media Magnetic Fields

I don’t really have a lot to say today; it’s been a weekend filled with sleep, laundry, pizza, and television. I haven’t gone out or anything.

But I needed to hit command-option-i to get this to come up.

iTunes is playing The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure by The Magnetic Fields. I gave this 4 stars, and I’ve played it 3 times. It’s from 69 Love Songs Vol. 3.

The Magnetic Fields, for those who don’t know, are a three-member band led by singer/songwriter Stephin Merritt. He is one of the most prolific songwriters I’ve ever heard of. He rhymes words no one would expect to rhyme. With only a few instruments to work with (one of which is a stand-up bass), he puts together short, sweet pop songs that you can dance to in your chair until you listen and realize they’re biting at your brain.

69 Love Songs is a three-CD album with 23 tracks per CD and only a few misses. This song has some of the best, most quintessential Stephin Merritt rhymes in it that there are. Also, Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) plays accordion with the band sometimes, and he wrote the long liner notes for the album.

Allow me to transcribe the lyrics of this song in the interest of sharing the joy.

I met Ferdinand de Saussure on a night like this
On love, he said, I’m not so sure I even know what it is
No understanding, no closure; it is a nemesis
You can’t use a bulldozer to study orchids, he said so

We don’t know anything, you don’t know anything
I don’t know anything about love
We are nothing, oh oh oh, you are nothing
I am nothing without love

I’m just a great composer and not a violent man
But I lost my composure, and I shot Ferdinand
Crying, It’s well and kosher to say you don’t understand
But this is for Holland-Dozier-Holland! His last words were

We don’t know anything, you don’t know anything
I don’t know anything about love
We are nothing, oh oh oh, you are nothing
I am nothing without love
His dying words were

We don’t know anything, you don’t know anything
I don’t know anything about love
But we are nothing, oh oh oh, you are nothing
I am nothing without love