Customer Reviews

Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs: A Field Guide (33 1/3)

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Far from insightful, this installment of 33 1/3 is an embarrassingly sparse concoction of definitions and song by song "analysis," little of which gives the reader any new insight into 69 Love Songs.
The first and lengthiest half of this edition is a lexicon. This would be fine if it were original. The content, however, is not unlike that which can be found on various websites devoted to the band and without having to deal with Beghtol's pseudo-intellectual blathering. Remember Mr. Beghtol, merely posing and spouting off like an intellectual does not an intellectual make.
The second half of the book is a song by song reflection from those involved and not so involved with 69 Love Songs. There are some insightful comments found here, however, it lacks any depth as to the process involved in the creation of the album. I would have been much more interested in reading about Stephen Merritt's thought and recording process rather than how the album got someone through a really rough patch in their life. Am I the only one who doesn't care how an album affects others?
The last section, considerably shorter than the other two, is an interview with Mr. Merritt. Unlike Daniel Handler's expansive interview for the box set, don't look for any insight here. Silly questions with silly answers. "Spit or swallow?" Brilliant and hilarious. Well, maybe ten years ago.
Unlike most of the 33 1/3 series Beghtol's 69 Love Songs installment could have been condensed down into a short pamphlet. That is if you were to take out all the pointless filler and vainglory.
For the benefit of all involved, I pray that this will be L.D. Beghtol's final attempt to squeeze whatever juice the 69 Love Songs franchise may still possess. His boorish sensibility and pretentious meanderings are stale. Unlike Stein, Thomson, Cocteau, or his hero O'Conner, Beghtol's attempt at acerbic wit is dull and far from the mark.
All in all Beghtol has perfected the art of average with a book that should, no doubt, be considered an embarrassment for the good folks at Continuum.

If you're a fan of the Magnetic Fields (and you probably are, since you're reading this), then you should waste no time in picking this book up. Every page sings with the same brilliance as the box set of the same name, making it a worthy addition to Continuum's excellent 33 1/3 series.

After I first bought the 69 Love Songs box set, I set aside the first couple weekend mornings to brew a pot of coffee and listen to the set while reading the booklet that came along with the CDs. Consider this little book an Appendix to that booklet. There is still plenty of information to be mined from the lyrics and music of this great band...

And it's a good reason to sit down with a pot of coffee and rediscover the box set if you haven't done that in a while.

Thanks to LD Beghtol, we now have a book to accompany the already expansive boxed set of 69 Love Songs. Split into thirds, the first part being a hilarious lexicon featuring words found throughout 69 Love Songs (with extensive footnotes to boot!). The second part goes song by song with notes (tempo, key, style, things to listen for!), quotes and memories from preformances and recording from the members and noteable friends. The third part includes preformance notes and a sassy interview between the author, Stephin Merritt and a friend. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a sense of humor, a pulse and good taste in music. A must have for fans of the Magnetic Fields, Stephin Merritt, LD Beghtol and fun.

A little too fragmented and idiosyncratic for the casual listener/reader. The glossary of terms used in 69 Love Songs is fun and informative, but beyond that, its hard to penetrate.