Song of the Day:
The Magnetic Fields “I don’t Believe You (7” version)”
Anyone who has met me can figure out a few of things within the first 5 minutes of a conversation: I talk a lot…a lot; If I don’t already have one, I need to get a beer soon (preferably cheap); and I love the Magnetic Fields. So much so that this piece of vinyl with printed paper staring at me across the room cost me a whole $30 on some crazy ebay bidding war. Was it worth it? I wouldn’t pay that much for most of my LP’s, and yes I’m a little bit embarrassed to admit I bought it. The thing is Magnetic Fields songs just do it for me. In the same way as hanging out on Dustin’s rooftop in Greenpoint during spring and staring at the lights of Manhattan; Or a late night drive on Portuguese Bend in Palos Verdes with the windows down when its dark and a little scary but you are calmed by the ocean breeze. Stephen Merrit always manages to melt my heart, and make me feel like life is great.
So I will defend the fact that in college, when I was so broke I had to ride my bike to work and to my ex girlfriends because my car was broken I spent what could be seen as an obscene amount of money on a single that had a different version of a song I already owned. Why? because “I don’t Believe You” is a beautifully written song. The version most people would know is stripped down and appears on their major label debut “I” (Nonesuch). However if I’m correct, this was recorded and released about a year before their amazing 69 Love Songs collection. At this point the band had been on a little bit of a hiatus, because Stephen had been working on various other projects (6ths, Future Bible Heroes, Gothic Archies). But this single brought it all back home in the best way ever.
So the version on “I” is stripped down, and wonderful. However, true fans can remember how much Mr. Merritt loved to dabble in electronic doo-dads. This version isn’t quite the electro-pop of the early days, but definitely has some strange attributes to it. Stephen is backed up by sped-up vocals, which almost make you question if you have your turntable turned to the right speed. All the accompany aside from guitar is electronic, complete with laser like effects buzzing from side to side and off kilter synths. All of this busy-ness accompanying lyrics like “You claimed to be, in love with me…that isn’t very realistic”.
So was it worth it? spending that much money on a 7” single? When I met Mr. Merrit and told him he was even kind of shocked. But the truth is, its been 3 years since i bought it, and stand by the fact it was a completely necessary investment.
I originally wrote this for a blog I used to have with Dustin called 7 Inch Workbench, which was dedicated to the art of those cute little records we all love. I re-hashed it because I’m running a little late.
