Vitesse (the indie duo, not the other one) C/D

Who here will rep for Vitesse? Seems like lots of people label them as second-rate Magnetic Fields impersonators, or are otherwise dismissive of them. I'm a gib Magnetic Fields fan, and obviously Vitesse's dabbling does not compare with Stephin Merritt's massive career output. But in all honesty I listen to Vitesse 100x more often than I listen to the Magnetic Fields. I just love their sound- the gorgeous layering of tracks, the blending of keyboards and guitar, the half-asleep vocals. It's true that their songs tend to sound too much the same, but I like how you can put on a playlist of all four of their albums and it's almost like you're listening to one long album. And their best tracks are just sublime. I could probably pick out ten Vitesse songs that I couldn't live without. In fact, here goes:

-Starlight
-When Nothing's Changed
-Wicks and Fuses
-Good Fortune
-Everything's Amiss
-The Human Element
-2nd Thought
-A Statue on Easter Island
-Out Under Stars
-Not Forever

Anyhow, I say classic.

Oops, I'm a *big* fan, not a gib fan.

They're like a perfect marriage of the best aspects of the Magnetic Fields and New Order. I love them to bits. The first two albums are just gorgeous. And the lyrics, while often impossible to make out, are fantastic. They're so unassuming, and they effortlessly transform the everyday into something sparkling and sublime, and at times impossibly sad.

"Went out for breakfast on a Saturday night
You said these days you can get everything that you want
Guess that I've fallen out of touch with the world
It's just that what I want is what I'll never get"

My top ten would probably be:
The Stars Don't Shine as Bright as Street Lights
Southern Girls
The Human Element
A Day's Education
When Nothing's Changed
Brighter than the Sky
Good Fortune
Stolz Darauf
Starlight
Hunch

Haha, speaking of the lyrics, I just remembered that when Chelsea 27099 came out, I emailed them to say I dug their music and asked for a lyrics sheet, which I believe they offered in the liner notes. I'm not sure which of them wrote back but he was very gracious and sent me a file with all the lyrics. When I went to look up the words I couldn't understand, I found they had sent me "working" lyrics, many of which had changed by the time they recorded. So I guess I'll never know those lyrics!