Stream: Stephin Merritt's (Magnetic Fields) New "Obscurities" Collection

Via Seattle Scenester

Magnetic Fields mastermind and indie icon Stephin Merritt no doubt has a ton of cool material in his possession, and he's set to unleash a bunch more of it on August 23 when Merge releases his latest collection, Obscurities. That's exactly a week from now, but in case you can't wait our friend The Backstage Rider has tipped us to a full album stream at Paste Magazine posted as of this afternoon.

The collection consists of 14 rare and... wait for it... obscure tracks that Merritt created just prior to the sprawling 1999 Magnetic Fields' classic 69 Love Songs. Five of these tracks were previously unreleased (and three of these were from Song From Venus, his sci-fi musical), while “The Sun and the Sea and the Sky” is an outtake from 69 Love Songs itself.

Check it out in full over at Paste, along with Merritt's own track-by-track description. And as long as we're getting obscure, check out this surprisingly kickass cover of "Take Ecstasy With Me" that I've been a fan of for awhile by dance-punk band !!! (Chk Chk Chk) below the jump.