#1. What Sees the Sky? by Mazarin

From the album A Tall-Tale Storyline (SpinART, 2001)

The idea of a number one song is ludicrous…yet here we are. I will be ruminating in other posts about the psychological necessity of ranking and valuing, so for now let’s just accept that all too common desert island proposition that a single track can be picked as a favorite for all time. For the longest time, I never worried about the identity of the sacred number one. I knew there were about 5 or so candidates and an explicit proclamation was never made or necessary. Until one day my friend casually asked me and pressed me on the matter. My “favorite song”. I wondered…an all-time favorite song must be so perfectly good in order to beat out all contenders that it might actually be capable of destroying me.

I knew it wasn’t a Swervedriver or Clash or Beatles song (my Top 3 all time bands) and I knew it was not something (absolutely) classic like “Like a Rolling Stone”, although I knew the latter would be high on my list. I agonized over the question for a week straight. I had cramps from it. I kept coming back to this one little, obscure song, “What Sees the Sky?” by Mazarin. I announced it to my friend as my favorite song. Ever. It was liberating, I didn’t have to think about it anymore. It’s over, the number one has been bronzed and placed on the mantle.

Mazarin was (and may continue - the band is on an indefinite hiatus) a criminally underrated psych-pop outfit from Philadelphia, headed up by Quentin Stoltzfus, the former drummer of Azusa Plane. Now before I go any further, immediately locate and purchase the album A Tall-Tale Storyline, a brilliant gem of a record that would be extremely high on a hypothetical all-time album list that I have no time to create.

Did I pick well? The fact of the matter is that “What Sees the Sky?” perfectly and effortlessly combines all the sonic elements of song that, in my aural universe, make my heart melt. The acoustic guitar rhythm is a lazy mid-tempo, jumping back and forth between two bright chords, with a bass line that gently prods it along towards the chorus. The vocals sound quadruple tracked, skillfully layering harmony over a melody that is so sweet and catchy, you feel you’re up to your knees in syrup. Every space in the spectrum of sound is filled with something. Mazarin most often refuses to let the acoustic guitar do all the work – buzzing, quirky loops, resonate hums, and gentle feedback cycles permeate the entire song. The listener is only subconsciously aware of this wall of sound. Only when conventional instruments fade away do we realize that a whole other entity is carrying the song on its fuzzy back. This is stunning production, in other words. The most compelling thing, I think, is the simultaneous feel of a wide-open sunny and green day, but alongside a pervasive feeling of regret and resignation. This is only partially communicated by the lyrics. This song reminds me of a beautiful summer morning that you can’t participate in, because you don’t have the psychological capacity. Which makes it my kind of song.

What is the song about? I’m not rightly sure. The title is completely impenetrable and it sort of annoys me. I have no hypotheses. The rest of the lyrics are equally cryptic but that is irrelevant – personal meaning, reflecting the feel of the song, generates itself with ease, and imbues a strange nostalgia as if you have heard it before in some misty past.

We'll spin around until we fall into our bedrooms
To sleep it off again
And figure out the pain
And go inside again
And lose our minds again

And so you have it. My #1, and for my money, the perfect indie-rock song. Some might argue that my #1 is overly obscure and reflects an elitist attempt to situate myself as…well, that type of bombastic rock critic who is always talking about the shit no one knows. But hear me know: this is my favorite song, and it’s not my fault that you haven’t heard it. I have said so, and therefore it must be true.

Other great tracks: Wheats, Go Home, A Tall Tale Story Line, Suicide Will Make you Happy, Henry Darger, I Should be Sleeping.

Next up : The random number generator has returned #331. English Roundabout by XTC. See you then.