The Magnetic Fields

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So it has leaked! i'm on my first way through it, but im at work so i keep getting distracted. some of the rhymes are just beautiful, but it's not as playful as i was hoping (at least musically, i can't focus on the lyrics too much right now). looking forward to giving it a proper opinion. what do those of you who've heard it think?
PS Sorry if there's already a thread for this, but i searched and couldnt find one, so...

― Felonious Drunk (Felcher), Thursday, 25 March 2004 17:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I've only played it through twice, and wasn't paying close attention either time. I miss some of the cheap electronic sounds, but the songs sound strong (at least in a superficial background noise sort of way).

― Johnny Fever (johnny fever), Thursday, 25 March 2004 17:47 (twenty-two years ago)

no more cheap electronic sounds?!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 25 March 2004 17:48 (twenty-two years ago)

"i don't believe you" is really the standout track so far. particularly the snare drum fun and the ampersand bit.

― Felonious Drunk (Felcher), Thursday, 25 March 2004 17:52 (twenty-two years ago)

There was sort of a thread for it, but we AR Kane fans took it over. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 25 March 2004 17:57 (twenty-two years ago)

i want it i want it i want it

― dean! (deangulberry), Thursday, 25 March 2004 18:02 (twenty-two years ago)

do you have slsk? if so, i can share if you want.

― Felonious Drunk (Felcher), Thursday, 25 March 2004 18:05 (twenty-two years ago)

The best thing about it: only fourteen songs!
Second best thing: Merritt sings all the songs himself.
Curious observation: "I Don't Believe You" is without question the best song, but it's two years old. Or older, maybe.

The rest of the disc reminds me of the band's pre-"Holiday" records.

― Josh in Chicago (Josh in Chicago), Thursday, 25 March 2004 19:31 (twenty-two years ago)

"I Wish I Had an Evil Twin" and "It's Only Time" are fantastic, but the re-recording of "I Don't Believe You" points up what went wrong for me on 69 Love Songs, and hasn't been fixed yet. I don't need him to be this sincerely melodramatic, I've got the Divine Comedy for that. Don't know, I just preferred the "cute" quality of the early records. Admittedly, that got stale by Get Lost...anyway, much, much better than 69 Love Songs.

― Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Thursday, 25 March 2004 19:58 (twenty-two years ago)

Love it, love it, love it. Though I still listen to 69 Love Songs, it's nice to hear Merritt's songcraft in a more concise format.

Also, enough time has elapsed that he's not *directly* competing with 69 Love Songs. Obviously almost every review will reference the box set, but I don't think it would've been possible to listen with fresh ears before now.

― mike a, Thursday, 25 March 2004 21:45 (twenty-two years ago)

TWO years old? that single predates 69 love songs, don't it?

― tom west (thomp), Friday, 26 March 2004 01:39 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah it's from 97/98ish

― the surface noise (electricsound), Friday, 26 March 2004 01:46 (twenty-two years ago)

yep, mid-98

― the surface noise (electricsound), Friday, 26 March 2004 01:47 (twenty-two years ago)

this sounds exactly like the followup to 69 love songs.The songwriting is a bit less tongue in cheek,the arrangements more fleshed out & less gimmicky,Merritt sings as well as he ever has.He is becoming the classic songwriter he always wanted to be.No surprises really & who needs them when a record is as pefectly realized as this!

― evan chronister (evan chronister), Friday, 26 March 2004 04:37 (twenty-two years ago)

evan OTM. I'm downloading it now, been through the first four tracks and it's really brilliant. Less kitschy than 69 Love Songs, and the song writing is a lot "tighter." Some of the string work is absolutely brilliant. The first two tracks really hit me and, yes, "I Don't Believe You" is shockingly good.

― cws (cws), Friday, 26 March 2004 05:45 (twenty-two years ago)

the other thread:

What's the connection between AR Kane and Magnetic Fields?

― toby (tsg20), Friday, 26 March 2004 07:42 (twenty-two years ago)

but 69 was the small dull one and i was the big supercalifragilistic one. merritt's got it all wrong. the fink.

― tom west (thomp), Friday, 26 March 2004 14:05 (twenty-two years ago)

I really want to hear this, but all future Magnetic Fields experiences will be tainted by the fact that I saw Sparks on Sunday and they made me realise there *might* not be any need for MF anymore :-(

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Friday, 26 March 2004 14:34 (twenty-two years ago)

six months pass...

REVIVE!

I'm listening to this for the first time since it came out, and now that I've got some distance from it - man, this is a fuckin great little chamber pop record.
Totally, totally underrated.
It probably helps that I haven't listened to 69LS in its entirety in about 6 mos. either, but still...
This thing really kicks. I'm actually having more fun listening to this than when I was listening to Holiday the other day.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 1 October 2004 17:01 (twenty-one years ago)

It is particularly fine.

― Atnevon (Atnevon), Friday, 1 October 2004 17:06 (twenty-one years ago)

i like it a lot too

what's this about a RErecording of "I Don't Believe You?" Where was it available before?

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Friday, 1 October 2004 17:10 (twenty-one years ago)

look upthread rog, it was a 7" single on merge back in '98.
I haven't heard the original either, but the album version kicks ass.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 1 October 2004 17:13 (twenty-one years ago)

i agree completely. this thing lingers on my mind. you cant really compare it to 69 love songs because its so different.

its yum

― todd swiss (eliti), Friday, 1 October 2004 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

It's uneven but the good stuff is REALLY good. Lately, I've come to especially appreciate "I Die" -- so delicate and heartwarming.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Friday, 1 October 2004 22:47 (twenty-one years ago)

I like "I Don't Really Love You Anymore," "It's Only Time,""I Thought You Were My Boyfriend" and "I Don't Believe You" a lot. The rest I'll probably never play again.

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 1 October 2004 23:04 (twenty-one years ago)

oh, come on! What about "I Looked All Over Town?" That one is beautiful, in a Gershwin kinda way. I totally hear it coming out of a player piano

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Friday, 1 October 2004 23:36 (twenty-one years ago)

I totally hear it coming out of a player piano

which is probably why you can't hear it coming out of my stereo

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 1 October 2004 23:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Hahahah, touche. What, not a "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" kinda guy?

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Friday, 1 October 2004 23:44 (twenty-one years ago)

ok now my brain needs a q-tip to flush that song out my head. thanks.

― manthony m1cc1o (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 1 October 2004 23:48 (twenty-one years ago)

great song, man

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Friday, 1 October 2004 23:49 (twenty-one years ago)

I agree this album should have made a bigger splash. I don't know why so many people slept on it. It seemed like people were more concerned about that interview where he slagged on synthesizers than on the actual album, which has a lot of good songs, most of which people have mentioned on this thread.

― o. nate (onate), Friday, 1 October 2004 23:54 (twenty-one years ago)

i think it's a really pretty album but it's also kind of ho-hum. my two fave songs on it are "i thought you were my boyfriend" and "i wish i had an evil twin" (though i only like that one 'cause of the way they put it over in concert). otherwise i'd say they've been prettier, and livelier, and hookier, and more, before.

wait a minute, i also like "it's only time," yeah that one's pretty undeniable, and "i don't believe you." and yet, it's not an album i ever feel a need to put on. i've got it filed away as an average magnetic fields album with a few good songs on it. i'm much more likely to pull out my wayward bus/distant plastic trees two-fer when i need a mag fields fix.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Saturday, 2 October 2004 00:03 (twenty-one years ago)

three years pass...

What on earth happened to the classic spring 2004 thread on which N. and Cookie talked about 'i'? I just cannot find it.

I wanted to revive it so I could say, on it, that when TMF (Gonson, in fact!) sang the one about the clown last night, I thought of N.

― the pinefox, Friday, 11 July 2008 14:46 (seventeen years ago)

three months pass...

Christ, 'In An Operetta' is BAD.

― the pinefox, Friday, 17 October 2008 12:15 (seventeen years ago)

i saw them in concert recently and all they played were shitty novelty songs like "Zombie Boy." WTF happened to this guy?

― Dog/Face/Chain (res), Friday, 17 October 2008 16:51 (seventeen years ago)

This record sucks.And I like them.It's like their "Ancient Melodies Of The Future".

― NewBeefLover, Friday, 17 October 2008 16:57 (seventeen years ago)

Best band ever, haters be damned!

― cameron carr, Friday, 17 October 2008 17:43 (seventeen years ago)

five months pass...

"i wish i had an evil twin" still holds up really well. shame about distortion

― kamerad, Thursday, 26 March 2009 01:58 (seventeen years ago)

yeah.. every time i try to revisit distortion to see if i was wrong, i end up disliking it even more

― Bad, Bad Memories of a Good Time (electricsound), Thursday, 26 March 2009 02:15 (seventeen years ago)

I think it's fabulous and the best LP of 2008

― the pinefox, Thursday, 26 March 2009 09:43 (seventeen years ago)

I don't know if i is the best LP of 2004

― the pinefox, Thursday, 26 March 2009 09:44 (seventeen years ago)

yeah.. every time i try to revisit distortion to see if i was wrong, i end up disliking it even more

OTM. Still pissed that I even gave it three chances to win me over.

― legendary North American forest ape (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 26 March 2009 13:55 (seventeen years ago)

it's good.

― Past a Diving Jeter (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 26 March 2009 15:30 (seventeen years ago)

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The Magnetic Fields - i