Y las eliminadas son...
Con 12 votos:
2. 23 I SHATTER
"In the 69 Love Songs booklet, Stephin Merritt says, "I wanted to make a cello solo out of an electropop song. Also, I've been trying to do a two-note melody for a long time, and how better to do that than over a three-note cello loop".
Stephin Merritt's vocal is heavily treated, accentuating it's natural lugubriousness.
LD Beghtol writes:
Another super fun one to sing live because the backing vocals are so tricky â and it's really hard to sing without any inflection or emotion at all, unless you're a German new-waver at heart⦠oh, wait, we all are!"
3.11 EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC LOVE
"This is the track that led to critics citing Steve Reich (1936-) as an influence for the surface similarity to Reich's early tape loop pieces. However, Stephin Merritt explains in the 69 Love Songs booklet that the technique behind the piece is not identical to Reich's. Another reference point is Alvin Lucier (1931-).
LD Beghtol writes:
Infinite delay madness. We tried singing this live at the 1999 Knitting factory release show, with everyone onstage singing it in a 1-beat delay round⦠but chaos (the bad kind) ensued. Thenceforth we just played the tape⦠"
Con 11 votos:
2.2 LOVE IS LIKE JAZZ
"'You make it up as you go along'
When performing Love Is Like Jazz, musicians are apparently asked to play their own improvisations, following certain rules, independently of each other. This kind of free improvisation typifies the avant garde fringes of jazz rather than its mainstream.
The song takes on a different character in live performance where the anarchy finds comic theatrical expression. Daniel Handler, in particular, is known for throwing in snippets of Vangelis's Chariots of Fire theme, Peter Gabriel songs, and other motifs suitable to the occasion, on his accordion. "
Con 10 votos:
1.16 PUNK LOVE
"Apparently it is common for Stephin Merritt to speed up vocals after they have been recorded, and the effect of this is particularly apparent in Punk Love.
Yes, it comprises three barre chords.
LD Beghtol adds, "Oh, how I wish Stephin had written/recorded other potential titles we discussed at the time, like 'Heavy Metal Love,' 'Slowcore Love,' 'Bubblegum Love,' etc." "
Con 9 votos:
2.1 ROSES
"The shortest of the 69 songs, performed a cappella by LD Beghtol, who writes:
I sang one take on one track, then immediately sang another on another track on the same tape without listening to the first one.
When Stephin [Merritt] played them back they matched up precisely, since I tend to sing stuff pretty much exactly the same way every time I sing it, once I figure out what to do with a song. So he immediately added heaps o' reverb and mixed it on the spot. All of which took about 15 minutes... DONE! "
Con 8 votos:
3.23 ZEBRA
"Zebra provides the other bookend to 69 Love Songs, complementing Absolutely Cuckoo at the start.
Stephin Merritt has frequently said that he is not a big fan of Cole Porter, but in the 69 Love Songs booklet he acknowledges that Zebra is a parody of Cole Porter.
'We've got so many tchotchkes / we've practically emptied the Louvre'
'Tchotchke' is a Yiddish word, meaning trinket, or knickknack â usually inexpensive, and therefore not the kind of thing you'd usually expect to find in the Louvre, home to one France's most valuable art collections.
Con 7 votos:
3.13 LOVE IS LIKE A BOTTLE OF GIN
"Love Is Like A Bottle Of Gin is in the unusual time signature of 21/8, which gives a lilting emphasis to each line. Having established a rhythm through the metre and repetition in each line ('It does this... / It does that...'), the song breaks the rhythm in the last line with the let-down, 'A bottle of gin is not like love'. "
3.21 STRANGE EYES
"Strange Eyes is in 5/4 time, an unusual time signature. It sounds almost like a bubblegum version of Philip Glass and Robert Wilson's Einstein on the Beach.
Some of the lyrics suggest use of 'automatic writing' or 'cut-up' techniques: for example, 'call me even when you don't / if only from pictures / it having been three years / They follow me in all my dreams'.
These lyrics actually follow the theme of the song, which is the protagonist's ex-lover's eyes. These "strange eyes" call to the protagonist, long after the ex-lover himself has stopped calling (phoning). And they call him from photos, presumably the only remnants of the relationship that ended years earlier. Hence the hard realisation: "Oh God, I'm still in love with you.."
The line "what did they see in me?", refers to the eyes, rather than the ex-lover himself."
Con 6 votos:
1.13 FIDO, YOUR LEASH IS TO LONG
(de ésta no hay dibujo 😞 )
"Partly an exercise in writing lyrics that sound rude, but could technically, if implausibly, be defended if played on daytime radio. Has anyone tried this?".
