The Charm of the Highway Strip

Its title, lyrics and musical styling are a nod to country music, though the songs of Stephin Merritt remain rooted in classic pop and synthesizers. Virtually every song deals with roads and travel, and several songs' lyrics implicitly reference vampires. The title of the album comes from a quote by J. B. Jackson, 1959: "Let us hope that the merits and charm of the highway strip are not so obscure but that they will be accepted by a wider public." This is the group's first full album in which songwriter Merritt also takes lead vocals. He designed the record's cover art, and has stated it is the album of his he is most satisfied with thus far in his career. The track "Crowd of Drifters" initially appeared in 1990, with vocals by former lead vocalist Susan Anway, on the compilation album ''The Marvels Of Insect Life - D.D.V.IV (Doctor Death's Volume IV)'' released by Baker, Louisiana based alternative music label C'est La Morte. == Legacy ==

Arcade Fire covered "Born on a Train" during a live performance on the KCRW program Morning Becomes Eclectic. Lush covered "I Have the Moon" as a B-side on their 1996 single "500 (Shake Baby Shake)". The song was also included on the B-sides collection Topolino and on the Chorus box set. The song "Dust Bowl" was used during an episode of the television series version of This American Life ("Pandora's Box"). Indie rock band Country Westerns included a cover of "Two Characters in Search of a Country Song" as the final track on their self-titled debut album. ==Track listing==

All songs written by Stephin Merritt. ==Personnel==

The Magnetic Fields • Stephin Merritt – vocals, instrumentation • Claudia Gonson – management • Sam Davol – cello == References ==