Ghost’s 2011 Music Highlights
10. Those Dancing Days – Daydreams & Nightmares
The Swede group might not have the album of the decade, but they’re most improved. While their 2008 debut, In Our Space Hero Suits, had just a couple of good tracks — namely Hitten [MV] and Those Dancing Days [MV], which were included in their early Those Dancing Days EP anyway — their second album Daydreams & Nightmares is more cohesive and fun to listen to all the way through.
Listen to the album on Xiami. Get the MP3s on Amazon.
9. Mayday – Second Round
It’s the end of the world, and Taiwanese band Mayday is making sure they go out with a bang. Three years after the release of Poetry of the Day After (後青春期的詩), with hits like Suddenly I Miss You (突然好想你) [MV] and You’re Not Truly Happy (你不是真正的快樂) [MV with CC], they’ve released Second Round (第二人生), with singles OAOA [MV], Starry Starry Night (星空) [MV] from the Starry Starry Night OST, and Noah’s Ark (諾亞方舟).
Listen to the album on Xiami.
The album comes in two different versions, the doomsday No Where version and the optimistic Now Here version, which have the same tracklist with slight song changes and a different order.
8. tUnE-yArDs – whokill
She’s just cool, alright? Bizness [MV] is killer — see what I did there — even in live form.
Listen to the album on Xiami. Get whokill as a CD or as MP3s on Amazon.
OKay, so first of all…YES to Biophilia. Volta wasn’t tragic, but it wasn’t the best. I’m still a big fan of “Innocence” and “Earth Intruders”…call me crazy if ya wanna.
King of Limbs, I only heard “Lotus Flower”, but I loved that song.
I think I’m going to have to check out Salyu just for the “Bjorkiness” of her…HaHa. If her album is ANYTHING like Medulla, I’ll be all over it!
@Camiele, I hated Volta in album form, but it was amazing live… though that might be because Bjork only did Earth Intruders, Innocence and Declare Independence. LOL
You can check our salyu tag, we posted a few of the videos from her salyu x salyu project.
@amy, Well, there ya go…HaHa. I guess I can’t really comment on it seeing as I only actually listened to “Innocence”, “Earth Intruders”, “Declare Independence” and “Wanderlust”. Did she release some side projects — one of them having to do with the Moomins? Cuz remember Moomins + Bjork at some point, but I don’t know if that was something fan made or real…?
Anyway, I keep saying I’ve got all this stuff to check out and I forget! Guess that’s what I’ll be doing Christmas week-end :)
@Camiele, Bjork had a Moomins project for real. No dream, no fanmade. But that was a side project outside Volta.
To be honest, I’m not a really Big Bang fan – I know it’s a surprise considering I learned their names first and all – but I only have like two songs from them in my iPod. But I have most of GD&TOP, specially the most weird tracks LOL
And……. I can’t get Radiohead. I mean, I get it… I just can’t get into it. It doesn’t stir anything inside me, like… let’s say- that clip of Tokyo Jihen singing Welcome to Paradise.
I think Bjork does great when she goes organic, and even though Volta (the very name is not organic) was about earth intruders and stuff, it felt so OFF. I think Salyu is the opposite in that sense. Her sound in more produced, very powerful vocals, but she will sound weird in a more organic environment.
@Camiele, Volta had some good tracks, but that was that. It was a huge disappointment, specially jumping from Medulla to it. Culture shock.
If you like to check out “Bjorkness” in Salyu – you have to check her work in the All About Lily Chou Chou OST, where she sings as Lily. A personal highlight was her performance of Glide in her last Budokan show (youtube ‘salyu glide live’) which was a rare occurrence of her being Lily again. Her discography as ‘salyu’ seems to divide fans because she goes a bit too ‘pop’ for Lily lovers, but considered a class-B Jpop singer because she’s not commercial enough for the rest of them.
There’s also Bjorkness in my #4 pick, SingerSen, who worked with Guy Sigsworth in her EP – if you are a big Bjork fan you know they’ve worked together. It has a lot of Bjork influences, but with Chinese flavor.
@amy, at least you’re not one of those people who likes Radiohead because everyone likes them. There’s tons of them that say that like Radiohead just because they can sing to Creep.
@ghost, I can karaoke to Creep. LOL But I don’t karaoke in front of people because I’m chicken shit like that.