Realism (The Magnetic Fields album)

Last updated
Realism
Magnetic-fields-realism.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJanuary 26, 2010 (2010-01-26)
RecordedMother West, New York
Genre
Length35:17
Label Nonesuch
Producer Stephin Merritt
The Magnetic Fields chronology
Distortion
(2008)
Realism
(2010)
Love at the Bottom of the Sea
(2012)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 7.0/10 [5]
Metacritic 72/100 [6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The A.V. Club A− [7]
Entertainment Weekly A [3]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
NME 8/10 [10]
Pitchfork 6.0/10 [11]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Spin Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]

Realism is the ninth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was officially released on January 26, 2010 by Nonesuch Records.

Contents

Content

Described by songwriter Stephin Merritt as his "folk album", the instrumentation of Realism is largely acoustic, stark in contrast to the band's previous album, Distortion , released in 2008. Merritt said he "thought of the two records as a pair" and considered titling the albums True and False, but ultimately could not decide which title would correspond with which album. The song "The Dada Polka" is the only track to feature an electric guitar. Merritt also avoided using a traditional drum kit, further separating the sound of Realism from the noise pop of Distortion. Along with Distortion and the 2004 album i , Realism was also recorded without the use of synthesizers, completing the band's "no-synth trilogy". [14] [15]

Joshua Rifkin, who arranged the Judy Collins albums In My Life and Wildflowers , was cited by Merritt as a creative influence for Realism. [14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Stephin Merritt

No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."You Must Be Out of Your Mind"Stephin Merritt3:12
2."Interlude"Shirley Simms2:11
3."We Are Having a Hootenanny"Merritt, Simms & Claudia Gonson2:10
4."I Don't Know What to Say"Merritt2:29
5."The Dolls' Tea Party"Gonson2:17
6."Everything Is One Big Christmas Tree"Merritt2:24
7."Walk a Lonely Road"Merritt & Simms3:04
8."Always Already Gone"Simms2:40
9."Seduced and Abandoned"Merritt2:21
10."Better Things"Merritt2:31
11."Painted Flower"Simms2:11
12."The Dada Polka"Merritt, Simms & Gonson2:21
13."From a Sinking Boat"Merritt3:26
Total length:35:17

Personnel

The Magnetic Fields
Additional personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Magnetic Fields</span> Band

The Magnetic Fields are an American band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. Merritt's lyrics are often about love and feature atypical or neutral gender roles, and are by turns ironic, tongue-in-cheek, bitter, and humorous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephin Merritt</span> American singer-songwriter

Stephin Merritt is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He is known for his distinctive and untrained bass voice.

<i>69 Love Songs</i> 1999 studio album by the Magnetic Fields

69 Love Songs is the sixth studio album by American indie pop band the Magnetic Fields, released on September 7, 1999, by Merge Records. As its title indicates, 69 Love Songs is a three-volume concept album composed of 69 love songs, all written by Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt.

<i>The Charm of the Highway Strip</i> 1994 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

The Charm of the Highway Strip is the third studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1994. It was the fourth Magnetic Fields album to be recorded, but was released five months prior to their intended third album Holiday, which was delayed for more than a year due to label issues. The Charm of the Highway Strip was also the band's debut release on Merge Records.

<i>Get Lost</i> (The Magnetic Fields album) 1995 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

Get Lost is the fifth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released on October 24, 1995.

<i>Holiday</i> (The Magnetic Fields album) 1994 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

Holiday is the fourth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. The album was the band's third to be recorded and was intended to be release prior to The Charm of the Highway Strip through the label Feel Good All Over, but due to the label delaying its release, was issued in 1994 five months after its successor. Merge Records would later rerelease the album in 1999.

<i>i</i> (The Magnetic Fields album) 2004 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

i is the seventh studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was released on May 4, 2004, by record label Nonesuch. The songs of the album all start with the letter "i" and are all sung by Stephin Merritt. The songs are also in alphabetical order.

<i>Distant Plastic Trees</i> 1991 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

Distant Plastic Trees is the debut studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1991. Lead vocals on the album are performed by Susan Anway.

<i>The Wayward Bus</i> (album) 1992 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

The Wayward Bus is the second studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1992 by the band's own label, PoPuP Records.

<i>Pieces of April</i> (soundtrack) 2003 soundtrack album by Stephin Merritt

Pieces of April is the soundtrack to the film of the same name. Written by Stephin Merritt and performed by his various bands, it was released on November 4, 2003 on Nonesuch Records. Three of the songs were previously released on The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs, and "As You Turn to Go" and "You You You You You" were previously seen on The 6ths' album, Hyacinths and Thistles.

<i>Distortion</i> (The Magnetic Fields album) 2008 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

Distortion is the eighth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was released on January 15, 2008 on Nonesuch Records.

This article is a detailed listing of releases by singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt, including the discographies of The Magnetic Fields, The Gothic Archies, The 6ths, Future Bible Heroes, and solo releases by Merritt.

<i>Memories of Love</i> 1997 studio album by Future Bible Heroes

Memories of Love is the debut studio album by American indie pop band Future Bible Heroes, released in 1997 in the U.S., the U.K., Europe and Korea. Its accompanying booklet features twelve word puzzles and games that, if solved correctly, reveal the name of the band and the title of the album, plus the lyrics to each of the album's eleven songs.

Gail O'Hara is an American editor, writer, photographer, recording label owner and filmmaker. She has worked at the Washington City Paper, SPIN, Time Out New York, ELLEgirl, EW, Modern Painters, Kinfolk and other publications.

<i>Love at the Bottom of the Sea</i> 2012 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

Love at the Bottom of the Sea is the tenth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was released in the U.K. on March 5, 2012 by record label Domino and in the U.S. on March 6, 2012 by Merge.

<i>Partygoing</i> 2013 studio album by Future Bible Heroes

Partygoing is the third studio album by American indie pop band Future Bible Heroes. Future Bible Heroes member and lead lyricist Stephin Merritt was inspired by the 1981 B-52's album Party Mix! to create Partygoing, conceived as "a party album that only just happens to be largely about drunk suicide, aging, death, loss, and despair."

"The Book of Love" is a song written by Stephin Merritt and attributed to The Magnetic Fields, an American indie pop group founded and led by him. "The Book of Love" appears on Magnetic Fields' three-volume concept album 69 Love Songs, which contains 69 tracks described as "love songs", 23 tracks in each of the three volumes. The three-volume album was released in 1999, with "the Book of Love" appearing in volume 1 as track number 12.

<i>50 Song Memoir</i> 2017 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

50 Song Memoir is the eleventh studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released on March 10, 2017. 50 Song Memoir is an autobiographical concept album that chronicles the first 50 years of lyricist Stephin Merritt's life, with one song for each year that he has lived.

Shirley Simms is an American singer and songwriter known for her work as a member of indie pop band the Magnetic Fields. She has been singing on the band's albums since her first appearance on 1999's 69 Love Songs, with her and Stephin Merritt alternating between singing lead vocals throughout the album. Previously, she sang on several tracks on the Magnetic Fields' 1999 album 69 Love Songs. In addition to her vocal work with the Magnetic Fields, she also sometimes plays ukulele for them. In the late 1980s, before he started the Magnetic Fields, Merritt and Simms started the short-lived musical project Buffalo Rome; the group self-released a cassette during their existence. Also during the 1980s, she was also a member of the Boston-based band Lazy Susan, along with Claudia Gonson and Therese Bellino. As members of Lazy Susan, Simms and Gonson wrote the song "Plant White Roses", which was later included on Merritt's 2011 album Obscurities.

<i>Quickies</i> (album) 2020 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

Quickies is the twelfth studio album by The Magnetic Fields. The album consists of 28 songs, each of which is between 0:17 and 2:35 in length. For the album's conceit, Magnetic Fields singer and songwriter Stephin Merritt was influenced by the short fiction of Lydia Davis and the writing of his own book of Scrabble poetry.

References

  1. 1 2 Monger, James Christopher. "Realism – Magnetic Fields". AllMusic . Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Wappler, Margaret (January 25, 2010). "Album review: Magnetic Fields' 'Realism'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Kot, Greg (January 27, 2010). "Realism". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  4. Heffernan, Lisa (January 26, 2010). "The Magnetic Fields > Realism". American Songwriter . Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  5. "Realism by The Magnetic Fields reviews". AnyDecentMusic? . Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  6. "Reviews for Realism by Magnetic Fields". Metacritic . Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  7. Murray, Noel (January 26, 2010). "The Magnetic Fields: Realism". The A.V. Club . Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  8. Petridis, Alexis (January 21, 2010). "The Magnetic Fields: Realism". The Guardian . Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  9. Gill, Andy (January 22, 2010). "Album: The Magnetic Fields, Realism (Nonesuch)". The Independent . Archived from the original on January 25, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  10. Elan, Priya (January 22, 2010). "Album review: The Magnetic Fields – Realism (Nonesuch)". NME . Archived from the original on February 5, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  11. LeMay, Matt (January 27, 2010). "The Magnetic Fields: Realism". Pitchfork . Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  12. "The Magnetic Fields: Realism". Q (283): 111. February 2010.
  13. Kornhaber, Spencer (January 26, 2010). "The Magnetic Fields, 'Realism' (Nonesuch)". Spin . Archived from the original on January 30, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  14. 1 2 "Realism". Nonesuch Records. November 13, 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  15. "Interview: Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt". The Village Voice . October 1, 2008. Archived from the original on August 7, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2008.