The Magnetic Fields: Classic or Dud?

But this has nothing to do with Stephin Merrit!

That said, I was a much happier person back when I was a more frequent Mag Fields listener (although you probably would have said I was a "sadder" person in your opinion -- but then again, you'd probably still do that now). Come to think of it, I can't think of a single Mag Fields song that I've ever interpreted as "sad."

I don't mean sad like necessarily actually miserable or sad...It's hard to define, maybe "wanker" is a better term. I fully acknowledge the possibility that this is merely because the people I know are wankers and nothing to do with the Magnetic Fields.

I.e., they're sort of like really huge They Might Be Giants fans -- people who could never make any serious emotional connection to music, and therefore only like music that's deliberately self- conscious and jokey and awkward about the fact that it even is music.

I saw the first of their 69-song Chicago shows, and there were a number of people like this in the audience, who seemed to expect that the show would be, like, comedic or something. They somehow thought Mag Fields were joke-rock.

Best exemplified by someone I know's reaction to a sort of house-y track on the new TMBG album, which involved a lot of amazed giggling: "Whoah, check it out, they're doing a dance track!" To which I wanted to reply something like: "You know, there are thousands of whole albums that are entirely house music, but you won't dream of listening to any of those." It's this weird "I only listen to music as parody" kind of phenomenon, but I don't think it should reflect too poorly on the bands involved, and only covers a limited portion of their fanbases.

The whole comic / pastiche etc thing, this convinces me, is *one aspect* of the MFs, which is really mainly a 69LS issue. (TCotHS = staggeringly significant LP, as Steady Mike has been insisting for ages before I went near the thing.)

Tallulah Gosh?

If you're asking, "Ernest, aren't you a little bit obsessive?", the answer is yes.

rufus, who i like but not nearly as much, has an entirely separate problem. it's not mawkishness. it's that he isn't a very good lyricist.

he's done some great stuff since then, but he's never been the same, having entirely given up on his homemade synth-pop attack by the time of 69 love songs. he's going for something entirely different now. but he was a pop song machine back then, and wasps' nests weren't throwaways but rather the mark of a guy who had too many good songs to contain within his own records. a lot of those 6th songs were staples of the mag fields' live shows in those days, too.

But the true answer, I think, is: whichever is playing. For they are both so irresistible!

I really like the melody of the second half of the verse of 'Young & Insane': 'the record store / is execrable'. Maybe I mean I like the lyric too. I don't really know the whole lyric. I like also the way that at the end of the chorus he flatly repeats 'Young & Insane', just to make things clear.

It is queer how those two songs are so far ahead of the rest of that ep, which is droning rather than delightful; unless I am forgetting something.

It is a great phrase, and it always seemed to me to promise a song of great depth. I don't think the song itself is that song - it's just a piece of tremendous freshness.

But what does the chorus mean, then? That love's real home is in Paris ... that it is Spring now ... and so it is leaving Merritt (in NYC? you could hardly sing the song in Paris) and flying home ... leaving him antipathetic to the addressee?

It is a great phrase, and it always seemed to me to promise a song of great depth. I don't think the song itself is that song - it's just a piece of tremendous freshness.

"tremendous freshness" - excellent!

You're out of luck there.

I'd have told Sundar some good Stephin stories when I was in Toronto if I'd known he liked them!

If Ned hears Kiki & Herb cover TMF, the scales may fall from his ears.

I am collecting essays and articles on the work of Stephin Merritt for a book and am still accepting proposals. Just wanted to stop by and make that announcement.

email susancallow at hotmail dot com if you are interesting in submitting!