Yeah! Oh Yeah!
― Jamesy, Sunday, 14 October 2007 11:11 (sixteen years ago) link
2oi3jwehn mi boi ywaslk78d down ath syt4reasty
― I know, right?, Sunday, 14 October 2007 11:54 (sixteen years ago) link
wtf?!
When My Boy Walks Down The Street.
Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits
favorite song on album and ever.
― poortheatre, Sunday, 14 October 2007 12:21 (sixteen years ago) link
This poll is stupid, better to start a POV or POX thread to gather concensus on the meat of the material.
Having said that, I'll pick "I Don't Wanna Get Over You".
― Mr. Odd, Sunday, 14 October 2007 12:58 (sixteen years ago) link
Too many good ones to chose from. Voted for "Love In The Shadows," which I have always loved, cause nobody else will. Probably.
― JN$OT, Sunday, 14 October 2007 13:57 (sixteen years ago) link
"Book of Love" or "Sweet Lovin' Man."
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 14 October 2007 14:20 (sixteen years ago) link
Come back from San Francisco
― Roz, Sunday, 14 October 2007 14:23 (sixteen years ago) link
"Yeah, Oh Yeah" is close, but I voted "Bitter Tears"
Disc two is mostly useless, though, huh?
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Sunday, 14 October 2007 15:04 (sixteen years ago) link
"Epitaph for my Heart", with "When my Boy Walks down the Street" and "(Crazy for you but) not that Crazy" close behind.
― Z S, Sunday, 14 October 2007 15:29 (sixteen years ago) link
The 33 1/3 book has the Top 10 as voted for by the stephinsongs.com mailing list:
April 2006 1. Book of Love 2. I Don't Want To Get Over You 3. Luckiest Guy on the LES 4. Papa Was a Rodeo 5. All My Little Words 6. Busby Berkeley Dreams 7. Long Forgotten Fairytales 8. Yeah! Oh Yeah! 9. Come Back from SF 10. I Think I Need a New Heart/Nothing Matters When We're Dancing (tie)
September 1999 1. Papa Was a Rodeo 2. Book of Love 3. Busby Berkeley Dreams 4. Absolutely Cuckoo 5. Yeah! Oh Yeah! 6. I Don't Want To Get Over You 7. All My Little Words 8. No On Will Ever Love You 9. I Think I Need a New Heart 10. Luckiest Guy on the LES/I Don't Believe In The Sun (tie)
And a Bottom Ten from April 2006 1. Punk Love 2. Love is Like Jazz 3. Love in the Shadows 4. Experimental Music Love 5. Xylophone Track 6. Zebra 7. I Shatter 8. How Fucking Romantic 9. Fido Your Leash Is Too Long 10. Bitter Tears
― caek, Sunday, 14 October 2007 15:52 (sixteen years ago) link
i went book of love
― gman, Sunday, 14 October 2007 20:45 (sixteen years ago) link
Queen Of The Savages
― the next grozart, Sunday, 14 October 2007 21:13 (sixteen years ago) link
Bottom 10 list OTM
― robertwolf8080, Sunday, 14 October 2007 22:48 (sixteen years ago) link
but just wait until Fido makes the top spot
― lucas pine, Sunday, 14 October 2007 22:50 (sixteen years ago) link
Yeah, "Fido" is the one WTF on the bottom 10, one of SM's best earworms.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Sunday, 14 October 2007 23:44 (sixteen years ago) link
"Bitter Tears" in the bottom 10? Blasphemy!!! Come on!
― If Assholes Could Fly This Place Would Be An Airport, Monday, 15 October 2007 03:55 (sixteen years ago) link
Yeah, Bitter Tears is great. I also have a degree of fondness for Love is Like Jazz.
― The Real Dirty Vicar, Monday, 15 October 2007 12:05 (sixteen years ago) link
where is the wuv for "Wi' Nae Wee Bairn Ye'll Me Beget"?
― The Real Dirty Vicar, Monday, 15 October 2007 12:06 (sixteen years ago) link
just chose no one will ever love you
― RJG, Monday, 15 October 2007 12:15 (sixteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― ILX System, Monday, 15 October 2007 23:01 (sixteen years ago) link
I suspect I'm the only one voting for A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off
― caek, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 00:08 (sixteen years ago) link
"Fido Your Leash Is To Long" so doesn't belong in the bottom 10.
I voted for "Long-Forgotten Fairytale"
― da croupier, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 00:09 (sixteen years ago) link
"Fido..." is the perfect George Jones song. I had a friend who played it non-stop after his best friend fucked his girlfriend.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 00:12 (sixteen years ago) link
papa was a rodeo
― omar little, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 00:13 (sixteen years ago) link
i voted reno dakota cause it doesnt have that terrible man singing on it
― jhøshea, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 00:14 (sixteen years ago) link
Fuck you this is impossible.
"All My Little Words"
― rogermexico., Tuesday, 16 October 2007 00:22 (sixteen years ago) link
the way you say good-night, but it could have easily been busby berkeley dreams, papa was a rodeo or grand canyon
― t0dd swiss, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 00:33 (sixteen years ago) link
I've always wondered how different Merritt/Magnetic Field's career would be if 69 Love Songs had been collapsed into 1 disc. It's easily conceivable to make a 25-track album where I'd love every single song. That said, I'm happy to shut up and love it as-is.
― Jamesy, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 00:54 (sixteen years ago) link
Harder question: list all MF songs which are better than all 69 love songs. I've got "Plant White Roses," "100,000 Fireflies," "Kings," "Take Ecstasy with Me," and "Born on a Train." Maybe "Save a Secret for the Moon" and "All the Umbrellas in London," though these I think are particularly "69 Love Songs-like" and thus harder to weigh against the actual 69 Love Songs songs.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Tuesday, 16 October 2007 01:39 (sixteen years ago) link
Someone needs to a do a worst song on 69LS poll once this one has finished.
― caek, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 15:23 (sixteen years ago) link
Heck, why wait?
― Mark G, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 15:26 (sixteen years ago) link
Ah, the WORST song on "69 Love Songs" why don't you?
― Mark G, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 15:31 (sixteen years ago) link
Hardest poll imaginable, there's at least 62 wonderful songs on this (HE SPEAKS TO ME MAN etc), at leadt 30 picks for fav, went with "My Only Friend" cos it was in my head the other day
― President Evil, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 15:51 (sixteen years ago) link
Ferdinand
― Dr Morbius, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 16:01 (sixteen years ago) link
long-forgotten fairytale!
― 69, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 18:41 (sixteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― ILX System, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 23:01 (sixteen years ago) link
Wow. More songs got votes than didn't!
― Clay, Tuesday, 16 October 2007 23:24 (sixteen years ago) link
Didn't vote but would have picked All My Little Words so am happy with the winner. Not mad about some of the ones that ran it close though. The Death Of Ferdinand De Saussure is OK but the whole concept is a bit annoying; Papa Was A Rodeo and The Book Of Love I've always admired more than loved, their dirgey qualities getting in the way a bit; I can never remember which one Long Forgotten Fairytale is; Busby Berkeley Dreams has a weak chorus and Sweet-Lovin' Man is just horrendous.
― Alba, Wednesday, 17 October 2007 00:01 (sixteen years ago) link
disc 1: 36 votes disc 2: 27 votes disc 3: 20 votes
― abanana, Wednesday, 17 October 2007 00:05 (sixteen years ago) link
i listen to disc 1 way more than the other 2, i'm not sure if it's actually because it's better or if i just like it better because i've listened to it more and am more familiar with the songs
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 17 October 2007 00:20 (sixteen years ago) link
typically enough for me i think overall 69LS is some of his weakest work up to that point - give me the first two albums and 'highway strip' over 69LS any day
― electricsound, Wednesday, 17 October 2007 00:36 (sixteen years ago) link
Had I known no one was voting for "Washington D.C.," I would have.
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 17 October 2007 01:28 (sixteen years ago) link
I haven't listened through this album enough to make up my mind about one particular favourite, in fact I still have trouble deciding from song to song. So I didn't vote in this poll, but it must have been one of those synthpop-tinged songs on the 2nd or 3rd CD.
― Geir Hongro, Wednesday, 17 October 2007 01:47 (sixteen years ago) link
Um, isn't that all of them?
― Kevin John Bozelka, Wednesday, 17 October 2007 02:57 (sixteen years ago) link
it was probably "Promises of Eternity"
― ciderpress, Wednesday, 17 October 2007 03:20 (sixteen years ago) link
Harder question: list all MF songs which are better than all 69 love songs
add "Strange Powers" and "Two Characters in Search of a Country Song".
― Z S, Wednesday, 17 October 2007 03:29 (sixteen years ago) link
I probably would have picked "I Don't Want to Get Over You." Don't think I've listened to the whole thing tho.
Add to the list - "Long Vermont Roads." Cosign re: "Take Ecstasy With Me," especially the Susan Amway version.
― clotpoll, Wednesday, 17 October 2007 06:22 (sixteen years ago) link
Really great songs that had no votes:
Grand Canyon The Night You Can't Remember Two Kinds Of People I Don't Believe In The Sun Acoustic Guitar Kiss Me Like You Mean It The Things We Did And Didn't Do Boa Constrictor Parades Go By
― The Wayward Johnny B, Wednesday, 17 October 2007 08:20 (sixteen years ago) link
Parades Go By
!
― Mark G, Wednesday, 17 October 2007 08:24 (sixteen years ago) link
There are five singers on 69 Love Songs.
― Ah, the minty egg bits (sic), Sunday, 30 September 2018 22:54 (five years ago) link
(and I'm startled that anyone could have been listening to the album for 18 years and never noticed.)
― Ah, the minty egg bits (sic), Sunday, 30 September 2018 22:56 (five years ago) link
(Merritt is the lead singer on 41 of them, each of the four duets has a different partner)
― Ah, the minty egg bits (sic), Sunday, 30 September 2018 23:00 (five years ago) link
it's not that startling. ld beghtol and dudley klute sound kind of like him, especially because all three singers slightly change their diction according to genre conventions.
― Trϵϵship, Sunday, 30 September 2018 23:04 (five years ago) link
I for one am startled, especially because I listen to it every day
― Karl Malone, Monday, 1 October 2018 00:59 (five years ago) link
ld beghtol and dudley klute sound kind of like himwow, racistdoes rip van wanko hate the higher, warbling voice he used on the first two albums?
― Ah, the minty egg bits (sic), Monday, 1 October 2018 03:48 (five years ago) link
would love to do a single disc poll for each. pretty sure it's format-wise, but even after the vinyl reissue i've always looked at each disc separately.
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Monday, 1 October 2018 05:08 (five years ago) link
Could the 50 year one stand anywhere close on that score?I'd say yes. Every song is musically striking and serves the project, and most are very good! Though I suppose the highs aren't as high.― geoffreyess, Sunday, September 30, 2018 4:53 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I'd say yes. Every song is musically striking and serves the project, and most are very good! Though I suppose the highs aren't as high.
― geoffreyess, Sunday, September 30, 2018 4:53 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
Thanks, see that's the thing...
CD 2 was the one where I remember playing it going "mmm yeah OK" until "Papa was a rodeo" at which point I went wo. Subsequent plays I love those other songs too, but the 50 collection needs highlights too, it helps when slogging through the set for the first time.
― Mark G, Monday, 1 October 2018 06:41 (five years ago) link
There's so much great stuff on this set, I think if I narrow it down to my three most favourites, they all come from CD2:-Epitaph For My Heart (dramatic and pessimistic over-the-top lyrics over a warm cheerful melody, so fun that it somehow ends up being almost heartwarming)-Asleep And Dreaming ("I don't know if you're beautiful, because I love you too much." - how can such soberness still be so adoring?)-You're My Only Home (a very powerful piece - perhaps more than any other song on this set a 'song about love' with the casual appearance of a 'love song')
― Valentijn, Monday, 1 October 2018 09:45 (five years ago) link
enjoying listening to 69LS again. Surprised some one like Kacey Musgraves hasn't turned 'Sweet-Lovin' Man' into a hit.That melody...
― campreverb, Monday, 1 October 2018 19:57 (five years ago) link
I retroactively change my hypothetical vote to Epitaph For My Heart, forgot how great it was. And another argument for Stephin never not singing in that basso
― rip van wanko, Monday, 1 October 2018 21:09 (five years ago) link
Who’ll take it’s ashes and singing fling Them from the top of the Brill building?
― Trϵϵship, Monday, 1 October 2018 21:17 (five years ago) link
Asleep and dreaming makes me cry xps
― Trϵϵship, Monday, 1 October 2018 21:18 (five years ago) link
Surprised some one like Kacey Musgraves hasn't turned 'Sweet-Lovin' Man' into a hit.
Ha, I said something like that on the Musgraves thread. "Lonely Weekend" was giving me "Sweet-Lovin' Man" vibes.
― geoffreyess, Monday, 1 October 2018 21:31 (five years ago) link
see that's the thing...
Yeah, but 69 Love Songs is like the apotheosis of standout-tracks-ness. Forgot to say that 50 Song Memoir has a pretty similar ratio of excerptible tracks. My big five: A Cat Called Dionysus, No, Foxx & I, Dreaming In Tetris, Have You Seen It in the Snow? Shall we poll it?
― geoffreyess, Monday, 1 October 2018 22:10 (five years ago) link
I'd vote in that poll but I'm kind of wondering how many other people have even listened to the whole thing. There's some really good stuff on there and I think it's the closest we're ever going to get to another 69 Love Songs, BUT the highs aren't as high and there are fewer of them IMO. If anyone hasn't checked it out, I'd recommend listening to it once all the way through and then listening to it on shuffle. Definitely took me back to my heavy 69LS-listening days for a bit.
― Vaguely Threatening CAPTCHAs, Tuesday, 2 October 2018 14:20 (five years ago) link
I like what I've heard. Charming stuff but it's somewhat a case of been there done that.
― rip van wanko, Tuesday, 2 October 2018 14:30 (five years ago) link
we should poll this one by disc
― nba jungboy (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 2 October 2018 14:36 (five years ago) link
You are probably right..
I was tempted to go Spotify, but I'm just gonna have to get one and do as before, really, aren't I?
― Mark G, Tuesday, 2 October 2018 21:40 (five years ago) link
is there a Wasps' Nests poll
― alpine static, Tuesday, 2 October 2018 23:24 (five years ago) link
I put "69" on my Spotify, just got through it.
It's funny, the highlights are all the ones I remember, but a whole chunk I didn't remember at all.
"Blue You" I'd have said was Nick Cave.
― Mark G, Monday, 17 December 2018 14:33 (five years ago) link
Saturday is the 20th anniversary
gather ye rosebuds
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 5 September 2019 15:38 (four years ago) link
Agggghh 20 years! Finally the anniversaries coincide with some actually good memories. I’ve been waiting for this.
― weird woman in a bar (La Lechera), Thursday, 5 September 2019 21:36 (four years ago) link
I saw them perform the entire set over two nights. One of my all-time favorite gigs.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 5 September 2019 21:57 (four years ago) link
So did I … three times.
https://www.talkhouse.com/stephin-merritt-the-magnetic-fields-talks-with-daniel-handler-lemony-snicket-for-the-talkhouse-podcast/
― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 7 September 2019 15:34 (four years ago) link
― nba jungboy (voodoo chili), Tuesday, October 2, 2018
I tried!
― TikTok to the (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 10 April 2020 10:11 (four years ago) link
I'd swap "Chicken" and "Parades" but yeah.
― Mark G, Saturday, 11 April 2020 20:34 (four years ago) link
Busby Berkeley?
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Saturday, 11 April 2020 21:11 (four years ago) link
Listening to this in the first time in years after transferring "just the good ones" to my music player. Thought these would amount to 20-25 songs but I ended up with 40 (including a few I almost left off tbf).
with his choice of voices that didn’t automatically code “gay”
Idk, Flare bear's voice doesn't code "gay" enough on its own?
― Deflatormouse, Wednesday, 27 May 2020 22:59 (three years ago) link
Who'll take its ashes andSinging, fling them from the top of the Brill Building
― i will FP you and your entire family (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 27 May 2020 23:03 (three years ago) link
I did the same thing a couple years ago, around the time 50 Song Memoir came out. Pared out the 19 most annoying or cringey tracks, leaving a playlist of 50. I play it all on shuffle once every few months. Until setting that up, I don't think I had listened to more than an hour's worth over the previous 15 years or so.
― punning display, Wednesday, 27 May 2020 23:37 (three years ago) link
seeing the 25th anniversary show for this album on wednesday. looks like in boston he played the whole album in order over two nights, split right down the middle at "promises of eternity"/"world love." i only have tix for wednesday, which i guess means the first half? i think most of my faves are in the first half, but i'll miss "papa was a rodeo," "ferdinand de saussure," "asleep and dreaming," "yeah! oh yeah!," etc.
the only one i would've been genuinely devastated about missing is "luckiest guy" and it looks like i'll catch that one
― the defenestration of prog (voodoo chili), Monday, 1 April 2024 18:56 (three weeks ago) link
I would be far more into this if it was a Mag Fields/6ths/GAs/FBHs greatest hits revue, and not to say I don't like 69 Love Songs it's just I'm a bigger fan of SM's larger body of work than this isolated project.
― citation needed (Steve Shasta), Tuesday, 2 April 2024 01:44 (three weeks ago) link
quite enjoyed part 1 of this in new york (and i'll be back for part 2 tonight), especially dudley klute, who sat in an easy chair at the back of the stage for the entire show, occasionally looking like he might be napping, getting up three or four times to saunter over to a microphone about 10 paces to his left whenever one of his songs came up, and then back to his easy chair to wait for the next one.
everybody was in great voice, especially shirley and claudia.
― fact checking cuz, Thursday, 4 April 2024 15:18 (two weeks ago) link
yes it was a lovely show. i will probably get tickets for next thursday to see the rest of the 69.
it was really fun hearing the little moments the crowd got excited for: "it makes me drink beeeeer!"; how fucking romantic; crazy for you but not that crazy; and obviously dudley's epic held note at the end of luckiest guy
in general tho, it was a very polite crowd and i felt weird singing along to "absolutely cuckoo" among everyone else enjoying in silence, so i was pretty quiet for most of the rest of the show. maybe it was different in the balcony? i was in the orchestra
― the defenestration of prog (voodoo chili), Thursday, 4 April 2024 15:27 (two weeks ago) link
.. playing the cor anglais ...
― Mark G, Thursday, 4 April 2024 17:20 (two weeks ago) link