Editor’s note: The Daily asked some individuals profiled in “On the Scene” to comment on whatever they felt was significant in 2001 entertainment.

Patrick Fleming

Best song: “`Cymbols'” by the Circulatory System. It is sonically one of the greatest songs ever made. Although it was probably done on a three- or four-track, it sounds like 300 tracks.”

Best trend: “Peacoats, the old kind, not the ones you could buy at the Gap.”

Worst trend: “Peacoats, see above, or stores taking things into their own hands through censorship, such as refusing to sell Tenacious D, or Grand Theft Auto 3, I don’t think that’s too cool.”

Movie: “Joe Terry’s `Johnny Appleseed and the Broken Time Machine,’ it is the indiest of the indie movies. It is also the only movie I saw in a theater this year.”

Best actor/actress: “The guy who played Hedwig, John Cameron Mitchell.”

Best live show: “Probably Steve Malkmus and the Jicks; I felt like a 6-year-old boy in a candy store.”

Best genre: “Probably twee, because puss rock always wins.

“There are some really great reissues, the Nuggets box set volume 2, Kinks at the BBC, Nick Drake box set.”

“Locally it was a really great year, but worldwide, not so much.”

– Leah Eaton

David Stuart

When we asked David Stuart, professor in Music Listening and Rock and Roll History, about the best and worst entertainment of 2001, he was particularly excited about movies.

He is quite happy the Varsity theatre in Des Moines shows foreign and independent films, giving movie-goers the opportunity to escape the ongoing barage of “`Happy Gilmore’ clones.”

Stuart enjoys attending the theater to view movies such as “Bread and Tulips,” a coming-of-age Italian film about a woman’s adventures while finding herself in her 40s.

He is also very excited about the Harry Potter movie and thinks it is an excellent picture.

He is an avid follower of the Harry Potter series as well and was not disappointed by the movie.

Stuart is critical about the way the entertainment industry is handling the Sept. 11 crisis, to some extent.

“Although it is good to use music to express emotions about the tragedy to help people make sense of the event and deal with grief, I am a bit repulsed by some entertainers selling sappy, cheesy products that take advantage of personal or national grief for their own financial gain.”

Although what is considered a “tasteful product” is subjective, he finds the act of outright cashing in on the event disdainful.

– Ashley Crone

Dan Mundt

Dan Mundt of ISU4 enjoyed a variety of television shows and movies in 2001. He is enthusiastic about “Sidewalks of New York,” a movie about the life changes of various couples in New York City.

The most original television show he watched this year was “Oxy Morons,” produced by our very own ISU4.

When asked to describe the program, he simply labeled it “fascinating.”

Mundt also followed the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers,” about World War II. He finds it interesting that the show uses up-and-coming directors who spent about $140 million on the 12-hour series, which stands in stark contrast to the mere three hours the World War II movie “Pearl Harbor” entertained for.

Mundt also feels “Band of Brothers” is a much better product than the highly commercialized movie. He did not enjoy viewing “Pearl Harbor,” also known as “three hours sucked away from my life that I will not get back.”

“It was only about the actual Pearl Harbor event for about an hour. Maybe if they would have called it something else I would have enjoyed it more,” he said.

Perhaps the writers should have more appropriately titled the “fairly cheesy” love story.

– Ashley Crone

Eric Yarwood

A year in entertainment? How do you wrap it up? For the most part, films this year were pretty bleak. I won’t even go into them. But music? There were some interesting ones. My top five for the year, or at least ones that stand out to me, are:

Bob Dylan: “Love and Theft.” He gets better with age. He really mixes up elements of rock and blues to make one of his best ever.

Dolly Parton: “Little Sparrow.” Her second bluegrass album. I never dreamed that a Collective Soul song could work so well as a bluegrass number. It is fantastic.

Alejandro Escovedo: “A Man Under the Influence.” Whether telling stories of his father or singing songs of loss, who cares? The music and vocals are fantastic.

India.Arie: “Acoustic Soul.” Call it whatever you want, but this is soul. Great vocals, beautiful guitars, and only her debut. If this is just the beginning, she will take her music places it has never been.

Eddie From Ohio: “Quick.” Their seventh release has some of the most bite, whether on matters of love or humor. They keep getting better.

Aaron Fister

“The new Star Trek series, called `Enterprise,’ that started this year is pretty impressive. Otherwise, I haven’t really watched much television, so I don’t really know.”

– Megan Ruxton

Squire Boone

“The thing that has surprised me the most this year has definitely been Bi-Fi Records. They’ve been consistently releasing new music that keeps surprising me. Their following is growing larger, which was definitely proven with their sell-out showcase at the M-Shop.”