I (The Magnetic Fields album)

Infobox Album | Name = i
Type = Album
Artist = The Magnetic Fields

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Released = May 4, 2004
Recorded =
Genre = Indie pop
Length = 41:19
Label = Nonesuch Records
79683
Producer = Stephin Merritt
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hq63mpmk9f1o~T1 link]
*"Blender" Rating|4|5 [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2073 link]
*Review-Christgau|B+|album=12395
*"Drowned in Sound" (8/10) [http://www.drownedinsound.com/content/view/9704 5/27/2004]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|3|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/magneticfields/albums/album/5265696/review/6056395/i 5/27/2004]
*"Stylus" (D+) [http://stylusmagazine.com/reviews/the-magnetic-fields/i.htm 5/11/2004]
*"Tiny Mix Tapes" Rating|4|5 [http://www.tinymixtapes.com/The-Magnetic-Fields?var_recherche=Magnetic%20fields link] |Last album = "69 Love Songs"
(1999)
This album = "i"
(2004)
Next album = "Distortion"
(2008)

"i" is the seventh studio album for the New York-based indie pop band, The Magnetic Fields. Several Magnetic Fields albums feature a strong cohesive theme; the songs of "i" are connected by their starting with the letter "i". (In addition, the songs on the album are arranged in alphabetical order, by title, heightening the sense of alphabetic arbitrarity.) As to be expected in a group of songs beginning with this letter, frontman Stephin Merritt's lyrics here contain more personal or first-person narratives than in past albums. This may be an ironic comment on Merritt's centrality within The Magnetic Fields and the larger constellation of his musical projects.

Merritt here ditches many of his past synthpop and electropop influences for an album largely led by guitars and strings.

Track listing

# "I Die" – 2:14
# "I Don't Believe You" – 3:40
# "I Don't Really Love You Anymore" – 2:33
# "I Looked All Over Town" – 2:39
# "I Thought You Were My Boyfriend" – 4:24
# "I Was Born" – 2:01
# "I Wish I Had an Evil Twin" – 3:16
# "If There's Such a Thing as Love" – 2:57
# "I'm Tongue-Tied" – 2:49
# "In an Operetta" – 2:02
# "Infinitely Late at Night" – 2:45
# "Irma" – 2:23
# "Is This What They Used to Call Love" – 3:04
# "It's Only Time" – 4:25

Credits

*Sam Davol - Cello
*Michael English - Logo
*Vincent Giangola - Editing
*Claudia Gonson - Percussion, Piano, Arranger, Drums, Harpsichord, Vocals (bckgr)
*Ravi Krishnaswami - Engineer
*Jeff Lipton - Mastering
*David Merrill - Harpsichord Technician
*Stephin Merritt
*Charles Newman - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
*John Woo - Banjo, Guitar, Sitar (Electric)