I’ve just started listening to the new album from The Magnetic Fields, Love At The Bottom Of The Sea. Thus far it plays like an incredible modernized return to form for fans of their earlier stuff so I’m obviously ecstatic, or whatever word you use to describe delight in an musical experience drenched in tongue-in-cheek misery.
The release reminded me of a todo item I’ve had written on the side of my refrigerator since the last time the band came through town. I picked up a table for their show at the Wilbur through the fan club advance link (or some similar mechanism) and brought a bunch of first-timers to the show. They were blown away, and I promised I’d put together a playlist highlighting some of my favorite tracks.
Well, I got halfway there. Like many other fans, when 69 Love Songs was released I made my own single-disc mix of the songs I liked most on the triple album. I included 28 out of 69 songs, hence the title:
I’ll follow up in the next few days with my introduction to the rest of the Magnetic Fields/6ths/Future Bible Heroes/Stephin Merritt catalogue. If you’re just discovering the band with the release of this latest record, this is an excellent start to digesting one of their best known releases.
Enjoy!