Mazur's Best Songs of 2008

The Magnetic Fields - Drive On, Driver

The Breeders - Walk It Off

Islands - Kids Don't Know Shit

The White Eyes - No No No

I don't have a list of my favorite albums of 2008, because I only bought four cds this year. And they were all pretty good. So I guess those are my favorite albums of 08. Unrivaled and consistent, like Dutch food. This year saw new releases from bands I already deeply dig, namely The Magnetic Fields, Islands, and The Breeders. Four albums I expected to like, and that's just what I did, a lot. All solid, excellent releases by solid excellent bands. However, each album had one of two magnificent cuts that've been bounding through my head all year. So here is my VERY COMPETITIVE list of my favorite songs from 2008. Love, love, love em!

The Magnetic Fields - Drive On, Driver

This year's Distortion is perhaps the perfect The Magnetic Fields' album; the jagged highs and lows of previous outings sheared off but their impact retained, evened out into a steady stream of fuzzy, layered, untouchable prettiness. Even with so much noise and space between us and them, the sound still feels incredibly warm and lived-in.

The Breeders - Walk It Off

It's been a while since the under appreciated Title TK, but now Kim Deal is back, with sister Kelly, for a stripped down straight shooter of an album (even by Breeders' standards), which pairs stiff bar room rockers with slow pretty drifters. It's full of simple song writing in which The Deals never sounded more mature, in control, or at ease. My selection is from the former category, namely it rocks me. Fucking irresistible.

Islands - Kids Don't Know Shit

An excellent follow-up to similar concept album Return To The Sea, Islands sophomore effort Arm's Way rivals their impressive debut with perhaps a wider sonic breadth. It's complex song changes and repeating themes, and a deep and detailed narrative spanning the entire album, signal a move away from disconnected singles in a time of MP3s, and towards ambitious album craft in this impenetrable fortress of a record. When I first heard Unicorns in college, I hate hated it. But then I realized perhaps they weren't snobs, they were just smarter than me, and it was my offense that was perhaps insincere. Either way...Islands, great band.

As long as new bands keep making concept albums this airtight, the album may live on yet!

The White Eyes - No No No

The White Eyes - 多美好的人生 (Happy Life)

Why aren't The White Eyes super duper famous? I keep saying it and it keeps not happening. It just doesn't make sense, because they figured out exactly what Rock N' Roll means in the 21st Century. But be that as it may, my lazy goal to post them once a year until they blow-the-fuck-up had no bearing on their being in my best of. No, their debut EP, Get My Body if You Want it, was easily my favorite album of the universe in 2008. Just fucking incredible. This is what rock n' roll should sound like in twenty-ought-eight, for my money

One more year towards the apocalypse everybody! Happy year of the cow!