Customer Reviews

Get Lost

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Stephin Merritt refines the Magnetic Fields sound on Get Lost. Where on previous albums, nearly all the sounds were produced by synthesizers with the occasional cello or guitar. Here, many songs use things like drums, a ukulele and banjo to flesh things out further. This flirting with traditional instruments lead eventually to 69 Love Songs.

Again, the songs are perfect pop songs, catchy as anything, but still sounding unpolished and scratchy. And once again, they're all love songs, with Merritt using what seemed to be his favorite love song gimmick, the moon, in not one, not two, but three song titles! There's "You and Me and The Moon," "Save a Secret for the Moon," and "The Dreaming Moon." Merritt's songwriting is also typically smart and ironic, with the usual assortment of bitter characters in the songs themselves.

So what sets this apart from other Magnetic Fields' releases? Well... not much. Everything Merritt has written for the Magnetic Fields has been in the same vein but he manages to make it all sound vastly different. And on this record especially, the songs are upbeat despite their lyrics. It's not as immediately lovable as Holiday, but it's definitely closer to that than Charm of the Highway Strip or their first two releases. How anyone could not like Magnetic Fields is beyond me.

The album gets off to a rip-roaring start with a wall of synthesizers in "Famous" and Merritt nearly yelling his lyrics, "I know you've tried / I know you've cried / I know you've died / A little inside." But still the sheer loudness and throbbing of "Famous" doesn't prepare you for "The Desperate Things You Do," one of my favorites. It's beyond anything else the Magnetic Fields have released in terms of bitterness. It's almost hateful. I've done you the favor of putting the lyrics to it at the bottom of the page for you. The man is serious. If it weren't for the violent overtones, I'd say this song deserves a place in every discotheque because it's surprisingly danceable. Merritt has always taken a cue from old love songs, and more often than not, he pairs music that seems bright with some marvelously depressing lyrics, much like songs from some forgotten eras of songwriting.

The metaphors come kamikaze-style on the whispy "Smoke and Mirrors." Stephin gets cutesy-romantic ... on "With Whom To Dance." And then he pretty much holds the gun right to your face and tells you to dance with "You And Me And The Moon." Then it's time for a rare guitar solo love song attempt with "When You're Old and Lonely." ("When you're old and lonely and the rush of life has passed / Days go by too slowly and the years go by too fast") Tug at those heartstrings, Stephin. You know how.

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.

From experience, many fans of the Magnetic Fields would argue that this is one of their weaker albums. On the other hand, I'd be tempted to say this is one of their best albums.

Stephin Merritt sings all the songs on this one, which is much to my pleasing. All of my favorite Magnetic Fields' songs (save for 100,000 Fireflies) are those that he sang, as opposed to Susan Anway. His deep voice matches the lyrics perfectly, especially those with upbeat tunes yet depressing lyrics. On the other hand, though, it makes singing along with the songs very hard for those of us lacking in ability to hit the lower notes. But we can try anyway...

Personal favorites of mine are the weepy 'Why I Cry', 'All the Umbrellas in London', 'Desperate Things You Made Me Do', and 'Don't Look Away'. 'Desperate Things You Made Me Do' sounds distinctly electronic, verging on techno as opposed to electro-pop, and both the music and the lyrics are fantastic. 'All the Umbrellas in London' is the first Magnetic Fields song I ever listened to, and is what got me hooked on them. It's lyrics are great (as are pretty much every Magnetic Fields' song's lyrics) and the the backgroudn music is very good. Unlike a lot of their depressing songs, it doesn't have upbeat background music, thouh. 'Don't Look Away' has this experimental sound, even though it probably uses the least synthesizers on the album. I'd also say it's safe to say it's the slowest song on the album. And, as I said before, 'Why I Cry' is rather weepy, but not to the point of annoyance.

So, until the new Magnetic Fields album comes out in May, this darling is gonna sit in my CD player playing on a constant loop.

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.

I have about 200 CD's and sometimes I will just stare at them desperately trying to figure out what I am in the mood to hear. "Get Lost" has become my savior in these situations. I have had it for about 5 or 6 months, and if it were possible to warp a CD from overplaying, this would certainly be a candidate. It's so easy to listen to the album and be drawn in by the synthesizer sounds and Stephen Merritt's baritone (or is that a bass?). To top it all off, the lyrics are some of the best I have heard in years. "Time provides the rope, but love will tie the slipknot. And I will be the chair you kick away". Three simple lines and for many, the whole of love is summed up. Incredible. Get this album now.

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.

The best example of Stephin Merritt's lyrical genius; I love this album. Post-breakup, post-disappointment, post-mortem, this album relishes in the melancholy longing that every boy alone is his bedroom has felt at one time or another. This album burned a hole through me - I can honestly say it saved my life. It remains a testament to the songwriting brilliance of Stephin Merritt as well as a reminder of just how fragile the heart truly is. Superb.

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...

Over the past few months, I've purchased all the MF cds after first being turned on to Future Bible Heroes. 'Get Lost' is my favorite. Overall, the instrumentation sounds mature and developed. All the songs are good, but 'Smoke and Mirrors' ranks as truly great. I'm buying this cd for the music lovers on my gift list this year.

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.