Congratulations to David Simon, the creator of The Wire (to which Nonesuch released the soundtrack) and Treme, who was named a MacArthur Fellow for 2010. The Fellows, selected for their creativity, originality, and potential to make important contributions in the future, receive $500,000 each in “no strings attached” support over the next five years. MacArthur Fellowships, often referred to as "Genius" grants, offer Fellows unprecedented freedom and opportunity to reflect, create, and explore. Dawn Upshaw was named a Fellow in 2007.

While 2008 may go down as one of the more turbulent years in recent (or distant) memory, or, more optimistically, a time of change, there is much to celebrate in the year in music. Nonesuch artists across all genres have contributed to that and, accordingly, have made their way onto many critics' lists of the year's best. For the final Nonesuch Journal article of the year, we offer an overview of just some of that year-end critical praise.

The year that began with the final season of HBO's The Wire and the Nonesuch release of the series' only soundtracks—"... and all the pieces matter": Five Years of Music from "The Wire" and Beyond Hamsterdam: Baltimore Tracks from "The Wire"—now comes to a close with the release of the complete five seasons in a single, 23-DVD box set: "a handsome, thorough and well-appointed cap to the show’s amazing run," says Paste magazine, for what "was the best show on television ... It was—is—a monument."

David Simon, executive producer, writer, and creator of HBO's The Wire, will present a lecture at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, this afternoon at 4:10 PM in the school's chapel. The lecture, titled "The Audacity of Despair," is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by Hamilton College's Dean of Faculty and hosted by the school's American Studies program. Simon's most recent work for HBO, the mini-series Generation Kill, tells the story of an embedded reporter in Iraq during the initial US invasion of Baghdad in 2003.

The Wire, the Peabody Award-winning HBO show that ended its five-season run earlier this year, has been nominated for the 2008 Humanitas Prize, an annual screenwriter's award honoring stories that "affirm the human person, probe the meaning of life, and enlighten the use of human freedom."

The fifth and final season of HBO's The Wire is out on DVD today. The New York City's Museum of the Moving Image recently held a panel with the show's creator, David Simon, and several cast members, which you can now hear online. MOMI's Chief Curator David Schwartz, begins the proceedings by saying, "It's hard to figure out how to introduce this program with the proper amount of hyperbole, because the argument among critics seems to be whether this is one of the greatest shows in television history or the greatest show." The New York Post calls it "unmissable TV"; The Scotsman says it's "magnificent" and "seriously addictive."

Two of the most memorable stars of the HBO series The Wire will be in Durham, North Carolina, this Friday to show their support and raise funds for the John Avery Boys & Girls Club there, reports the News & Observer. Andre Royo, who played Bubbles on the show, and Michael K. Williams, who played Omar Little, will discuss the important role the Club plays in the lives of so many young people.

Thousands of music, film, and new-media types from across the world are converging on Austin, Texas, this week for SXSW. Among the participating artists will be Steve Reich, whose music will be performed with that of John Adams's at a showcase tomorrow night, and who will join Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore for a discussion the following afternoon; and The Black Keys, who will perform late-night tomorrow and at the Village Voice party on Friday. Next week, David Simon, the creator of The Wire, will speak at the University of Texas.

"We write a television show." So, humbly, begins the Time magazine essay by David Simon, the creator of HBO's The Wire, and his fellow series writers, as the show they created comes to a close this Sunday. In the essay, the writers offer a call to action against the public policy debacle that has been at the core of their show over five seasons: the failed drug war and its pervasive, destructive consequences. They propose a real-world solution to the ills they've depicted so powerfully in their fictionalized TV drama.

Stars of HBO’s The Wire recently visited the HBO Store in Manhattan to meet fans of the show and sign copies of the series’s DVDs and soundtracks, … and all the pieces matter and Beyond Hamsterdam. Jamie Hector (Marlo Stanfield), Gbenga Akinnagbe (Chris Partlow), and Clarke Peters (Det. Lester Freamon) were on hand, as was TV Guide, which asked the actors to reveal some of their favorite cuts on the soundtracks.

The cast of HBO's The Wire has pitched in to support the Ella Thompson Fund, established by Thompson, a West Baltimore community leader, and the series's creators David Simon and Edward Burns to provide recreation programs to inner-city kids, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry, with a special auction on EBay. More than 60 items, including autographed Wire merchandise, DVDs, and soundtracks, as well as customized, limited-edition hoodies designed by Jeff Staple Studios, are available for bidding.