Magnetic Fields - 69 Love or Charm of the Highway

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Which Magnetic Fields release do you prefer/think is best...
69 Love Songs (Box) or The Charm of The Highway Strip

― ACPejerrey, Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:11 (twenty-one years ago)

69 Love Songs

― cinniblount (James Blount), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:19 (twenty-one years ago)

truth be told i probably like Get Lost or Holiday proportionally more than either of these

― cinniblount (James Blount), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:19 (twenty-one years ago)

charm of the highway strip is the album that got me into them in the first place, and it's a more cohesive album, and song-for-song and synth-for-synth it's probably better. on the other hand, 69 love songs gets by on sheer weight, and is one of the extremely rare cases where more is in fact more. it probably has more great songs in total than highway strip does. but highway strip has a better percentage. so start with highway strip, i say. or make it a two-fer and buy both highway strip and the simulataneusly released holiday, because eventually you're gonna need to have that album's spectacular "strange powers" in your collection, so why not now?

― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:20 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, i'd get holiday first

― cinniblount (James Blount), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:22 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, Holiday definitely.

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Magnetic Fields v. Sting's "Fields of Gold"

― Gear! (Gear!), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:27 (twenty-one years ago)

speaking of albums to buy before 69 love songs -- and i love 69 love songs -- i'd probably also get the two-fer the wayward bus/distant plastic trees (which compiles their first two albums) before shelling out for the three-fer 69 love songs.

those first two albums combine the haunting and beautiful singing of susan amway (where on earth is she now?) with the cheapest electronics merritt ever used, and the combination is kinda fantastic. and the songwriting ranges from good to the best merritt ever did ("100,000 fireflies," "you love to fail," "when you were my baby," "tar-heel boy").

― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:28 (twenty-one years ago)

has anyone heard of any new magnetic fields lps (Not gothic archies, etc.) in the pipeworks? it's been four years...

― cinniblount (James Blount), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:30 (twenty-one years ago)

I've always missed the production style of Charm of the Highway Strip, which Merrit has abandoned since 69 love songs. I'd have to go with Charm or Get Lost because both records succeed more, as the fact checker pointed out, on a percentage basis than 69. I've been dissapointed by everything Merrit has pointed out post 69 love songs. The last 6ths record was kind of annoying as whas the Eban and Charly soundtrack. Is Pieces of April worth getting?

― theodore fogelsanger, Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:31 (twenty-one years ago)

2/3rds of 69 Love Songs is far better than Charm of the Highway Strip.

I could never really get into Susan's voice and always found Claudia's to be a little easier on the ears.

― may pang (maypang), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:32 (twenty-one years ago)

cinni - new album due in April of '04 on Nonesuch, plus there are 4 Mag. Fields songs on the recently released "Pieces of April" soundtrack -- haven't heard them.

― Ben Boyer (Ben Boyer), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:34 (twenty-one years ago)

hmmmm. susan is my second fave of all magnetic fields singers (after only stephin himself) and claudia is my least fave. but that could be partly because i've never been able to get past claudia's annoying stage presence.

― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:36 (twenty-one years ago)

'get lost'

― geeta (geeta), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 22:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Another vote for Holiday above the others; definitely his best record. Get Lost does open with the great "Famous", but then never matches those heights, I don't think.

― Broheems (diamond), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 23:00 (twenty-one years ago)

"falling in love with the wolfboy" from Distant Plastic Trees is one of my favorite songs EVER.

Love 69LS but there is so much of it that I usually listen to them in scattered choice songs. I have a pretty low tolerance for the jokey ones but they are good every now and then. CotHS is pretty good all the way through. Holiday has its fantastic moments of transcendence. Get Lost has great moments too but probably not as consistent for me all the way through... so yeah I'd say Charm for consistency and cohesiveness.

I couldn't choose a favorite singer. Love the Anway stuff, love Claudia's voice on almost all of her songs (and FBH stuff). Shirley Simms is wonderful tho, I am pretty partial to her voice and all of her tracks on 69LS.

― Blood and sparkles (bloodandsparkles), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 23:04 (twenty-one years ago)

what is claudia's annoying stage presence?!?!

― amateur!st (amateurist), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 23:06 (twenty-one years ago)

all my mag fields live experience was from before 69LS, and generally involved stephin looking bitter and depressed and sniffly, while claudia looked incredibly perky and chipper behind the drumkit and tried to get stephin to start songs and stuff like that. stephin was always funny and charming in his morose way. claudia always seemed like she was trying too hard, and she talked way too much.

maybe things have changed in the last several years.

― fact checking cuz, Wednesday, 3 December 2003 23:12 (twenty-one years ago)

my favourite is definitely the CD of the first two albums. i love stephin's voice, but there's a real wonder to those songs that for all their roughness just feels so great to me. but then i wouldn't destroy any of his stuff save for most of Eban & Charley

― the surface noise (electricsound), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 23:15 (twenty-one years ago)

"100,000 fireflies" was my first exposure so the stuff with that similar feel wins out

― the surface noise (electricsound), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 23:16 (twenty-one years ago)

I liked Claudia's stage presence when I saw them in '99 in DC. She and Stephin had a little clever banter going on, and she had the best t-shirt ever, something about Minnesota Fisherwomen. Claudia rules.

― Blood and sparkles (bloodandsparkles), Wednesday, 3 December 2003 23:56 (twenty-one years ago)

Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees is the best Magnetic Fields (although Holiday and the EP and Get Lost have some great moments.) The 1st Future Bible Heroes album is better than anything else Merritt has done other than that. 69 Love Songs is a complete waste of time. It would have made a nice EP.

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Thursday, 4 December 2003 01:06 (twenty-one years ago)

I like "Charm"! but get lost too.

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 4 December 2003 01:18 (twenty-one years ago)

I like the first two best.

― Colin Beckett (Colin Beckett), Thursday, 4 December 2003 01:56 (twenty-one years ago)

If "69 Love Songs" was "69 Good Love Songs," it'd be, um, great. But it's not, just very uneven and, at times, unlistenable. But I still really love "Holiday," "Get Lost," "Charm," and in particular the first 6ths album (still the only time I prefer non-Merritt singers tackling Merritt songs).

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 4 December 2003 02:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I like songs on "Holiday" in isolation but everything about it is very monochromatic ("Take Ecstasy With Me" excepted). I like the greater extremes of darkness and sweetness on 69 Love Songs. I still think Memories of Love is the best thing Merritt's done though!

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 4 December 2003 03:32 (twenty-one years ago)

distant plastic trees is best, it's almost experimental in spots and the stiff singing is perfect. i like all of the albums. i wonder if my copy on red flame records is worth anything, remember buying it for 99 cents at that awful record store in ferndale that isn't there anymore.

― keith m (keithmcl), Thursday, 4 December 2003 05:29 (twenty-one years ago)

i doubt it, actually. MF collectors don't seem to be that hardcore. i think only the second 7" on Harriet brings in double figures these days.

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 4 December 2003 05:31 (twenty-one years ago)

what about the 6ths box set ...?

― Broheems (diamond), Thursday, 4 December 2003 05:42 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, a bit, thanks to the stuart moxham track

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 4 December 2003 05:45 (twenty-one years ago)

I still think Charm... is their best one. And for me it was Claudia's (and Stephen's) off-stage presence that turned me off from their music.

― hstencil, Thursday, 4 December 2003 05:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Always loved "Papa Was A Rodeo" from 69..., great road trip song

― mentalist (mentalist), Thursday, 4 December 2003 06:04 (twenty-one years ago)

a good song definitely

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 4 December 2003 11:13 (twenty-one years ago)

Almost ridiculously I like EVERY SINGLE SONG off "69" except the Cole Porter joke at the end, so um that.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Thursday, 4 December 2003 11:17 (twenty-one years ago)

if i was to be honest i could probably remember all bar 3 songs of the 69

― the surface noise (electricsound), Thursday, 4 December 2003 11:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Me too. Lyrics included.

― Andrew Thames (Andrew Thames), Thursday, 4 December 2003 11:24 (twenty-one years ago)

actually the first 6ths album is probably my favourite merritt

― s1utsky (slutsky), Thursday, 4 December 2003 18:40 (twenty-one years ago)

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