i, Magnetic Fields, 2004, :41
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Just as his magnum opus 69 Love Songs was mostly about an outsider's view of love — broken hearts, truck stops, unrequited pining — this set of songs arranged around the letter "i" (but also I, as in the self) is mostly about how the narrator of each song relates to other people. Whether he's pining after a lost love, anxious he isn't enough for his perfect boyfriend, identifies as a clown rejected by society ("I Looked All Over Town"), or lost in love ("I'm Tongue-Tied"), this "i" is really about "them." It's not a flaw, just an interesting observation. Even if the narrator is perpetually self-effacing, the fun charm of the Magnetic Fields' songwriting is engaging as hell. I mean, "I had a dream and you were in it / The blue of your eyes was infinite" Come on, that's a gem. "And, true, for you I'd move to Ecuador / But I don't really love you anymore." Only Stephen Merritt still writes 'em like that. I especially like it when he veers more toward the clean, pretty, lounge style here and not the distortion and synths he also loves. Favorite tracks: "I Don't Believe You," "If There's Such a Thing As Love," "It's Only Time."
