There's a good chance you or someone you know has borrowed a line or two from 69 Love Songs, the beloved, three-volume album released by The Magnetic Fields in 1999. Lyrics from frontman Stephin Merritt's often comical and affecting opus to dating and romance have wound up in everything from film and TV shows to love letters and marriage vows. Now on tour for the album's 25th anniversary, the band stopped by the Desk to share more than a half-dozen songs from across the collection.
Battling a head cold, Merritt cradled a stuffed animal through the performance (a white cat you can spot sitting on the Desk in a lot of Tiny Desk sets). "I don't actually know whose cat this is," he told the crowd, as he crooned multiple fan favorites, including "The Book of Love," "I Don't Want to Get Over You" and "Come Back from San Francisco."
The band, featuring the complete original lineup, performed without drums and an almost entirely acoustic set, with the exception of Sam Davol's electric cello.
SET LIST
- "Roses"
- "All My Little Words"
- "Reno Dakota"
- "Come Back from San Francisco"
- "I Don't Want to Get Over You"
- "For We Are the King of the Boudoir"
- "Kiss Me Like You Mean It"
- "The Book of Love"
MUSICIANS
- Stephin Merritt: vocals
- Sam Davol: electric cello
- Shirley Simms: ukulele, vocals
- Claudia Gonson: vocals
- John Woo: acoustic guitar
- Chris Ewen: acoustic piano
- Anthony Kaczynski: acoustic guitar, vocals
TINY DESK TEAM
- Producer: Robin Hilton
- Director/Editor: Maia Stern
- Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
- Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
- Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame, Mitra I. Arthur
- Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna
- Photographer: Alanté Serene
- Tiny Desk Team: Ashley Pointer, Hazel Cills
- Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
- Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson
- VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins
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