"Stephin: This was meant to be a duet, with the voices alternating, but I ended up doing them all myself."
"Susan Kirby-Smith: This song is like Dr. Doolittle's pushmi-pullyu, the two-headed llama. Both behave as if they are at the front of the body and attempt to move forward- though neither advances." Absolutely Cuckoo is one of the remnants of the early conceit to have the whole album run in alphabetical order (Zebra, the final track on Volume 3 is obviously another). Barbershop Quartet Cover: Kettle of Fish on their 2019 album Bristol A Capella.
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1.1 Absolutely CuckooLENGTH: 1:34
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: B Major GENRE: Novelty Song à la "They're Coming to Take Me Away" LISTEN FOR: Bass line consisting mostly of rests LYRICS: Don't fall in love with me yet We've only recently met True I'm in love with you But you might decide I'm a nut Give me a week or two To go absolutely cuckoo Then when you see your error Then you can flee in terror Like everybody else does I only tell you this 'cause I'm easy to get rid of But not if you fall in love Know now that I'm on the make And if you make a mistake My heart will certainly break I'll have to jump in a lake And all my friends will blame you There's no telling what they'll do It's only fair to tell you I'm absolutely cuckoo Don't fall in love with me yet We've only recently met True I'm in love with you But you might decide I'm a nut Give me a week or two To go absolutely cuckoo Then when you see your error Then you can flee in terror Like everybody else does I only tell you this 'cause I'm easy to get rid of But not if you fall in love Know now that I'm on the make And if you make a mistake My heart will certainly break I'll have to jump in a lake And all my friends will blame you There's no telling what they'll do It's only fair to tell you I'm absolutely cuckoo It's only fair to tell you I'm absolutely cuckoo |
1.2 I Don't Believe in the SunLENGTH: 4:16
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: F# Major GENRE: Woodstock Roots Rock LISTEN FOR: Minimalist drum fills, "solo" in which no one solos LYRICS: They say there's a sun in the sky But me I can't imagine why There might have been one Before you were gone But now all I see is the night So I don't believe in the sun How could it shine down on everyone And never shine on me How could there be Such cruelty The only sun I ever knew Was the beautiful one that was you Since you went away It's nighttime all day And it's usually raining too So I don't believe in the sun How could it shine down on everyone And never shine on me How could there be Such cruelty The only stars There really are Were shining in your eyes There is no sun Except the one That never shone on other guys The moon to whom The poets croon Has given up and died Astronomy will have to be revised I don't believe in the sun How could it shine down on everyone And never shine on me How could there be Such cruelty |
"LD: Vampire song."
"Susan Kirby-Smith: In Sonnet 14 William Shakespeare tells us, "Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck." Merritt's proposed astronomical revisions in this song make it seem that the two would have much to discuss." "Lynn Rudell: I've struggled with depression most of my life, and because of this I collect lyrics that ring true to someone like me. "How can it shine down on everyone/And never shine on me?/How could there be such cruelty?" Best to just let it go." "Bernard MacMahon: It's so moving after "Absolutely Cuckoo." A poignant lyric that is both profound and witty- something that Merritt seems to achieve effortlessly." "Jeff Lipton: The first song I worked on was "I Don't Believe in the Sun." It set the tone for the album. I knew I was listening to songs so great that they would have the staying power of the classics. I felt a lot of responsibility towards making the album sound as good as it could." Fun Fact: This is the first song Stephin Merritt wrote about the sun.
Decent Cover: The Loaded Whispers on their 2008 Album Obliterate the Myths.
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"Stephin: I wrote the arrangement thinking I'd have to add something else eventually, but it was quite brutal the way it was. So I just stuck in a lead guitar and that was enough. This has been translated into French and Greek."
Stephin Merritt relates, in the 69LS liner notes, how he was contemplating his tea in his favorite East Village café — where he does much of his writing — when the line 'All the tea in China' occurred to him, and the rest of the song developed from there. Cute Cover: Reina del Cid (2018).
French Cover: Souvenir on their 2003 album Recto/Verso. Spanish Cover: Russian Red live in 2014. Greek Cover: Κόρε. Ύδρο. on their 2003 album Αν Όλα Τέλειωναν Εδώ. |
1.3 All My Little WordsLENGTH: 2:46
SUNG BY: LD with Shirley KEY: Ab Major GENRE: Southern California Country-Rock LISTEN FOR: Almost in-time tremolo, subliminal lead vocal LYRICS: You are a splendid butterfly It is your wings that make you beautiful And I could make you fly away But I could never make you stay You said you were in love with me (You said you were in love with me) Both of us know that that's impossible And I could make you rue the day (Rue the day) But I could never make you stay Not for all the tea in China Not if I could sing like a bird Not for all North Carolina Not for all my little words Not if I could write for you The sweetest song you ever heard Doesn't matter what I do (Doesn't matter what I do) Not for all my little words Now that you've made me want to die You tell me that you're unboyfriendable And I could may you pay and pay (Pay and pay) But I could never make you stay Not for all the tea in China Not if I could sing like a bird Not for all North Carolina Not for all my little words Not if I could write for you The sweetest song you ever heard Doesn't matter what I do (Doesn't matter what I do) Not for all my little words Doesn't matter what I do (Doesn't matter what I do) Not for all my little words |
1.4 A Chicken With Its Head Cut OffLENGTH: 2:41
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: G Major GENRE: Cliché Country LISTEN FOR: Fowl slide guitar LYRICS: Eligible Not too stupid Intelligible And cute as Cupid Knowledgeable But not always right Salvageable And free for the night Well my heart's running 'round like a chicken with its head cut off All around the barnyard falling in and out of love The poor thing's blind as a bat Getting up Falling down Getting up Who'd fall in love with a chicken with its head cut off Whoa, Nelly My wife doesn't Understand me Many dozens Hope to land me I'm for free love And I'm in free fall This could be love Or nothing at all Well my heart's running 'round like a chicken with its head cut off All around the barnyard falling in and out of love The poor thing's blind as a bat Getting up Falling down Getting up Who'd fall in love with a chicken with its head cut off We don't have to be stars exploding in the night Or electric eels under the covers We don't have to be Anything quite so unreal Let's just be lovers Well my heart's running 'round like a chicken with its head cut off All around the barnyard falling in and out of love The poor thing's blind as a bat Getting up Falling down Getting up Who'd fall in love with a chicken with its head cut off It ain't pretty |
"John: This song holds the distinction of having caused more arguments about tempo than anything else we've ever played."
"Stephin: John's throttleneck guitar sounds like someone choking a chicken." Of which Stephin Merritt says, "There's not that many clichés left to be used as titles of country songs. So I was jokingly scraping the bottom of the barrel." Outdoor Cover: Jackie Givelber & Sascha Andres on Youtube.
Fun Fact: To this day, no one knows how eels procreate! |
In the 2010 Magnetic Fields Documentary Strange Powers, the real Reno Dakota was given an opportunity to tell his side of the story, as well as perform his own version of the original song.
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1.5 Reno DakotaLENGTH: 1:05
SUNG BY: Claudia KEY: G Major GENRE: Banjo Art Song LISTEN FOR: Lack of thirds, frequent tempo changes LYRICS: Reno Dakota There's not an iota Of kindness in you You know you enthrall me And yet you don't call me It's making me blue Pantone 292 Reno Dakota I'm reaching my quota Of tears for the year Alas and alack You just don't call me back You have just disappeared It makes me drink beer I know you're a recluse You know that's no excuse Reno That's just a ruse Do not play fast and loose With my heart Reno Dakota I'm no Nino Rota I don't know the score Have I annoyed you Or is there a boy who Well he's just a whore I've had him before It makes me drink more |
1.6 I Don't Want to Get Over YouLENGTH: 2:22
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: G Major GENRE: Art-Therapy Rock LISTEN FOR: Ring-mod synth; vocals doubled in octaves LYRICS: I don't want to get over you I guess I could take a sleeping pill And sleep at will And not have to go through What I go through I guess I should take Prozac right And just smile all night At somebody new Somebody not too bright But sweet and kind Who would try to get you off my mind I could leave this agony behind Which is just what I'd do If I wanted to But I don't want to get over you 'Cause I don't want to get over love I could listen to my therapist Pretend you don't exist And not have to dream of What I dream of I could listen to all my friends And go out again And pretend it's enough Or I could make a career of being blue I could dress in black and read Camus Smoke clove cigarettes and drink vermouth Like I was seventeen That would be a scream But I don't want to get over you |
"John: We tried many different arrangements and keys for this before settling on something we were comfortable with."
"Stephin: The McCartney-esque bassline: my homage to Wings." "Stephen Coates: It catches both the superficiality and profound sadness of romantic loss. On one hand you don't want to pull your socks up- you suddenly have a very strong sense of the significance of life and of your personal tragedy which, even though commonplace, briefly feels epic in its proportions. On the other hand, when do you start to feel better, you actually feel somehow diminished." Haunting Cover: Alison Eales on Soundcloud.
Youthful Cover: Ben Gibbard live at Stereogum Range Life SXSW, 2010. |
"Susan Kirby-Smith: It reminds me of the children's book The Runaway Bunny, in which the mother bunny says, "If you become a bird and fly away from me... I will be a tree that you come home to." In Stephin's song the singer is the tree and the beloved the wind, but the willingness to transform to maintain the relationship is very moving in the same manner, as it is in "Grand Canyon.""
"Stephin: An answer to Scott McKenzie's "If You're Going to San Francisco." |
1.7 Come Back From San FranciscoLENGTH: 2:48
SUNG BY: Shirley with LD KEY: D Major GENRE: Chelsea Girl Goes California LISTEN FOR: Note-bending on guitar, Shirley's breathing LYRICS: Come back from San Francisco (It can't be all) It can't be all that pretty When all of New York City misses you Should pretty boys in discos (Distract you) Distract you from your novel Remember I'm awful in love with you You need me Like the wind Needs the trees To blow in Like the moon needs poetry You need me Come back from San Francisco (And kiss me) And kiss me I've quit smoking I miss doing The wild thing with you Will you stay I don't think so (But all I do) But all I do is worry Pack bags Call cabs And hurry home to me You need me Like the wind Needs the trees To blow in Like the moon needs poetry You need me (humming) Da da da-da Da da da-da You need me Like the wind Needs the trees To blow in Like the moon needs poetry You need me When you Betray me Betray me With a kiss Damn you I've never stayed up As late as this |
1.8 The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East SideLENGTH: 3:43
SUNG BY: Dudley KEY: B Major GENRE: Taco Does Irving Berlin LISTEN FOR: Slinky guitar, fake/real drums and cello LYRICS: Andy Would bicycle across town In the rain To bring you candy And John would buy the gown For you to wear to the prom With Tom The astronomer Who'd name a star for you But I'm the luckiest guy On the Lower East Side 'Cause I've got wheels And you wanna go for a ride Harry Is the one I think you'll marry But it's Chris That you kissed After school Well I'm a fool There's no doubt But when the sun comes out And only when the sun comes out I'm the luckiest guy On the Lower East Side 'Cause I've got wheels And you wanna go for a ride The day is beautiful And so are you My car is ugly but then I'm ugly too I know you'd never give me A second glance But when the weather's nice All the other guys Don't stand a chance I know Professor Blumen Makes you feel like a woman But when the wind is in your hair You laugh like a little girl So you share secrets with Lou But we've got secrets too Well one I only keep this heap for you 'Cause I'm the ugliest guy On the Lower East Side But I've got wheels And you wanna go for a ride Wanna go for a ride Wanna go for a ride Wanna go for a ride |
"Dudley: Stephin wrote thing song for me with the extended note originally to help me quit smoking, which worked for a couple of weeks until after I'd recorded it. Then it was time for some of the other songs, and I was off the tobacco wagon again. The recording went fairly quickly- I wanted it to sound as spontaneous as possible. This is another song where I tried not to sing the humor of the song, but rather the pathos- though it is funny to me, since I didn't have a driver's license. It seemed clear that the narrator of the song would have to be the last person in on the joke, so I emphasized a kind of naiveté in my tone and phrasing. This is my song people seem like best- perhaps they're responding to that emotional vulnerability, and not just the infamous last note [15+ seconds]. People assume it's computer trickery, but if you listen closely you can hear that it is not."
"Peter Straub: This song uses a device one often finds in the New York school of poetry in which people are referred to by their first names, as though the reader or listener were already fully conversant with their lives. There's a glorious feeling of release in the witty, dead-on lyric- everything just clicks into place. The entire track has a sort of blissed out insouciance. And that wonderfully exuberant finale, where Dudley just lets fly. He sings with grace and accuracy, and ends on a very persuasive emotional high." "Kendall Jane Meade: "Luckiest Guy" should be a musical. I like to imagine handsome Dudley dancing along Rivington Street, like Gene Kelley in Singing in the Rain." "Stephin: It's a beauty and the beast song. Where the beast has a car." Fun Fact: Along with "Epitaph for My Heart" and "I Think I Need a New Heart," this song is featured on Stephin Merritt's soundtrack for the 2003 film Pieces of April.
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"Daniel Adkinson: To me, this song wasn't really about bunnies or furries at all, but about new love, discovering the attractive parts of your partner's body, and exploring sexuality together."
"Stephin: I've never been to a plushie [furry] party. Do they still exist?" "LD: The saddest song on the record, and I think the only one with a proper, old-fashioned Tin Pan Alley verse." "Stephin: I flirted with the idea of making 69 T-shirts, one for each song, and "Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits" came out of that. I was putting the T-shirt ahead of the song, thinking what images would I like to be associated with the Magnetic Fields, cute little bunny rabbits, like on paper towels. I'm really into paper towel design." A tribute to artist Nayland Blake, who uses rabbits as a way of discussing the stereotype of homosexual male promiscuity. |
1.9 Let's Pretend We're Bunny RabbitsLENGTH: 2:25
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: A Major GENRE: Furry Anthem à la OMD LISTEN FOR: 1970 Select-a-Rhythm on Teenbeat setting, Stephin's violin glissando just before the first "Let's Pretend..." LYRICS: If you knew How I long For you now That you're gone You'd grow wings and fly Home to me Home tonight And in the morning sun Let's pretend we're bunny rabbits Let's do it all day long Let abbots, Babbitts, and Cabots Say mother nature's wrong And when we've had a couple of beers We'll put on bunny suits I long to nibble your ears And do as bunnies do Let's pretend we're bunny rabbits Let's do it all day long Rapidly becoming rabid Singing little rabbit songs I can keep it up all night I can keep it up all day Let's pretend we're bunny rabbits Until we pass away Let's pretend we're bunny rabbits Until we pass away |
1.10 The Cactus Where Your Heart Should BeLENGTH: 1:11
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: Ab Minor GENRE: Marxopholk LISTEN FOR: Vocoder vox humana backing vocals, hand bells LYRICS: The cactus where your heart should be Has lovely little flowers So though it's always pricking me My ardor never sours The cactus where your heart once was Has power to rend and flay I stick because I'm stuck because I just can't tear myself Away |
"John: There's a siren-call, self-destructive tick that guitarists have with songs that start with A minor."
Cabaret Style Cover: Becc Sanderson live at the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Fest.
Instrumental Jazz Cover: Mike Lorenz on their 2018 EP Mike Lorenz and Friendz Play a Set of Quiet Songs. |
"Brian Coffey: My favorite to sing aloud. Works best when cycling downhill. In hail, rain or shine the feelgood factor wins out."
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1.11 I Think I Need a New HeartLENGTH: 2:32
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: G Major GENRE: Rumba LISTEN FOR: Rumba box, shakers, other exotic percussion; opposing fake steel drum patterns in 5/4 and 7/4 LYRICS: Time stands still All I can feel is that Time's standing still As you put down the keys And say don't call me please While the radio plays I think I need a new heart Oh-oh I think I need a new heart Oh-oh You've lied too But it's assumed That I can't tell the truth 'Cause it all comes out wrong Unless I put it in a song So the radio plays I think I need a new heart Just for you I think I need a new heart 'Cause I always say I love you When I mean turn out the light And I say let's run away When I just mean stay the night But the words you want to hear You will never hear from me I'll never say Happy anniversary I'll never stay to say Happy anniversary So I think I need a new heart Oh-oh I think I need a new heart Oh-oh I think I need a new heart Oh-oh I think I need a new heart Oh-oh Give me time |
1.12 The Book of LoveLENGTH: 2:42
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: G Major GENRE: Manifesto LISTEN FOR: Space Echo on vocals and uke LYRICS: The book of love is long and boring No one can lift the damn thing It's full of charts and facts and figures And instructions for dancing But I I love it when you read to me And you You can read me anything The book of love has music in it In fact that's where music comes from Some of it is just transcendental Some of it is just really dumb But I I love it when you sing to me And you You can sing me anything The book of love is long and boring And written very long ago It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes And things we're all too young to know But I I love it when you give me things And you You ought to give me wedding rings I I love it when you give me things And you You ought to give me wedding rings |
"Peter Straub: It's a romantic song expressed in decidedly anti-romantic terms. The lyrics are deliberately- or instinctively- not poetic at all, they're ordinary "cat and dog" language. And that gives Merritt's lyrics tremendous power because it is the language we use with one another. Anytime he uses the words "anything" or "nothing" it carries huge emotional freight. And when he says the Book of Love is long and boring, what he's really saying is: "I want to hear that book read from beginning to end.""
Stephin Merritt describes The Book of Love as "sort of a manifesto for the album." Peter Gabriel Cover: Off of his 2010 album "Scratch My Back."
Italian Version: 2Cellos featuring Zucchero on their 2013 album "In2ition." Fun Fact: There are sooooooo many bad covers of this song. My theory on why they are so bad is because everyone is attempting to cover the already lackluster Peter Gabriel version. Save yourself the trouble and don't try and sift through all of them. Too slow. Too dramatic. YAWN.
Fun Fact Number Two: When Izadorius and I saw the band live in November of 2021 at this weird restaurant venue in D.C., there was a straight couple that got up during this song at this seated-only concert and slow-danced in front of the bar. Waiters had to dodge them and were obviously annoyed. Izzy and I sat there and ate raw donuts. Fun times. |
Electropop Cover: Alex Abrahams on their 2020 album Cheap Knock Offs.
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1.13 Fido, Your Leash Is Too LongLENGTH: 2:33
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: D Major GENRE: Electropop Blues Shouter, Sans Shouting LISTEN FOR: Atonal sample-and-hold squiggles LYRICS: Fido, your leash is too long You go where you don't belong You've been digging in the rubble Getting bitches in trouble Fido, your leash is too long Fido, your leash is too long I don't know where I went wrong You scare me out of my wits When you do that Shih Tzu Fido, your leash is too long Fido, you've gone far enough I must have all of your love You just run out of luck I don't care what you foxhounds do But your leash is too long |
1.14 How Fucking RomanticLENGTH: 0:58
SUNG BY: Dudley KEY: C Lydian Mode GENRE: Barbershop Solo LISTEN FOR: Claudia's fingersnaps LYRICS: How fucking romantic All the stars are out Twinkling, twinkling, twinkling And fluttering about What a tacky sunset What a vulgar moon Play another charming Rodgers and Hart tune How fucking romantic Must we really waltz Drag another cliché Howling from the vaults Love you obviously Like you really care Even though you treat me Like a dancing bear Toss your bear a goldfish As it cycles by Don't forget to feed your Bear or it'll die |
"Dudley: Claudia and LD never liked it, probably because it's very conversational, though that's what I intended. I wanted to convey the heartbreak of the song, rather than merely its humor. So I drank, and smoked more cigarettes than usual, and stayed up for a couple of days remembering all the flawed and failed relationships I'd ever been through. I wanted the narrator's voice to have an exhausted and defeated sound. Sometimes wallowing in despair can have its upside, because that's how I achieved the deadpan misery you hear on the recording. Yes, kids, every teardrop can be a diamond... Or some such rubbish."
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In the 69LS liner notes, Stephin Merritt refers to the arrangement, including his and LD Beghtol's vocal and the autoharp, being an attempt to emulate the Carter Family.
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1.15 The One You Really LoveLENGTH: 2:53
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: Ab Major GENRE: Clinch mountain death ballad LISTEN FOR: Room tone LYRICS: I do believe Our love's in danger I might as well Be loving air You look at me Like I'm a stranger You look at me Like I'm not there I gaze into Your eyes of blue But their beauty Is not for me You're thinking of Someone who's gone You're dreaming of The one you really love You're dreaming of The one you really love I made you mine Or so it seemed Though he is dead He haunts your dreams I might as well Be two feet tall You never will Love me at all I gaze into (Ooh-ooh) Your eyes of blue (Ooh-ooh) But their beauty (Eeh-eeh) Is not for me You're thinking of (Ah-ah) Someone who's gone (Ah-ah) You're dreaming of The one you really love You're dreaming of The one you really love I gaze into (Ooh-ooh) Your eyes of blue (Ooh-ooh) But their beauty (Eeh-eeh) Is not for me You're thinking of (Ah-ah) Someone who's gone (Ah-ah) You're dreaming of The one you really love You're dreaming of The corpse you really love |
1.16 Punk LoveLENGTH: 0:58
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: Bb Major GENRE: Hardcore with tape manipulation LISTEN FOR: Speed-up LYRICS: Love, love (Lo-ove) Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Punk rock love Punk love Punk love, love Love Punk love Love, love, love |
LD Beghtol adds, "Oh, how I wish Stephin had written/recorded other potential titles we discussed at the time, like 'Heavy Metal Love,' 'Slowcore Love,' 'Bubblegum Love,' etc."
"Stephin: I wrote all five words in one sitting. Recording it took only slightly longer than writing it." |
"LD: More vampires. In my mind it's a dream-ballet."
"Miss Gretchen: When this song first came on, I had a total acid flashback to being at Danceteria at closing time, in the mid-80s." The singer of Parades Go By is dead, and in the 69LS liner notes Stephin Merritt and Daniel Handler discuss other songs where the narrator is dead. Stephin cites The Byrds' I Come and Stand at Every Door as a precedent. Stephin goes on to say, "I read a lot of H.P. Lovecraft. I think I wrote [Parades Go By] under the influence of H.P. Lovecraft" |
1.17 Parades Go ByLENGTH: 2:56
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: F Major GENRE: Lovecraftian Lament LISTEN FOR: Roland TB303 farty bass sound, non-swung backing vocals (also in "My Sentimental Melody") LYRICS: I linger here Your ring upon my finger, dear And sing 'til dawn The song of you and me And what and why For time is all I have to keep Between these walls And half-asleep The days go by A million little nights And days go by And I don't mind Parades go by So many beautiful parades go by Leave me behind I'll sit and stare How could I venture anywhere And let the centuries fall where they may But never die For I have loved And so I lost the world above Beyond the moss The days go by A million little nights And days go by And I don't mind Parades go by So many beautiful parades go by Leave me behind The days go by (The days go by) And I don't mind Parades go by (Parades go by) Leave me behind |
1.18 Boa ConstrictorLENGTH: 0:58
SUNG BY: Shirley KEY: G Major GENRE: Folk Cabaret à la Sammy Davis Jr Sings and Laurindo Almeida Plays and the Results Are Incomparable LISTEN FOR: Papered strings of John's acoustic guitar LYRICS: I spend my evenings alone Talking to your picture, babe Love is wrapped around my heart Like a boa constrictor, babe My mother should have murdered me What jury would convict her, babe For love is wrapped around my heart Like a boa constrictor, babe |
"Shirley: I love the "My mother should have murdered me" line, but my mother finds it objectionable."
"Stephin: The tempo is "as fast as possible."" In the 69LS liner notes, Stephin Merritt comments that he asked Shirley Simms to sing Boa Constrictor rather than singing it himself, "Because I always sound like love has wrapped around my heart like a boa constrictor. She doesn't." A Non-Cover: Shel Silverstein's delightful poem of the same name.
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Content Warning: Discussion of minstrelsy and Blackface.
"Michael Baltzer: My long-distance girlfriend gave me the box set on Valentine's Day 2001. When I put on the first disc, I absolutely was unable to focus on her. In retrospect this is when I began wanting out of that relationship. I listened to nothing but 69LS for the next few months. In April I- along with the girlfriend I no longer wanted to be with- saw the band play at Carnegie Mellon University. Stephin started "A Pretty Girl..." and I began to weep."
"John St. Denis: Live, this was just Stephin with a uke, doing his wrinkled brow-looking-at-the-ceiling face... boozy as all get out." "Miss Gretchen: The key to the whole album." Allegedly Stephin Merritt had been reading Ulysses, and considering how writers objectify women in metaphors. In the lyrics, he celebrates, mocks, and critiques song similes, adopting "an exaggeratedly sexist, male point of view. It's a lot of baggage for one song," he acknowledges, "but that's part of why it's funny." “Stephin: I think “a pretty girl is like a melody” is rather an insulting thing to say, and this is a protest song against that. If you say a pretty girl is like a melody, then she’s like all sorts of things you wouldn’t want to hear: a pretty girl is like the Communist party, a pretty girl is like falling into a vat of acid.” "Roses" Mashup Cover: Infinite Exes live in 2012. |
1.19 A Pretty Girl Is LikeLENGTH: 1:50
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: G Major GENRE: Tin Pan Alley LISTEN FOR: Stephin walking away from the mic LYRICS: A pretty girl is like a minstrel show It makes you laugh It makes you cry You go It just isn't the same on radio It's all about the makeup And the dancing And the "O" A pretty girl is like a violent crime If you do it wrong You could do time But if you do it right It is sublime I'm so in love with you, girl It's like I'm on the moon I can't really breathe But I feel lighter A melody is like a pretty girl Who cares if it's the dumbest in the world It's all about the way that it unfurls A pretty girl is like A pretty girl |
1.20 My Sentimental MelodyLENGTH: 3:07
SUNG BY: LD with Claudia KEY: C Major GENRE: Welk LISTEN FOR: Bontempi organ "on and off" clicks, non-swung backing vocals LYRICS: I'm a hopeless romantic You're a terrible flirt Cool and unphased You're always amazed When someone gets hurt I live on the blue planet That I saw in your eyes But now I can't stay Knowing it's made Of beautiful lies But my sentimental melody Like a long-lost lullaby Will ring in your ears Down through the years Bringing a tear to your eye Goodbye Love can kill people Can't it Well, it still may kill me Each drop of rain Is a glass of champagne It's sweet and it's free When I drink I don't panic When I drink I don't die When I'm far gone It's all just a song Just beautiful lies But my sentimental melody Like a long-lost lullaby Will ring in your ears Down through the years Bringing a tear to your eye Goodbye |
"Daniel: I wanted a track of ice tinkling in a glass for this, but it was too hot- the ice wouldn't stay ice."
"Kendall Jane Meade: "I live on the blue planet" is so Joni Mitchell, and sets the tone for the whole song. LD's voice has a natural detached sadness to it, so this truly becomes his own song. He's so comfortable and confident expressing sadness that I actually smile when I hear this song." |
Alt Pop Cover I Don't Completely Hate: Kitty Fitz and Joseph Futak on Kitty's 2021 EP Raincheck.
Mandy Patinkin Cover: Off of his 2019 album Diary: December 2018. Cute Old Man Cover: Polyp Mountbadger on Youtube, 2021. TIP ON COVERS: Whatever you do, DO NOT look up the dance remix of this song featured on the popular sci-fi television show Sense8. It is SO BAD!!! |
1.21 Nothing Matters When We're DancingLENGTH: 2:27
SUNG BY: Stephin and LD KEY: F Major GENRE: Old-time Ukulele Invitation to the Dance LISTEN FOR: Overcranked Victrola-style ADT uke, trio/quartette vocals in octaves LYRICS: Dance with me, my old friend Once before we go Let's pretend this song won't end And we never have to go home And we'll dance among the chandeliers And nothing matters when we're dancing (When we're dancing) In tat or tatters, you're entrancing Be we in Paris or in Lansing (Or in Lansing) Nothing matters when we're dancing (When we're dancing) Nothing matters when we're dancing You've never been more beautiful Your eyes, like two full moons As here, in this poor old dance hall Among the dreadful tunes The awful songs, we don't even hear And nothing matters when we're dancing (When we're dancing) In tat or tatters, you're entrancing (You're entrancing) Be we in Paris or in Lansing (Or in Lansing) Nothing matters when we're dancing (When we're dancing) Nothing matters when we're dancing And nothing matters when we're dancing (When we're dancing) In tat or tatters, you're entrancing (You're entrancing) Be we in Paris or in Lansing (Or in Lansing) Nothing matters when we're dancing (When we're dancing) Nothing matters when we're dancing |
1.22 Sweet-Lovin' ManLENGTH: 4:59
SUNG BY: Claudia KEY: D Major GENRE: Garage-Punk Countrypolitan LISTEN FOR: Cowbell, masses of strings (real and fake) LYRICS: There's an hour of sunshine for a million years of rain But somehow, that always seems to be enough When love falls from the sky Nobody ever asks why You just take it or you leave it Where it was But there's just one kind of love You can spend your life dreaming of For the love of a sweet-lovin' man Some have traveled far and wide Some have given up and died For the love of a sweet-lovin' man Some have broken down and cried Some have turned to dust inside But I'll stay right here and hide In the arms of my sweet-lovin' man Until you've had sweet lovin' There's no lovin' worth the same But you can't go blind from crying all the time And who said life was easy And who said a man was fair Well, I wish you well But keep your paws off mine You can't buy one at the mall But he'll come if you just call For the love of a sweet-lovin' man Some have traveled far and wide Some have given up and died For the love of a sweet-lovin' man Some have broken down and cried Some have turned to dust inside But I'll stay right here and hide In the arms of my sweet-lovin' man For the love of a sweet-lovin' man Some have traveled far and wide Some have given up and died For the love of a sweet-lovin' man Some have broken down and cried Some have turned to dust inside But I'll stay right here and hide In the arms of my sweet-lovin' man In the arms of my sweet-lovin' man In the arms of my sweet-lovin' man |
"Stephin: The original idea, probably obvious, was to write a song with a title I would never use."
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1.23 The Things We Did and Didn't DoLENGTH: 2:11
SUNG BY: Stephin KEY: E Major GENRE: Gertrude Stein Raga LISTEN FOR: Cranky piano/kalimba riff; infinite repeat on vocals at end; three solos at coda in different meters: banjo in 11/8; mandolin in 14/8; piano 17/8 LYRICS: All the things I knew I didn't know and didn't want to know That you told me just to tell me later that you told me so Come flooding back to me now Come on (Come on) Come flooding back to me now (Come flooding back to me now) All the things you said you'd never say and you said anyway Things we did and didn't do The things we did and didn't do Come flooding back to me now |
