Lyric discussion by DrRoy 

Cover art for The Electric Version lyrics by New Pornographers, The

I think it has to do with music. There are magnets in headphones/earbuds, so to me that's what "streaming out of the magnets" means. Said magnets could also belong to a cell phone. To me it has to do, at least partially, with the feeling you get when you hear a great rock song you haven't heard in a while, even if just in passing ("twelve whole seconds").