'69 Love Songs' not just a 'Whole Lotta Love'
Katie Bennett
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Before there was mainstream "emo," there was Morrissey, Robert Smith and Stephin Merritt. The last of the lot may be the least well known, but he certainly merits mention among the musical pantheon of gods and generational icons, owing largely to the success of his 3-disc concept album "69 Love Songs," with group The Magnetic Fields.
Last week The Magnetic Fields released their 10th album, "Realism," consisting of 14 songs packed with wit and charm that anyone can appreciate. But before you download the band's latest release, you need to first listen to "69."
Sold separately, the first disc is arguably the most listenable. To fully understand and benefit from the collection, you have to listen to every second with diligence, patience and an open mind. This may not be easy for the new listener, as Merritt's pop songs often tend toward the absurd.
The most infamously unlistenable examples are "Punk Love" and "Love is like Jazz." While some may condemn Merritt for unskilled musicianship, by riskily adding these songs to the collection, he strengthens his concept by demonstrating that love comes in every form, is imperfect, bizarre and sometimes even unbearable.
Other than these two anomalies, many songs have an up-beat, catchy composition. Nevertheless, their arrangement is of a different breed than that of typical love songs. In addition to standard acoustic faire, Merritt also uses dozens of devices from every corner of the globe, including the musical saw, rain stick, Roland harmonizer, lap steel, marxophone, tremeloa, synclavier, moog satellite, ocarina, pennywhistle, hohnermelodica, kalimas, chicken shakers, cabasas... whew! Think Brian Eno's low-fi indie pop at its most outrageous and glorious.
As well as manifesting the charm of classic pop acts like Buddy Holly, the core of the album's identity is its diverse musical style. "Chicken With Its Head Cut Off" echoes classic Cash and his country-rock style, while "Fido Your Leash is Too Long" is a synth hit with electronic flourishes, as well as elements of banjo, cello, mandolin, piano, percussion, accordian and flute.
Last week The Magnetic Fields released their 10th album, "Realism," consisting of 14 songs packed with wit and charm that anyone can appreciate. But before you download the band's latest release, you need to first listen to "69."
Sold separately, the first disc is arguably the most listenable. To fully understand and benefit from the collection, you have to listen to every second with diligence, patience and an open mind. This may not be easy for the new listener, as Merritt's pop songs often tend toward the absurd.
The most infamously unlistenable examples are "Punk Love" and "Love is like Jazz." While some may condemn Merritt for unskilled musicianship, by riskily adding these songs to the collection, he strengthens his concept by demonstrating that love comes in every form, is imperfect, bizarre and sometimes even unbearable.
Other than these two anomalies, many songs have an up-beat, catchy composition. Nevertheless, their arrangement is of a different breed than that of typical love songs. In addition to standard acoustic faire, Merritt also uses dozens of devices from every corner of the globe, including the musical saw, rain stick, Roland harmonizer, lap steel, marxophone, tremeloa, synclavier, moog satellite, ocarina, pennywhistle, hohnermelodica, kalimas, chicken shakers, cabasas... whew! Think Brian Eno's low-fi indie pop at its most outrageous and glorious.
As well as manifesting the charm of classic pop acts like Buddy Holly, the core of the album's identity is its diverse musical style. "Chicken With Its Head Cut Off" echoes classic Cash and his country-rock style, while "Fido Your Leash is Too Long" is a synth hit with electronic flourishes, as well as elements of banjo, cello, mandolin, piano, percussion, accordian and flute.
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