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)
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the flowers she sent & the flowers she said she sent
The Magnetic Fields Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With your chihuahua in your hand
Crying on the moving sidewalk
On your way to Disneyland
And the flowers she sent and the flowers she said she sent
Are all equally dead
You don't care anymore, she said
Are all spread on the floor
You don't care about them anymore
I saw you closing your antique shop
With a boa 'round your throat
And you tremble like an ostrich
In your ostrich feather coat
And the flowers she sent and the flowers she said she sent
Are all equally dead
You don't care anymore, she said
And the books she read and the books that she said she read
Are all spread on the floor
You don't care about them anymore
The Magnetic Fields' song The Flowers She Sent and the Flowers She Said She Sent begins with a rather bizarre scene, a woman crying at the airport with her chihuahua in her hand, supposedly on her way to Disneyland. The song then takes a dark turn, as the lyrics become a commentary on a relationship that has soured. The chorus repeats the phrase "the flowers she sent and the flowers she said she sent are all equally dead", suggesting that the singer is no longer interested in the gifts or gestures of their partner.
The second verse paints another odd image, of someone closing their antique shop with a "boa 'round [their] throat". This line could perhaps be taken literally, but more likely it is meant to be symbolic of something suffocating or overwhelming. The ostrich feather coat in the second half of the verse reinforces the theme of ostentatious or impractical display. Again, the chorus repeats, emphasizing the singer's disinterest in their partner's pastimes or aspirations.
Overall, the song is a bleak portrayal of a relationship that has deteriorated to the point of indifference. The use of surreal and absurdist imagery adds to the sense of disconnection and discomfort. The chorus, neatly tying together the flowers and the books, emphasizes the hopelessness of the situation. There is no going back, and nobody seems to care.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw you standing at the airport
I noticed you at the airport
With your chihuahua in your hand
holding your chihuahua while standing
Crying on the moving sidewalk
weeping on the conveyor belt
On your way to Disneyland
en route to visit the theme park
And the flowers she sent and the flowers she said she sent
both the flowers actually sent and mentioned as sent
Are all equally dead
lifeless in the same way
You don't care anymore, she said
you don't give a damn anymore, according to what she said
And the books she read and the books that she said she read
both the books actually read and mentioned as read
Are all spread on the floor
scattered on the ground
You don't care about them anymore
you have no interest in them anymore
I saw you closing your antique shop
I witnessed you shutting down your antique store
With a boa 'round your throat
having a feathered scarf around your neck
And you tremble like an ostrich
and you shake like an ostrich
In your ostrich feather coat
in your coat made of ostrich feathers
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
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