Get Lost

The Magnetic Fields

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 24, 1995)
• Original Release Date: October 24, 1995
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Merge Records
• ASIN: B0000019O4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #32,681 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars smoke and mirrors, special effects., March 12, 2002

By	Ryan Hennessy (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect, September 18, 2004

By	Tyler Quagmire (Rochester, New York, USA) - See all my reviews

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't Lose This One, February 28, 2004

By	K. Kelly "howlinhonky" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.