The Magnetic Fields’ classic 1999 album 69 Love Songs is remembered and hailed as an indie opus for multiple reasons. Most notable among them is the concept for the record: As the title suggests, the album contains 69 songs about love. Novelty aside, though, 69 Love Songs is filled with nearly three hours of high quality indie rock/pop songwriting from Stephin Merritt.
Covering an album of this magnitude isn’t attempted often for obvious reasons, but Pennsylvania label Living Statue Records has decided to organize a full cover album, called You Can Sing Me Anything: A Tribute To 69 Love Songs. The album was put together to benefit No More Dysphoria, which is self-described as “a non-profit organization created with the goal of helping transgender individuals pay for major aspects of their transition.” It took a ton of artists to make this record happen, and the most notable contribution is Illuminati Hotties’ cover of “The Way You Say Good-Night.”
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Illuminati Hotties take the baroque pop original and turn it into a more subdued and light-footed folk track led by vocals and guitar, and also featuring a minimal electronic drum beat, and a wave of synths to close out the track, replacing the swelling strings of the original version.
Listen to Illuminati Hotties’ cover of “The Way You Say Good-Night” above.
You Can Sing Me Anything: A Tribute To 69 Love Songs is out 12/14 via Living Statue Records. Pre-order it here.
