The band was originally formed in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1990 by friends Merritt and (percussionist/pianist/vocalist) Claudia Gonson. While 1991's Distant Plastic Trees and 1992's The Wayward Bus (now most easily available together as a compilation, The Wayward Bus / Distant Plastic Trees) are sung by Susan Anway (b. 1951 - d. 2021), all subsequent albums are principally sung by Merritt himself.
Longtime members include: Gonson, (cellist) Sam Davol, and (banjo player/guitarist) John Woo. Contributors include (but are not limited to) the singers Susan Anway, Dudley Klute, Shirley Simms, and LD Beghtol, and the accordionist/writer Daniel Handler (famous for writing the childrens' books A Series of Unfortunate Events under the alias Lemony Snicket).
Their most popular and best-selling album to date is 69 Love Songs issued on Merge Records as a triple album filled with many fairly short songs that are reminiscent of early Beatles productions.
The album is notable for its employment of many unorthodox musical arrangements and downright impressive quantity of material presented. Instruments used on this album include the ukulele, banjo, accordion, cello, mandolin, piano, flute, xylophone guitars, various percussion instruments, and a standard setup of synths and effects. It features several guest vocalists on several different tracks. The album is a three CD set, released in the US as three separate albums (also available as a boxed set) and in the UK as a triple album.
The album i (2004, Nonesuch Records) continues Merritt's fixation on the concept album, with each of the 14 songs beginning with the letter (and often the pronoun) "I".
The album Distortion, was released through Nonesuch on the 15th January 2008 and introduced noise pop to the array of styles utilized in their music. The album's release was followed by a sold-out U.S. tour starting in February. Additional albums followed in 2010, 2012, 2017, and 2020.
Stephin Merritt is involved in several other musical projects: The 6ths (featuring different guest performers on every track), The Gothic Archies (songs dealing humorously with dark themes) and Future Bible Heroes (with music written by Chris Ewen)
http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/
Is This What They Used to Call Love?
The Magnetic Fields Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've gone as pale as Doris Day
The blue sky's torn assunder
By clouds that warn of thunder
Is this what they used to call love?
Your face surrounds me everywhere
Like a kaleidoscope's nightmare
Is boring as an ocean
Is this what they used to call love?
Well it musn't be
The chicken pox
I've never met a chicken
But whenever I
Get near you dear
My heart starts to sicken
In the 9th circle of this hell
My heart is burning and unwell
What demons like within it
I'll die in one more minute
Is this what they used to call love?
Is this what they used to call love?
The Magnetic Fields's song "Is This What They Used to Call Love" talks about the intense emotions that one goes through when they fall in love. The first line of the song "Feels like December but it's May" sets the tone for the rest of the song, as it describes the sensation of feeling cold and isolated even in the midst of a sunny day. The singer feels as if they are living in a nightmare, that they can't escape from.
The second verse goes on to describe the lover's face being everywhere, which initially seems like a positive attribute, but it quickly becomes overwhelming as it is likened to a kaleidoscope's nightmare. There is too much of their lover, and the emotions being expressed are too extreme. The line "This outpouring of emotion is boring as an ocean" highlights the contrast between the chaos of the feelings and the mundanity of the effect that they have.
The singer questions whether what they are feeling is really love, given how difficult it is to understand and the physical symptoms that they are experiencing. They have never experienced anything that resembled those feelings of pure halcyon happiness, and instead are burdened by anguish and pain. Ultimately, the song ends with the phrase: "Is this what they used to call love?", which demonstrates an acceptance of the emotions being too complex to be easily defined.
Line by Line Meaning
Feels like December but it's May
I feel cold and lonely, even though it's warm and sunny outside.
I've gone as pale as Doris Day
I'm so sad that I look as white as an old Hollywood actress.
The blue sky's torn asunder
The sky is disrupted by dark clouds that foreshadow a storm.
By clouds that warn of thunder
The clouds are a sign of an approaching storm with thunder.
Is this what they used to call love?
This overwhelming feeling of sadness and heartbreak, is this what love is supposed to be?
Your face surrounds me everywhere
I can't escape the memories of you and your face is in everything I see.
Like a kaleidoscope's nightmare
It's like a never-ending, chaotic and confusing dream sequence.
This outpouring of emotion
These intense and overwhelming feelings that I can't control.
Is boring as an ocean
Despite the intensity of my emotions, it all feels monotonous and unchanging.
Well it musn't be
I'm trying to convince myself that it's not an illness or disease causing my heartache.
The chicken pox
I'm using a silly example to try and downplay my sadness.
I've never met a chicken
I'm admitting that the example I used was nonsensical and irrelevant.
But whenever I
Despite my attempts to deny it, I can't help the way I feel.
Get near you dear
When I'm close to you or thinking about you.
My heart starts to sicken
I feel physically ill and my heart aches.
In the 9th circle of this hell
I feel like I'm in the worst possible place or situation, like Dante's Inferno.
My heart is burning and unwell
My heart feels like it's on fire and I'm not well.
What demons like within it
I'm acknowledging that the pain and heartbreak comes from within me.
I'll die in one more minute
The pain is so intense that it feels like I won't be able to survive much longer.
Is this what they used to call love?
This overwhelming pain and heartbreak, is it really what love is supposed to feel like?
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Stephin Raymond Merritt
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind