Sunday, April 27, 2008

SHOWCASE: THE MAGNETIC FIELDS

"Yes, it was profoundly meaningless."


What can I say about the brilliant Stephin Merritt? The man who spearheaded a triple-CD project called 69 Love Songs on a whim, who has headed four separate bands along with his own solo work, and who can write witty, sad, and funny songs - all in one. I haven't followed everything he's done, but I know much of his work with Fields, and it's great stuff. Merritt has practically invented the super-quirky love song. He wrote every one of the songs, from ditties to ballads to epics. I love his co-vocalists as well, particularly 69 Love Songs contributors Claudia Gonson, Shirley Simms, AD Beghtol, and Dudley Klute.

Though not all of their songs are hits, they produce so many that the amount of gems they produce far outweigh some other artists. They bend genres, styles, genders, whatever they want. Quite genius.

The Magnetic Fields - Too Drunk to Dream
The Magnetic Fields - If You Don't Cry
The Magnetic Fields - Reno Dakota
The Magnetic Fields - I Don't Want to Get Over You
The Magnetic Fields - The Night You Can't Remember
The Magnetic Fields - Meaningless
The Magnetic Fields - All My Little Words

That's a good starter selection - sad, funny, and wittily written. There are many others I could've included, but I thought that, if you do like them, you can easily pick up an album or two.

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