The Magnetic Fields Album: “Get Lost”

It really is a pity that such a great album is over looked by more popular albums such as 69 Love Songs and various other Magnetic Field CDs. The thing is that a nasty rumor shot around the world that this album was their worst one ever. I don't really think that's true. In truth, I think it's one of their best. Get Lost is a mix of electrical pop, techno and rock songs all of which are pure Magnetic Field music. This album concentrates more around fast, quick moving songs with an extremely high catchy level.

"Famous" is a classical rock song, and it's extremely catchy. Though the lyrics aren't as emotional or as romantic as others, they're just as good. "The Desperate Things You Made Me Do" is, in my opinion, the best song on the album. It's a techno song that deals with being angry at a loved one who broke hearts and such.

"Smoke And Mirrors" was a haunting pop song, giving off an eerie effect. "With Whom To Dance?"- The smooth, refreshing electrical sound of soft electrical insturments with a ukulele involved. Beautiful song. "You And Me And The Moon" is an electrical pop song. It's loud, fast music is very hypnotic, and would be the perfect song to sing for your new boyfriend/girlfriend on your first date.

"Don't Look Away" is a dark, creepy sound similar to "Smoke And Mirrors", but a heck of a lot better. And I love "Save A Secret For The Moon". It has a very odd sound, and is, like "You And Me And The Moon", very hypnotic, but less electrical and a tad bit slower. "Why I Cry" is another one of my favorite songs by them. It's a slow, electrical indie rock song that has weeping lyrics. "Love Is Lighter Than Air" is very similar to "You And Me And The Moon". If there had to be one song on Get Lost that would represent it, this one would be it. Stephin Merritt sings relatively fast in this song.

"When You're Old And Lonely"- with its thick guitar sound- takes a break from all the running and jumping that the other songs on Get Lost offer. "The Village In The Morning" was a very good song, very fast, and it had a bit of a techno-sound to it like "The Desperate Things You Made Me Do".

"All The Umbrellas In London" is another one of my favorite songs by them. I adore the lyrics in this song. They're both creative and amusing. Also very techno-sih. "The Dreaming Moon" is probably the perfect way to end such an energetic album. Following easily in the footsteps of "100,000 Fireflies", "The Dreaming Moon" offers an ingenius set of lyrics mixed in with a lot of synths.

Get Lost was certainly something to thrill over. While not as hypnotic as Holiday, nor as theme-following as The Charm Of The Highway Strip, it truly is a wonderful album.

Of the pre-'69 Love Songs' Magnetic Fields albums, this one is the most frequently overlooked. Perhaps because it doesn't overtly have the thematic unity of the earlirer TMF albums ('Holiday'=mostly songs about leisure, '...Highway Strip'=mostly songs about travel, 'House of Tomorrow'=experimental "loop" songs) some feel it doesn't pack the same punch... I say it's simply a collection of great popsongs that serves as a perfect example of what to expect from a Stephin Merrit album.

The album jumps from great song to great song without any weak spots. "Love Is Lighter Than Air," "You & Me & the Moon," "All the Umbrellas In London," "With Whom To Dance"... all catchy, clever, well-constructed pop songs that are (in my opinion) damn near flawless.

One of the best albums from one of the best bands of the decade.

The Magnetic Field's Stephin Merritt reminds me of some other extremely gifted pop producers, or composer/producer/musicians, who gift us with their own musical visions, and have the skills to enter a recording studio and deliver this vision which can then be shared with the listener. Other such music geniuses, individuals such as the legendary Phil Spector, Brian Wilson and Todd Rundgren, the eclectic Brian Eno, and the indie cult performer East Village Pipe all come to mind. All of these men share in common an ability to create music that is so breathtakingly beautiful that it can induce tears of joy in the listener. It also seems to be the case that nearly all of these individuals share in common a history of struggling with some inner demon, or personal pathology. In the case of Wilson and East River Pipe, drugs and psychosis; and in the case of the artist responsible for this fine record, a sense of loneliness and lingering depression. It is clear that while Stephin Merritt appreciates love as an ideal state, as an elusive state of mind, he also finds it very hard to manage. The fact of Merritt's being gay is both incidental, as well as essential (in the sense of it pointing him toward certain types of musical and lyrical sensibilities from the past); hence, there are various dualisms to Stephin Merritt.

This - along with a Wasp's Nest by one of Merritt's other bands, the 6ths - are my favorites of his records. I acknowledge the greatness of his later concept albums, the Johnny Cash meets Depeche Mode brilliance of Charm of the Highway Strip, and I greatly enjoy some of the Magnetic Fields' earlier works. But here, Merritt's deep baritone, his gentle, subtle arrangements, and the sheer beauty of his songs, gives me nothing but satisfaction. And I wonder, has there ever been a love anthem as fantastic as Love Is Lighter Than Air? Why it was not a hit, I'll never know.

This is really quite simple: This is the perfect Mag Fields statement, and as a product of none other than S. Merritt, one of the best popular records of all time. It's a waste of time to call him a genius, b/c it distracts from the point... the point, in case you were wondering, is that no one writes songs quite like this, and no one ever has. While there are elements of many a pre-explored sound, what you get here is a hitherto undiscovered synthesis of the sonic, the despondent, the hopeful, and the conscious. Frankly, the only way to not like (or at least appreciate) this record is to be woefully ignorant of the history of pop-music. I'd say a decade or two has been categorically captured and reinvigorated in the span of 13 perfect songs.

While I think that every Merritt record is worth listening to, and I have all of them, not one of them has quite this essential and visceral kind of... life. Something perfect this way comes...

This is beautiful madness, you'll find yourself walking around singing "i want to bruise you black and blue" in the most cheerful way, as to make people look at you and quickly walk past. this, at least, has been my experience. Try your luck and give this cd of lush tunes a listening, you'll be glad you did.