This article needs additional citations for verification .(November 2009) |
The Charm of the Highway Strip | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 18, 1994 | |||
Genre | Indie pop, synthpop | |||
Length | 33:15 | |||
Label | Merge | |||
Producer | Stephin Merritt | |||
The Magnetic Fields chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
NME | 7/10 [2] |
Pitchfork | 8.2/10 [3] |
Q | [4] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10 [6] |
The Village Voice | B+ [7] |
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.
Its title, lyrics and musical styling are a nod to country music, though the songs of Stephin Merritt remain rooted in classic pop and synthesizers. Virtually every song deals with roads and travel, and several songs' lyrics implicitly reference vampires. [3] [8]
The title of the album comes from a quote by J. B. Jackson, 1959: "Let us hope that the merits and charm of the highway strip are not so obscure but that they will be accepted by a wider public."[ citation needed ]
This is the group's first full album in which songwriter Merritt also takes lead vocals. He designed the record's cover art, and has stated it is the album of his he is most satisfied with thus far in his career.[ citation needed ]
Arcade Fire covered "Born on a Train" during a live performance on the KCRW program Morning Becomes Eclectic . [9] Lush covered "I Have the Moon" as a B-side on their 1996 single "500 (Shake Baby Shake)". The song was also included on the B-sides collection Topolino and on the Chorus box set.
The song "Dust Bowl" was used during an episode of the television series version of This American Life ("Pandora's Box").[ citation needed ]
Indie rock band Country Westerns included a cover of "Two Characters in Search of a Country Song" as the final track on their self-titled debut album.
All songs written by Stephin Merritt.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Lonely Highway" | 3:06 |
2. | "Long Vermont Roads" | 3:27 |
3. | "Born on a Train" | 3:46 |
4. | "I Have the Moon" | 2:37 |
5. | "Two Characters in Search of a Country Song" | 3:33 |
6. | "Crowd of Drifters" | 3:36 |
7. | "Fear of Trains" | 3:15 |
8. | "When the Open Road Is Closing In" | 3:39 |
9. | "Sunset City" | 4:05 |
10. | "Dust Bowl" | 2:20 |
The Magnetic Fields
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.
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.
The 6ths is a band created by Stephin Merritt, also the primary songwriter and instrumentalist behind The Magnetic Fields, The Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. One story has it that the band was conceived when Merritt, observing that there was no tribute album dedicated to him, decided to make one himself. In the group, Merritt writes and plays songs which are then sung by other artists—a different artist on each track. It has so far produced two well-received albums and many different collaborations.
The Gothic Archies are an American indie rock/gothic rock band established by Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields. In 1997, Merritt released The New Despair. The EP featured the song "Your Long White Fingers", which appeared frequently in the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete.
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.
Get Lost is the fifth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released on October 24, 1995.
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.
Future Bible Heroes is an American indie pop group led by Stephin Merritt, best known for his work with The Magnetic Fields. Merritt shares vocal duties with fellow Magnetic Fields member Claudia Gonson, who sings on the entirety of 2002's Eternal Youth. In contrast to much of Merritt's work with other groups, the Future Bible Heroes work largely on electronica-based disco, with music provided by Chris Ewen, formerly of Figures on a Beach.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Distortion is the eighth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was released on January 15, 2008 on Nonesuch Records.
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.