In the Magnetic Fields repertoire, I find this one-disc/double-album to be the least memorable and least engaging. Given Stephin Merritt’s long list of collaborators, but his extremely short list of frequently used vocal talent, I think that the songs on “Wayward Bus/Distant Plastic Trees” being sung in total by Susan Anway - without a single pip from Merritt himself - makes this at best a theoretical Magnetic Fields album. Two tracks, “100,000 Fireflies” and “Dancing In Your Eyes” I first heard on a Magnetic Fields spotlight on Brave New Waves 15 years back (which is what first made me a fan to begin with) and interspersed with other Merritt and Claudia Gonson-sung tunes, the “WB/DPT” tracks don’t fade in the background, but a full album of Anway’s unremarkable crooning, lacking any versatility, makes for tiresome listening. There are some terrific lyrics, some interesting instrumentation (electronic and otherwise), but the one-pitch vocal delivery leaves much to be desired.
05/03/2009
02/03/2009
[...learned #60] fish tape
I’d never heard of fish tape before, but it wasn’t what i thought it
was. It’s actually something you’d find at a hardware store, a roll
of flat, firm metal which unravels virtually flat. We’re planning to
use it to feed wiring across the ceiling. I’m sure it has other uses
too. (Supplemental: if you build a robot Batman with the intention
of replacing the original Batman, you should probably ensure it
doesn’t refer to itself as “Robot Batman”. Line of gives it away)
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[...about me #60] bt
My favourite breed of dog is boston terrier. There is a breeder here
in thunder bay whom i’ve been thinking of contacting while i’m here,
but even he there were puppies available i wouldn’t feel right taking
one back on a plane. Sigh
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[...i ate #60] freezer cheesecake
My mom makes the best cherry cheesecake. Unfortunately my mom has
been incapacitated for a week so trashy freezes cheeseable will have
to do.
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01/03/2009
[...consumed all new #59/60] “sports”
Watched some PGA golf and NASCAR auto racing today. Keeping relaxed and vegging on the folk’s living room couch without being in control of the remote leads to such things. Unlike Football with the Superbowl I don’t exactly have a newfound appreciation for auto racing but golf can be fairly impressive. But seriously, 36 rounds is a bit excessive for a televised event.