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Avg: 4.0 (310 ratings)
- Date Released: September 7, 1999
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Indie Rock
- Label: Merge Records
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We Say...
The Magnetic Fields’ magnum opus really is 69 love songs. As if this challenge was perhaps too easy, Magnetic Fields songwriter and lead singer Stephin Merritt upped the ante by writing the songs in almost as many genres: the tracks jump from Tin Pan Alley to country, from indie rock to techno-pop, from Celtic lullaby to Brill Building anthem. Lyrically, you’d be hard-pressed to find a nimbler pen among today’s songwriters—Merritt’s is a wit inspired by debonair ‘30s New Yorker magazine humor rather than The Daily Show. While the sheer heft of this collection is overwhelming at first, it’s also remarkable in its sustained quality: few bands can come up with even a handful of brilliant tunes; Merritt came up with 69.
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They Say...
As the sprawling magnitude of its cheeky title suggests, 69 Love Songs is Stephin Merritt's most ambitious as well as most fully realized work to date, a three-disc epic of classically chiseled pop songs that explore both the promise and pitfalls of modern romance through the jaundiced eye of an irredeemable misanthrope. A true A-to-Z catalog of touchingly bittersweet love songs that runs the gamut from tender ballads to pithy folk tunes to bluesy vamps, the sheer scope of the record allows all of Merritt's musical personas to converge -- the regular use of guest vocalists recalls his work as the 6ths, the romantic fatalism suggests the Gothic Archies project, and the stately melodies evoke the Future Bible Heroes. The whole is much greater than the sum of its parts, however -- for all of Merritt's scathing wit and icy detachment, there's a depth and sensitivity to these songs largely absent from his past work, and each one of these 69 tracks approaches l'amour from refreshing angles, galvanizing the love song form with rare sophistication and elegance. The first volume is the strongest and most straightforward, boasting the prettiest melodies and most sparkling arrangements; despite the occasional intrusion of filler like "Punk Love," the material is mostly superb, with the mournful "I Don't Believe in the Sun," the self-deprecating "All My Little Words," and the wistful "Come Back From San Francisco" emerging among Merritt's finest efforts. Still, even though each of 69 Love Songs' three discs is available separately, it was nevertheless conceived as a whole and is best absorbed as such, with all of its twists and turns taken in stride; its three-hour length aside, the music boasts the craftsmanship and economy that remain the hallmarks of classic American pop songwriting, a tradition Merritt upholds even as he subverts the formula in new and brilliant ways.
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| 01. |  |
Absolutely Cuckoo |
1:34 |
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| 02. | |
I'm Don't Believe In The Sun |
4:16 |
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| 03. | |
All My Little Words |
2:46 |
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| 04. | |
A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off |
2:41 |
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| 05. | |
Reno Dakota |
1:05 |
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| 06. | |
I Don't Want To Get Over You |
2:22 |
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| 07. | |
Come Back From San Francisco |
2:48 |
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| 08. | |
The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side |
3:43 |
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| 09. | |
Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits |
2:25 |
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| 10. | |
The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be |
1:11 |
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| 11. | |
I Think I Need A New Heart |
2:32 |
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| 12. | |
The Book Of Love |
2:42 |
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| 13. | |
Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long |
2:33 |
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| 14. | |
How Fucking Romantic |
0:58 |
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| 15. | |
The One You Really Love |
2:53 |
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| 16. | |
Punk Love |
0:58 |
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| 17. | |
Parades Go By |
2:56 |
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| 18. | |
Boa Constrictor |
0:58 |
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| 19. | |
A Pretty Girl Is Like... |
1:50 |
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| 20. | |
My Sentimental Melody |
3:07 |
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| 21. | |
Nothing Matters When We're Dancing |
2:27 |
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| 22. | |
Sweet-Lovin' Man |
4:59 |
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| 23. | |
The Things We Did |
2:11 |
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23 Total Tracks, 55:55 Total Length
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Credits
- Michael English - Design // Michael English - Logo // Christopher Ewen - Engineer // Magnetic Fields - Main Performer // Stephin Merritt - Ukulele // Stephin Merritt - Vocals // Eric Masunaga - Engineer // Sam Davol - Flute // Sam Davol - Cello // Ida Pearle - Violin // John Woo - Banjo // John Woo - Guitar // John Woo - Mandolin // L.D. Beghtol - Vocals // Jon Berman - Engineer // Claudia Gonson - Percussion // Claudia Gonson - Piano // Claudia Gonson - Drums // Claudia Gonson - Vocals // Claudia Gonson - Engineer // Claudia Gonson - Photography // Daniel Handler - Accordion // Dudley Klute - Vocals // Jeff Lipton - Mastering // Charles Newman - Engineer // Shirley Simms - Vocals
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