The Magnetic Fields | ||
| Allmusic Biography : The Magnetic Fields may be a bona fide band, but in most essential respects they are the project of studio wunderkind Stephin Merritt, who writes, produces, and (generally) sings all of the material. Merritt also plays many of the instruments, concocting a sort of indie pop-synth rock. While the Magnetic Fields albums draw upon the electronic textures of vintage acts like ABBA, Kraftwerk, Roxy Music with Eno, Joy Division, and Gary Numan, Merritts vision is far more pointed toward the alternative rock underground. His songs are also far warmer and more purely pop-oriented than the above references indicate, sounding at times like late 20th century equivalents to the catalogs of Phil Spector or Brian Wilson. Merritt began recording music on his own four-track at a young age, but he didnt issue the first Magnetic Fields album until 1990, when he was well into his twenties. The first pair of discs featured the choir girl vocals of Susan Anway, but Merritt handled the vocals himself on most subsequent releases, singing in a deep croon not far removed from his European influences. The synth pop quotient also became heavier on those albums, although Merritt always took care to mix in quite a few natural instruments with the electronic ones, often with the help of Claudia Gonson (percussion) and Sam Davol (cello, flute). Throughout it all, an emphasis remained on the bands pop hooks and eccentric, romantically reflective lyrics rather than the bedrock synthetic rhythms and textures. In addition to his work with Magnetic Fields, Merritt involved himself in several side projects over the years, the most notable being the 6ths Wasps Nests album in 1995. Merritt sang only one track himself on this disc, for which he acted as composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, employing well-known alternative rock singers like Barbara Manning, Dean Wareham (Luna), Lou Barlow, Georgia Hubley (Yo La Tengo), Chris Knox, and Robert Scott (the Bats) to handle the lead vocals. After releasing 1997s New Despair as the Gothic Archies, Merritt finally returned to the Magnetic Fields aegis for 1999s 69 Love Songs, released as both a trio of separate discs and a limited-edition three-CD box set. Merritt spent the next few years releasing more side projects, including records from the Gothic Archies, Future Bible Heroes, and the 6ths, as well as numerous soundtracks. It wasnt until May 2004 that Merritt and his Magnetic Fields finally got around to making i, a collection of songs that begin with the aforementioned vowel. Distortion followed in early 2008; shortly thereafter, Merritt set to work on an acoustic folk-influenced album, Realism, which was released in January 2010. The Magnetic Fields returned in 2012 with Love at the Bottom of the Sea. Showcasing a return to the bands classic synthesizer and acoustic guitar pop sound, the album featured the single "Andrew in Drag." In 2016, Merritt announced an ambitious new album, 50 Song Memoir, which he said was meant to reflect his first 50 years of life on Earth, as well as the 50 different musical instruments used during the recording sessions. In late 2016, Merritt set out on a series of live dates in which he performed the song cycle as part of a show directed by José Zayas. The autobiographical album was released in March 2017. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 16 Title: Distant Plastic Trees Released: 1991 Tracks: 11 Duration: 36:17 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Railroad Boy (02:59) 2 Smoke Signals (03:28) 3 You Love to Fail (02:30) 4 Kings (02:15) 5 Babies Falling (03:18) 6 Living in an Abandoned Firehouse With You (03:55) 7 Tar‐Heel Boy (02:26) 8 Falling in Love With the Wolfboy (04:09) 9 Josephine (03:08) 10 100,000 Fireflies (03:20) 11 Plant White Roses (04:44) |
| Distant Plastic Trees : Allmusic album Review : The Magnetic Fields debut, Distant Plastic Trees, is a fine album in its own right, although to many fans of the group it will serve more as a blueprint for Stephin Merritts later work. One of two albums recorded with vocalist Susan Anway, the record makes amazing use of cheap keyboards and drum machines to create a series of diverse sounding songs that exude a timeless wistfulness, simplicity, and a rural atmosphere. As fine as the Magnetic Fields later work is, this feel was never was quite duplicated. "Smoke Signals" and "100,000 Fireflies" are among Merritts best songs, with beautiful instrumentation and haunting vocals. When the songwriter pursues more of an experimental vision, as on "Kings" and the cover of "Babies Falling," the results are interesting, but lack the sheer beauty of the records best moments, like the quiet simplicity of "Josephine." The album also contains the first of Merrits forays into other musical styles, the Appalachian-drenched "Tar-Heel Boy." The record was later combined with 1991s The Wayward Bus on one CD. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 16 Title: The House of Tomorrow Released: 1992 Tracks: 5 Duration: 12:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Young and Insane (02:29) 2 Technical (You’re So) (02:33) 3 Alien Being (02:32) 4 Love Goes Home to Paris in the Spring (02:25) 5 Either You Don’t Love Me or I Don’t Love You (02:20) |
 | Album: 3 of 16 Title: The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees Released: 1992 Tracks: 21 Duration: 1:04:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Wikipedia Allmusic Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 When You Were My Baby (02:43) 2 The Saddest Story Ever Told (02:12) 3 Lovers From the Moon (02:52) 4 Candy (02:32) 5 Tokyo Á‐Go‐Go (03:12) 6 Summer Lies (02:59) 7 Old Orchard Beach (02:54) 8 Jeremy (03:01) 9 Dancing in Your Eyes (02:56) 10 Suddenly There Is a Tidal Wave (03:18) 11 [silence] (04:32) 12 Railroad Boy (02:59) 13 Smoke Signals (03:28) 14 You Love to Fail (02:30) 15 Kings (02:15) 16 Babies Falling (03:18) 17 Living in an Abandoned Firehouse With You (03:58) 18 Tar‐Heel Boy (02:26) 19 Falling in Love With the Wolfboy (04:05) 20 Josephine (03:08) 21 100,000 Fireflies (03:20) |
| The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees : Allmusic album Review : The sound of The Wayward Bus is quite similar to Distant Plastic Trees, filled as it is with walls of cheap synthesizers and drum machines while featuring the haunting vocals of Susan Anway. The atmosphere of the album is also, like its predecessor, filled with a sort of melancholic wistfulness. Yet there are major differences between the two records. Primarily, The Wayward Bus works in many ways as a tribute of sorts to Phil Spector and Brian Wilson. Several tracks here use the rhythms to Spectors "Be My Baby," while the theme of summer love often recurs. Furthermore, there is little of the out-and-out experimentation heard on the debut, while Merritt added cello and horns to his music for the first time. While theres nothing here as gorgeous as "100,000 Fireflies," the record is more consistent than The Wayward Bus, and the simple beauty of tracks like "Lovers From the Moon" and "Candy" rank among Merritts best songwriting, as does the Japanese pop pastiche, "Tokyo a Go-Go." Anways last album with the group, The Wayward Bus was later released on one CD with Distant Plastic Trees. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 16 Title: The Charm of the Highway Strip Released: 1994-04-18 Tracks: 10 Duration: 33:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Lonely Highway (03:05) 2 Long Vermont Roads (03:26) 3 Born on a Train (03:45) 4 I Have the Moon (02:36) 5 Two Characters in Search of a Country Song (03:32) 6 Crowd of Drifters (03:35) 7 Fear of Trains (03:14) 8 When the Open Road Is Closing In (03:38) 9 Sunset City (04:05) 10 Dust Bowl (02:19) |
| The Charm of the Highway Strip : Allmusic album Review : Stephin Merritt took more of a narrative approach than usual on The Charm of the Highway Strip, which was in part inspired (as the title indicates) by on-the-road experiences and exhibited a (very slight) country influence. Not as good as Holiday, although it has characteristically agile songwriting and production. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 16 Title: Holiday Released: 1994-09-27 Tracks: 14 Duration: 36:26 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 BBC Radiophonic Workshop (00:22) 2 Desert Island (03:36) 3 Deep Sea Diving Suit (02:05) 4 Strange Powers (02:41) 5 Torn Green Velvet Eyes (04:22) 6 The Flowers She Sent and the Flowers She Said She Sent (02:26) 7 Swinging London (02:35) 8 In My Secret Place (01:41) 9 Sad Little Moon (02:12) 10 The Trouble I’ve Been Looking For (02:23) 11 Sugar World (03:19) 12 All You Ever Do Is Walk Away (02:05) 13 In My Car (02:56) 14 Take Ecstasy With Me (03:36) |
| Holiday : Allmusic album Review : Magnetic Fields fourth release, 1994s Holiday, was the first to be sung by Stephin Merritt, original lead singer Susan Anway having moved to Arizona from the duos Massachusetts home. Its difficult to remember after several albums how profoundly odd Merritts voice, a deep baritone with sleepy phrasing that vacillates mostly between the poles of deadpan wryness and romantic longing, sounded on first exposure. That voice is so perfect for Merritts remarkable lyrical sense, however, with its striking imagery, Cole Porter-level rhymes, and mix of mordant wit and unabashed romanticism, that Holiday is in many ways the first true Magnetic Fields record. Early Magnetic Fields albums each had a specific and unique sound. Holiday has the flavor of early-80s synth pop of the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (circa Architecture and Morality) stripe. The songs are melodic and immediately accessible, but with a chilly tone and a predilection for odd noises and unexpected accents. The songwriting is a huge leap beyond the first two Magnetic Fields albums, which have their share of gems but are unfortunately uneven. Every track here is a winner, with the percolating "Strange Powers" and the wistful "The Flowers She Sent and the Flowers She Said She Sent" the highest points. Merritt would eventually abandon this synth pop sound on Magnetic Fields records in favor of an increasingly acoustic and delicate feel, though his albums with Future Bible Heroes have a similarly electronic sheen. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 16 Title: Get Lost Released: 1995-10-24 Tracks: 13 Duration: 39:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 With Whom to Dance? (02:27) 2 Smoke and Mirrors (03:08) 3 All the Umbrellas in London (03:18) 4 Why I Cry (03:37) 5 Save a Secret for the Moon (03:02) 6 Don’t Look Away (02:16) 7 Love Is Lighter Than Air (02:59) 8 The Desperate Things You Made Me Do (03:54) 9 You and Me and the Moon (02:59) 10 The Village in the Morning (03:40) 11 Famous (03:11) 12 When You’re Old and Lonely (01:57) 13 The Dreaming Moon (03:24) |
| Get Lost : Allmusic album Review : Stephin Merritts homespun (although not carelessly lo-fi) approach to electronic pop is a big part of the Magnetic Fields charm, but he may be starting to stretch it to the limit with Get Lost. The most electro-oriented of their releases to date, its also perhaps their least engaging, although the brooding ballad "Dont Look Away" is one of their best songs. They may want to start thinking about varying their synthetic percussions and patterns more, as these are starting too sound a little too boxy and similar for comfort. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 16 Title: 69 Love Songs, Volume 1 Released: 1999-09-07 Tracks: 23 Duration: 56:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Absolutely Cuckoo (01:34) 2 I Don’t Believe in the Sun (04:16) 3 All My Little Words (02:46) 4 A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off (02:41) 5 Reno Dakota (01:05) 6 I Don’t Want to Get Over You (02:22) 7 Come Back From San Francisco (02:48) 8 The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side (03:43) 9 Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits (02:25) 10 The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be (01:11) 11 I Think I Need a New Heart (02:32) 12 The Book of Love (02:42) 13 Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long (02:33) 14 How Fucking Romantic (00:58) 15 The One You Really Love (02:53) 16 Punk Love (00:58) 17 Parades Go By (02:56) 18 Boa Constrictor (00:58) 19 A Pretty Girl Is Like… (01:50) 20 My Sentimental Melody (03:07) 21 Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing (02:27) 22 Sweet‐Lovin’ Man (04:59) 23 The Things We Did and Didn’t Do (02:11) |
| 69 Love Songs, Volume 1 : Allmusic album Review : As the sprawling magnitude of its cheeky title suggests, 69 Love Songs is Stephin Merritts most ambitious as well as most fully realized work to date, a three-disc epic of classically chiseled pop songs that explore both the promise and pitfalls of modern romance through the jaundiced eye of an irredeemable misanthrope. A true A-to-Z catalog of touchingly bittersweet love songs that runs the gamut from tender ballads to pithy folk tunes to bluesy vamps, the sheer scope of the record allows all of Merritts musical personas to converge -- the regular use of guest vocalists recalls his work as the 6ths, the romantic fatalism suggests the Gothic Archies project, and the stately melodies evoke the Future Bible Heroes. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts, however -- for all of Merritts scathing wit and icy detachment, theres a depth and sensitivity to these songs largely absent from his past work, and each one of these 69 tracks approaches lamour from refreshing angles, galvanizing the love song form with rare sophistication and elegance. The first volume is the strongest and most straightforward, boasting the prettiest melodies and most sparkling arrangements; despite the occasional intrusion of filler like "Punk Love," the material is mostly superb, with the mournful "I Dont Believe in the Sun," the self-deprecating "All My Little Words," and the wistful "Come Back From San Francisco" emerging among Merritts finest efforts. Still, even though each of 69 Love Songs three discs is available separately, it was nevertheless conceived as a whole and is best absorbed as such, with all of its twists and turns taken in stride; its three-hour length aside, the music boasts the craftsmanship and economy that remain the hallmarks of classic American pop songwriting, a tradition Merritt upholds even as he subverts the formula in new and brilliant ways. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 16 Title: 69 Love Songs, Volume 3 Released: 1999-09-07 Tracks: 23 Duration: 56:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Underwear (02:49) 2 It’s a Crime (03:54) 3 Busby Berkeley Dreams (03:36) 4 I’m Sorry I Love You (03:06) 5 Acoustic Guitar (02:37) 6 The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure (03:10) 7 Love in the Shadows (02:54) 8 Bitter Tears (02:51) 9 Wi’ Nae Wee Bairn Ye’ll Me Beget (01:55) 10 Yeah! Oh, Yeah! (02:19) 11 Experimental Music Love (00:29) 12 Meaningless (02:08) 13 Love Is Like a Bottle of Gin (01:46) 14 Queen of the Savages (02:12) 15 Blue You (03:03) 16 I Can’t Touch You Anymore (03:05) 17 Two Kinds of People (01:10) 18 How to Say Goodbye (02:48) 19 The Night You Can’t Remember (02:17) 20 For We Are the King of the Boudoir (01:14) 21 Strange Eyes (02:01) 22 Xylophone Track (02:47) 23 Zebra (02:15) |
| 69 Love Songs, Volume 3 : Allmusic album Review : As the sprawling magnitude of its cheeky title suggests, 69 Love Songs is Stephin Merritts most ambitious as well as most fully realized work to date, a three-disc epic of classically chiseled pop songs that explore both the promise and pitfalls of modern romance through the jaundiced eye of an irredeemable misanthrope. A true A-to-Z catalog of touchingly bittersweet love songs that runs the gamut from tender ballads to pithy folk tunes to bluesy vamps, the sheer scope of the record allows all of Merritts musical personas to converge -- the regular use of guest vocalists recalls his work as the 6ths, the romantic fatalism suggests the Gothic Archies project, and the stately melodies evoke the Future Bible Heroes. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts, however -- for all of Merritts scathing wit and icy detachment, theres a depth and sensitivity to these songs largely absent from his past work, and each one of these 69 tracks approaches lamour from refreshing angles, galvanizing the love song form with rare sophistication and elegance. The third disc is even more eclectic than its predecessors, embracing everything from lush pop ballads (the sumptuous "Busby Berkeley Dreams") to winsome folk songs ("Acoustic Guitar") to Reich-ian tape constructions ("Experimental Music Love"). Still, even though each of 69 Love Songs three discs is available separately, it was nevertheless conceived as a whole and is best absorbed as such, with all of its twists and turns taken in stride; despite its three-hour length the music boasts the craftsmanship and economy that remain the hallmarks of classic American pop songwriting, a tradition Merritt upholds even as he subverts the formula in new and brilliant ways. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 16 Title: 69 Love Songs Released: 1999-09-07 Tracks: 69 Duration: 2:52:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Absolutely Cuckoo (01:34) 2 I Don’t Believe in the Sun (04:16) 3 All My Little Words (02:46) 4 A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off (02:41) 5 Reno Dakota (01:05) 6 I Don’t Want to Get Over You (02:22) 7 Come Back From San Francisco (02:48) 8 The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side (03:43) 9 Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits (02:25) 10 The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be (01:11) 11 I Think I Need a New Heart (02:32) 12 The Book of Love (02:42) 13 Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long (02:33) 14 How Fucking Romantic (00:58) 15 The One You Really Love (02:53) 16 Punk Love (00:58) 17 Parades Go By (02:56) 18 Boa Constrictor (00:58) 19 A Pretty Girl Is Like… (01:50) 20 My Sentimental Melody (03:07) 21 Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing (02:27) 22 Sweet‐Lovin’ Man (04:59) 23 The Things We Did and Didn’t Do (02:11) 1 Roses (00:27) 2 Love Is Like Jazz (02:56) 3 When My Boy Walks Down the Street (02:38) 4 Time Enough for Rocking When We’re Old (02:03) 5 Very Funny (01:26) 6 Grand Canyon (02:28) 7 No One Will Ever Love You (03:14) 8 If You Don’t Cry (03:06) 9 You’re My Only Home (02:17) 10 (Crazy for You but) Not That Crazy (02:18) 11 My Only Friend (02:01) 12 Promises of Eternity (03:46) 13 World Love (03:07) 14 Washington, D.C. (01:53) 15 Long‐Forgotten Fairytale (03:37) 16 Kiss Me Like You Mean It (02:00) 17 Papa Was a Rodeo (05:01) 18 Epitaph for My Heart (02:50) 19 Asleep and Dreaming (01:53) 20 The Sun Goes Down and the World Goes Dancing (02:46) 21 The Way You Say Good‐Night (02:44) 22 Abigail, Belle of Kilronan (02:00) 23 I Shatter (03:09) 1 Underwear (02:49) 2 It’s a Crime (03:54) 3 Busby Berkeley Dreams (03:36) 4 I’m Sorry I Love You (03:06) 5 Acoustic Guitar (02:37) 6 The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure (03:10) 7 Love in the Shadows (02:54) 8 Bitter Tears (02:51) 9 Wi’ Nae Wee Bairn Ye’ll Me Beget (01:55) 10 Yeah! Oh, Yeah! (02:19) 11 Experimental Music Love (00:29) 12 Meaningless (02:08) 13 Love Is Like a Bottle of Gin (01:46) 14 Queen of the Savages (02:12) 15 Blue You (03:03) 16 I Can’t Touch You Anymore (03:05) 17 Two Kinds of People (01:10) 18 How to Say Goodbye (02:48) 19 The Night You Can’t Remember (02:17) 20 For We Are the King of the Boudoir (01:14) 21 Strange Eyes (02:01) 22 Xylophone Track (02:47) 23 Zebra (02:15) |
| 69 Love Songs : Allmusic album Review : As the sprawling magnitude of its cheeky title suggests, 69 Love Songs is Stephin Merritts most ambitious as well as most fully realized work to date, a three-disc epic of classically chiseled pop songs that explore both the promise and pitfalls of modern romance through the jaundiced eye of an irredeemable misanthrope. A true A-to-Z catalog of touchingly bittersweet love songs that runs the gamut from tender ballads to pithy folk tunes to bluesy vamps, the sheer scope of the record allows all of Merritts musical personas to converge -- the regular use of guest vocalists recalls his work as the 6ths, the romantic fatalism suggests the Gothic Archies project, and the stately melodies evoke the Future Bible Heroes. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts, however -- for all of Merritts scathing wit and icy detachment, theres a depth and sensitivity to these songs largely absent from his past work, and each one of these 69 tracks approaches lamour from refreshing angles, galvanizing the love song form with rare sophistication and elegance. Naturally, given a project of this size theres the occasional bit of filler, but all in all, 69 Love Songs maintains a remarkable consistency throughout, and the highlights ("I Dont Believe in the Sun," "All My Little Words," "Asleep and Dreaming," "Busby Berkeley Dreams," and "Acoustic Guitar," to name just a few) are jaw-droppingly superb. Also available as three individual releases, 69 Love Songs was nevertheless conceived as a whole and is best absorbed as such, with all of its twists and turns taken in stride; despite its three-hour length, the music boasts the craftsmanship and economy that remain the hallmarks of classic American pop songwriting, a tradition Merritt upholds even as he subverts the formula in new and brilliant ways. | ||
 | Album: 10 of 16 Title: 69 Love Songs, Volume 2 Released: 1999-09-07 Tracks: 23 Duration: 59:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Roses (00:27) 2 Love Is Like Jazz (02:56) 3 When My Boy Walks Down the Street (02:38) 4 Time Enough for Rocking When We’re Old (02:03) 5 Very Funny (01:26) 6 Grand Canyon (02:28) 7 No One Will Ever Love You (03:14) 8 If You Don’t Cry (03:06) 9 You’re My Only Home (02:17) 10 (Crazy for You but) Not That Crazy (02:18) 11 My Only Friend (02:01) 12 Promises of Eternity (03:46) 13 World Love (03:07) 14 Washington, D.C. (01:53) 15 Long‐Forgotten Fairytale (03:37) 16 Kiss Me Like You Mean It (02:00) 17 Papa Was a Rodeo (05:01) 18 Epitaph for My Heart (02:50) 19 Asleep and Dreaming (01:53) 20 The Sun Goes Down and the World Goes Dancing (02:46) 21 The Way You Say Good‐Night (02:44) 22 Abigail, Belle of Kilronan (02:00) 23 I Shatter (03:09) |
| 69 Love Songs, Volume 2 : Allmusic album Review : As the sprawling magnitude of its cheeky title suggests, 69 Love Songs is Stephin Merritts most ambitious as well as most fully realized work to date, a three-disc epic of classically chiseled pop songs that explore both the promise and pitfalls of modern romance through the jaundiced eye of an irredeemable misanthrope. A true A-to-Z catalog of touchingly bittersweet love songs that runs the gamut from tender ballads to pithy folk tunes to bluesy vamps, the sheer scope of the record allows all of Merritts musical personas to converge -- the regular use of guest vocalists recalls his work as the 6ths, the romantic fatalism suggests the Gothic Archies project, and the stately melodies evoke the Future Bible Heroes. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts, however -- for all of Merritts scathing wit and icy detachment, theres a depth and sensitivity to these songs largely absent from his past work, and each one of these 69 tracks approaches lamour from refreshing angles, galvanizing the love song form with rare sophistication and elegance. The second disc is considerably more eccentric than the first, opening with the a cappella "Roses" and heading directly into the faux-bop "Love Is Like Jazz"; at times the music strays too far off course, but each time Merritt pulls back the reins with another superb pop gem like the lovely piano ballad "Very Funny" or the remarkable "Asleep and Dreaming," perhaps the most convincing and honest love song hes ever composed. Still, even though each of 69 Love Songs three discs is available separately, it was nevertheless conceived as a whole and is best absorbed as such, with all of its twists and turns taken in stride; despite its three-hour length the music boasts the craftsmanship and economy that remain the hallmarks of classic American pop songwriting, a tradition Merritt upholds even as he subverts the formula in new and brilliant ways. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 16 Title: i Released: 2004-05-03 Tracks: 14 Duration: 41:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Die (02:14) 2 I Don’t Believe You (03:40) 3 I Don’t Really Love You Anymore (02:33) 4 I Looked All Over Town (02:39) 5 I Thought You Were My Boyfriend (04:24) 6 I Was Born (02:01) 7 I Wish I Had an Evil Twin (03:16) 8 If There’s Such a Thing as Love (02:57) 9 I’m Tongue‐Tied (02:49) 10 In an Operetta (02:02) 11 Infinitely Late at Night (02:45) 12 Irma (02:23) 13 Is This What They Used to Call Love? (03:04) 14 It’s Only Time (04:25) |
| i : Allmusic album Review : The explosion of material that resulted in the Magnetic Fields triple-disc opus 69 Love Songs wouldve wiped out the average tunesmith, but mastermind Stephin Merritt wields a pen of bottomless ink. Like a long-distance runner, he paced himself, saving up material lest his many guises should grow restless. The 6ths released Hyacinths and Thistles the following year; 2002 saw the sophomore effort from the Future Bible Heroes and the soundtrack to the James Bolton film Eban and Charley; and in 2003 he scored yet another soundtrack, this time to the Katie Holmes drama Pieces of April. Nearly five years after Love Songs, the Magnetic Fields returned with i, a "synth free" collection of love, life, and loss that relies heavily on cello, guitar, and that most selfish of vowels, the letter I. Merritts kitchen produces pop confections that can rot teeth, but the bitter aftertaste owes more to Randy Newman than it does Belle & Sebastian. He may be a stalker of clever rhymes about hopeless romantics and lost opportunities, but its the failed and despondent receiving the brunt of his obsessive detail. On the deceptive lullaby "I Was Born," he laments, "Growing older is killing a child who laughed and smiled at anything." The specter of age is not immune to the pain of a broken heart, and the dense Brill Building aesthetic of songs like "I Dont Believe You" and "Looked All Over Town" resonate with the kind of desperation thats usually reserved for the young and naïve, but has manifested itself into -- to quote a song title from the 6ths -- an "Aging Spinster." Musically, i isnt that much of a departure from previous outings, as the "organic" instrumentation is often treated with the same effects that Merritt utilizes on his synth-based recordings. Cabaret-style pieces like "In an Operetta" are lent added weight by the self-described "awful" singers newfound range, and when he unveils a surprisingly sweet and delicate falsetto on the gorgeous closer, "Its Only Time," the listeners voice breaks right along with him. There are plenty of prolific artists putting to tape their every whim, and Merritts no exception. He may spread himself thin when overseeing his army of side projects, but when he leads his Magnetic Fields into battle, the results are always in the publics favor. | ||
 | Album: 12 of 16 Title: Welcome to The Magnetic Fields Released: 2007-02-04 Tracks: 5 Duration: 16:57 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Smoke and Mirrors (03:08) 2 A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off (02:41) 3 Papa Was a Rodeo (05:01) 4 Yeah! Oh, Yeah! (02:19) 5 Born on a Train (03:45) |
 | Album: 13 of 16 Title: Distortion Released: 2008-01-15 Tracks: 13 Duration: 38:47 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Three‐Way (03:00) 2 California Girls (03:00) 3 Old Fools (03:02) 4 Xavier Says (02:41) 5 Mr. Mistletoe (02:59) 6 Please Stop Dancing (03:00) 7 Drive On, Driver (02:51) 8 Too Drunk to Dream (02:59) 9 Till the Bitter End (03:03) 10 I’ll Dream Alone (03:07) 11 The Nun’s Litany (02:58) 12 Zombie Boy (03:04) 13 Courtesans (02:58) |
| Distortion : Allmusic album Review : Stephin Merritt celebrates all that is fuzzy, sexy, and drenched in reverb on Distortion, a 13-track rendering of the Jesus and Mary Chains Psychocandy through the barbed sieve of the Magnetic Fields masterminds seemingly endless notebook of relationship dos and donts and self-effacing cognitive therapy sessions. The unwavering decision to match the production with the album title is admirable, but one that will no doubt filter out the listeners who rely on Merritts simple, clean melodicism to reel them in. By mirroring the lo-fi sunshine goth aesthetic that the Reid brothers so effortlessly beat into the ground in the mid- to late 80s, Distortion becomes more about style than substance, often burying the lyrics in an avalanche of mud that clings to each instrument (be it cello, Farfisa organ, accordion, or guitar) like pet hair on a pea coat. That said, patience rewards those who stick around for the credits, and acclimation to the pounding (yet still sweet) industrial landscapes comes about eight songs in with the instant classic "Too Drunk to Dream," a vintage Fields rave-up that launches out of a Gregorian-style intro that boldly proclaims "Sober, life is a prison/Shitfaced, it is a blessing/Sober, nobody wants you/Shitfaced, theyre all undressing." Its a double-sided hook that clears the murkiness from the remaining five tracks, while simultaneously improving the first half (especially tracks like "California Girls" and "Please Stop Dancing") when spun for a second or third time. As usual, Merritt doles out vocal duties like handbills, making the whole affair feel a little more like a 6ths production rather than a Magnetic Fields event, and Shirley Simms, who lent her lovely pipes to 69 Love Songs and 2006s Showtunes, provides the album with many of its finest moments, specifically the infectious "Drive on, Driver" and the lovely closer, "Courtesans." In the end, though, even Simms impossibly fluid voice cant cut through all of the noise. In some ways, it feels like a step backward, and even if that was the intention, its disappointing to climb Distortions many lovely peaks, only to be obscured by clouds. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 16 Title: Realism Released: 2010-01-25 Tracks: 13 Duration: 33:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 You Must Be out of Your Mind (03:14) 2 Interlude (02:13) 3 We Are Having a Hootenanny (02:10) 4 I Don’t Know What to Say (02:32) 5 The Dolls’ Tea Party (02:19) 6 Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree (02:24) 7 Walk a Lonely Road (03:06) 8 Always Already Gone (02:41) 9 Seduced and Abandoned (02:23) 10 Better Things (02:33) 11 Painted Flower (02:12) 12 The Dada Polka (02:24) 13 From a Sinking Boat (03:26) |
| Realism : Allmusic album Review : All it takes is a few seconds into Realism’s familiar first track (the warm, wily, and weary "You Must Be out of Your Mind") to jump to the conclusion that Magnetic Fields mastermind Stephin Merritt has simply run out of musical motifs with which to embed his seemingly endless supply of biting, bittersweet lyrics. Happily, that’s not the case, as the remaining 12 songs on Realism show significant musical growth for one of pop music’s greatest corner bar-, heartbreak-, and sarcasm-obsessed napkin poets. The antithesis of 2008’s noisy Distortion, Realism revels in folk music in a way that hasn’t appeared on a Magnetic Fields album since 1990’s Distant Plastic Trees. The songs sound just like their titles would suggest, with "We Are Having a Hootenanny" doing just that, "The Doll’s Tea Party" conjuring up images of pastoral English gardens, and "Seduced and Abandoned" suggesting the wee hours of a Tin Pan Alley cabaret. Merritt, who wields a voice that has grown from that of a disheartened, mumbling wallflower to a classy, full-throated baritone, peppers each tune (as well as those sung by the lovely Claudia Gonson) with the usual witticisms (“I want you crawling back to me/Down on your knees/Like an appendectomy”), but there’s an elegance to his prose this time around that suggests theres not only a musical sea change at work. By far his most listenable and fully realized work since 1999’s mammoth 69 Love Songs, Realism feels slight because it is. It’s hard to hear someone so adept with a poison pen preen instead of brood, but it’s also rewarding. In the end, longtime fans will want to go back to the opening cut and seek out the comfort of those familiar first three chords that, like a seasoned bluesman with his E to A to B, have become synonymous with their creator, but hopefully, they’ll decide to take another trip through the countryside, soak in some much needed sun, and let bygones be bygones. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 16 Title: Love at the Bottom of the Sea Released: 2012-03-05 Tracks: 15 Duration: 34:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Your Girlfriend’s Face (02:20) 2 Andrew in Drag (02:12) 3 God Wants Us to Wait (02:05) 4 Born for Love (02:38) 5 I’d Go Anywhere With Hugh (02:07) 6 Infatuation (With Your Gyration) (02:12) 7 The Only Boy in Town (02:35) 8 The Machine in Your Hand (02:23) 9 Goin’ Back to the Country (02:00) 10 I’ve Run Away to Join the Fairies (02:16) 11 The Horrible Party (02:07) 12 My Husband’s Pied‐à‐Terre (02:05) 13 I Don’t Like Your Tone (02:08) 14 Quick! (02:28) 15 All She Cares About Is Mariachi (02:38) |
| Love at the Bottom of the Sea : Allmusic album Review : The Magnetic Fields synth pop-saturated tenth studio album arrives after a trio of more guitar-oriented offerings (I, Distortion, and Realism). While Love at the Bottom of the Sea does feel like an amalgamation of Stephin Merritts epic 69 Love Songs and his excellent work under the 6ths moniker, especially on the giddy and typically infectious first single "Andrew in Drag," overproduction and a general (and oddly generic) sense of overarching silliness keeps the 15-track set from achieving the lovely balance of dirty wit and sincere heartache that made albums like Wayward Bus and Charm of the Highway Strip so immediate and life affirming. Opener "God Wants Us to Wait," a bouncy electro-pop parody of purity ring pathos, suffers from a grating, relentless hook and Shirley Simms terse delivery, while cuts like "Infatuation (With Your Gyration)," "Youre Girlfriends Face," and "Ive Run Away to Join the Faeries" feel like second-rate comedy rock songs as opposed to the bar napkin-composed gems weve grown so used to over the years. That said, Merritt can still work his subversive magic, as evidenced by the Ian Curtis-lite "Born for Love," the aforementioned "Drag," and the typically deadpan closer "All She Cares About Is Mariachi", the latter of which manages to rhyme "Hibachi" and "Liberace" with famed ad agency "Saatchi & Saatchi." | ||
 | Album: 16 of 16 Title: 50 Song Memoir Released: 2017-03-10 Tracks: 50 Duration: 2:30:15 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 ’66 Wonder Where I’m From (02:44) 2 ’67 Come Back as a Cockroach (02:34) 3 ’68 A Cat Called Dionysus (02:46) 4 ’69 Judy Garland (03:17) 5 ’70 They’re Killing Children Over There (02:36) 6 ’71 I Think I’ll Make Another World (02:57) 7 ’72 Eye Contact (02:55) 8 ’73 It Could Have Been Paradise (03:07) 9 ’74 No (02:57) 10 ’75 My Mama Ain’t (03:01) 1 ’76 Hustle 76 (03:16) 2 ’77 Life Ain’t All Bad (04:16) 3 ’78 The Blizzard of ’78 (03:15) 4 ’79 Rock’n’Roll Will Ruin Your Life (02:58) 5 ’80 London by Jetpack (02:58) 6 ’81 How to Play the Synthesizer (03:06) 7 ’82 Happy Beeping (03:10) 8 ’83 Foxx and I (02:43) 9 ’84 Danceteria! (03:09) 10 ’85 Why I Am Not a Teenager (03:07) 1 ’86 How I Failed Ethics (02:58) 2 ’87 At the Pyramid (03:10) 3 ’88 Ethan Frome (02:24) 4 ’89 The 1989 Musical Marching Zoo (03:06) 5 ’90 Dreaming in Tetris (03:21) 6 ’91 The Day I Finally… (02:20) 7 ’92 Weird Diseases (03:10) 8 ’93 Me and Fred and Dave and Ted (03:08) 9 ’94 Haven’t Got a Penny (02:53) 10 ’95 A Serious Mistake (03:13) 1 ’96 I’m Sad! (02:12) 2 ’97 Eurodisco Trio (03:15) 3 ’98 Lovers’ Lies (03:06) 4 ’99 Fathers in the Clouds (02:52) 5 ’00 Ghosts of the Marathon Dancers (03:05) 6 ’01 Have You Seen It in the Snow? (02:51) 7 ’02 Be True to Your Bar (03:34) 8 ’03 The Ex and I (02:59) 9 ’04 Cold‐Blooded Man (03:06) 10 ’05 Never Again (03:19) 1 ’06 “Quotes” (02:17) 2 ’07 In the Snow White Cottages (02:52) 3 ’08 Surfin’ (02:47) 4 ’09 Till You Come Back to Me (02:29) 5 ’10 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (03:03) 6 ’11 Stupid Tears (02:45) 7 ’12 You Can Never Go Back to New York (03:12) 8 ’13 Big Enough for Both of Us (03:04) 9 ’14 I Wish I Had Pictures (03:07) 10 ’15 Somebody’s Fetish (03:45) |
| 50 Song Memoir : Allmusic album Review : Stephin Merritt has never been afraid to think big, at least as far as his music is concerned, and his ad-hoc group the Magnetic Fields enjoyed their breakthrough with the wildly ambitious 1999 set 69 Love Songs, a three-disc collection featuring, yes, 69 songs about love. While that album bests 2017s 50 Song Memoir by 19 tracks, in nearly all other respects, 50 Song Memoir is a project of even greater scale and scope. Begun as Merritt was celebrating his 50th birthday, 50 Song Memoir finds him embracing pop songs as the medium for an autobiography, with each of the 50 tracks representing a different year in his life. The result is not an operatic narrative that ticks off various major events in Merritts first half-century, but 50 Song Memoir does deliver a fascinating portrait of Merritts life and times. Over the course of two-and-a-half hours, Merritt shares tales of his truly strange childhood, his interactions with his mothers many eccentric boyfriends, the joys and annoyances of life in New York City, his love of the citys bars and nightclubs, his dreams of being John Foxx of Ultravox, his hatred of surfing, relationships with numerous romantic partners, and the role music has played in nearly all of these episodes. As is his habit with the Magnetic Fields, Merritt handled the sizable majority of the instrumental chores on this album himself, making use of his large collection of electronic and acoustic instruments, and the results have a clanky, homespun charm that meshes nicely with the alternately buoyant and snarky tone of his frequently lovely melodies. But the real star of 50 Song Memoir is Stephin Merritt the songwriter -- these missives are full of wit, intelligence, and engaging wordplay that bring a playful touch to even the most dire subject matter (and a very human sense of gravity to the funnier numbers). And the closer, "Somebodys Fetish," is a hilarious but encouraging statement of how love eventually comes to us all, showing even Merritt knows the value of a happy ending. There are very few working songwriters who could have pulled off this sort of a project this well, and even fewer who could make this giant-sized song cycle feel so intimate and accessible. 50 Song Memoir is a rare example of Stephin Merritt offering a look into his offstage life, but just as importantly its a reminder of why hes a truly great songwriter, and this ranks with his finest work. | ||