Ghost FM’s Favorite Music of 2011

This is the part of end year lists people usually don’t read! They just want you to cut to the chase and…buzz off! There you go. So, what’s this urge for me to write nonsense here? Well, it may sound as an introductory page to the people who’ve either never come across this blog or simply deny it. Like the majority of my friends. So, without further bollocks, Hey every one! It’s Pedram and I’ve been blogging since 2007. It’s not my occupation and I’ve never taken myself seriously, neither have I ever earned a dime out of it. But I happen to have listened to a lot of music and I always wanted to have a joint somewhere to share them. In 2010, I suddenly went berserk and shut down my previous blog. So Ghost FM is the aftermath of a big cyclic redundancy check that dragged me into a neat new blogging platform in which you could follow or be followed by nice people. As of this very day I have some 1049 followers who were kind enough to let me in. I’m currently studying my Masters in Stockholm and I don’t think I’ll ever regret it. 

At the end of each year, I make a list of (only) 10 albums and 10 songs I loved the most. It’s actually not a very nice thing to do, knowing you’re missing quite plenty of work and I hate to hold that banner up as a pointless manifest of “Yeah! That’s it!” The songs and albums here are not the harvest of any specific statistics. The numbers does not necessarily signify my play counts. They are merely…how I feel, you know? But I suppose if you want to see what sounded pleasant to my ears, it’s better you browse back in the archive.

These two lists, of course, lack dozens of fascinating albums and songs this year: I think Dan Bejar recorded his best Destroyer album with Kaputt’s superb freelance poetry. James Blake’s delicate fragility made dubstep sound pop balladry, Mazzy Star returned, Brad Cox brought his latest Deerhunter tenderness into Atlas Sound, Grouper got even ghostlier and distant, R.E.M. broke up with an album handpicked out of their whole three-decade career, Smith Westerns played adorable noisy guitar pop, Nicolas Jaar made brilliant spacey vibes out of breath and snaps, Steve Malkmus played at his most rock ‘n roll, Oneohtrix Point Never reached its pinnacle, Tom Waits returned with favorable material after seven years of no studio albums, etc. See? It was not a bad year for music unlike some heavy ears think.

Anyhow here are our favorite albums in 2011:

And song-wise, the following ten glitter and shine! Not that Battles “Futura” was not instrumentally astounding. And how can you not love Ty Segall’s beloved garage hit “Goodbye Bread”? Does this stop just there? Feist’s “How Come You Never Go There” for instance, or the gentle quality soft rock of Bodies of Water on “Open Rhythms”. That addictive bass line on Peaking Lights’ “Tiger Eyes (Laid Back)”, or the window-shattering industrial of Zola Jesus’ “Vessel”. How to float with anything better than Bill Callahan’s “Riding For the Feeling”. But for now, let’s put an end to all that blatherings of regret. These are my top ten favorite songs of the year:

And just like last year, here’s a little streamer of our favorite songs. If you want to listen to the albums as well. I think you already know what to do, right? Good.

Alright townies! That’s all for 2011 on Ghost FM. Hope you all have a wonderful vacation. Don’t forget to come back in January. Love, hug, peace, candies, cocktails, comic books, caviar, sunny-side ups, iPods, horns, birds, whiskey, bargains, hopscotch, Scarlett Johansson, Blade Runner, hammer, bees, fruits and headphones. Hej då!

P.S. Thanks for all the precious souls taking part on the blog’s polling. I scrutinized the ones I hadn’t already tried. You’re sweet.

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posted 5 months ago

Mixtape Vol.2: Landesklinikum Amstetten

Remember the Joseph Fritzl case? The Austrian old man who physically assaulted, sexually abused, and raped his own daughter and imprisoned her and her children in a Silence of the Lambs sort of basement for 24 years? This mix’s theme revolves around Elisabeth Fritzl, a woman who was not able to see the light of day for a very long time. It’s a series of echoes and odes to all the struggles in her head. I marinated the story with some narratives from Sylvia Plath’s poems (it’s not Plath narrating, it’s her poetry) and some other stuff. Landesklinikum Amstetten is the name of the local hospital that Krestin (Elizabeth’s daughter) was taken to and led to their eventual survival.

I must warn you though not to listen to this in the morning or if you’re absolutely bright and positive. It brings you down to melancholy ground and cracks your smile. Go to sleep to these ghostly vibes and pray for the sunrise.

[♫] Ghost FM Mixtape Vol.2: Landesklinikum Amstetten

Tracklisting:

01 Narrative: Sylvia Plath - “Mushrooms Pt.1” / 02 James Blake - “Wilhelm’s Scream” / 03 Narrative: Sylvia Plath - “Mushrooms Pt.2” / 04 Sunny Day Real Estate - “Pheurton Skeurto” / 05 Narrative: Jim Morrison - “The Movie” (Background: Xiu Xiu - “Saint Pedro Glue Stick) / 06 Björk - “The Anchor Song” / 07 Flying Lotus - “Babble” / 08 Narrative: Sylvia Plath - “Ariel” (Background: The Flaming Lips - “The Distress Signals of Celestial Objects”) / 09 Besnard Lakes “For Agent 13” / 10 Jonny Greenwood - “Iron Swallow” / 11 Marla Forbes “Of Course You Can’t Go Without That” / 12 Mount Eerie - “Flaming Home” / 13 Narrative: Of the Wand And the Moon - “Gandr” / 14 Lykke Li - “Unrequited Love” / 15 Narrative: Sylvia Plath - “Letter In November” / 16 Nick Lowe - “Faithless Lover” / 17 Department of Eagles - “Teenagers” / 18 Narrative: Sylvia Plath - “November Graveyard” (Background: Portishead - “Deep Water”) / 19 Bee Gees - “Holiday”

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posted 1 year ago