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50 Song Memoir
Pop · 2017 · 50 tracks · 2h 30m

50 Song Memoir

The Magnetic Fields

Fifty songs for fifty years. A sprawling, dry-witted musical autobiography told through toy synths, cellos, and Stephin Merritt's unmistakable baritone.

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It's like a 50-chapter audio diary from the smartest, most cynical guy you know.

A sprawling, witty, and deeply personal chronological journey that balances dry humor with genuine mid-life reflection.

50 Song Memoir · vs · The Magnetic Fields
Nostalgic+2.9σ

Nostalgic saturates this record far more than the artist's norm.

Tracklist · 50 Tracks · 2h 30m
01
’66 Wonder Where I’m From
2:44
02
’67 Come Back as a Cockroach
2:34
03
’68 A Cat Called Dionysus
2:46
04
’69 Judy Garland
3:17
05
’70 They’re Killing Children Over There
2:36
06
’71 I Think I’ll Make Another World
2:57
07
’72 Eye Contact
2:55
08
’73 It Could Have Been Paradise
3:07
09
’74 No
2:57
10
’75 My Mama Ain’t
3:01
11
’76 Hustle 76
3:16
12
’77 Life Ain’t All Bad
4:16
13
’78 The Blizzard of ’78
3:15
14
’79 Rock’n’Roll Will Ruin Your Life
2:58
15
’80 London by Jetpack
2:58
16
’81 How to Play the Synthesizer
3:06
17
’82 Happy Beeping
3:10
18
’83 Foxx and I
2:43
19
’84 Danceteria!
3:09
20
’85 Why I Am Not a Teenager
3:07
21
’86 How I Failed Ethics
2:58
22
’87 At the Pyramid
3:10
23
’88 Ethan Frome
2:24
24
’89 The 1989 Musical Marching Zoo
3:06
25
’90 Dreaming in Tetris
3:21
26
’91 The Day I Finally…
2:20
27
’92 Weird Diseases
3:10
28
’93 Me and Fred and Dave and Ted
3:08
29
’94 Haven’t Got a Penny
2:53
30
’95 A Serious Mistake
3:13
31
’96 I’m Sad!
2:12
32
’97 Eurodisco Trio
3:15
33
’98 Lovers’ Lies
3:06
34
’99 Fathers in the Clouds
2:52
35
’00 Ghosts of the Marathon Dancers
3:05
36
’01 Have You Seen It in the Snow?
2:51
37
’02 Be True to Your Bar
3:34
38
’03 The Ex and I
2:59
39
’04 Cold‐Blooded Man
3:06
40
’05 Never Again
3:19
41
’06 “Quotes”
2:17
42
’07 In the Snow White Cottages
2:52
43
’08 Surfin’
2:47
44
’09 Till You Come Back to Me
2:29
45
’10 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
3:03
46
’11 Stupid Tears
2:45
47
’12 You Can Never Go Back to New York
3:12
48
’13 Big Enough for Both of Us
3:04
49
’14 I Wish I Had Pictures
3:07
50
’15 Somebody’s Fetish
3:45
Moments Worth Waiting For
The instructional, deadpan charm of '81 How to Play the Synthesizer with its primitive electronic chirps.
The stark, haunting vulnerability of '01 Have You Seen It in the Snow? capturing a specific New York stillness.
The transition from 1970s disco pastiche to 1980s cold-wave minimalism across the middle discs.
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