Grumpy Man

Best Songs of 2011

Mark Wheatley — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:12:34 +0000

Listen here to my favourite fifty songs of 2011…

Best Albums of 2011

Mark Wheatley — Mon, 23 May 2011 16:15:33 +0000

My favourite twenty albums of 2011…

Best Songs of 2010

Mark Wheatley — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:07:29 +0000

This year many of the world’s finest musicians released their best albums to date (The National, Arcade Fire, Gorillaz etc), which means this has been one of those ‘special’ years in music. Choosing a favourite 40 tracks to represent such a year has been the toughest of these assignments yet…

The Top 100 Tracks of the 90s

Mark Wheatley — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:43:12 +0000

Pitchfork recently ran a week long ‘Best songs of the 90s‘ feature which has received a lot of attention. I love Pitchfork and their list had quite a few of my favourite tracks on it. However I was quite suprised at how many really great tracks were missing from their list. So I kissed my evenings goodbye for a week and came up with my own version…

Best Music of 2010…So Far

Mark Wheatley — Wed, 12 May 2010 16:03:31 +0000

2010 is shaping up to be one of the best years for new music in living memory. Here is my pick for the ‘top ten’ so far…

One Director Made The Two Best Music Videos of 2009

Mark Wheatley — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:29:57 +0000

I think two best music videos of 2009 were by the same director: Patrick Daughters. The first is a creepy promo for Depeche Mode’s ‘Wrong’. The second is a surreal clip for Grizzly Bear’s ‘Two Weeks’. Apparently this guy is working on a feature film. Judging by these videos that is no bad thing. Watch them here.

Best Songs of 2009

Mark Wheatley — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:12:19 +0000

The degeneration of modern cultural analysis into meaningless list creation is a sad reflection of what some commentators are calling ‘dwindling attention span syndrome’. Erm, what was I saying again? Never mind. Here are the best songs of 2009 as curated my me.

The Saddest Music Ever Made Pt 1: Boduf Songs

Mark Wheatley — Wed, 20 May 2009 14:47:38 +0000

Boduf Songs is Mat Sweet from Southampton. His eponymous first album was released in 2005.

The setup is simple – double tracked vocals, acoustic guitar, minimal instrumentation. If this sounds a little like Elliott Smith it may be because Matt Sweet is actually Elliott Smith’s evil twin. Or maybe he is the goth Simon and Garfunkal. One thing is for sure – Boduf Songs create some of the loneliest and darkest music ever made.

The Smiths are sad. But they are sad in a ‘My Girlfriend has left me’ kind of way. Boduf Songs are sad in a “serial killer has just ripped out my girlfriends spinal column and beaten my puppy to death with it” kind of way.

His most recent album How Shadows Chase The Balance, contains some of his most accessible music yet. The opening track Mission Creep is probably Sweet’s most beautiful song to date. However it is not exactly radio-friendly, with the opening lyrics reading more like a cry for help than a statement of intent : “all of my heroes died the same day…swinging from nooses, wrists open wide, arteries spilt at their sides”. Yikes!

If you are the sort of person who thinks that the White Lies are the rightful inheritor of Joy Division’s bleak estate, prepare to be turned inside out by Boduf Songs. And remember, no sharp objects allowed.

Boduf Songs on Last FM