“With all of Stephin Merritt's cleverness and theatricality, it's easy to forget that the Magnetic Fields started out as an indie pop band. Merritt didn't really establish himself as a widely feted songwriter until 1999's *69 Love Songs*, a far-flung compendium spanning acoustic ballads and skittery electro pop tracks. Merritt continued his conceptual unification streak with 2004's *i*, but that al”
