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Magnetic Fields

Where can that sandy be?

OMG! OMG! OMG! Walking into the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and hearing “Robot Ponies” is slightly strange. I got to the venue partway through Laura Barrett’s set, and the sound was damned good, though you could hear the nerves in Laura’s voice, and more so her calming herself before playing. She played well, and had Ajay Mehra, Randy Lee & Dana Snell playing with her (the American dates of the tour are without Lee & Snell). After her set, I did hear some audience members commenting on how lovely Barrett’s voice is. No matter what, it’ll always be strange to be at a Laura Barrett show where there’s more than a… Read More »Where can that sandy be?

Realism Early Thoughts

I’m going to start by saying that I never like a Magnetic Fields record through and through when it’s first released. Actually I never like a Magnetic Fields record through and through. Their music seems to be cyclical in nature to me. I’ll listen to a record of theirs and love certain tracks, be indifferent to others, and hate others. Then a few months later, I love different ones, be indifferent to others, and hate others. This can be traced back to their first song I heard, “The Desperate Things You Made Me Do.” I hated it. Really really hated it. Now I love it, unashamedly love it. So I’ve… Read More »Realism Early Thoughts

Lyrics volume 1

So, I thought I’d start an ongoing journey into why I like lyrics, and lyricists. We’re going to start with a gentleman named Stephin Merritt who fronts the band The Magnetic Fields. If you’ve known me for more than 15 minutes, you’ve surely heard me espouse the merits of Stephin Merritt. (har!) The Magnetic Fields are pretty fantastic, their music is smart, and funny. They gained much notoriety in 1999 when they released their triple album 69 Love Songs, which lives up perfectly to the name. Since then they’ve released i, an album in which every song starts with the letter ‘i’ and Distortion, a record covered from head to… Read More »Lyrics volume 1

Top 50 Albums of the Aughts

1) Sleater-Kinney – The Woods (2005) 2) The Magnetic Fields – i (2004) 3) Belle & Sebastian – Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003) 4) The Flashing Lights – Sweet Release (2001) 5) Neko Case & Her Boyfriends – Furnace Room Lullaby (2000) 6) The Joel Plaskett Emergency – Down At The Khyber (2001) 7) Julie Doiron – Woke Myself Up (2007) 8) Neil Young – Live At Massey Hall 1971 (2007) 9) Valery Gore – Avalanche To Wandering Bear (2008) 10) God Help The Girl – God Help The Girl (2009) 11) Wilco – A Ghost Is Born (2004) 12) Joel Plaskett – Three (2009) 13) Neko Case – Fox Confessor… Read More »Top 50 Albums of the Aughts