What better way to start out the week and the month than with a track from The Magnetic Fields? The band, led by Stephin Merritt, recently released “Realism”, the last of their no-synth trilogy. And today, we bring you one of my favorites of their multitude of songs, a track from “i”, released in 2004, the first album in the aforementioned trilogy. And, you guessedit, every song on the album begins with the letter “i”, much like a Jeopardy category with “i” in quotations.

I was a fan of “I Don’t Believe You” even from the opening lyrics, “So you quote love unquote me”. Just a very clever use of hand air quotes in a non-visual medium. And the chorus, with its harmonies reminiscent of “You Won’t See Me” by the Beatles and its slow-picked banjo in the background, is just a mish mash of folk-rock warm fuzzies. I don’t know about you, but I happen to really enjoy this folky side of the Magnetic Fields, as you should, because it’s good. Do you think they will return to the synth for their next album? Do you think they will release another album? Is this the end of the Magnetic Fields? In today’s society of fear, all we can do is prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

The Magnetic Fields – I Don’t Believe You

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