During my initial listen-through of the Magnetic Fields discography I struggled to narrow down my playlist to just 37 songs, slightly less than 2 hours of music. Given Stephin Merritt’s penchant for consistently writing stellar songs, paring it down to reach the 74 minute limit was even more excruciating. I guess I knew this was going to be a difficult task, especially when it was suggested that I completely ignore 69 Love Songs, as there are so many worthy tracks on Merritt’s three-volume, passion-fueled magnum opus.
Still, I think my playlist provides for a solid foundation spanning the roughly eighteen years of Merritt’s work under the Magnetic Fields moniker. Tracks from the early albums, The Wayward Bus and Distant Plastic Trees, show off the initial forays into keyboard and drum-machine anchored indie-pop. Yet, it’s not until the next few albums (coincidentally when Merritt takes over the vocal duties), where The Magnetic Fields really come into their own sound; fusing together a synthy-rock-pop mixture with Merritt’s crooning, ironic lyrics. It’s in this stretch, especially on Get Lost, where some of the finest Magnetic Fields songs appear. And check it out! I managed to whittle down my list to include only 9 of the 69 love songs! By my count, that leaves 60 songs left for any interested parties to indulge in further exploration of this masterpiece. Finally, there’s I and Distortion, where Merritt continues to showcase his song-writing while introducing new concepts. For example, the fuzzy guitars and reverb that give Distortion its name.
In a recent interview with Other Music, Merritt mentions something to the effect that he hates playing his music live; he gets all of his enjoyment in the recording studio. I find this astonishing given how well his songs translate into a live performance. However, given his success at consistently churning out top-notch recordings, I won’t question his preferences.
Rather than stick to a chronologically based playlist, I tried to put these tracks into an order that would flow as an album in and of itself. I tried to clump the faster, upbeat songs together, but also have common instruments provide a transition from one song to the next. The playlist eventually turns to the slower, more contemplative tracks towards the end. Hope you like it.1) Long-Forgotten Fairytale / 69 Love Songs Volume 2 / 1999
2) The Desperate Things you Made Me Do / Get Lost / 1995
3) Tokyo A Go-Go / The Wayward Bus / 1991
4) Old Orchard Beach / The Wayward Bus / 1991
5) The Way You Say Good Night / 69 Love Songs Volume 2 / 1999
6) Meaningless / 69 Love Songs Volume 3 / 1999
7) My Only Friend / 69 Love Songs Volume 2 / 1999
8) Smoke Signals / Distant Plastic Trees / 1990
9) I Wish I Had an Evil Twin / I / 2004
10) I Thought You Were My Boyfriend / I / 2004
11) I Think I Need a New Heart / 69 Love Songs Volume 1 / 1999
12) All the Umbrellas in London / Get Lost / 1995
13) Epitaph for My Heart / 69 Love Songs Volume 2 / 1999
14) Why I Cry / Get Lost / 1995
15) When You're Old and Lonely / Get Lost / 1995
16) Josephine / Distant Plastic Trees / 1990
17) 100,000 Fireflies / Distant Plastic Trees / 1990
18) All My Little Words / 69 Love Songs Volume 1 / 1999
19) Come Back from San Francisco / 69 Love Songs Volume 1 / 1999
20) Papa Was a Rodeo / 69 Love Songs Volume 2 / 1999
21) It's Only Time / I / 2004
22) Old Fools / Distortion / 2008
23) Take Ecstasy With Me / Holiday / 1994
Total Time: 73:56
I do wish they could be louder live, cause that's what I enjoy the most from them, especially when playing songs from the last album. But I understand his hearing problem would be an issue. Maybe he feels the same way too.
ReplyDeleteOh, I really like this playlist so far. Haven't gotten through the whole thing yet, but the first half is great. It makes me sad I haven't listened to these older Magnetic Fields albums sooner.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there are two issues I have with the playlist. First, you chose to include three songs from "I" but only one from 69 Love Songs Volume 3? Huh?
Second, if you're going to choose one song off of 69 Love Songs Volume 3, it really should be "Busby Berkeley Dream." No offense to "Meaningless," which fits in very nicely with the songs you've picked, but Busby should not be overlooked. Explain yourself!
I'm digging the playlist so far too. Although I am totally with Chris on the "Busby Berkeley Dreams" call-- Aurori, what gives? Your putting that song on on the way back from D.C. is what got me listening to Volume 3 in the first place, and now it's nowhere to be found. ??? For shame.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I find the no "Book of Love" really surprising. I mean, you're bound to leave out a bunch of great songs on this list, but that track is pretty much the centerpiece of 69 Love Songs. So yeah, that's a foul. Minus 3,000 points (sorry).
Gotta listen more though. There are some real gems on here- "Smoke Signals" in particular. And, of course, ending with "Take Ecstasy With Me"--good call. That song is incredible.
This playlist gives me an idea for another Merritt-related playlist. I'd love to have a collection of his best acoustic, low-key songs, without any of the more upbeat, keyboard-heavy tracks in there to shake things up. Such a mix would be dangerously nap-inducing though (in a good way).
This playlist makes me want it to be summer even more.
ReplyDeleteAlso, "Old Fools" really shines on here, which makes me think that Distortions would have worked better if they mixed some of those songs up with their more typical sound, instead of going the concept album route.
Ok, a lot of stuff here:
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked "Old Fools". It's my favorite songs on Distortion and one of the highlights of their concerts last year. Given that their live sets are entirely acoustic (keep in mind that this was a tour supported Distortion), I think that backs up your argument that they could have crafted some great songs with their typical sound.
Looks like I'm taking some heat for not including "Busby Berkeley Dreams." It's a great song, so it's a worthy criticism. Actually, I think it was one of the final cuts I had to make to fit within the time restrictions. Same thing for “Book for Love”. I just didn’t want to cut out any of the earlier songs and didn’t want to overload my list with 69 Love Songs. Stephin Merritt is just too good, which is why I spent hours crafting this list. I could make an entire playlist from just three of his albums.
And I think "Smoke Signals" and "100,000 Fireflies" are real gems, considering they're from the first album, but still work well with a lot of their later stuff.
ReplyDeleteI don't think excluding Book of Love is a bad call. I like the song (hell, it's probably going to be my wedding song), but there are better cuts throughout Volume 1 and the rest of 69 Love Songs.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see "All My Little Words" on here. That was the first song that got me into Magnetic Fields, and I still love it. Also happy to hear "Why I Cry" again. I actually first heard that song on a Ben Gibbard solo EP years ago, but I never sought out the Magnetic Fields version. Such a great song.
Am I crazy to think "Take Ecstasy With Me" is kind of a mediocre song? I mean, it's decent, but I've heard you guys talk about it like it's one of Merritt's best songs. Don't really hear that.
What about Meritt's non-Magnetic Fields work? Do you think that would be playlist worthy, Ryan?
I'm not familiar with all of his other work, so I wouldn't be able to make a playlist. But, from what I have heard (from his side project, The 6ths) there's certainly an abundance of good material.
ReplyDeleteWhy no "Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side"? I freakin' love that tune!
ReplyDeleteYeah, "Luckiest Guy" was another late cut and would fit well in this list. In trying to get a solid cross-section of all of Merritt's material, I think I covered the poppy, upbeat style of that song with "I Think I Need a New Heart". In my eyes (to my ears?), it wouldv'e been overkill to include both songs, especially since I was painstakingly trying to narrow the playlist down to 74 minutes.
ReplyDelete