Product Description
This is a fully illustrated oral history of the Magnetic Fields' 1999 triple album, "69 Love Songs" - an album that was afforded "classic" status by many almost as soon as it was released. LD Beghtol's book is chatty, incestuous, funny, dark, digressive, sexy, maddening, and delightful in equal measures. It documents a vital and influential scene from the inside, involving ukuleles and tears, citations and footnotes, analogue drum machines, floods of cognac, and a family tree, and, oh, a crossword puzzle too. The centre of the book is the secret history of these tuneful, acerbic, and sometimes heartbreaking songs of old love, new love, lost love, punk rock love, gay love, straight love, experimental music love, true love, blue love, and the utter lack of love that fill the album - as told by participants, fans, imitators, naysayers, and others. It also includes studio anecdotes, a glossary, performance notes from the full album shows in New York and London, rare and unpublished images, personal memorabilia, and much much more.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.5 based on 5 reviews)

Appendix A by Cliff Milledge

5 Stars
February 22, 2008
After I first bought the 69 Love Songs box set, I set aside the first couple weekend mornings to brew a pot of coffee and listen to the set while reading the booklet that came along with the CDs. Consider this little book an Appendix to that booklet. There is still plenty of information to be mined from the lyrics and music of this great band... And it's a good reason to sit down with a pot of coffee and rediscover the box set if you haven't done that in a while.

For the love of god, make him stop! by Oldorchardbeachbum (San Francisco, CA)

1 Stars
March 16, 2007
Far from insightful, this installment of 33 1/3 is an embarrassingly sparse concoction of definitions and song by song "analysis," little of which gives the reader any new insight into 69 Love Songs. The first and lengthiest half of this edition is a lexicon. This would be fine if it were original. The content, however, is not unlike that which can be found on various websites devoted to the band and without having to deal with Beghtol's pseudo-intellectual blathering. Remember Mr. Beghtol, merely posing and spouting off like an intellectual does not an intellectual make. The second half of the book is a song by song reflection from those involved and not so involved with 69 Love Songs. There are some insightful comments found here, however, it lacks any depth as to the process involved in the creation of the album. I would have been much more interested in reading about Stephen Merritt's thought and recording process rather than how the album got someone through a really rough patch in their life. Am I the only one who doesn't care how an album affects others? The last section, considerably shorter than the other two, is an interview with Mr. Merritt. Unlike Daniel Handler's expansive interview for the box set, don't look for any insight here. Silly questions with silly answers. "Spit or swallow?" Brilliant and hilarious. Well, maybe ten years ago. Unlike most of the 33 1/3 series Beghtol's 69 Love Songs installment could have been condensed down into a short pamphlet. That is if you were to take out all the pointless filler and vainglory. For the benefit of all involved, I pray that this will be L.D. Beghtol's final attempt to squeeze whatever juice the 69 Love Songs franchise may still possess. His boorish sensibility and pretentious meanderings are stale. Unlike Stein, Thomson, Cocteau, or his hero O'Conner, Beghtol's attempt at acerbic wit is dull and far from the mark. All in all Beghtol has perfected the art of average with a book that should, no doubt, be considered an embarrassment for the good folks at Continuum.

Not the best in the series by Charles Sikkenga (Grand Haven, MI USA)

2 Stars
February 23, 2007
A little too fragmented and idiosyncratic for the casual listener/reader. The glossary of terms used in 69 Love Songs is fun and informative, but beyond that, its hard to penetrate.

Best 33 1/3 ever! by alexandra k (Brooklyn, New York)

5 Stars
January 04, 2007
Thanks to LD Beghtol, we now have a book to accompany the already expansive boxed set of 69 Love Songs. Split into thirds, the first part being a hilarious lexicon featuring words found throughout 69 Love Songs (with extensive footnotes to boot!). The second part goes song by song with notes (tempo, key, style, things to listen for!), quotes and memories from preformances and recording from the members and noteable friends. The third part includes preformance notes and a sassy interview between the author, Stephin Merritt and a friend. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has a sense of humor, a pulse and good taste in music. A must have for fans of the Magnetic Fields, Stephin Merritt, LD Beghtol and fun.

great book, great subject by Lipperskip (Athens, GA United States)

5 Stars
December 08, 2006
If you're a fan of the Magnetic Fields (and you probably are, since you're reading this), then you should waste no time in picking this book up. Every page sings with the same brilliance as the box set of the same name, making it a worthy addition to Continuum's excellent 33 1/3 series.

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