Reader, (as you knew I would) I’ve fallen behind with my song selecting, and I’d like to catch up. I think perhaps we can leave this as a “10 Great Magnetic Fields Songs” list instead of a month long tribute, as I do not want the exercise to grow tiresome to myself or my audience.

So here are the remaining four:

No. 6: As You Turn To Go (by the 6ths, a side project)

I know I’m not supposed to say I’m sorry
I know you’ve had more loves than Mata Hari
But you know you’re the star of my life story
And I’m so sorry

This song, sung by Momus, is heartbreaking and sweet. You feel bad for the protagonist, because he’s obviously enthralled and thinks so much more of his departing love than the love thinks of him. I like that it makes me think of Mata Hari, as I went through a Mata Hari phase in middle school – didn’t everyone?

No. 7: All The Umbrellas in London

All the umbrellas in London couldn’t stop this rain
And all the dope in New York couldn’t kill this pain
And all the money in Tokyo couldn’t make me stay
All the umbrellas in London couldn’t stop this rain

This is one of the first Magnetic Fields songs I heard, and Stephen Merritt’s monotone growling voice was so perfectly suited to this song that it struck a deep chord. Backed by shimmery, rain sounding synthesizers, this song is plodding yet melodic.

No. 8: Josephine

If I were Napoleon, you could be my Josephine
We could go to drive-in films in my red convertible
If I were Napoleon, I might be in magazines
I’d write some Science Fiction – Science Fiction about you

This sweet little song is almost a capella, sung sweetly out of tune and slightly flat by (I think) Claudia Gonson. It has a little place in my heart all its own.

No. 9: When You’re Old and Lonely

When you’re old and lonely
And the rush of life is past
Days go by too slowly and
The years go by too fast
When your golden loneliness is
Heavier than stone
You can call me up and say
“My god, I’m all alone”

This is the ultimate “Just you see, you’ll be ruined without me” sort of song that’s good to listen to when you’ve been through a breakup and you don’t hate him but you want him to hurt, 50 years from now, and regret it. You know, lighthearted stuff like that.

No. 10: Asleep and Dreaming

I’ve seen you laugh at nothing at all
I’ve seen you sadly weeping
The sweetest thing I ever saw
Was you asleep and dreaming

Well you may not be beautiful
But it’s not for me to judge
I don’t know if you’re beautiful
Because I love you too much

This one speaks for itself, and I’ll leave you with its sentiments.

Well my heart’s runnin’ round like a chicken with its head cut off
All around the barn yard falling in and out of love
Poor thing’s blind as a bat
Gettin’ up, fallin’ down, gettin’ up
Who’d fall in love with a chicken with its head cut off?

So when 69 Love Songs came out, myself and pretty much everyone I knew was devouring the 3 CD set and talking about this or that song pretty much 24/7. I had just started dating a neat guy who lived in Seattle (remember I lived in SF) and he, too, was going to make his way through all 69 songs. However, after listening to the fourth one he called me and said “You totally need to listen to this song. Because that’s me.” Reader, it was true, and I’m glad he warned me; it was still a very nice little romance.

Listen to “Chicken With Its Head Cut Off” – it’s song #4 on this page.

The Magnetic Fields have held fast to their spot in my top tier of bands for awhile now. I’ve been thinking and writing about them enough in the last few days that I thought I’d do a little rundown of my favorites – starting today I’ll profile one song a day. I hope you enjoy!

March 1st: “Two Characters in Search of a Country Song”

You were just like me
you were one big bruise
In the game of life
you were playing to lose

I love this song because it mentions Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, and (the Devil and) Daniel Webster. It’s about the Wild West and about being sad.

You can watch/listen to it here.

March 2nd: “The Desperate Things You Made Me Do”

Time provides the rope
but love with tie the slipknot
and I will be the chair you kick away

This is a synth heavy song, like the rest of “Get Lost”, and it’s super sweeping and moody. It’s great to listen to after a break up, or if you just feel like staring out at the rain and brooding.

Listen to the song here.*

March 3rd: “The Flowers She Sent and the Flowers She Said She Sent”

I saw you standing at the airport
With your chihuahua in your hand
Crying on the moving sidewalk
On your way to Disneylandstrong

This song puts a big lump in my throat, and I’m not even sure why. I think it has something to do with the melody and the the lighthearted singing of some silly lyrics that when you listen to them are quite sad. Are you noticing a sad trend here? There’s a reason that melancholy looking girls in black turtlenecks love this bad.

Listen to it here.

March 4th: “I Was Born on a Train”

And I’ve been making promises I know I’ll never keep.
One of these days I’m gonna leave you in your sleep.
I’ll have to go when the whistle blows-
The whistle knows my name.
Baby, I was born on a train.

“The Charm of the Highway Strip” is probably my favorite Magnetic Fields album. All of the songs are about leaving, traveling, moving, and momentum. This song is really jangly and it’s got a great rhythm. It gets stuck in my head for days at a time, and since I’m playing it as I type, I’m going to leave my break in a minute or two to sit at the refence desk bobbing my head to a silent soundtrack.

Listen to a kosher full version here (scroll down to “Born on a Train”)

* These are, by and large, links to YouTube videos made by fans. The Magnetic Fields obviously aren’t getting money every time you watch, so if you like the song(s) please consider hopping over to iTunes and buying your own copy so you can delight in them again and again. Or better yet, get them on CD or vinyl!

A few nights ago, Sky and I saw and FAN-frickin-tastic music tour movie. Technically, that’s what it was. In reality, it was more like an adrenaline mainlining rockfest in your heart that made you want to jump out into the street and play drums really hard. Except I don’t know how to play the drums. If I did, though, watch out…

Under Great White Northern Lights played for 2 nights @ Northwest Film Forum. It’s a documentary film following the White Stripes as they tour the breadth and width of Canada, including all sorts of little, out of the way towns. They didn’t just play large evening events, either. They visited schools and bowling alleys and retirement homes and played short afternoon sets. My favorite was a last minute (5 minute warning via cell phone notice) performance on a city bus.

Watching Jack and Meg play their little hearts out was amazing. I liked the White Stripes in a “if they are playing on the stereo I’m happy, and once in awhile I may want to hear a specific song of theirs and put it on” kind of way, but never in a OHMIGODTHISBANDISAMAZING way. But now I kind of think they are amazing. Their live performances offer something I really enjoy seeing in a band or singer: I want them to look like they are having some sort of excorcism. This doesn’t mean they have to be twisting their faces all crazy — excorcisms can be more low key. I just want to see them letting the music out like it’s trapped inside of them and they need to let it free. I listened to a lot of Nina Simone and Grace Slick in my formative years.

At first it was odd to see this movie a few nights after seeing the Magnetic Fields. I mean, Stephen Merritt isn’t exactly the most emotive dude, right? His singing persona is based largely on his monotone and slightly flat notes. However, the more I thought about it, the more sense it made that I loved both bands. Stephen Merritt may not be all wild about it, but he’s also excorcising his musical demons: the man appears to obsessively create music, to the tune of more then 3 bands going at once and a ton of albums. His excorcism is methodical and ongoing.

Man do I love music.

Sidenote: I remember when the White Stripes first got to be household names and a ton of band dudes I knew complained constantly about how Meg White was just there to be hot with her boobs bouncing as she played the drums. At the time I thought this was just dumb sexist dumbness and usually said as much. But now that I have seen Meg White play I can testify that she is a sick, sick drummer and those band dudes were probably way threatened by her skills and had to make it about her boobs to save face.

Tuesday night, Sky and I saw the Magnetic Fields play at Town Hall. It was a lovely show – they played a lot more old songs than I’d expected. I was struck (again) by how melancholy and ennui evoking Merritt’s lyrics are: most of the walk home I felt as if my reality had been pierced full of thousands of tiny holes. It was hard to tell if the resulting out-of-sorts feelings were even related to my present life or if they were echoes of emotions I’d felt in the past when listening to the songs. It felt like 1998 all over again.

Here are some bits and pieces that I remember…

They played “I Have the Moon” which contains lyrics that held the highest seat of lyrical honor in the late nineties: it was my e-mail signature line for many months:

O\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\O
\\You have to fly around the world all day //
\\to keep the sunlight on your face ////////
O\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\O

I had no idea that this song was about a Vampire in love, but apparently it is; Merritt’s intro to the song was “This is a song about vampires and apartness.”

It was great to see that my imaginary boyfriend, Sam Davol, had aged well. Click his name to read a sweet little NY Times article on how he revamped a Boston loft in which to raise his little twee family.

They ended the show (if you don’t count the encore) with one of my absolute favorites – 100,000 Fireflies. I’ve spent weeks at time with this song stuck in my head, and it was amazing to hear it played live. It’s a really unique song in that I can’t think of many others that have the same quality: it’s intense but breezy and light, and if I had to describe it with one word I’d call it “twinkly.”

Why do we still live here
in this repulsive town?
All our friends are in New York.

Why do we keep shrieking
when me mean soft things?
We should be whispering all the time.
- 100,000 Fireflies, Magnetic Fields

You can listen to the song by playing this YouTube video (nevermind the weird, blurry fankid graphics that go along).

For those playing along at home, there’s a set list posted on the Line Out review of the show.