Really great to see some activity on this site. I can't say that one
band turned me on to Merritt and all his wonders (I too received a
mixed tape from a friend...the rest is history), but I can say that
Merritt turned me on to other bands and performers. Namely
Divine Comedy, which I just adore. I'd love to see another
collaboration between Stephen and Neil. I'm not much of an
admirer of the male voice, but for some reason, I was
immediately drawn to the voices of these two fellows. I recently
discovered Aden, which falls into this category. Doing something
with the lead singer (Jeff something-or-other) would be an
incredible collaboration for Mr. Merritt.

One of my favorite highlights in Stephen's carrer is bringing
Claire Grogan back to the microphone. I don't think anyone but
Stephen Merritt could see the worth in her voice. Just an
incredible song and the perfect match for Claire's voice. Let's
hope he digs out more of these 80's new wave divas.

I haven't had the fortune of seeing the Magnetic Fields live, but I
did just recently see the Future Bible Heros here in San
Francisco. A really excellent show sprinkled with the dry humor
of Stephen Merritt.

I suppose my favorite Magnetic Fields song would be "Parades
Go By," followed very closely by "Swinging London," "Strange
Powers," "I Don't Want to Get Over You," "I Think I Need a New
Heart," "If You Don't Cry," and "I Can't Touch You Anymore." My
favorite from the complete Stephen Merritt catalog is "Kissing
Things." A brilliant song!

Again, nice to see some activity. I'm looking foward to reading
moe. Cheers from Bob in San Francisco.


--- In magneticfields@yahoogroups.com, "Jenny Jo"
<ansiblejane@h...> wrote:
> Okay, so, I've been subscribed to this group for ages and
nothing
> much has come of it. So, in an effort to get things rolling, and
> because I'm mucking about in the deeper reaches of my
Yahoo account,
> I'm going to spend some time babbling semi-coherently about
how
> great I think Stephin Merrit and all his projects are, and also
> talking about myself, which is one of the things I do best.
>
> I first heard of the Magnetic Fields through being a huge, dorky
fan
> of Neil Gaiman, who was reputed to like them. I didn't actually
buy
> any of their stuff, though, in part because I think "Neil Likes It"
> is a silly reason to buy music.
>
> Then, years later, a friend of mine gave me a mixed tape of
songs
> from 69 Love Songs...he didn't make it for me, someone else
had made
> it for him and he was ready to pass it on. It's a very tricky
> business, I've decided, giving a tape like that to someone that
> you're not actually in love with. It can lead to a lot of
> misunderstandings and wrong assumptions and generally
mess with
> one's emotional state. At any rate, that's what happened to me.
>
> But I did love the songs. And then I realized that actually I
> already had some Stephin Merritt music, because I had one of
the
> Lemony Snicket audiobooks that I had gotten as a gift, and
knowing
> that the genius behind the Magnetic Fields was the same
genius
> behind "Scream and Run Away" only sold me more completely
on the
> whole idea.
>
> So I went and bought the 69 Love Songs CD's, and then began
> searching out the other Magnetc Fields albums, and then got
into the
> Future Bible Heroes, and found Hyacinths and Thistles, and I
saw FBH
> live in San Francisco, which was a huge kick and I loved it. The
> solo uke version of "I'm Lonely and I Love It" was one of the
finest
> things I have ever witnessed.
>
> I gave a mixed CD to two friends of mine, too, and they love it,
and
> they told me that "When My Boy Walks Down the Street" is in an
> episode of Queer as Folk, which makes me unreasonably
happy and they
> promised to show it to me and I can't wait.
>
> I had an idea for a while that I was going to write a story for
each
> song on 69 Love Songs, but I soon realized that most of the
songs
> are complete stories already and don't need any
embellishment.
> That's one thing that I love about Stephin's lyrics--every song is
> practically a novel. I did, however, start writing a story
> initially inspired by "When My Boy Walks Down the Street", and
if I
> ever finish it I will make it available somewhere.
>
> So...anybody want to say what their favorite song is, and why? I
> think you can guess what my favorite one on 69 Love Songs is,
> although "Long-Forgotten Fairytale" is a close second. Right
now I
> am really into "Love is Lighter Than Air", and by the Future Bible
> Heroes I am crazy about "She-Devils of the Deep", and, even
> moreso, "Blonde Adonis," although Memories of Love, as my
most
> recent acquisition, is getting a lot of play in general and most of
> the lyrics are simply stunning.
>
> Okay, I've done my bit. Your turn.
>
> --Jenny Jo