The Magnetic Fields: Excellent new pop music

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 11:38am

There are still artists interested in well-crafted songs, in case we've forgotten. The Magnetic Fields are back with a shimmering new album and here's the grrreat first video.
Andrew in Drag

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 3:37pm

Oh, who are you refering to? :P

I love the Magnetic Fields, 69 Love Songs was one of my top albums as a teen--and had no idea anything new was out--thanks for the heads up. Makes me realize I never checked out Merritt's score for Coraline--is it similar to his pop stuff, does anyone know?

And there's actually a bunch of good pop music out now--Dragonette--the nicest (well that I've met) and best Canadian pop/dance band have a new album about to come out too--I hope they don't draw on the sound of Hello *too* much since it's become their biggest hit, since to Solveig, but... (see, it all somehwo comes back to Madge :P )

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 4:22pm

"Andrew In Drag," now THAT'S a summer single!

I think the new Magnetic Fields album, "Love at the Bottom of the Sea" is their best since the massive achievement of "69 Love Songs".

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 4:28pm

Have they gone back to synths? I missed that in their last few recordings... I'll have to track it down--I have an amazon gift card, so hope I can find it on there (yes, I still dislike downloading music I actually expect to like...)

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 4:34pm

Yes, they are back to synths. Especially tasty on lead-off song "God Wants Us To Wait," which is about exactly what you might guess.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 4:39pm

OK, now I *am* excited. I never got why they were largely dropped--I guess maybe to prove they weren't reliant on synths, but that was a huge part of their appeal.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 4:43pm

There are some great interviews around where Stephen explains that when he was growing up, synths represented what the music of the future was supposed to sound like but that at some point they started to sound specifically like the 1980s and that things got worse. People were no longer playing synthesizers but were sampling synthesizers so there was no room for play or experimentation. With advances in technology, he's now buying weird electronic instruments that make crazy new kinds of sounds.

Updated On: 4/4/12 at 04:43 PM

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 4:49pm

I sorta get that--there's some truth that some of the "fun" of synths ended by the time they were (largely) all patches, etc. I admit, while it's before my time, I still love the late 70s synth work of Moroder/et all best, some of which I hear in their music. Anyway--I ordered the album--it had better be good :P

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 4:53pm

I'll be at their concert at The Beacon tonight. Can't wait!

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/4/12 at 4:54pm

You'll dig it, eric. Don't forget to snap your fingers, AC.

Updated On: 4/4/12 at 04:54 PM