Reviews (page 6 of 9)
yeah, nah...
es sind wirklich 69 Titel, naja; auf Duer ermüdend und einschläfernd
Not horrible
Not completely unlistenable but 3 hours and 69 songs? Yeah I’m good.
Love song indie rock from the 90s. I didn't listen to the entire 69 songs but I enjoyed what I listened to. Standouts: Absolutely Cuckoo, A Chicken With It's Head Cut Off and I Think I Need A New Heart.
Enjoying it for the nostalgia factor, but goodness gracious what a collection of wholly unpleasant singing voices.
This was a rollercoaster ride... I knew this album was coming up and figured I would hate it. But my first impressions weren't too bad. Maybe this was going to be okay? That lasted maybe five or six tracks in, then the rather weak jokes started to get tiring and fall flatter and flatter each time. By the end of the first disc I realised this was going to be an endurance test. By the end of the second disc I realised this sucked. By the end of the third disc... I wasn't sure what to even think anymore. I would say it dips in quality at the end, but it's already so bad, that a dip doesn't even make sense anymore. New words would need inventing to describe how awful this experience was. It's the kind of "good idea" that should only ever exist in someone's head, as trying to pull off feels like a massive mistake. There's very little in the way of music here, just lame jokes. The attempts at different genres are almost insulting in their childishness. The lyrics are just dumb, becoming more and more inane the further in you get. I get that it's all supposed to be quirky and amusing, but it really isn't, just ham-fisted wordplay that a nine-year old would be ashamed of. There was a bit of a "Mighty Wind" vibe early on, but where that works as a parody by being actually funny (and having some decent songs), this is just the same small set of jokes recycled ad nauseum. I think when I hit "Love is Like Jazz" (disc 2 track 2, probably one of the most annoying tracks) I had heard enough to have literally no surprises left for the (long) remainder of the album. The only positive I could find is that most of the songs are mercifully short, and there was always the hope that the next one might be better. That, and the fact that getting to the end of this was a relief beyond what I would have previously considered to be possible. Some reviewers have suggested a single album could have been salvaged from this mess; I disagree, there's nothing of any real merit here. One star.
Maybe there’s something decent in here but the first ten songs were forgettable.
Much too long
It's damn long, but it's nice
It's LGBTQ week (apparently)! I think I've heard of this band before. Not familiar, though. I kind of don't have time for this and it's not really "my jam," but I'll try. Cringier than expected, actually. How long is this? I'm going to move on now that I know what this is. It's fine, I understand why critics would praise it. Probably could have been 9 love songs? DNF.
Do you like love songs? If you do then this album is for you. Look I like love songs but only in spańish. The lyrics are pretty good but I don like the guy voice. The beat is good but would I listen to this no but if you want to try something new I would recommend this album.
Overall this was a decent album. The songs were short, with simple lyrics. The music was alright, but most of the time it felt like it couldnt really get itself. Overall i dont think this is a album you need to watch
i like the beat dont really understand the lyircs dosent really vibe with me i give it 1 out 5 dont recomend it.
Are you going through a break-up and want to listen to music that expresses what you are feeling at the moment? 69 Love songs by The magnetic fields would be the perfect album for you. This album literally has 69 love songs you can listen to, they are quick and only say a few lyrics over and over again but maybe that's how you feel. maybe you need a song or an album you can connect with at the moment. I think I would listen to this album while I'm doing homework or something because it feels relaxing. I do recommend this album to anyone.
have you ever heard a song and got nostalgia that's how I felt when I listened to the album the book of love by magnetic love I think that it is good and what it reminds me of was being at church because they would sometimes play music their with a band and I like how the voice of the singer is nice and peaceful I also like the lyrics I think this album is good and I would recommend listening to it
Do you like love songs? If so, then this is the album for you! This album is literally only love songs, & I don't like that. I don't even like love songs in general! His voice is okay, it's a little raspy, & the songs are too short in my opinion. The instruments are also bad, and I usually like something about the albums, & I don't like anything about this one. So, that is why I recommend that you don't listen to this album. Ever.
1st song-its mid dont like it it sound lame and idk what to say this one i rate on 1/10 2nd song- i really like it but i rate like 8/10 3rd song-
...Upbeat/slow love songs? Are they for you? If so...this album is for you! In my opinion, I love this album. One reason is the use of all of the different instruments in each of the various songs. Another reason is I like the singers' voice. It's soothing to me, and he has a good range too. I think you should listen to this album. I feel like you'd love it just as much as I would.
The idea for this album is bad and so are most of the songs. I didint like the songs they sound repetative. would not recommend 3/10
Nice
Good lord what a chore. A few nice tracks, but dozens of filler tracks. Should've just picked the 12 best and called it a day
Super unique, and some interesting takes for sure. Not an every day listen though.
Didn't hate it but it's just too much
glub wtf was that simile I'm sobning so harf its 8;30 I'm on the bus wtf... 10/10
bin irgendwie froh chunt das album hüt, amne scheisstag woni viert stund gschlofe han, anstatt amne tag wos chönt versaue. d songs sind meistens sehr schön, aber afoch unglaublich viel. als ob mer sich do chönt en favorite uswähle. als ob öpper en überblick het. plus indie vocals moment. plus wieder e indie "band" wo im studio basically ein guy isch. es tönt jede song wie en letste sochli joke song ufme beatles album oder so. her majesty zum bispil. brudi 3 stund vo dem. sweet lovin man tönt wie wenn d talking heads de soundtrack zu animal crossing gesse hetted und denn usegschisse hetted. mengmol tönts afoch au wie plätscherndi synthis. wie het de siech so viem musig gschriebe und wie töned die 90er indie bands alli glich??? würkli afoch unmotivierte david bowie. so viel lieder?? ich check nöd wases söll. ich schrib 69 songs wo alli ähnlich töned? ich bin nonig mol fertig mit de zweite disc. phuck. gad möse chli beethoven lose zum cleanse
HAHAHAHAH ok tbh ich find absolutely cuckoo huere funny I don't believe in the sun würkt um einiges ernster und dramatischer es söttet ja auchli theaterlieder sii? eso luegis au ah und finds bis jz na fun I don't wanna get over you singter weird aber hans na gern WISO HET DE BEAT EN TON WIR WENNS EN FÜECHTE FURZ WÄR???? bunny rabbits isch na fun han bis jz eh vill besseri ziit als ich denkt hett?? parades go by erinneret mich ah talking heads (NEGATIV GMEINT) ok jz fangts ah uf de sack gah my sentimental melody isch SCHRECKLICH nothing matters when we're dancing isch en grund zum so schnell tanze wie möglich, nöd willd musig ah sich zum tanze ihladt, sondern eifach dassmer das lied chan ihgnoriere bc nothing matters sweet lovin man isch endlich wiedermal es LIED OK PAUSSSEEEE PART 2 love is like jazz nervt schomal no one will ever love you isch endlich wiedermal es lied id you dont cry ARACH UND WASHINGTON DC ich hass sini stimm bin ich gester in somene krass andere stimmig gsi oder isches rifach normal papa was a rodeo hani eig na gern gha bro I shatter isch unglaublich nervig das isch gad echt schlimm gsi es het würkli nöd schlecht ahgfange, doch disc 2 es het sich jz stetig richtig zwei grabe...mal luege was no passiert bro was isch das chönnts nöd wieder 2 minütigi lieder sii?? hahaha acoustic guitar na funny bro en weirde synthi, chli trümmle und en guy wo tüfer versuecht z singe als ers chan isch keis LIED WAS ISCH DAS JZ yeah oh yeah isch easyy dark und für das hanis na gern de rest halt wieder eifach bö ICH HASSE WENNER GSCHISSE TÜF SINGT ok xylophon track ohni xylophon funny (ussert ich spinn und ghör nüt?) wtf vo allne lieder hend sie sich für zebra entschide als letschts lied?? was isch das??? so unglaublich arsch ich respektiere s projekt ah sich und han eig au hie und daa freud gha aber iwie das als letschts stuck zeigt mier chli, was hend die sich überleit? vlt chammer au behaupte, dass sie extra eifach no es random lied annegfizzt hend als letschts lied because fuck you idem liecht betrachtet findis no funny ok doch keis 1 aber zebra hets gad würkli schier uf es 1 druckt also ja d längi isch natürlich s einte. s andere isch sochli, dass 60% vode tracks nöd würkli lieder sind, sondern sochli ideä oder en joke, wo jz halt eifach au als song zählt, gott weiss wiso. hie und daa, wenn ich mich uf d lyics gachtet han, hanis auno funny gfunde, aber vor allem usere text-perspektive und weniger usere musig-perspektive alles in allem hani de erst drittel rig würkli no solid gfunde, aber ab denn ischs für mich würkli steeiiiiil bergab gange, immer wieder hets moment gha wo ich gfunde han "bro was iiiisch das" weg dem erste ⅓ gits es 2, aber würkli GUCKING ZEBRA
Too long
Befuddling and heartfelt - wish there were more projects that explored this scope. If Santa Rosa allowed this same amount of room to its different musical ideas it went down it might've been an easier listen. An incredible 10 song album in here, but it changes on each listen so maybe it's right to include all 69.
Not terrible, but definitely not great. And there's waaaaaay too much of it. This is 3rd rate They Might Be Giants or something. Favorite song: a chicken with its head cut off.
Obviously this album is too much. There are some good songs on here, though few and far between. The length and amount of songs brings this down. 2/5 Won’t listen again
It’s a long one but a great one. Lots of gems in the mix. And of course at that length a lot of not gems. But even those are often interesting.
really man, REALLY?
Ni que fuera tan interesante como para durar 3hs
un real falo de proporciones astronómicas (no lo escuché pero voy a tomarme la licencia de juzgarlo de antemano)
I don't know who had the more daunting task, Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields for writing and recording 69 songs or me, listening to the whole thing in one sitting. This three volume concept album set is an enormous project that is hard to believe was actually released, but for the less masochistic fan was also released as three separate volumes. I think of prolific artists, such as Ryan Adams who earlier this year (Jan. 1, 2024) released five albums in one day and their need to record pretty much everything they write. I didn't have the patience to actually focus too hard on each song, but as a whole this is the classic example of "throwing it against the wall and see what sticks" approach. There are so many songs and not just short ditties under a minute (yes, there are some), as most are around the 2-3 minute length with two at 5 minutes, so it definitely wasn't a brisk listen. Though many songs sounded like lo-fi demos or felt incomplete, there are some really good developed songs on here and the range of styles and instrumentation is varied enough to not become too boring. The reality is this is a self-indulgent project that is hit and miss and there's no doubt, quality is sacrificed for quantity. If you're patient, there are some gems in here, but who can tell when it all becomes a blur after awhile. This could have been a solid album edited down to one volume, as no one should have to listen to 3 hours of a mixed bag of ideas.
- First of all: i was shocked when i looked at the fucking length of this album, they really have written 69 LOVE SONGS?! - favs while listening: unfortunately none, couldn’t bear more than one hour - i am currently 3 songs in and I don’t know if i like it or not, the vocals are really irritating me - The Guardian has a really fitting perception of the album: ‘69 Love Songs was a skip-to-the-hits album: it seemed to be a legendary album buried between brilliant song ideas left half-written‘ (28.08.2011) - honestly about the legendary and brilliant we could discuss but other than that i agree - also in what way are we supposed to enjoy a nearly 3hour long album with songs that just do not seem like they’ve written it for the sake of music but for writing 69 love songs? - seems like quantity over quality - its impossible to enjoy an album at this length and appreciate each song and they could have released a bunch of those songs spread across other albums - after reading the reviews on here I’ve come to the conclusion that this album is really a hit or miss for some. Either you like it or you really don’t - the book of love is okay; don’t like the vocals at all; ‘Book of love is long and boring‘ correct. - I can’t listen to this anymore its so annoying - I rarely would give 0/5 Stars but this album has successfully accomplished it (I don’t even know if you can do that on here) OVERALL: 1/5
I listened to this in 5 parts as it was a real beast, and I must say disk one made me doubt it was worth sticking with. Disk two made me glad I stuck with it with Papa Was a Rodeo being the real turning point, and disk three was honestly great all the way through. 69 songs allows for love to be explored in all angles, and the variety on display here is impressive. Sadly, at the same time, 69 songs is just too many and the quantity over quality experience means that this album failed to achieve "good". Favourite track: Papa Was a Rodeo.
It gets exhausting listening to each disc individually… what makes you think I want to listen to all three back-to-back?
I’m a little unsure how exactly to review this “album”. It’s a collection of too many songs. Between a lot of lazy instrumentation and the kind of vapid, almost meaningless lyrics you get from a guy writing 69 love songs in a row, it was genuinely a real chore to get through them all. This genuinely feels more like a self obsessed art piece far more than it feels like an actual music album created for enjoyable consumption. There’s some catchy hooks here and there, but god it’s few and far between. Hopefully this album will be as forgettable as I think it will. One star.
I am thrilled to see this as the AOTD. I am a huge fan of Stephin Merritt and all of his projects — I love his voice, and his lyrics have a certain sensibility that resonates a lot with me. I find them very clever and often hilarious. To begin, I love the concept of this album. It starts with one of the most, if not THE most, ubiquitous themes in popular music: the love song. By allowing, or forcing, himself to come up with 69 variations on this theme, we end up winding through the many forms it can take and feelings it can represent. Not every song feels fully fleshed out and the end result is something that feels like a three-hour brainstorming session on one of music’s—and life’s—biggest subjects. Although this album is thematically narrow, it covers a lot of ground musically. There are banjos and synths and show tunes and just about everything in between. It’s a wild and very fun ride. Favorite tracks: “A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off”, “The Book of Love”, “Time Enough for Rocking When We’re Old”, “Papa Was a Rodeo”… there’s so many. I can’t say I love every track on this album, but I can say I love everything about this album. 10/10
69
I wanted to hate this so I could skip past most of it but it was too good to skip anything. 2/3 of this album is in the 4-5 range for me with some duds leftover. The album name and cover are both extremely chad and based.
Couple were very interesting but way to long and too many weird songs for me.
I actually revisited this a couple of months ago, which is a happy coincidence because I don’t know when I’d find a spare three hours to take this project in at the minute It’s ambitious as hell and I admire it for that. I often criticise albums on here for being overly long but the length is the point with this one, and it changes genre and lyrical approach enough to keep things interesting even over 69 tracks. It’s remarkably consistent as well - while there are a handful of songs that I would happily never listen to again, there are so many good-to-great ones that it’s quite easy to forget about them
Fine but no I did not listen to all 69 ffs.
Would be a 5 star record if it was edited down to 2
I listened to the first disc, and I think that was more than sufficient to understand this project. “The Book of Love” sounds better when Peter Gabriel sings it.
one off from being my 69th album, what missed opportunity three hours long, this better be the best album i've ever heard i tired asf i had two long ass lectures today and an assignment due tonight and i wanna nap sb, but i started this three hour album first and i hate listening to album in multiple sessions so now i stuck listening to this while doing an assignment i dont want to do. this sucks its not even bad, i just know that it gonna go on like this for another two hours and thats fucking dreadful to think about. I kind of hate how some of the tracks make fun of other genres like jazz and punk, ik its a joke but it feels so lame and unfunny. i gave up, im taking a break i forgot i have to finish this fucccccccccckkk im not even halfway through the second disk. The songs with the girl singing sound like that new cindy lee album if it sucked. Listen to Diamond Jubilee if you want to listen to a good long ass album. Papa was Rodeo feels like a bad dean blunt and johanne robertson song at the end. i don't like this album finally on the last disk yippeeee. i finished my assignment before i finished this album im gonna kms make it fucking end theres still 11 songs left holy shit i cant do it anymore it went to go brush my teeth and i ACCIDENTLY forgot to pause the album a missed like four tracks whoops the albums alright i suppose
it insists upon itself i’ll give it a 2 bc the music itself isn’t half bad, but i will never listen to this album in full again
I understand why it’s way too much in one sitting, but I found it clever and charming. It was as if Shel Silverstein was a musician
songs range from ok to boring to corny to some which are legitimately good, but not worth 3hrs of listening for sure. fav track: come back from sf other picks: book of love, cactus where your heart, when my boy walks down the street
you want me to listen to a 3 hour album in one day?...well it's a good thing i've already listened to it, and i rly like it. great variety, every song feels different, songwriting and lyricism are exquisite. massive undertaking which in my opinion turned out to be one of the best concept albums of all time
I enjoyed this more than I expected to -- there's a wide range of genres, and the lyrics are clever. But I'm not sure we need three hours worth. Had it been a single album, it would have merited four stars.
Just far too long
Known about the album/project for a while but had never listened to the whole thing, so thanks for that, generator. Figured it would be a 4-5 for me, but nope. Many songs I love and I dig the concept of producing so many songs around the vagaries of love, but too much felt beyond filler. 33 and I might coulda five-starred and listened regularly. As it stands, probably not. Will just try to remember and cherry pick the jewels.
about 59 songs too many
5 - I can happily say that I’ve had this and it’s over. 3 hours is a lot. I think some at the end are better but I honestly had trouble sitting through. I’ll be saving this—it’s a 5 easily—because I want to keep coming back to explore
I enjoyed half of this album. The rest was alright with a few really bad ones thrown in This album should have been way shorter than it was though. Felt like a chore chipping away! 3 ⭐️
Whew, imagine being able to just put out sixty-nine solid bangers all at the same time. Kid Rock couldn't even manage to do one.
An edifying example for the importance of curation. Were this a tight 45 minutes with only the best material from this album, it would be a 5. There are moments, but the bloat is unbearable.
A cool concept, and I like the sound, but it does run together as you love through it. Still, generally enjoyable.
4 for the music, plus 1 for the audacity
3 hours! This damn album is almost 3 hours long, and I respect my time more than that. After about 5 songs, I realized this was not for me. The singer’s voice does change up a bit from song to song, just did not click with me. That’s when I decided I am not sitting here for 3 hours listening to his droning on about love. Take that and shove it up your…
I cannot call this noice and that burns me, like your time if you go through with this.
Campy and interesting... for about twenty of the 69 songs. Then it gets old quickly.
Ain’t nobody got time for allllll this. Good lord. Wish I did and could give an honest review!
Definition of commitment to the bit. I am definitely biased because I’ve loved this album for years and saw them perform it live. I probably wouldn’t love it if I listened to it here for the first time, which makes me want to relisten to some previous albums (looking at you, Simon and Garfunkel). It is a testament to the songwriting that with 69 songs and minimal instrument variation, all the songs sound pretty distinctive. Every time I listen to the album I find a new favorite. Book of Love is one of my favorite love songs of all time. Nothing Matters when we’re Dancing - full of such fondness for other people, a delight I don’t want to get over you - puts heartbreak into words so well. I think I need a new heart - so catchy! Book of Love - an instant classic. This song is what music is about to me and will live in my heart forever. “In fact that’s where music comes from. Some of it is just transcendental. Some of it is just really dumb” and that just sums up the whole album, why I love it, and why despite its long run time, it speaks so honestly to so many people. How fucking romantic - yeah, I see why people don’t like this one though lol Punk love - another one I could do without… Very funny - this song gets me :( Grand Canyon - I feel like a trailblazer with a cowboy hat when I listen to this song Washington DC - every dc resident should hear this song, so sweet Long forgotten fairytale - his voice has just the right amount of energy for the techno going on in the back The way you say goodnight is another song I would rank in the top romantic songs ever written It’s a crime makes me bop my head Yeah! Oh, Yeah! - Very funny, makes me laugh every time How to say goodbye - masterful story telling
This is torturously long. If it was one of a three album series of these, it'd have a much higher score
Jesus. Over two hours of petulant noise.
I did like "I'm Sorry I Love You" but was that really worth it for 68 others?
Only liked Absolutely cuckoo. Made me stop the challenge.
69 songs…. literally 69
Not a fan
Well, I figured it had to happen eventually. Here it is, what I considered to be the wall of my group's walls before I had the displeasure of discovering that Ella Fitzgerald album: 69 LOVE SONGS. A nearly three-hour triple album consisting of... Well, just as the album's title says, with 23 of these suckers a disc. It's a tall order to ask, and there's not any way to cheat like there was with the Ella Fitzgerald album and its decades-later "best of" compilation. Hell, a lot of people in my group were talking about taking the album one disc a day at a time. And that's probably the most sensible solution here. Me, though? I decided, "Aw, fuggit. I'll get this album all out of the way now." And thus, I broke these nearly-three hours into twelve chunks (following the six 10" disc vinyl release) and listened to them across how-many hours. My goal, then, was simple: treat this thing like Prince's EMANCIPATION and try to find a good single album in this mess. Which kind of defeats the point of why this thing was made, but I doubt I'm ever gonna come back to the whole package, so... How did I fair? To begin with, lemme speak generally about this album: I actually like quite a fair bit of it. Yeah, a lot of songs on here remind me of They Might Be Giants or Sparks, with some of the weird angles it takes love songs at. As well, the woman who sings sometimes sounds like she comes direct from Chumbawamba, and I love the woman who sings in **that band** a lot, so that's another thumbs up from me. Reminding me of any of those bands is a big "plus" in my book. I wanna credit the TMBG and Sparks comparison, too, for why I ended up paying so much attention to the lyrics. Like, as I've stated so many times in my reviews, I'm "melody first, lyrics second," so if you've made music where I can actually pay attention to the lyrics... Jus', wow, million points in your favor. And I'd forgotten how much a song's melody can be improved by some good lyrics, 'cuz there's some songs on here I found legit beautiful. Pretty, at least. Like, goodness, it's sure been worthwhile for me to dig in. But let's narrow in on that. "Digging in." Unavoidably and obviously, the biggest problem with this album is that there's too much album. If you're willing to take the time to sift through it, you're bound to come out with a lot of material you like. But that's a tall, tall order to ask anyone, to sit through 69 songs and nearly three hours to find the smaller album within. It's why I haven't actually done this sort of thing yet with Prince's EMANCIPATION, even as much as I want to. Like, even accepting this thing's concept, I shouldn't **have** to play album editor, y'know? Sure, I can find it fun, but it's not something you should be asking of everyone. And especially if you listen to this whole thing in one straight shot instead of breaking it up into chunks like me... Like, even before I started playing this album I didn't agree with the 1/5 reviews I saw, but I can't act like I don't know where they come from. It's very easy for the ambition you'd hafta have to make something like this to be mistaken for complete and unashamed ego. Or maybe it's the other way around–who knows? For my money, though... Aw, hell, even if I know I'm never gonna listen to this thing in full ever again, I'll slap this thing with a 5. Not every song on here is perfect or even all that special (which would be a miracle if they were given there's 69 here), but way too many of them appealed to me specifically to really mind those lesser ones too much. Besides, this thing's such a unique experience. There's only maybe two or three albums I can think of that could provide something like this, and I doubt any of them would be as enjoyable or live up to this thing's level of consistency and quality material. I'm completely sympathetic for anyone who'd hate this thing, but, hey: at least the songs on here weren't all soul-drainingly similar like that Ella Fitzgerald album was. Seriously, goodness, now **that's** a slog... Now, about that "single good album" I said I'd whittle this thing down into... Well, unfortunately, it'd require a bit more time than I really had today. I will probably make one down the line, certainly—I didn't put all this effort into consideration for nothing—but for this review, allow me to close things out with my two favorite songs from each chunk. The "24 Song Loves," if you will. I'unno. (Also, apparently Daniel Hader, aka Lemony Snicket, played on this thing? I literally didn't find that out until the last few seconds of the last song. Well, I'll be damned.) A: "I Don't Believe In The Sun"; "All My Little Words" B: "Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits"; "The Book Of Love" C: "Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long"; "The One You Really Love" D: "Nothing Matters When We're Dancing"; "Sweet-Lovin' Man" ==(23)== E: "Grand Canyon"; "No One Will Ever Love You" F: "(Crazy For You But) Not That Crazy)"; "Promises Of Eternity" G: "Washington, D.C."; "Papa Was A Rodeo" H: "Epitaph For My Heart"; "The Way You Say Good-Night" ==(46)== I: "Busby Berkeley Dreams"; "I'm Sorry I Love You" J: "The Death Of Ferdinand De Saussure"; "Wi' Nae Wee Balm We'll Me Beget" K: "Queen Of The Savages"; "Blue You" L: "How To Say Goodbye"; "The Night You Can't Remember" ==(69)==
There are mostly good tracks in this behemoth of an album, but the length of this thing can make it a bit of a hard sell, cause Jesus Christ, it's nearly 3 GODDAMN HOURS LONG. Anyways, 3.5 bumped to 4.
I’m at a 3.3 that I'll bump up to a 4 (I can explain later), but I gotta tell you, I really do admire the scope and scale of this project. I think I would recommend going through an actual listen to this, but not all at once; 23 at a time, just to spread it out and give the brain some sanity. I really can’t believe I actually listened to all 69. It felt a lot easier doing it 23 at a time with spread out breaks, but it’s still so many fucking songs. I categorized each song into 3 distinctions: liking it, being indifferent towards it, and outright hating it. I liked 30 of the songs here, for various reasons, so that’s pretty good. I was indifferent towards 36 of them, and while I can’t speak to how good or how bad each of the ones I was indifferent towards really was, I’d say most of the “good” indifferent ones were on the second disc, and a lot of the “bad” indifferent ones were on the third disc. I only really hated 3 of the tracks, and part of it is either from subject matter, bad instrumentation, or terrible mixing. I don’t wanna speak to the entire album as a whole, but I did ultimately enjoy this. It’s a slog, yes, but it’s a rather worthwhile slog. There are some good songs in here, and the scale of the project makes it kind of impressive that I really only hated about 3 of the tracks. Either that, or I have a really high tolerance for mediocrity. If I had to rate each “disc” (set of 23) as their own individual albums, I’d say disc 1 gets a flat 3 – it wasn’t egregiously offensive, but it didn’t do anything too special either. Disc 2 gets a 4 from me – easily the best set of the whole bunch. Lots of great production, and probably the best lyricism of the album. Disc 3 was the weakest one – it’s a 2.5 that I’d bump up to a 3 because it’s just got the most bland songs on the album, and the good ones are probably the most average between the 3 discs. That’s how I ended up at a 4; those rankings together average out to about 3.3, but I'll be nice and bump it up to a 4. I admire the hell out of them for making an album that hits pretty well, but if 36 of your tracks get met with a shrug, then you kinda just made 30 good love songs, 36 straight-to-DVD soundtrack songs, and 3 outright bad ones. However, this is still worth a listen, because I’m sure someone else will like more than 30 songs here. It’s an album with so much variance, and it covers such a strong variety of styles and tones, both in its instrumentals, vocals, and lyricism that it’s impossible for any 2 people to have the exact same tracklist as their “liked” ones (although Epitaph for my Heart & Papa Was A Radio should universally be on that list). It’s a very solid 4, and I can totally see how other people can give it a 5. People giving this a 1 or a 2 either listened to it all at once and got burnt out, or barely listened to it. I’m totally fine with it, and I did honestly like the album. Never give us a 69-track album ever again, please.
Just no. What in the bloated mess is this? I'm not listening to all that. Get an editor. That goes for both the artist and the author of this list. 1 star.
Holy shit this is long and pointless. This is why editing is required when you have an idea. Can't just throw everything at the wall and see what sticks
Uhhh, a bit on the long side. The songs are mostly pretty cool and well written, but I would much prefer an album of 12 of the best songs. Nearly 70 and the good ones just get lost with all of the ones that slid of the wall.
Once my apoplexy settled, I began listening and realised that I would have a much better time appreciating this as a work of conceptual art rather than something so gauche as a triple album of adult nursery songs. White Cubing it made the record decent company for two long commute rides and the spreadsheet I’m finishing while I write this. 69LS wears its beret even in the title, which has the right vibe of self-conscious smugness and defensive self-deprecation; while the song-elements of the work are not to my taste, their arrangement is intelligent, these components distinguishing themselves sufficiently to intrude on my consciousness with various novelties, like an electronic seagull riff or the faux jazz part or gentle verbal smart arsery. My notes coalesce around “Christian Marclay remakes “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” from a thousand outtakes of John Candy talking, preceded by a title card reading “You are the Steve Martin”.” Simon, I couldn’t resist reading your tirade before writing. What did the family think of this experiment?
I was dreading this and it lived down to my prejudice. I love "The Charm of the Highway Strip" and "Get Lost", but you can't even cut the highlights of this debacle down to a single album that would be of remotely similar quality. The definition of indulgence, and a real puzzle to understand who has the time for it [EDIT - I made it all the way through ONCE AGAIN and hate its pointless filler half-arsed improv bad showtune-ass bullshit even more. Sorry, Stephin - this is now downgraded even further in line with my tally of only 4 worthy tunes (5% - wtf!!!) adrift in a sea of absolute drivel]
I can barely bear 6 of em let alone 69
Is this the longest album on this project? The sheer scope of this album is wild. People who don't give this a chance because of length are really missing out. There's some really great stuff on here.
I enjoy the concept. It's a challenge of a marathon scale. Not sure the execution quite worked. The best song is the Book of Love, but others still stand out. Just sketches that are too short to really sink my teeth into for the most part. Strong 3/4
First of all, obviously way too long! An eclectic mix of indie-rock kinda stuff. Some of it pretty decent, but buried amongst the rest of it... I wouldn't mind revisiting the best bits of it somehow .
TLDR. No, actually, this album is fine, if not a little sappy.
I have to say I find this dull. I like the idea, just not the execution. Maybe it's having so many tracks it's diluted it?
very interesting, eclectic songs with multiple genres. Will go back and listen some more.
Couldn’t get through all 69
An example of how to make a masterpiece with very simple songs that doesn't need anything else.
Whimsical, at times brooding, folk pop/rock
Guay. Le voy a poner un 5 porque me gustaría tenerlo en vinilo, aunque no me ha encantado del todo como para un 5. Pero, en general, lo querría tener.
Best believe I did NOT listen to all 69 songs. Rather full of itself, I'd say.
This was tough to score due to the number of songs and length of this album. I did make a 2 times through and thought who in the world is crazy enough to do something like this? Then I started to think about love and the crazy things love makes us do. I believe in Love. I believe in the power of Love. I have to be careful because I could spend the next 3 days writing about the love I have for my wife. How every day I feel it grows stronger every single day and we've been married for almost 30 years. I hope that some day everyone can experience the feelings of love you just ache to be with that person. You can't wait to see that person after a day at work. Can't wait for the next great experience, next great concert, just the next time you look at each other, smile and just know how happy you are that person is part of your life. Hopefully for the rest of your life. God, it feels wonderful. I am a very lucky person to have my Mindy. So yeah, I can see how someone would write and record 69 love songs. Now the question is, was it good? Well to this listener, not so much. But if love inspired these guys to write 69 songs, love on people. Love on! Back to album, Papa Was a Rodeo was my favorite. Loved the opening line, "I like your twisted point of view, Mike!" Kind of ironic, don't you think? 3 for me. If you thought my rambling above was all over, you really don't want to hear the reasons for my score.
3 Well, this album certainly delivers what it promises in the title. Fortunately, I quite enjoyed its sound - or sounds, I should probably say. There’s a lot of unique, clever, and diverse songwriting going on that seems to touch upon a multitude of genres, yet all are interconnected under the common theme of love and share a distinct sort of indie flair. I also really dug the dude’s voice as well - its deepness pairs nicely with the songs, and while a touch imperfect, I thought that added to the overall indie charm of the album. Though, the other featured singers were definitely welcome additions that helped keep things fresh. However, no matter how you want to slice this album, it is 69 songs in 3 hours. I don’t care who you are, that kind of quantity quickly turns even the most enjoyable records into chores. I don’t know if they were just going for 69 because of the meme, but there’s absolutely no reason this couldn’t have been condensed down into like an hour-long album. There are some genuinely good songs here, but there’s also a lot of filler, and of that, there’s a lot that just kind of feel like half-baked ideas. Those, combined with the runtime, really seems to weaken the experience as a whole, which is a shame because I really feel like there is potential for greatness here buried somewhere. I respect the ambition, but imo albums shouldn’t be padded just because you have some extra material lying around - I mean, not even The Beatles could pull off a full double album without having to add a lot of BS. Quality over quantity always. I don’t have the time or energy to dive into the individual songs here, so instead, I’ll just list out my favorites: All My Little Words The Book of Love (better than Peter Gabriel’s cover) When My Boy Walks Down the Street Papa Was a Rodeo (great country tune) Yeah! Oh, Yeah!
Phew that was a long one. It took awhile, but it started to grow on me. Certainly sets a mood.
Another one I know very well! Decided to listen to disc 3 as it's the one I've listened to least. It was definitely weaker than the rest - which is natural given the ammount of songs. If I wasn't already familiar with it, I may have disliked this in the context of the 1001 project, where we have to listen to it all in one go. However, I am very fond of this record and think it has great stand out songs. 5 for ambition and its place in my heart!
pretty likeable and understated
Absolutely nuts! But so engaging. It is a marathon at almost 3 hours. This time we played every song; unfortunately, I napped through about half an hour of the last third 🫤 Not every song hits, some are only fragments but a lot are worth listening to and a few (The Book of Love being the best known) are brilliant.
Exhausting but can’t say it wasn’t rewarding in some aspects. Some of these songs aren’t great, but honestly, a lot are. And they’re truly spread throughout the album. You’ll get a length of okay songs and then one will just give you a punch to the gut with its lyrics and illusions and hook and chorus. I love a bass voice in pop music. Liked the songs where he sang the most. It’s hard to say this is “worth it,” but I’m glad I finally listened to all of it. I could probably make a twenty song playlist of absolutely beautiful songs from this and it’d be five stars. But as it is, a strong three. What an oddity!
This one is an all-time favourite. An in-depth study not necessarily about love (after all, we know nothing about love) but about that great art form, the love song. Some of it's just transcendental, and some of it's just really dumb. Could this have been shorter, tighter, more glossily produced and a bit more 'curated'? Perhaps, but then it wouldn't be anywhere near what it is; you'll find jazz, country, pop, indie rock, a bit of electro and a lot more that doesn't really fit any label except that it's a version of a love song. I bought it years ago for The Book Of Love, after I fell for the Peter Gabriel cover. But I found that to be just the tip of the iceberg and a wonderful gateway drug for the creativity, humour and genius of this simply marvellous album.
69 album reviews • With an album as huge as this one it would be easier to go song by song, so, on a scale from 0 to 1, where 1 is bueno and 0 is no bueno: 011100000110110001110011010010110110100101101100011011000100110101100101 • You 'member tiktok? Some of these songs remind me of those low-effort tiktok songs about the importance of consent or something idk • I once thought it would be a funny performance to write 1089 songs about each album I've heard here, compile them into one album, write a wiki article and then submit it for user albums. You're lucky I don't know shit about making music • If you're gonna write 69 songs about love it better be all kinds of love. I feel underrepresented, there's only 2 songs about necrophilia and just 1 same-sex african-american love song • Nice • You might think that I'm retarded for writing 69 reviews but I'm actually making a point here. Notice how with every review I get lazier and more off-topic because I just need to write something that passes as a review. Not that my regular reviews are any better but... oh fuck off • I really wanted to hate it for it's length but it's not that bad. Filler-filled, yes, but somehow it's not boring, I'm curious about what I will hear next • How hard would it be to notice if one of these songs was AI-generated? A friend of mine made a meme song, just threw some random notes and let the AI finish everything. He also used AI-generated lyrics, and that was what gave it away, but the music itself sounded alright. What I'm getting at, I've seen plenty reviews for other albums saying something like "yeah the music is shit but I can tell it takes a lot of musicianship to make". But let's be real, it's frickiny pop, AI could do it and we wouldn't notice • I usually avoid romantic movies, animes, etc. I mean, they are great, it's easy to squeeze a tear out of me so I like almost every one of them, but they eventually end and I'm back to reality. Reality sucks. At least this album never ends • The longer it goes on the more I like it. As is usually the case with music. Maybe every album should be 3h long? Or even longer? I will try it next time I see a 150th anniversary edition album with 20 hours of extra content • Remember This Song from The Hour Of Bewilderbeast? Well, turns out not only it was a bad idea, they were not even first to do it. Abigail, Belle of Kilronan is literally the same and I can't listen to it. The only song I skipped in the entirety of 1001 (so far) and it was not because it was bad, but because I felt physically unwell listening to it • I feel like I've matured a lot during since the beginning of the project. Something as immature as this album has no place in my heart anymore • I mean, they could've at least made a tl;dl version • Experimental review Experimen evi ntaview perital re rimtal revieExp mentaExperimntal revieental review. Don't know what to call this song if I pretty much called the other ones "low-effort" • It was a 3 at some point, but they didn't quit while they were ahead. Too bad • What do you mean "Baby don't hurt me" is not from this album? I've been waiting for it... • It's crazy to see people commenting "new favorite from the album" under some of these songs. They all sound identical. Or maybe they don't, but the whole experience is so drawn out you can't really tell • Okay maybe not 69, the album's ended, that's all I have
possibly the worst thing I have ever heard. not just the length but every single song was absolutely dreadful somehow I would rather listen to the Beatles
If "Fingertips" by They Might Be Giants were 2 hours and 45 minutes
Listening to this album was like going through a list within the 1001 albums list. 69 tracks is a big undertaking as an artist and it feels like a lot as a listener. But most of these songs show a strong sense of songcraft. They have interesting perspectives and feel like vignettes. A few of them were moving and only a handful grated on my nerves. There are several specifically queer love songs too which was a pleasant surprise. I occasionally got a bit exhausted working my way through the album but just when I started to get restless, a song like “Papa Was a Rodeo” would come on and pull me back in again. That’s my pick for the best song here. The sequencing of the album is very good. Finding an order for 69 songs is a big task but the album flows nicely. Certain songs feel grouped together while other sections have a mix of tones and styles.
This is one of the strongest "specific to a time period" albums for me in my life. This one for college and a year or two after, when one of my best friends Jake shared the album with me. Whenever Jake shares a new song that he's written, or when he shares an old original song that I've never heard, I feel like I hear a little bit of this in it; there's something about the cadences, lyrics, and chord progressions here that are so ingrained his music (specifically tracks like "Reno Dakota" and of course, "The Book of Love"), that I struggle to separate them. I listen to these songs and it makes me miss my friend who is currently walking around Spain who I spoke to only 12 hours ago, and will speak to in an hour or two when I tell him that this album is today's 1001 album. This is a beautiful album with a great backstory, and I'm a sucker for a good backstory. I enjoy this whenever it's put on and it's a great and fitting addition to this 1001 list. 4/5, and great album cover.
Kept it more interesting than I thought they would be able to
69 songs they want me to listen to... Must be a prank? Is it a prank? Someone tell me it's a prank? I managed 13, I reasonable album size. No more.
The One You Really Love // No One Will Ever Love You // Papa Was a Rodeo // Asleep and Dreaming // Underwear // Busby Berkeley Dreams //
Not enough songs! I really do love this record and like to take time every few months to just sit down and listen to the whole thing from start to finish but realize for most people it's too mighty of a task!
A lot of mediocre songs.
Imagine that The Divine Comedy and Kirsty MacColl got together and gave birth to James McCartney who then made a concept album with Sean Lennon.
This album feels like one that they used to try to sell you through commercials in the early 2000s. They start by pitching 20 love songs. But wait there's more! If you call today, we're going to throw in 20 bonus love songs. That's a 20 love song value absolutely free. But we're not going to stop there- we're going to throw in the third disc, 60 love song! And if you call within the next hour, we're going to give 9 extra bonus love songs. That's a 69 song value for the price of just 20! This album actually slaps though. 69 different genres and 69 different takes on love. In reality, love is such a complicated emotion and so many bands are so happy to talk about it so simply. This band takes the time to explore the emotion in depth and changes the music so dramatically around the exploration of love. It’s not always easy listening and you won’t find any dad rocking guitar solos on here but it is honest to god, capital A Art.
13 or so would've been fine. I'd give a higher rating to an abridged version.
De tering. Ik moet eerlijk zeggen dat de lengte van dit album de grond onder m'n voeten al volledig heeft weggeslagen voor ik eraan ben begonnen. Dit kan eigenlijk al niet meer goed eindigen. Ik kom hier om een albumpje per dag te luisteren, iets schijtlolligs te typen en alles wat ik al ken uit 1998 tot en met 2003 te beoordelen met 5 sterren met kul-argumenten die objectief klinken maar die helemaal uitgekleed eigenlijk altijd gewoon neerkomen op rooskleurige nostalgie. Met dit soort albums wordt het eerder een soort deeltijdopleiding die je opgedrongen wordt door het UWV of een andere semi-overheidsinstelling. Een niet heel geweldig zingende theatermaker die een carte blanche kreeg qua studiotijd, blijkbaar. Dit is vast een ontzettend leuk album als je er een werkstuk over moet maken en je pakt de teksten er als een boek bij op schoot, maar voor dat soort onzin heb ik geen tijd en geduld. Ik vind het maar een matige bedoeling en de totale lengte drukt daarbij ook nog eens stevig op m'n gemoed. Fido's leash is niet het enige wat too long is. Je kunt als je dit album samenvat in 10 tot 14 nummers een prima 3,5 ster album op tafel leggen. Dan zeggen we: 'Ah indie, leuk joh. Beetje pielen met een ukelele, lekker sfeervol, vrolijk. Beetje experimenteel. Prima album als je een keer je huis gaat poetsen met de deuren wagenwijd open.' Nu wordt het gewoon een 1. Je kunt in dezelfde tijd achter elkaar luisteren naar System of a Down - Toxicity, Green Day - Dookie, Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not en Pixies - Surfer Rosa. En dan hou je nog 7 gratis minuten over om de vaatwasser even uit en in te ruimen.
Very nearly forgot this.
Apparently Magnetic Fields frontman Stephen Merrit was sat in a gay bar in New York listening to Stephen Sondheim songs played on piano one day and set himself the challenge of writing 100 love songs. He scaled back the original target to 69 songs (fnarrr, fnarr) but this is still a monumental achievement. These are songs about love in all its varieties, each one in a different style with the three album set lasting just shy of three hours. Amazing stuff!
When I was 14 we bet with some friends that 3 of us could tell 1000 jokes in 24h. We succeeded, but let me tell you than about 95% of the jokes were pure rubbish and mostly bad situational jokes. This album is the equivalent of this stupid 14 year old bet, done by a professional musician.
It's impressive and there are some real gems in here, but it's WAY too long for a single release. Would've rated higher if it were released in separate parts, maybe.
I really tried to make it all the way through this, but, and this is probably by #1 criticism of the CD, it's WAY, WAY, WAY too long. It's not bad, not exactly my style, whatever. Big picture though, if you're gonna make me sit through 3 hours, you better have a LOT to say. I don't think they clear that bar. The other thing that really stands out here is that despite having a lengthy roster of singers, basically all of them are bad. Male or female, tenor or baritone, they all kind of stink. The music itself alternates between very stripped-down stuff (you could call it garage rock but 1/2 of it is more like guy-with-a-guitar) and super-cheasy way over the top lounge rock. I see the influence. In particular, "Thirteen Tales" almost seems like a sequel. But it's shorter, better, and more fun. I liked "When My Boy Walks Down The Street". That's a cool song. 1 for 69, not bad.
i hated this immediately, but unfortunately, a twisted compulsion to give every album a fair shake and listen to them in full means i have subjected myself to a shockingly self indulgent 3 hours of twee nick cave demos this is the worst album on the list so far by a wide margin. any jazz musician should be able to legally kill Stephin Merritt for Love Is Like Jazz. they would have played this at gitmo, but then they wouldn't have anybody left to torture after it killed everyone
Loved what I heard but so much to absorb, giving a 5 because I want to flag and come back to this one.
I really enjoyed the quirkiness of 69 Love Songs in the beginning, quite liked the first album, especially Come Back From San Francisco. Some of the songs reminded me of The Shins. Going deeper with the album(s), I wasn't sure what to make of this – it doesn't really feel like a coherent concept despite the title, and there is great variety when it comes to the quality of the songs, too: I think the highlights are nice, but its lowlights are downright annoying. I don't think there's enough quality to justify the 2 hour 52 minute length of the album(s) as there's plenty of fillers between the better songs and it's tend to lose it's edge towards the third album. On another note, I think the algorithm should always assign these longer albums to a Friday – it took me 4 days to finish these 3 albums and it would be easier to get these done on a weekend.
At first, it's an extremely fun concept. However I haven't gone any further than the first part of the album. I also agree that Come Back From San Francisco is a highlight.
8/7/24. Literally 69 love songs! Admittedly I didn't get to finish it due to length and a busy day, but the songs are short and sweet. I give the artist major props for explroing different sounds for each song so it feels like a fun journey instead of a monotonous one.
After 45 mins I'm tapping out. Maybe I'll try to finish the whole 3 hours but I can't imagine its going to get any better.
A collection of songs that I like to revisit every so often. There are some real gems
Bcp trop long. Pas pire tho.
The music here is fine, but this is way too long. How am I expected to enjoy listening to this entire thing? Maybe that's the point?
tl;dl for one day lol
if bob belcher wants to sing me 69 love songs who am i to stop him ya know?
No…just no. I’m only giving this a 2 because there were a few songs that weren’t as terribly boring like the rest.
Hands down an absolute masterpiece. I love the Magnetic Fields and Stephin Merritt is a goddamn genius and I’ll fight anyone who says otherwise.
I found some of this entertaining, some good lyrics going on. But I only listened to about 10 songs before it started getting on my nerves
69 songs it was! I did the whole thing. Despite obviously being quite a schlep to get through all of that, overall it was perfectly pleasant. Some I liked more than others - god knows how I'll now remember which ones those were over the 3 CDs, but regardless I'm glad I've heard it. Impressive to put this much stuff out.
Really good but very long, would have been better to pick the best tracks and make it at least just a double album, but all in all, song great songwriting
“I’m making a Garden State knockoff but I’m on a budget and I can’t afford the Shins.” “Say no more fam, I got you.”
wow they really weren't lying about the 69 part like i'm impressed, bored but impressed does it actually deserve a 2? no idea i got tiktok attention span but through my speedrun of this album there were ok-ish (more like meh) parts so i'll be generous for once listened to way worse
3.5/5. Struggling to decide whether I think it’s an ambitious display of talent or a silly gimmick. Its scope is tantalizing but there’s so much damn filler, it’s essentially a triple album.
Somewhere in this album is probably a 5* album. However there's just too much fluff to ever take it seriously
Я не буду слушать альбом какого то пидора
Long, amazing, quirky. It took me 2 sessions to listen due to having to go to bed. I already had it in my favorites but hadn't listened to the entire thing. You're not going to put it on for a road trip but listening at home on a nice system, it really works.
Reminded me at times of Adam Green but not as funny. M. F., your album's too long!
Oh my god, I did it. I finished this album on the very day it was assigned. Okay. So it's not terrible, but I heard 69 songs and zero reasons for it to be on this list. It's a gimmick album. If a painter said "I'm gonna do 69 paintings in two days" and they were all just two or three swipes with a roller brush, would it be celebrated? Probably, actually, the art world is weird. Some of the songs were good, but never fleshed out enough. And none of them were particularly catchy. One or two might've made it on a playlist of mine, but I'll never go back and try to figure out which ones. Anyway, good for us all, for slogging through. I really wish I had liked it more.
Mér leist ekkert á lengdina á þessari plötu, en svo var hún bara mjög áhugaverð! Ýmislegt inn á milli sem er ansi tilraunakennt, en mest megnið er fínt.
As the title states; this album contains 69 love songs. I could only sample a few, as the album is much (MUCH) too long. Most of the songs I listened to were nothing to write home about; the record is more of a revue than a proper album. For this the songs might be OK, but not for just listening. 2/5
This is the first album that I’ve come across that I genuinely think hit me exactly as “this is an album everyone should hear before they die.” It is IT. There is no peer. Nothing similar. It is just exactly what it wants to be. However, I am also really glad that I chose this record to just lock, load and listen. I’d never heard of the band before. I didn’t look at the genre, description, liner notes or (thankfully) the album length. Just went off and track one and……. I probably would have gotten discouraged. Or bored. But the whole album dragged me along song after song. Eventually I read the album notes and that made the album that much better. It made it make so much sense. And naturally there’s some filler in a 3 hour record. Many of the songs are good, even most. There’s even a few that fall into great. But the album itself may be a masterpiece. I think it is. And I’m not sure if listening again would make it better or lesser so I’m a little afraid to. I may just say that it’s always there if I want to and move on. At least I got to hear it, even if it was only once.
Fucking he’ll this was a slog! It’s been on my pending list since July 24 so finally got round to it thanks to a long train journey. So what can I say about 69 songs about love? Some songs, some skits, some Leonard Cohen vocals, some banjo, some synth pop, some velvet underground, some low fi indie… some good… some forgettable… for me it’s an album famous for the concept rather than the execution. A tiring 3/5
Holy hell that was an experience. But I honestly feel better having gone through it in one sitting.
"69 Love Songs" is an impressive achievement and it takes in so many genres, sounding like The Velvet Underground one minute and Leonard Cohen the next. It's genuinely surprising how much variety it's packed with. But it never rises to be much more than a novelty record, and the short tracks mean that it can never really indulge or focus on a certain style. It's an experiment that doesn't quite work and makes everyone suffer as a result. Like "Jurassic Park."
Are these really love songs? Some of them are breakup songs. Sweet loving man is probably the best of the bunch. It's got 69 something. Love songs would be a stretch. Punk love barely qualifies. Roses... etc... We are the king of the Budoir is truly terrible.
Unnecessary. Like, why?!?? I’ll say it is impressive that someone can assemble 69 songs and a majority of them are entirely pleasant. You might get an occasional smile from an unexpected lyric, but there’s nothing that you are rushing to anyone with “You gotta HEAR THIS!!!” And there are some definite clunkers (love is like jazz, Washington DC, kiss me like you mean it, I shatter, kings, strange eyes, zebra). But overall, the number of decent songs gives it a pass in my book… one of the more difficult trials clocking in at nearly 3 hours.
I have loved this "album," 3-disc set of songs, since it came out. Listening back, the first disc is definitely the strongest, but there are so many incredible songs on the second and third discs, as well. And, just in general, there are songs that are just complete classics, now, such as "The Book of Love" which was covered by Peter Gabriel. Just brilliant songwriting and beautiful, sincere yet sardonic lyrics.
Ain't nobody got time for that!
This should not be on the list. It’s terrible. The dude can’t sing. It’s like listening to my dog wail. It’s disrespectful of my time. Who’s got 3 hours to listen to this garbage. Be better.
23 love songs was enough.
Never heard before. Albums like this are why I enjoy this list...I might not ever have stumbled upon this album otherwise. 69 songs on 3 albums is a pretty astonishing output. The music is beautiful throughout, and the lyrics and vocals are sometimes inspired. Unfortunately, the lyrics and vocals sometimes fall (very) flat. I was initially off-put by the first few songs, which almost kept me from continuing on this (long) musical journey. Continuing to listen paid off, as the album soon improves greatly. I'll be making a playlist of my favorite 20-30 of these songs and playing it (often) in the future. "Never stuck around long enough for a one-night stand"
Whew, that's a lot of love songs! It's a lot and all over the place but none of the tracks are really bad. I didn't catch anything really great either. Maybe something would grow on me on the 2nd or 3rd listen, but I'm not really going to invest the time to find out now. A ten-song edit of this collection would be nice to have.
No. 216/1001 Absolutley Cuckoo 3/5 I Don't Believe In The Sun 4/5 All My Little Words 4/5 A Chicken With It's Head Cut Off 3/5 Reno Dakota 3/5 I Don't Want To Get Over You 3/5 Come Back From San Francisco 3/5 The Luckiest Guy On The Lower East Side 3/5 Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits 2/5 The Cactus Where Your Heart Should Be 2/5 I Think I Need A New Heart 3/5 The Book Of Love 3/5 Fido 2/5 How Fuckin Romantic 2/5 The One You Really Love 3/5 Punk Love 2/5 Parades Go By 3/5 Boa Constrictor 3/5 A Pretty Girl Is Like 2/5 My Sentimental Melody 3/5 Nothing Matters 3/5 Sweet Loving Man 4/5 The Things We Did And Didn't Do 3/5 Roses 2/5 Love is Like Jazz 1/5 When My Boy 4/5 Time Enough 3/4 Very Funny 3/5 Grand Canyon 3/5 No One Will Ever Love You 3/5 If You Don't Cry 3/5 You're My Only Home 3/5 Not That Crazy 2/5 My Only Friend 3/5 Promises of Eternity 2/5 World Love 3/5 Washington D.C. 3/5 Long-Forgotten Fairytale 3/5 Kiss Me Like You Mean It 3/5 Papa Was A Rodeo 3/5 Epitaph for my Heart 3/5 Asleep and Dreaming 3/5 The Sun Goes Down 3/5 The Way You Say Good-Night 2/5 Abigail, Belle of Kilronan 4/5 I Shatter 2/5 Underwear 2/5 It's A Crime 2/5 Busby Berkeley Dreams 3/5 I'm Sorry I Love You 3/5 Acoustic Guitar 3/5 The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure 4/5 Love in the Shadows 2/5 Bitter Tears 3/5 Wi' Nae 2/5 Yeah! Oh, Yeah! 3/5 Experimental Music Love 2/5 Meaningless 3/5 Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin 3/5 Queen of the Savages 3/5 Blue You 2/5 I Can't Touch You Anymore 2/5 Two Kinds Of People 2/5 Here To Say Goodbye 3/5 The Night You Can't Remember 3/5 For We Are The King Of The Boudoir 2/5 Strange Eyes 2/5 Xylophone Tracks 2/5 Zebra 2/5 Average: 2,72 This album proofs that quality is more important than quantity.
Was hoping the title was more of an innuendo. Had some flashes but way too long
Such an ambitious album - lots of fun songs but also incredibly silly ones. I love the range and the different styles - it's not something I could put in regular rotation but its worth a couple of listens to at least.
Had high hopes, shouldn't have.
There is a clue in the name. But I really wasn’t expecting 69 songs. I’m done after disk 1.
Well, I didn't hate it, despite the VASTLY overstayed welcome. I still want to hate it because I think the concept is dumb, but most of the songs were pretty witty. The most reluctant 4 I've ever given.
This is too much. It started off well enough but it devolves into the same mess. Some of the tracks get stuck in your head, so that’s a plus.
3.5
Kind of a slog to get through, didn’t really connect to any of it but there were hints of things I liked here and there
This album is long!! How many songs are on this freakin thing? Not only does this guy sounds just like Jens Lekman, his lyrics are just as earnest and esoteric as his…. But I enjoy this a lot, gotta respect it tbh! I had a pleasant time listening basically all the way through. “Busby Berkeley Dreams” is an all timer Definitely a couple songs that haven’t aged super well tho..
Every single song on this is… fine? Found it overall quite tedious and wasn’t really on board at any point.
the concept is nice and I have affection for this album from my youth but it is extremely long and can be a bit tedious. This thing basically singlehandedly got me four albums behind on our listening journey so that was also extremely annoying
What an opus. There are some amazing melodies among the 69 tracks. I tried to review each song on its own but I was worn about before I reached the end of the first disc.
This is way too long and so many of the songs don't feel fully finished. Cool idea but meh execution
Ah yes, one of the infamously long ones. As soon as the first track started playing I thought "Oh no, oh hell." Thankfully, not every song had the same feeling as that first one or I would have lost it. Truthfully though this was so long I was not really able to give it a good critical listen. It seemed like there was some good variety, and I really didn't hate it as background music. I think there are a few songs I did really like maybe? I know there were definitely a few I hated. A second listen at some point might be able to help me hone in on that more. It seemed like a lot of it was kind of playful, which seems right to me for an album called 69 Love Songs. I fully did not realize they did the original version of The Book of Love. I've only ever heard the Neil Young version. That's definitely a great son though. My final thought is I think some people are a bit over dramatic about this album. Yeah it's unnecessarily long but is it actually THAT horrible to listen to? I suppose if the various singers voices aren't your thing I could see it but from some of the comments I have read I thought it might be WAY worse than it actually was.
Made it halfway before I had enough. Not nearly interesting enough for an hour and a half, let alone almost three!
I anticipated this would be the "nice" kind of 69 love songs, or romantic ballads contemporary to the year 1969, or an album titled "love songs" by the band "69" or some alternate combination. Indeed this is non-figuratively a count of 69 musical tracks of earnest, wholesome serenades. I must disclose I probably gave up with the first third, or 23 songs, but that was my torture threshold.
Too long
The concept of making 69 Love Songs seems wild on the surface. Amazingly they pull it off. It seems like they took every line and phrase you might put into one but they made each one the focus of a song. With a wide range of silly, dark, light, meaningful, soulful, playful...there seems a bit of everything here. 3.5 hours is daunting, but impressively executed.
Cool idea. It didn't hook me, and I'm pretty certain the banjo in the first few songs was the final straw. If I had absolutely nothing to do and I was in a comfy room with just this album, I'd take that journey. Until that day comes, this will be one of 1000 albums.
I went into this day of listening already mad at the album for being so fucking long- three hours of love songs? WTF is that shit? I almost even let this be the first album I skipped- I was gonna give it a one and say, “Fuck you Magnetic Fields, hire an editor next time, you cheap bastards. Why not just take the twelve best out of the lot and make a normal album?” Well, that question never gets answered. And even with everything else I’m writing, I still think they should’ve just picked the twelve best and made a normal album. But, I had a long, boring project to do at work and thought, “Well, shit. I’m gonna listen to three hours of music anyway. Might as well be the album of the day.” I am glad I did. First off, I hadn’t heard of them before, but I love his voice. I love Bass vocalists, like that cat from Type O-Negative. Which is good, because you couldn’t make it through an album of this length if you don’t like the voice. Even still, I think it was smart to bring in so many guest vocalists, if only for variety’s sake. And variety it had! All sorts of different types of love were written about, and they were written about in so many different styles and arrangements. They managed to keep it fresh for me the whole time. First time I checked how much time was left, I was already almost done with Disc Two! I thought they managed to keep it all moving along quite well. The realization that the maniacs were pulling it off- they were making a three-hour long album that I was happy to hear- pulls it up to a five, just because I’m wowed at the achievement. Having said that, having said all of this, I couldn’t tell you a bleeding single out of here after disc one because that’s when it all started to blur. Just like how you can binge a show, enjoy it all, but not really know what happened in which episode because you didn’t experience it in episodes, you experienced it as a whole construct. This is the five-star album I am least likely to revisit as a whole. It earns it for being such a special achievement, but I’ll still be happy whenever any of these songs come on my shuffle. And I still think that Magnetic Fields should have hired an editor, the cheap bastards.
did this blow me away with how great the songs were? no. am i ever going to listen to it again? probably also no. did it keep my attention for almost 3 hours without making me want to end it all? yes, so that's something.
This list is becoming more and more demanding every day. Three hours!?
Not for me
honestly, i REALLY liked this album and thought i might be a little annoyed after a while, but i'm not and i love it.
What am I supposed to say here “oh it really comes alive halfway through the second album oh the third disc really has some hidden gems in it.” Get tf outta here with a nearly 3 hour long album comprised mostly of male manipulator music. This album was a huge test of strength for me to meet a piece of art where it’s at, and I tried my hardest. But after a while, these songs did what I’m guessing a lot of deadmau5 songs do for his first time listeners: blended all together. This was a Spotify streaming bloat album well before it’s time though, I’ll give it that
Absolutely brilliant and delightful. I had heard a few songs before but never the album.
I try to love it, I try to love it, but I can't, but I can't. It is too long, it lasts forever, forever is a concept I can not sustain. But it is cool somehow, and if I cut it into chunks, I love the chunks. I dearly do.
Cool concept album but not really my cup of tea
This was good, but took me several days to work through. I get the concept Stephen Merrit had it mind for this, but still, 69 songs is a lot for a single release, at least in the age of streaming where a 3 disc collection just appears as a 3 hour playlist. But that all said, there were plenty of songs in this that I would for sure want to come back to.
Like this album a lot. You'd think it'd be a slog, but not so much. I really enjoyed it. 4/5
A monumental project, no doubt about it. A lot of it isn’t for me, but it’s hard to deny a good chunk of it. Some beautiful recordings all over. B
This one is just straight up wierdness. No likey. Make it stop.
staggering, phenomenal, essential, a Major Work. an unbelievable achievement then, now, always.
Maybe some songs could be cut but the whole experience is worth it.
Oof. A pretty outrageous entry in this collection, given that it's asking for 3 hours of your life on what's likely an unknown quantity for most listeners (and while I've actually heard parts of this album before, I had the added disadvantage of feeling pressed for time trying to catch up with missed albums from traveling, but I really did listen to it all (really!)). Regardless, while there's a pretty understandable oversaturation trying to listen to this album in a single stretch, I'm still really impressed at the range of styles and love-song-themes in this album, and enjoyed most of them more than I expected. I'm kind of glad, though, that Stephin Merritt never pursued his original concept of staging the album as a theatrical revue, and find it a bit hard to imagine being one of the few people who attended their two-night performances of all 69 love songs. I feel like this album is best appreciated in small bites, maybe as part of a massive shuffle-play of many albums. And I'm also really impressed that this was created in 1999, as it anticipated the sort of album that would be perfect to be made and listened to during COVID.... The ones I liked more than others (in album order): "All my little words", "Reno Dakota", "Come back from San Francisco", "The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side", "Let's Pretend we're bunny rabbits", "The Book of Love" (especially for its Peter Gabriel connection), "Nothing matters when we're dancing", "Love is like Jazz" (not perfect, but I liked the variety there), "No One will ever love you", "Promises of Eternity", "Long-Forgotten Fairytale", "Papa was a Rodeo", "I Shatter" (a very Philip-Glass/Kraftwerk-inspired love song), "I'm sorry I love you", "Acoustic Guitar", "Love is Like a Bottle of Gin", "Zebra"
I bought this soon after stumbling across "Papa Was a Rodeo" and once drove from Seattle to Durham NC listening only to 69 Love Songs. I stopped off at Jimmy's in Chicago for a beer and when I sat down at the bar, the bartender put on a CD before taking my order. It was Vol 1 of 69 Love Songs.
Is it over yet?... Overall I didn't mind it but like many other listeners I found it a test of endurance. 25 years since it's release and I had never given it a listen and now I realise why I avoided this album. Unquestionably genius in some parts, what it does lack is Stephin Merritt having the ability to take a step back do decide to tidy up a song or two. In a way this is the musical equivalent of the book, Infinite Jest File under "self indulgent indie" right next to Illinoise
rym 3.82 QUASI TRE ORE DI INDIE POP STIAMO SCHERZANDO PORCA MADONNA io mi ammazzo sono letteralmente 69 canzoni di merda odio questo chitarrino di merda odio la voce di entrambi odio il chamber pop con tutte le mie forze 1/5 questa non è musica questo è uno scherzo
Too many songs! But I did have a fee favorites - they weren’t too long, but collectively it was very long.
'Drawn-out' would be the phrase I'd use. Funky and experimental in places, which was fun. But I will be avoiding for the foreseeable future for its length and many-a-headache-inducing song.
хмммм осмелюсь ли я сказат...... шесят девят???????? Найййййссссссссссс )))))))))))))) так, погодите, вы там это, лопнули? Ну типа слушается ок, но там РЕАЛЬНО 69 песен на альбоме. Они неплохие, раз на раз, но так много я не готов слушать. Ну это альбом песен про любоу. Любоу мы знаем. круто.
I had an ex that really liked this band. I thought album was going pretty good but then it kept going and going and going. They needed to edit that track list a bit more and it would have been a 4.
Absolutely Cuckoo A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off Let’s Pretend We’re Bunny Rabbits Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long My Sentimental Melody Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing Time Enough for Rocking When We’re Old No One Will Ever Love You I Can’t Touch You Anymore The second 3 hour album I’ve gotten. Idk who enjoys an over 1.5 hour album. But I don’t. Wasn’t the worst I suppose. Genuinely surprised I made it to the end without much struggle. Some melodies were quite entertaining and the vocals sounded depressed but in a strangely good way.
This album is nearly 3 hours long … the hubris of this band! While it is mostly pleasant (I feel like I hear this type of music all the time when eating at trending restaurants in Seattle), it’s simply too long to listen to in it’s entirety without skipping. And I can only stand so much ukulele…
So long, but worth it
Fuck yeah. I'd only really listened to The Book of Love before, but this is a great testament to three 23-track songs that are somehow still listenable.
too many songs - but pretty good album
Maybe if they just picked the top 10 it would have had a chance.
3 hours! I don’t even listen to three hours in a row of music I do want to listen to
One of the songs on this album is "Fido Your Leash Is Too Long". Well, Magnetic Fields, this album is too long. Good, but too long.
Full of itself
When I saw that I’d been generated an album over 2 hours long, I have to admit that I sighed so hard I turned inside out. However, it was probably the best day to get this as I had an hour drive each way to work today. I found myself loving every part of this album. Instead of it feeling like a big drag, it felt like a big treat to be given so many songs. I then went looking for the vinyl online but it only seems to have been released in 10inch which I can’t play. So yeah, this is fantastic.
Too long..songs blend together and I get tired of listening
Tough one. Didn't really listen to much of it, went through the most listened tracks and they really aren't my style. Not saying its bad, but just hard for me to listen through. I was debating on whether I should vote it 1 or 2 stars, but the sheer length of the album really puts me off (and most listeners so I've heard). Nice one Magnetic Fields but unfortunately just not for me.
Too long and arduous to finish . 50 - 55 songs too long Cake ish There's some Len Cohen here too
"he decided he ought to get into theatre music". Narrator: he should not have. Truth be told, I'm now through the first volume and time passed quite alright. Nice bits, whatever bits, annoying bits. They all didn't last long. Is all I can say here, really. Outside of the gimmick of this being a lot of songs, what else is there? Because I can't seem to find it. Is that it? Rating day. I don't hate it. A quirky box of surprises.+1 for effort.
Although conceptually great and well carried out, it comes across as somewhat self-indulgent at a certain point without quite enough variations lyrically and musically to sustain it overall. The sheer number of songs and the variety are impressive and thematically it works, but it could have been more interesting.
I still love all of this. Papa Was A Rodeo being my favorite
Way too long for me.
Definitely has some good songs. Also, at first I thought that it wasn't that hard to sit through as it works well in the background, but at disc 3 I lost that feeling a bit... The singer has a great low voice
1 star for the concept and 1 star for not sticking with the original plan of 100 love songs
Decent background music and there is definetly a good album in there somewhere. There was just no reason to make it this long
I don’t know how I survived this. WHY SO LONG AND BORING?
About one albums worth of quality songs. Ambitious project, but not worth a spot here.
I appreciate the challenge mindset behind this album project, but this was too much. Some songs were okay but they really all blended together and became monotonous. 2.5/5
I complain about overlong albums... Then love this 3 hour epic. At about 23 songs and hour, it's only about 2 minutes a song, which allows it to be intensely varied and generous. If you don't like anything, it's gone and the next thing is along. But some you will wish were 10 minutes epics - The Book of Love and Busby Berkeley Dreams spring to mind...
I get not looking twee but I don't get all the negative reviews from people who never listened to it. With a list this dense, you're going to get overly ambitious twee albums that are more concept than content. I've listened to this a few times in my life and it is a slog to get through. There's a few songs I actually like and listen to on their own but this album, I feel, is mostly remembered for it's length. Had this been just a 45 minute album called love songs, it would've vanished into the twee ether. It's not all that bad, just mostly unmemorable songs.
A lot of songs, some of them are okay
Not my style of music
A 3 Hour Album that lives up to the title, but shouldn't. It's an interesting concept but it would have been better to have written all these songs & edited down to 10 good ones.
J'aime bien le concept mais trop long là
Too long
Wow, glad I found this band because of this app. They really meant “69 songs”. Three albums but really good albums
do you know what? good for you. great concept. but i'm going to keep it a stack, there's a reason why albums are usually 8 - 12 tracks. most of this was garbage and I only listened to half of it.
consistently good, but i definitely won't be coming back to this
I listened to the whole thing and I thought it was awesome. I was dubious about the length, but found it very easy, and weirdly familiar, basically a fusion of well known songs from the last 80 years through the genres of folk, pop, electro etc…I heard Jonny Cash, Pulp Fiction, Paul Simon, Bonzo Dog Doo Dar Band, Belle and Sebastian, Pet Shop Boys,… So much more, I can’t even place. A great piece of work, although the comedy did make me feel a bit trolled when ever I started feeling sentimental or enjoy the tunes
Some of the more synth oriented songs were interesting, and most of the more folk-y tunes were charming. I liked it.
In a 3 hour album there will no doubt be some good tracks worth remembering, but the rest landed without sticking.
That was surprisingly really really good. I knew about this album being on here because I always see people saying they are dreading it or that they might skip it so thought this was going to be harder then it is. I also thought that the fact there was so many songs it was going to be either cheesy or really simple formatted songs and it was neither. For better or for worse most songs sounded different and although there were some songs that could've done with not being on here (I Shatter), most of it was great. I usually listen to music while working and this was almost perfect I didn't have to look at my spotify once I just could listen to it and do all my work and it was a great soundtrack. Loved the vocals the guy sounded like late 70's early 80's Jangle Pop like the Monochrome set. Don't feel there was enough of the girl but when she was in it was very good. No song blew me away and I actually think the fact it was so long saved it because if this was just 10 or so songs it would feel quite lacklusterd and not as special as it is. I feel like of they had decided to be a bit more standard and make 5 or so proper pop indie hits that carried the down parts this would be amazing. Also no idea why the weirder slower songs are at the end when lots of people would want to give up that disappointed me slightly. But overall was really fun I can see myself putting it on again and I could write so much more but I feel nerdy enough writing this much. Good 4/5. Stand Out Songs, hard to limit to 3: I Don't Want to Get Over You I Think I Need a New Heart Sweet-Lovin' Man All in the first half sadly, second half had some contenders but whether it was fatigue or not they didn't stick out as much
Oh quite literally 69 love songs. 3 hours long, first few songs sound wanky. There are probably some good tracks on here but I don't have the time and an principle this gets a 1
Quite a fun experiment. Listened to this throughout the day at work and was never tearing my hair out which is an achievement for an almost three hour album I had no prior investment in. I'd say about 6 or 7 of the tracks really stood out to me - not the best hit rate but most I had no issue with, only a few clunkers. I don't think I'll be running this thing often but will definitely come back to those few tracks, and I think the concept is quite fun. Three and a half. Fave track: Papa Was a Rodeo
Simple instrumentals, compelling. Was drawn in the more I listened.
Got through more than half. What a project! More spoof of live songs than love songs. Plenty of clever lyricism and well written songs.
Really long so didn't finish listening in one sitting but great album!
I was terrified when I saw this album was actually 69 songs long, that this album would be boring and gimmicky. But I could not have been more wrong. The stylistic versatility and genre diversity really make this a compelling album. No song feels out of place, and it doesn't feel bloated despite its nearly 3 hour run time. I absolutely loved every song
This feels like XTC would have been if instead of the Beatles the band worshipped more at the altar of Leonard Cohen or the Pogues. 1 album of this would be good to listen to at a time. 3 albums' worth? All at once? That's asking a lot. By the 3rd disc I had pretty much tuned out and it had started to sound very dreary. I knew the Book of Love with Merritt's, but I did not connect that it was on this. Nice to hear the original version. I would have liked these more if I listened to each disk separately. Release them as separate volumes, maybe. It's just way too much in one sitting. Top tracks: "The Book Of Love," "Nothing Matters When We're Dancing," "The Things We Did And Didn't Do," "You're My Only Home"
Feels a little pretentious to put out a 3-disc album just because the lead (Stephin Merritt) thinks he is a good writer. They could've stopped after disc one, which wasn't bad - some bad moments (Punk Love) but also some good moments (A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off). Disc two got off to a terrible start (Love is Like Jazz at song two - what was that?) but it had some good moments (When My Boy Walks Down the Street, Papa Was a Rodeo). Disc three was more of the same. I most preferred when their pianist/drummer Claudia Gonson sung (Acoustic Guitar was a particularly notable vocal performance by her). Shirley Simms was also great on Come Back From San Francisco. Not that Merritt's vocals are bad - sort of a cross between Nick Cave and Matt Berninger (The National). Sometimes it worked really well (I Don't Believe in the Sun, The Book of Love, The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure) and sometimes it didn't (Promises of Eternity). In the end, did I need 3 discs and 69 songs? Probably not, but it wasn't the worst 3 hour experience I've ever had.
Too long
Woah, this is some Kanye level shit.
How do you digest this entire album and the try to write a synopsis 69 songs 3 hours of music. It's untenable. Impossible for me anyway to sit down and listen to the whole album with the attention a review deserves so I won't even try. My strategy put it on in the background while working on my computer and hopefully on occasion it grabs me and demands my attention. Which it did quite often. Now I am pre disposed to like the album and the music that is created because of its Indie Rock aesthetic. So quite a few of the songs did grab my attention in a positive manner and nothing stood out in a negative way so, wow! I mean 3 hours of short concise pop songs and nothing that offends my sensibilities. Now that's saying something. Of course not everything is successful but there's enough hear to warrant a very positive rating. 4 stars
Ah, it's finally here! I spied this coming up a few months back and already knew about it but hadn't heard it. Then Spotify kept chucking Epitaph of My Heart at me which I found curiously lovely. So, I've been listening to it in stages over the last few weeks. Don't think I would ever listen to it from start to finish in the way I absolutely would with Mellon Collie (although that's a whole hour shorter), however there is so much to adore here. Not love, adore. Yes there's the odd bit of filler or rather, throwaway stuff and short songs, but there's always a little bit of magic. I love this deep voice, sounds like mine when I've got a cold, or just had too much to shout the night before at a gig or the football. Strongly reminds me of David Berman, and musically similar to some of his last record Purple Mountains (which has a strong claim to be included in the book, but they did put one Silver Jews record in so that's okay). Also love the variety broken up by different singing voices and musical styles, is it two different blokes and a woman at times? There's no denying this was a ridiculously ambitious project, is it still pretentious if you actually pull it off? I love so very much of this. In 2017, the Magnetic Fields did it again with a 5-disc, 50 Song Memoir, one for every year of the main guy's life, presumably. There's probably 9 or so tracks here I don't care much for, but it's still getting top marks for the sheer audacity of it. These guys are playing this over two nights at the Albert hall in town over the summer and I'm sorely tempted to go to at least one night. The tickets are expensive though. Faves - Epitaph, book of love, Rabbits, I Don't Want to get over you, the One You Really Love, World Love, My Only Friend, Promises Eternity, How to Say Goodbye, Busby Berkeley Dreams, I'm Sorry I Love You, Acoustic Guitar, Death of Ferdinand
amazing queer love songs, all 3 volumes are a must listen.
What a ride. I've been mentally preparing myself for getting this album since the first couple hundred albums knowing that it's the longest album on the list by far and it's essentially a rite of passage for completing this list. Going into it I was expecting an uneven experience with a couple bangers and a ton of shitty songs that make whole sections drag, but I was immensely pleased to find that all 3 hours were pretty good. Of course there were still some points here and there that felt like filler but overall every song was well written and had some characteristic that set it apart in some way. I think disc one was my favorite followed by disc three and while there are a plethora of songs I liked, all my little words, fido your leash is too long, and experimental music love were the most memorable. I'm sure there's a song that fits every romantic and tragic mood possible.
To be fair, it is really hard to grade this without multiple listens. this is an eclectic and diverse group of songs and it is long......really long. That being said, it is mostly enjoyable so I would put this between 3-4 stars. 3 for length and the songs I don't like and 4 for the musicianship and the songs I do like. I plan to revisit this several more times but on first listen the song that stands out the most to me is, "No One Will Ever Love You".
Some real quality in there, but some dross as well. The edited version would be 👌🏻
Yeah sorry. I ain't listening to 3 hours of this.
What the fuck is this shit? Not listening to a 69 song album that has a big 69 as the cover. Fuck that 0/10
Too long.
i don’t have time to listen to 69 songs
I liked that each song told a story, but I wasn't a fan of the stories they told.
I had to do a double take - 69 tracks - yep, count them, 69 tracks! Naturally, listening to a project of that magnitude is a big investment of time for me as a listener. Anyway I did sample the tracks, and the final verdict is this is a fairly decent collection of indie-folk tracks. The music and lyrics are playful and quirky, but the main lead vocalist is probably a bit to dour to successfully carry the project (the other vocalists brought much needed relief). For the sheer effort of writing and recording 69 songs I would feel a bit mean giving anything less than 4 stars, even though my actual enjoyment was mixed.
Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. They probably would have been better making 10 good songs rather than 69 meh songs. They have created a talking point but thats it.
Before Spotify was a thing these guys nailed the 'slightly mediocre love songs' playlist. The better moments were well hidden in the massive amounts of self-indulgent nonsense but I'm still not sure there's a decent album's worth hiding in here
It took me about a month to listen to. In small chunks it was fine. Individually the tracks can be great and there are some stand out tracks. But it was WAAAAAAYY TOOO LOOONG. I guess the finish helped them get attention, and considering that it was about 4 albums long the quality is remarkable. But I just didn't want to listen to 4 albums of this stuff back to back. 4 stars with one removed because of the length.
When it says 69 Love Songs on the tin, I wasn't expecting literally 2 hours 45 minutes worth of songs. To give a reasonable review of this album it'd need to be listened to in a few instalments, which I doubt I'd want to put the effort in for. From the initial one-off listen, it's an alright 3-side album, giving me Lou Reed vibes, quite humorous in places, tiresome in others, nothing I disliked, but equally who would love a chicken with its head cut off? 2.5
Some great songs, but far far too long
Muy extenso. No es demasiado de mi agrado.
Se deja escuchar.
This felt like the worst kind of homework. Cute at times, with some variety, but a slog. Like others have mentioned, they should have focused their attention on 10-12 really good ones instead of 69 mediocre ones. 2/5
I just can’t. 3 hours is too much, and I don’t love “indie” music in the best of times. It wasn’t awful, there were some toe tappers, but it’s just too much.
I can appreciate the ambition and commitment to the bit. I did not like one song on this album though
ура осилила один раз и СРАЗУ узнала первую песню когда пошёл на второй. в среднем есть интересные идеи и музыка, но вокал совсем не для меня, это какой-то Том Петти / Леонард Коэн уровень завывания
That’s a lot of love songs. Some are pretty clever.
If you consider it a big irnonic shitpost it's pretty entertaining I guess.
yoshi's island
This wasn't it. Far too long to have any sort of rhythm or flow. Even if there were some songs that weren't bad they got lost in the slog that was this album. I do not plan on ever touching this album again. If the 3 disc's were all individual albums, I might have rated them higher but all together its a mess.
This album was so bad. If someone played this to me at a date I'd simply walk out. Possibly in contention for the worst jazz song in history. That bunny song was just straight weird ass hell. It's so full of itself while holding almost no genuine feelings of romance. It felt like a project the artist took on cause it sounded good on paper, but didn't stop to think about the end product. Who the hell wants to listen to 3 hours of this crap and how the hell did it make this list. 👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎
Realistically I will not be listening to all 3 hours of this.
this is too many love songs
Some of this is good. Some of this is bad. But it's 3 hours long. Sorry
I like the Magnetic Fields, but I’m more a fan of their synth stuff. And 69 songs? Ehhh…
- Me after 5 minutes: "Some interesting stuff here." Me after 30 minutes: "Okay...I am done." Me after 60 minutes: "40 songs left to go?" Me after 65 minutes: "How are there now 42 songs left to go?" - A concept album is, by nature, always going to be a bit "much." But this just felt so self-indulgent, too. I was forcing myself to get through it. Cut this baby down to 45 minutes and you could have an amazing album. Instead it felt cloying and too clever for its own good. - One of the first times I have been turned off by the addition of synth.
Done. I listened to the 69 love songs The Magnetic Fields put together for this album. However, I am as full of nostalgia as of wonders. Would 40 songs be enough? Who inspired Experimental Music Love? Did they record this album for their audience or themselves? Whatever the answers, I think we are better in a world where this album exists than in one where it does not.
I’m not going to listen to this entire album out of principle. Very few artists will earn my attention for three discs, and a sub-par, boredom-inducing caterwauler is not going to make the cut. Two stars.
Ja wirklich - auf dem Album sind 69 (!) mit Songs über alle Facetten der Liebe in einem Opus mit fast 3 Std. Länge. Dieses Album aus 1999 ist durch Country und Folk Sounds geprägt integriert aber auch andere Stile insbesondere Synthesizer Elemente und verschieden Stimmen und Gesangrichtungen. Meine Highlights sind „I Need A New Heart“, „The Book Of Love“ & „ Papa Was A Rodeo“. Das Konzeptalbum wird zwar zum Ende etwas langatmig, was aber auch an dem Feuerwerk der vielen meist kurzen Songs liegen kann, die den Hörer beim ersten Hören ermüden - deswegen auf jeden Fall nochmal wiederholen .. spätesten beim nächsten Valentin.
Говно.
I was surprised at how well they pull this album off, considering the ridiculous ambition behind it. The album is cohesive and it flows through moods in an interesting way. Very impressive and I was skeptical.
All of your reviews saying that you’re not going to bother to listen to an album this long sound like Philistines whining about about how the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is too big. I got so mad reading your half-literate tossed off dismissals of an album that is foundational to the vast majority of indie music made in the last 25 years and I started to say that anyone who doesn’t bother to listen to this masterpiece and recognize its greatness should just quit this project now. I was big mad for a minute there. But then an intense feeling of peace came over me. I realized I don’t have to tell you to quit this project. You will do that on your own. You don’t have the passion to finish doing something like this, or to finish anything really. You will continue to live in your sad boring apartment by yourself, or with a series of partners who you don’t care that much for and who don’t care much for you, for the next few decades, playing video games and looking at the internet, and then you will die and the world will move on without much of a fuss. You will have never had the courage to love or be loved, you will never have felt deeply enough to affect the world or anyone in it. You will be utterly forgotten before your body is cold. You are not worthy of being upset with because you don’t really exist. I wish I could give this album a million stars. Yes, it’s a giant sprawling mess that veers from sublime and too perfect for this world to absurd and maudlin and unbearable. Because that’s love. But you wouldn’t know anything about that.
I love the variety of this album. Good listening.
69 songs on 1 album? Must be grindcore. It isn't? Pas.
I was extremely disappointed that I had to listen to almost 3 hours of this album, which consists of 3 disks. It wasn't THAT bad, but would've enjoyed it just as much if it was only 15 minutes long. Kinda chill, it's nice that the songs were relatively short. Definitely very weird at times, and although I was going to rate it 1 star, it kind of made me not hate it too much after bonding with the album for almost 3 hours...
Ok
This is bad and long! Could not do the entire 3 hours.
so long! some cool weird shit in there
I never heard of them. So far I really like the first 3 songs and looking forward to hearing the rest.
I enjoy the Magnetic Fields but in small doses. Merritt's voice becomes fatiguing after several songs. I have a dozen songs on various playlists, at least 3 from this album with "I Think I need a New Heart" my favorite song by them. So this is so hard to rate, there is a 5 star album in here but there is also a 2 star one as well. 3.5 but I'll go to 4 for the insane effort of creating so many songs.
I really love that this was even attempted. And a triple album gets a pass for being so ambitious. But there’s 1 outstanding record, maybe an excellent double record worth of songs here. But hell, I’ll go 5 because it’s 3 records of interesting, quirky, lovely, fun songs.
As weird and wonderful as I remember it. It's hard to judge an album that is such a mix of styles and genres. For every 10 songs, I loved one and skipped one. I've giving it 5 stars for just being so ambitious.
Such a hard album to rate. Because it could've been a really good to great album. Seriously, there's at least one 5 star album on here. Catchy songs in tons of different styles, all about one topic, and with a good use of guests vocalists. Lots of good stuff here. But for the love of god, learn to edit. A single album, less than an hour, would've been perfect. There are that many good songs. But there is also way too many songs that aren't good and the entire experience becomes tedious. It's pure self-indulgence to think that you have enough to say to fill out a triple album (and each one of those 3 discs are long.) 3 stars. Average out the good and the bad.
I'm going to give this a 2.5 rounded up to 3... I don't hate it, but it definitely seems like quantity over quality. It's impressive from that aspect. But from an album I need to listen to perspective? I don't know... I'm just more of a fan of a 35-45 minute album, generally. I think a big part of this kind of thing, is the more time you spend with it, the more it grows on you. So for a 3 hour album, in order to finish it, you have to spend a lot of time with it.