Among fans, a new album by The Magnetic Fields is a moment for celebration and scrutiny: What restrictions has Stephin Merritt placed on his songwriting and recording this time, and how have they tweaked his carefully-made songs into new shapes? On 50 Song Memoir, the rules are as esoteric as ever (no more than seven instruments per song, no instrument used more than seven times across the album), but in using his own life as raw material, Merritt gives close listeners something new. This story weaves together the events of a life dedicated to music (one song for each of his 50 years) with the skills and perspective honed by that dedication.

We're doing something special with 50 Song Memoir: Each day this week, we'll premiere one of its five discs. Today, you can hear disc one, which covers 1966 through 1975: Merritt's first ten years, from conception through his early musical and religious epiphanies. Come back tomorrow for more. (In the '80s, Merritt discovers synths.)

As part of MPR's 50th anniversary celebration, Stephin Merritt will sing every single song on his 50-song memoir across two nights at the Fitzgerald Theater, April 22 and 23.

NPR Music has also published an essay by Barry Walters that covers the entire album.

Disc One: Track List

1. '66: Wonder Where I'm From
2. '67: Come Back as a Cockroach
3. '68: A Cat Called Dionysus
4. '69: Judy Garland
5: '70: They're Killing Children Over There
6. '71: Think I'll Make Another World
7. '72: Eye Contact
8. '73: It Could Have Been Paradise
9. '74: No
10. '75: My Mama Ain't

Disc Two: Track List

1. '76: Hustle '76
2. '77: Life Ain't All Bad
3. '78: The Blizzard of '78
4. '79: Rock'n'Roll Will Ruin Your Life
5. '80: London by Jetpack
6. '81: How to Play the Synthesizer
7. '82: Happy Beeping
8. '83: Foxx and I
9. '84: Danceteria!
10. '85: Why I Am Not a Teenager

Disc Three: Track List

1. '86: How I Failed Ethics
2. '87: At The Pyramid
3. '88: Ethan Frome
4. '89: The 1989 Musical Marching Zoo
5. '90: Dreaming in Tetris
6. '91: The Day I Finally…
7. '92: Weird Diseases
8. '93: Me and Fred and Dave and Ted
9. '94: Haven't Got a Penny
10. '95: A Serious Mistake

Disc Four: Track List

1. '96: I'm Sad!
2. '97: Eurodisco Trio
3. '98: Lovers' Lies
4. '99: Fathers in the Clouds
5. '00: Ghosts of the Marathon Dancers
6. '01: Have You Seen It in the Snow?
7. '02: Be True to Your Bar
8. '03: The Ex and I
9. '04: Cold-Blooded Man
10. '05: Never Again

Disc Five: Track List

1. '06: Quotes
2. '07: In the Snow White Cottages
3. '08: Surfin'
4. '09: Till You Come Back to Me
5. '10: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
6. '11: Stupid Tears
7. '12: You Can Never Go Back to New York
8. '13: Big Enough for Both of Us
9. '14: I Wish I Had Pictures
10. '15: Somebody's Fetish

Copyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Resources

Stephin Merritt - official site

The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir - live at the Fitz

Related

• The Magnetic Fields: 50 Song Memoir