Very funny – The Magnetic Fields
It was the shortness of the songs that first attracted me to the Magnetic Fields. Even before i had heard them, just looking at their lengths listed on which ever website lists them, seeing how many songs took up so little space, i knew these had to be some amazing songs. Never mind that 69 Love Songs features predominately songs over two minutes in length (52/69), or that this was nothing new, in the oeuvre of the Magnetic Fields or in music in general, but it seemed so revolutionary and exciting at the time.
I had a dream for it. My hope was music whittled down to an essence, to Wittgenstein or fortune cookie length thoughts, to a perfect musical idea, to only what was needed, purged of unnecessities like verses, choruses, repetition, intros, outros, etc. It’s all music need be. Making the most of every valuable second. I didn’t find it on the album exactly, but boy did i find something. This song is probably the closest example of that hope. Two verses, “Very Funny”. End. Perfect. It’s all music need be.
