50 Song Memoir

by The Magnetic Fields

50 Song Memoir cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 10 March 2017
  • Label: Nonesuch
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 2:30:26
  • Community rating: 3.98/5 from 7 ratings

Artists on this release: Johny Blood, Robert Hurwitz, pipe, audio generator, Brad Gordon, wood block, Pinky Weitzman, Thomas Bartlett, Christopher Ewen, Stephin Merritt

Album Notes & Community Reviews

To commemorate his 50th birthday, indie-pop mastermind Stephin Merritt constructs a massive, autobiographical five-disc opus, assigning exactly one song to each year of his life. Utilizing a staggering array of over a hundred distinct instruments, the record chronologically traces his childhood, artistic evolution, and romantic history with his signature sardonic, hyper-literate wit. It is a monumental, deeply idiosyncratic memoir.

Genres

Descriptors: conceptual, melodic, lgbtq, witty, personal

Tracklist

  1. '66: Wonder Where I'm From (2:44)
  2. '67: Come Back as a Cockroach (2:34)
  3. '68: A Cat Called Dionysus (2:46)
  4. '69: Judy Garland (3:17)
  5. '70: They're Killing Children Over There (2:36)
  6. '71: I Think I'll Make Another World (2:56)
  7. '72: Eye Contact (2:55)
  8. '73: It Could Have Been Paradise (3:06)
  9. '74: No (2:56)
  10. '75: My Mama Ain't (3:01)
  11. '76: Hustle 76 (3:16)
  12. '77: Life Ain't All Bad (4:15)
  13. '78: The Blizzard of '78 (3:15)
  14. '79: Rock'n'Roll Will Ruin Your Life (2:58)
  15. '80: London by Jetpack (2:58)
  16. '81: How to Play the Synthesizer (3:06)
  17. '82: Happy Beeping (3:10)
  18. '83: Foxx and I (2:43)
  19. '84: Danceteria! (3:09)
  20. '85: Why I Am Not a Teenager (3:07)
  21. '86: How I Failed Ethics (2:58)
  22. '87: At the Pyramid (3:09)
  23. '88: Ethan Frome (2:23)
  24. '89: The 1989 Musical Marching Zoo (3:06)
  25. '90: Dreaming in Tetris (3:21)
  26. '91: The Day I Finally... (2:19)
  27. '92: Weird Diseases (3:10)
  28. '93: Me and Fred and Dave and Ted (3:08)
  29. '94: Haven't Got a Penny (2:53)
  30. '95: A Serious Mistake (3:13)
  31. '96: I'm Sad! (2:12)
  32. '97: Eurodisco Trio (3:15)
  33. '98: Lovers' Lies (3:06)
  34. '99: Fathers in the Clouds (2:51)
  35. '00: Ghosts of the Marathon Dancers (3:05)
  36. '01: Have You Seen It in the Snow? (2:51)
  37. '02: Be True to Your Bar (3:34)
  38. '03: The Ex and I (2:59)
  39. '04: Cold-Blooded Man (3:05)
  40. '05: Never Again (3:19)
  41. '06: "Quotes" (2:17)
  42. '07: In the Snow White Cottages (2:51)
  43. '08: Surfin' (2:47)
  44. '09: Till You Come Back to Me (2:29)
  45. '10: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (3:03)
  46. '11: Stupid Tears (2:45)
  47. '12: You Can Never Go Back to New York (3:12)
  48. '13: Big Enough for Both of Us (3:03)
  49. '14: I Wish I Had Pictures (3:07)
  50. '15: Somebody's Fetish (3:45)

Credits

  • The Magnetic Fields - primary artist
  • John Woo - acoustic guitar [martin hd-28], electric guitar [truetone speed demon, fender telecaster]
  • Anthony Kaczynski - backing vocals [background vocals]
  • Randy Walker - backing vocals [background vocals], vocals [sings prominently]
  • Shirley Simms - backing vocals [background vocals]
  • Alix Merritt - cover [cover art], artwork [cover art]
  • Johny Blood - flugelhorn, tuba, vocals [mouthpiece]
  • Chris Bellman - lacquer cut by

More from The Magnetic Fields: full discography