The Magnetic Fields - The Charm of the Highway Strip

Did you see Arcade Fire at the Forum yesterday? Are you seeing them today? While I love them, I really wished I could be there to see the reunion of the Unicorns, one of my favorite bands in high school. Hopefully will have a headlining show from them soon! Anyways, in honor of those shows, I wanted to share a band that inspired many, including Arcade Fire. Have you heard this cover before?

The Magnetic Fields, a staple of DC rock, are known for their tongue-in-cheek lyrics, Stephin Merritt's distinct lo-fi bassey voice, and ability to make a marvelous album about 69 Love Songs. The Charm of the Highway Strip is the 3rd album from the band and contains the song Arcade Fire covered. Put out by indie power house Merge Records, known for releases from She & Him, Neutral Milk Hotel, Caribou, Camera Obscura, and Spoon.

The album itself is an ode to long drives, road side pisses, and look out the window to the seldom seen beauty of nothing around you. The album is rooted in synth-pop sounds and several odes to country music. Opening is the enchanting Lonely Highway reminds you of the sweet relief of getting out of your city. The bitter sweet feeling of long trips is captured in Long Vermont Roads. It's easy to see why the original inspired the video above, but the dark pop of Born on a Train, reminds us that some people just prefer to be moving. I Have the Moon has Merritt belt like a crooner in what can easily be a song to dance to in a wedding, if it weren't for the fact that it's clearly about vampires (maybe a compromise with your die-hard Twilighting fiancée). Two Characters In Search Of A Country Song really pays homage to historical figures, referencing William tell, Jesse James, and Daniel Webster. On the B-Side, you almost have the negative effects of life on the road and the feeling of be worn out after long distances. The dazed and confused feel of Crowd of Drifters opens. Fear of Trains is a country jam that talks about the other side of traveling, and the people we leave behind. The feeling of highway hypnosis is so perfectly described in When The Open Road Is Closing In, even the songs beat and vocal vibrato is pretty hypnotic. Sunset City reminds us that sometimes you fall in love with a place you're traveling too and it can be pretty hard to move on, it also reminds me of Reno or other subsets of the Vegas life. The album closes beautifully on Dust Bowl, an instrumental that would be the perfect fit for a roadside puppet show (hell they can play it as background music to Tinkertown).

If you like a good traveling album, great for road trips or travel by train (I'm being facetious, please don't bring your record player on a road trip), or love vampires, you'll love this album. Available on Amazon for the low price of $17.24 or $10 used on eBay. And if you can get your hands on 69 Love Songs on vinyl, a RSD release, I'll be mighty jealous (hell even the CD sells for $40).