kendrick Lamar- To Pimp A Butterfly
Indigenous Albums of the Decade: Elisapie– Ballad Of The Runaway Girl, William Prince- Earthly Days & Cody Coyote- Mamawi
- Your favourite book of the decade:
The Inconvenient Indian- Thomas King, Lions Pride- Chris Charlton, & Mo Meta Blues: The World According to ?uestlove– Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson
- Your favourite cinematic performance of the decade:
Matthew Rhys- The Americans & Allison Tolman- Fargo Season 1
- Your favourite sports and/or news story of the decade:
Best Sports Moment: Toronto Raptors, 2019 NBA Championship
Biggest News Story- Idle No More Movement
Fatima Tariq, ELMNT FM Office Administrator
- Your favorite movie/TV show of the decade:
I’m a little late to the game, but Game of Thrones takes the best TV show of the decade category for me, hands down. I can’t think of another show that caused the kind of mass ripple effect across the globe as that one episode did (we all know which one I’m taking about).
My other personal favorite would have to be Peaky Blinders. Great acting, great writing and great music. Thank you, BBC.
My top movie picks include La La Land, Whiplash, Marriage Story, Call Me by Your Name and Roma.
- Your favourite album of the decade:
Three words – To Pimp a Butterfly. Well, four words. But do articles even count? Kendrick Lamar’s album was powerful and tackled a huge topic but was also accessible to mainstream outlets. Genius! As a Radiohead fan, the wait for A Moon Shaped Pool was well worth it. Also, I must give a shout out to the newbie band called Greta Van Fleet and their album, Black Smoke Rising. Robert Plant lives on!
- Your favourite book of the decade:
The book that encapsulated the past decade for me was Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur. The book is essentially a compilation of Kaur’s ‘Insta-poetry’.
- Your favourite cinematic performance of the decade:
The best performance of the decade goes to Robert Pattison in Good Time. He was near unrecognizable in that role, and really managed to leave the teen heartthrob image behind him.
- Your favourite sports and/or news story of the decade:
My favorite spots moment must be Sidney Crosby scoring the winning goal at the Canada vs US game during the Winter Olympics in 2010. The Toronto Raptors winning was also another favorite.
What were your favourite things from the past ten years? Comment below!