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Stephin Merritt

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Not to be confused with Steve Merritt.

Stephin Merritt
Merritt at Town Hall in NYC, 2024
Merritt at Town Hall in NYC, 2024
Background information
Born (1965-02-09) February 9, 1965 (age 59)
Yonkers, New York, U.S.[1]
Genres
OccupationSinger-songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar, ukulele, keyboards, synthesizers, bouzouki, percussion
Websitehouseoftomorrow.com

Stephin Merritt (born February 9, 1965)[3][4] is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He is known for his distinctive bass voice.[5][6]

Musical projects

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Merritt created and plays principal roles in the bands the Magnetic Fields,[6] the 6ths, the Gothic Archies and Future Bible Heroes.[5] He briefly used the name The Baudelaire Memorial Orchestra as an attribution for "Scream and Run Away", a song written for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, but further music was attributed to the Gothic Archies.[7]

Between 1999 and 2005, he was one-third of the infrequent, live-only ensemble the Three Terrors, with 69 Love Songs's Dudley Klute and LD Beghtol. These performances were themed around French pop music, movie themes (including the title song from Deep Throat), intoxication, and New York City. Kenny Mellman (of Kiki & Herb), Jon DeRosa and others performed with the Three Terrors at these sporadic gala events.[8]

Under his own name, he recorded and released the soundtracks to the films Eban and Charley (2000) and Pieces of April (2003). The soundtrack to the Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete & Pete featured many of his songs.

He and director Chen Shi-Zheng collaborated on three pieces of musical theatre: The Orphan of Zhao (2003), Peach Blossom Fan (2004) and My Life as a Fairy Tale (2005).[9] Selected tracks from these works have been released on Nonesuch Records under the title Showtunes.

Merritt wrote and sang "I'm in a Lonely Way" in a television commercial for Volvo that aired in the summer and fall of 2007. He also performed "The Wheels on the Car". He also penned the music and lyrics for a 2009 Off-Broadway stage musical adaptation of Coraline, a novel by Neil Gaiman. In the MCC Theater production, his music was performed by a piano "orchestra" consisting of a traditional piano, a toy piano and a prepared piano.[10]

He produced a score for the silent film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that was performed at the Castro Theatre, San Francisco on May 4, 2010, as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival.[11]

In 2014, he released his first book, 101 Two-Letter Words. It is a collection of brief poems, one inspired by each of the two-letter words legal in Scrabble.[12]

Musical style

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Merritt has been acclaimed for his lyrics, which have been described as "romantic", "humorous",[13] and "literary",[14] and he has been called an "insightful lyricist"[15] and a "brilliant wordsmith".[16] At other times, writers have emphasized the unhappiness of his lyrics.[17] In September 2005, an interviewer quoted an anonymous reviewer to Bob Mould that Mould was "the most depressed man in rock." Mould's response was "He's never met Stephin Merritt, obviously."[18]

Unlike most singer-songwriters, Merritt rarely writes autobiographical songs[13] and does not consider songwriting to be emotionally expressive but an exercise in craft, carried out for its own pleasure.[19] His albums generally have a lyrical theme; for instance, The Charm of the Highway Strip is imitation country music. He has stated that he finds writing lyrics with constraints easier.[20] Merritt's preferred method of writing songs involves spending several hours sitting in gay bars "one-third full of cranky old gay men gossiping over thumping disco music" with a glass of cognac, which provides him with inspiration for lyrics.

Critics have also praised his tunes and production, calling him a "master melody-writer"[15] and "an arduous studio rat".[16] Some albums also have musical themes: for instance, the Magnetic Fields album Distortion is feedback-rich mix of noise and pop, and it, i, and Realism make a "trilogy" of records without synthesizers. In contrast, their next album, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, used synthesizers extensively. Throughout Merritt's career, he has changed styles frequently, and uses a wide variety of instruments on his records.[20]

He has described ABBA,[17] Stephen Sondheim,[20] and Phil Spector[21] as influences. Merritt has said he is an avid listener of bubblegum pop, listing Ramones, Kraftwerk, Abba, The Troggs as examples of the style.[22] He has expressed a disdain for hip hop and much of contemporary pop, describing the former as responsible for "more vicious caricatures of African-Americans than they had in the 19th century."[23]

Personal life

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Merritt at Cadogan Hall in London, 2008

Growing up, Merritt used different spellings of his name for different purposes.[24] He used "Stephin" to sort his junk mail,[25] and that eventually became the name he used as a musician.[24] He attended Massachusetts high school The Cambridge School of Weston and briefly attended NYU before moving back to Boston. He has worked as an editor for Spin Magazine and Time Out New York.

Prior to 2013, he had never met his biological father, folk singer Scott Fagan,[26] who had a brief affair with Merritt's mother. The three met at a screening of the film AKA Doc Pomus in 2013. Merritt's relationship with his father is described in the song "'99: Fathers in the Clouds", on the Magnetic Fields album 50 Song Memoir.

Merritt has struggled with epilepsy and depression since his youth, and has a hearing condition known as hyperacusis, which he believes is damage sustained from attending an Einstürzende Neubauten concert at Danceteria. Any sound heard louder than normal begins to "feedback" in his left ear at increasingly louder volumes. This has largely influenced the reserved live setup of the Magnetic Fields, which usually consists of acoustic instruments and little to no percussion. Merritt also wears earplugs during performances, and typically covers his left ear when the audience applauds.[27] When touring the 50 Song Memoir album live, which required a more expanded line-up and amplified sound, the band were able to address this issue by building an elaborate set around Merritt which doubles as an isolation booth.

He was the subject of a documentary, Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields, which premiered in March 2010.[28]

Merritt is gay[29] and a vegan, saying, "I ain't eaten an animal since 1983."[30] He has said that he may be on the autism spectrum.[31][32]

Solo discography

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Main article: Stephin Merritt discography

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hunter, James (October 18, 1999). "Unsung East Village Songwriter And His 69 Love Songs". Observer. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  2. ^ "Perfume Genius Put Your Back N 2 It". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  3. ^ United States Copyright Office, Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) [Search by: Name (Merritt, Stephin) – Merritt, Stephin, 1965–]
  4. ^ Hill, Michael (January 30, 2017). "Stephin Merritt Shares the Story Behind the Magnetic Fields' "50 Song Memoir"". Nonesuch Records. Retrieved May 4, 2023. Merritt turned fifty on February 9, 2015.
  5. ^ a b Grow, Kory. "Stephen Merritt: My Life in 15 Songs". Rolling Stone. October 30, 2015. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/stephin-merritt-my-life-in-15-songs-20151030/alien-being-20151023
  6. ^ a b "Stephin Merritt: 50 songs for 50 years". BBC News. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  7. ^ Merritt, Snicket and the 'Tragic Treasury', All Things Considered December 3, 2006
  8. ^ "The Monday Set: The Three Terrors – New York City – 1/26/03". thesoundofindie.com. April 13, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  9. ^ Brantley, Ben. Exploring the Shadows of a Sunny Writer's Nightmare New York Times. July 29, 2005.
  10. ^ "'Coraline' musical comes to life". Variety. May 22, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  11. ^ Khanna, Vish (January 28, 2010). "Exclusive: Stephin Merritt Promises to Return to the Synth on Next Magnetic Fields Album, Scores 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". exclaim.ca.
  12. ^ "The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt Releasing Scrabble Poetry Book". pitchfork.com. March 10, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Stephin Merritt: My Life in 15 Songs". Rolling Stone. October 30, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "Stephin Merritt: The Silent Type". motherjones.com. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  15. ^ a b "50 years, 50 songs: The extraordinary story of Stephin Merritt from The Magnetic Fields' 'whole life' LP". loudandquiet.com. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Stephin Merritt Albums From Worst To Best". stereogum.com. March 13, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Irresistible force". salon.com. May 2004. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  18. ^ Ryan, Kyle (September 21, 2005). "Interview: Bob Mould". The Onion. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  19. ^ "A Thoughtful Interview With Stephin Merritt Of The Magnetic Fields". wbur.org. May 27, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  20. ^ a b c "Stephin Merritt". bombmagazine.org. October 22, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  21. ^ "Stephin Merritt". The A.V. Club. June 4, 1997. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  22. ^ Weisbard, Eric (May 21, 1995). "Recordings View; Bubble Gum With a Punk Attitude". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  23. ^ Carr, David (May 18, 2006). "One Man's Musical Tastes as Fodder for a Flame War". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  24. ^ a b Khanna, Vish (January 22, 2010). "Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields: It's Only Time". Exclaim!.
  25. ^ Gallivan, Joseph (April 14, 2000). "The order of Merritt". The Independent. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015.
  26. ^ "Conversations With Scott Fagan". Archived from the original on August 14, 2018.
  27. ^ "The Magnetic Fields in Concert". Creators at Carnegie. National Public Radio. May 31, 2005. Retrieved August 27, 2005.
  28. ^ "Past Screenings | Strange Powers – Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields". Strangepowersfilm.wordpress.com. January 23, 2010. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  29. ^ Broverman, Neal (February 4, 2010). "Magnetic Fields Stephin Merritt". Advocate.com. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
  30. ^ Bukszpan, David (October 11, 2014). "Well, La Ti Da: Stephin Merritt's Winning Little Words of Scrabble". The Daily Beast.
  31. ^ Farber, Jim (March 3, 2017). "Stephin Merritt Finds 50 Ways to Sing His Life Story". The New York Times. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  32. ^ Needham, Alex (May 26, 2020). "Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields: 'I used to live in a commune where music was forbidden'". The Guardian. Retrieved November 10, 2020.

Further reading

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