50 Song Memoir
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| 50 Song Memoir | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 10, 2017 | |||
| Genre | Indie pop | |||
| Length | 150:51 | |||
| Label | Nonesuch | |||
| Producer | Stephin Merritt Thomas Bartlett Charles Newman | |||
| The Magnetic Fields chronology | ||||
| ||||
50 Song Memoir is the eleventh studio album by American indie pop band the Magnetic Fields, released on March 10, 2017. 50 Song Memoir is an autobiographical concept album that chronicles the first 50 years of lyricist Stephin Merritt's life, with one song for each year that he has lived.[1]
The album was produced by Merritt with additional production by Thomas Bartlett and Charles Newman.[2] Merritt sings on all fifty tracks.
Tour
The fully staged live shows in support of 50 Song Memoir were directed by José Zayas[3] with an expanded Magnetic Fields lineup that included three additional musicians for the tour for a total of seven musicians, each playing a different instrument. On the tour the band played the entirety of 50 Song Memoir in two halves across two nights at each venue.[4]
Release
50 Song Memoir is available in five-L.P. and five-C.D. editions that include an interview by Daniel Handler and facsimile handwritten lyrics by Stephin Merritt, and as a bound book.[citation needed]
Reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 8.2/10[5] |
| Metacritic | 86/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [7] |
| The A.V. Club | A−[8] |
| The Guardian | [9] |
| The Independent | [10] |
| Mojo | [11] |
| The Observer | [12] |
| Pitchfork | 7.4/10[13] |
| Q | [14] |
| Uncut | 9/10[15] |
| Vice | A−[16] |
Upon release, the album received near universal acclaim, with the average critical score being an 86 out of 100 according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[6]
Accolades
| Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Independent | The 20 Most Underrated Albums Ever | 2024 | 7 |
|
| Uncut | Albums of the Year | 2017 | 67 |
Track listing
All tracks are written by Stephin Merritt.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "'66 Wonder Where I'm From" | 2:44 |
| 2. | "'67 Come Back as a Cockroach" | 2:34 |
| 3. | "'68 A Cat Called Dionysus" | 2:46 |
| 4. | "'69 Judy Garland" | 3:17 |
| 5. | "'70 They're Killing Children Over There" | 2:36 |
| 6. | "'71 I Think I'll Make Another World" | 2:57 |
| 7. | "'72 Eye Contact" | 2:55 |
| 8. | "'73 It Could Have Been Paradise" | 3:07 |
| 9. | "'74 No" | 2:57 |
| 10. | "'75 My Mama Ain't" | 3:01 |
| Total length: | 28:54 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "'76 Hustle 76" | 3:16 |
| 2. | "'77 Life Ain't All Bad" | 4:16 |
| 3. | "'78 The Blizzard of ’78" | 3:15 |
| 4. | "'79 Rock'n'Roll Will Ruin Your Life" | 2:58 |
| 5. | "'80 London by Jetpack" | 2:58 |
| 6. | "'81 How to Play the Synthesizer" | 3:06 |
| 7. | "'82 Happy Beeping" | 3:10 |
| 8. | "'83 Foxx and I" | 2:43 |
| 9. | "'84 Danceteria!" | 3:09 |
| 10. | "'85 Why I Am Not a Teenager" | 3:07 |
| Total length: | 31:48 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "'86 How I Failed Ethics" | 2:58 |
| 2. | "'87 At the Pyramid" | 3:10 |
| 3. | "'88 Ethan Frome" | 2:24 |
| 4. | "'89 The 1989 Musical Marching Zoo" | 3:06 |
| 5. | "'90 Dreaming in Tetris" | 3:21 |
| 6. | "'91 The Day I Finally..." | 2:20 |
| 7. | "'92 Weird Diseases" | 3:10 |
| 8. | "'93 Me and Fred and Dave and Ted" | 3:08 |
| 9. | "'94 Haven't Got a Penny" | 2:53 |
| 10. | "'95 A Serious Mistake" | 3:13 |
| Total length: | 29:43 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "'96 I'm Sad!" | 2:12 |
| 2. | "'97 Eurodisco Trio" | 3:15 |
| 3. | "'98 Lovers' Lies" | 3:06 |
| 4. | "'99 Fathers in the Clouds" | 2:52 |
| 5. | "'00 Ghosts of the Marathon Dancers" | 3:05 |
| 6. | "'01 Have You Seen It in the Snow?" | 2:51 |
| 7. | "'02 Be True to Your Bar" | 3:34 |
| 8. | "'03 The Ex and I" | 2:59 |
| 9. | "'04 Cold-Blooded Man" | 3:06 |
| 10. | "'05 Never Again" | 3:19 |
| Total length: | 30:19 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "'06 "Quotes"" | 2:17 |
| 2. | "'07 In the Snow White Cottages" | 2:52 |
| 3. | "'08 Surfin'" | 2:47 |
| 4. | "'09 Till You Come Back to Me" | 2:29 |
| 5. | "'10 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" | 3:03 |
| 6. | "'11 Stupid Tears" | 2:45 |
| 7. | "'12 You Can Never Go Back to New York" | 3:12 |
| 8. | "'13 Big Enough for Both of Us" | 3:04 |
| 9. | "'14 I Wish I Had Pictures" | 3:07 |
| 10. | "'15 Somebody's Fetish" | 3:45 |
| Total length: | 29:21 | |
