[2017-03-10] The Magnetic Fields "50 Song Memoir" 5CD set (Nonesuch)

Charlie · **Joined:** 23 Dec 2014 **Posts:** 14202

Description
Nonesuch Records releases the Magnetic Fields’ 50 Song Memoir on March 10, 2017. The five-CD set chronicles the 50 years of songwriter Stephin Merritt’s life with one song per year; it was produced by Stephin Merritt with additional production by Thomas Bartlett and Charles Newman. 50 Song Memoir includes an extensive interview by Daniel Handler and facsimile handwritten lyrics by Merritt.

Merritt began recording on his 50th birthday: February 9, 2015. Unlike his previous work, the lyrics on 50 Song Memoir are nonfiction—in Merritt’s words, “a mix of autobiography (bedbugs, Buddhism, buggery) and documentary (hippies, Hollywood, hyperacusis).” As he says in the album’s liner note interview with his friend, the author Daniel Handler, “I am the least autobiographical person you are likely to meet. I will probably not write any more true songs after this than I did before, but it’s been interesting working on it.”

[tracklisting][CD1]
1. '66 Wonder Where I'm From
2. '67 Come Back As A Cockroach
3. '68 A Cat Called Dionysus
4. '69 Judy Garland
5. '70 They're Killing Children Over There
6. '71 I Think I'll Make Another World
7. '72 Eye Contact
8. '73 It Could Have Been Paradise
9. '74 No
10. '75 My Mama Ain't

[CD2]
1. '76 Hustle 76
2. '77 Life Ain't All Bad
3. '78 The Blizzard of '78
4. '79 Rock'n'Roll Will Ruin Your Life
5. '80 London By Jetpack
6. '81 How To Play The Synthesizer
7. '82 Happy Beeping
8. '83 Foxx And I
9. '84 Danceteria!
10. '85 Why I Am Not A Teenager

[CD3]
1. '86 How I Failed Ethics
2. '87 At The Pyramid
3. '88 Ethan Frome
4. '89 The 1989 Musical Marching Zoo
5. '90 Dreaming In Tetris
6. '91 The Day I Finally...
7. '92 Weird Diseases
8. '93 Me And Fred And Dave And Ted
9. '94 Haven't Got A Penny
10. '95 A Serious Mistake

[CD4]
1. '96 I'm Sad!
2. '97 Eurodisco Trio
3. '98 Lovers' Lies
4. '99 Fathers In The Clouds
5. '00 Ghosts Of The Marathon Dancers
6. '01 Have You Seen It In The Snow?
7. '02 Be True To Your Bar
8. '03 The Ex And I
9. '04 Cold-Blooded Man
10. '05 Never Again

[CD5]
1. '06 "Quotes"
2. '07 In The Snow White Cottages
3. '08 Surfin'
4. '09 Till You Come Back To Me
5. '10 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
6. '11 Stupid Tears
7. '12 You Can Never Go Back To New York
8. '13 Big Enough For Both Of Us
9. '14 I Wish I Had Pictures
10. '15 Somebody's Fetish[/tracklisting]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N64P97D/?tag=imwan-20

Ocean Doot · 25 Oct 2007

Five CDs for fifty songs? What, is each song seven minutes long? He fit 69 songs on three discs!

Charlie · **Joined:** 23 Dec 2014 **Posts:** 14202

Now we have a playlist for this collection consisting of a proper promo video and some audio-only videos:

GodsComic · 03 Aug 2006

Ocean Doot wrote:

Five CDs for fifty songs? What, is each song seven minutes long? He fit 69 songs on three discs!

Each disc clocks in around 30 minutes. Although this may bother people who wish maximum music on each disc, it works beautifully with his 5 decade concept.
The booklet that comes with it is really nice, and I expect it's really beautiful in the vinyl-sized format.

GodsComic · 03 Aug 2006

Although I've been taking a while to warm up to the album, I just saw the two-night performance of the album. The shows were stunning, and the stories really worked wonders with the songs. I look forward to revisiting this set with this experience under my belt.

[2017-03-10] The Magnetic Fields "50 Song Memoir" 5CD set (Nonesuch)

Who is WANline