By 1914, ragtime was considered old-fashioned and a commercial liability. Yet this, Joplin's final rag (he would die two years later of syphilis), seems anything but antiquated. Although Joplin's inspiration had fallen off in his previous few rags, the Magnetic Rag is a fine valedictory statement, an ambitious and optimistic piece with a bit of pensiveness, all packed into about three and a half minutes. A very brief, highly chromatic introduction gives way to an irrepressibly happy tune. The second strain goes into the parallel minor, darkening the proceedings without slackening the pace. Happy days are here again in the third strain, with its wayward melody and harmony. Tension returns in the next section, as the relative minor hints at some silent movie villainy. But the first theme arrives to save the day and the piece ends in high spirits, with Joplin tossing in one more playful episode of find-the-key chromaticism in the little coda.

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