Album · The Magnetic Fields
69 Love Songs, Volume 1 by The Magnetic Fields
69 Love Songs, Volume 1 is an album by The Magnetic Fields, released in 1999. 2 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 6 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “The Book of Love”, on 4 lists with a best position of #467.
The first of three volumes, 69 Love Songs, Volume 1 opens the Magnetic Fields' sixth studio album, the sprawling concept piece Merge Records put out on September 7, 1999, and the title is no gag, or not only one: 69 love songs in all, every one written by the band's founder and ringleader, Stephin Merritt.
Merritt writes, produces, sings and plays a good share of the instruments, and across these songs he treats the love song as a form to be taken apart and put back together: tender one minute, arch the next, indie pop run through a songbook sensibility and a very dry sense of humor. "The Book of Love" is the plainspoken, heart-on-sleeve standout, and "I Think I Need a New Heart" rewards a wry smile. The whole set remains the band's best-known work. Next came i in 2004, the first of a "no-synth" trilogy.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from 69 Love Songs, Volume 1 on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Book of Love | 4 | #467 | – | 2022–2025 | |
| 2 | I Think I Need a New Heart | 2 | #402 | – | 2019–2022 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.