Think Pink Radio

Aside from its obvious stance as one of the greatest releases in modern folk music, timing-wise, The Magnetic Fields’s 69 Love Songs couldn’t have hit me at a better time. I was in college and just as I was discovering how important it is to be out, the back-handed sass Stephen Merritt can deliver in one couplet is still influencing my everyday approach to conversation. Years later, the newest release, Realism, continues Merritt’s ‘big concept’ approach to making music: it’s the 2nd in a pairing with the last album. Aside from the similarities in cover art, the Nonesuch website describes it as “a flipside to Distortion, the aural opposite of that clangorous homage to industrial pop of the Jesus and Mary Chain.” While Distortion was recorded in hallways and bathrooms, using as much overblown reverb as possible, Realism was recorded in more traditional studio settings using only acoustic instruments: bouzoukis, banjos, cellos, violins, accordions, tubas, tablas, “even a smattering of mellifluous falling leaves.” The lack of electricity on this record is taking me back to the 69 Love Songs days, there is even a borrowed melody or two. Merritt’s ability to influence with his three minute pop songs cannot be underestimated, I’ve posted some covers below (all reblogged from The Opening Acts). Also, the song “From a Sinking Boat,” the track on Realism recorded entirely in Stephen’s bathroom. The band has recorded a five-part video series about the making of the album here, and they’ll be playing two shows in Chicago at the Harris Theater on March 7th and 8th. Tickets here.

The Magnetic Fields – From a Sinking Boat

Lush – I Have the Moon

The Shins – Strange Powers

Get Him Eat Him – The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side

The Magnetic Fields - I Die, You Die (Gary Numan cover)