50 Song Memoir (studio album)
by The Magnetic Fields
The Magnetic Fields bestography
50 Song Memoir is ranked 4th best out of 15 albums by The Magnetic Fields on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by The Magnetic Fields is 69 Love Songs which is ranked number 498 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 3,495.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Upcoming concerts
Listen to 50 Song Memoir on YouTube
50 Song Memoir track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
50 Song Memoir rankings
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RockyRaccoon50 Song Memoir collection
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50 Song Memoir ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 91 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 08/22/2025 11:37 |  SomethingSpecial | 1,730 | 82/100 |
| ! | 06/11/2025 17:29 | jon5417 | 4,024 | 68/100 |
| ! | 05/21/2025 02:14 |  EyeKanFly | 8,092 | 65/100 |
| ! | 04/14/2025 07:35 | dukeboxkool | 1,961 | 72/100 |
| ! | 11/15/2024 15:18 | davidleewrong | 2,318 | 81/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 13% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.4/100, a mean average of 73.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.4.
50 Song Memoir favourites
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50 Song Memoir comments
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Having squeezed out sixty-nine love songs for the album of the same name almost two decades ago, Stephin Merritt somehow found the energy to hammer out another ultra-long album this year, this time themed around his fifty years on the planet. Sure it’s not all gold, but I can’t imagine many other artists managing such a feat so well.
Sandrof1969 02/24/2018 10:05 | #209447
All'uscita di questa ultima fatica dei Magnetic Fields pensavo che l'operazione in se fosse un po' stucchevole, spocchiosa e pure un filino pacchiana; considerazione capziosa in verità perché da uno come Stephen Merrit che realizza un disco mastodonte con dentro 69 canzoni d'amore ( una più bella dell'altra… ) ci si può anche aspettare che diciotto anni dopo ne realizzi pure uno appena di poco meno monumentale costituito da cinquanta canzoni, una per ogni anno della sua vita. Si auto celebra, il signor Magnetic Fields, e va bene così, anche perché l'ispirazione, almeno nelle prime due parti delle cinque di cui è composta l'opera, è grosso modo ai livelli di "69 love songs" e il resto è comunque buono, meglio di altre cose pubblicate da Merrit negli ultimi quindici anni. Quasi una sorpresa ritrovarlo così…
this is some magic stuff!
SleepDealer 06/11/2017 12:59 | #192396
While it's definitely a step up from their previous two album releases, this is a decidedly hit-and-miss affair, even compared with 69 Love Songs, which features some of the band's finest moments. The concept works to a degree and it is not a bad album, but probably for fans only.
Disc 1: 7.5/10
Disc 2: 8/10
Disc 3: 7.5/10
Disc 4: 8.5/10
Disc 5: 8/10
50 Song Memoir: 7.9/10
johnner 03/08/2017 23:29 | #187158
It's true, it's Merritt's best since '69 Love Songs' with some monster, killer songs on offer that easily rank as his best - even if it includes some of his oddest arrangements to date. There is one big difference though, where '69 Love Songs' favoured a more spartan instrumentation 'Memoir' is a hell of a lot more colourful, even at times psychedelic befitting his familial background. Even so, he still finds room for the kind of piano-led compositions last seen on '69' or 'i'. Whatever, he's on top form here and this is gonna be glued to my stereo for a long, long time.
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