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== Musical projects ==
== Musical projects ==
{{prose|section|date=February 2011}}
{{refimproveBLP|date=February 2011|section}}
{{refimproveBLP|date=February 2011|section}}
He created and played principal roles in the bands, [[The Magnetic Fields]], [[The 6ths]], [[The Gothic Archies]], & [[Future Bible Heroes]].<ref name="nytimes" ]>Berlind, William, [[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01E5D81E3FF937A15751C0A9649C8B63 ''The Stephin Merritt Standard''], ''New York Times'', February 24 2002.</ref>
He created and played principal roles in the following bands:


⚫
He briefly used the name ''The Baudelaire Memorial Orchestra'' as an attribution for a song written for [[Lemony Snicket]]'s ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'', entitled "Scream and Run Away". Further music was recorded for the audiobook versions of the series and is attributed to The Gothic Archies. ''[[The Tragic Treasury]]'' was released by [[Nonesuch Records]] in October 2006 along with the 13th and final book of the series.<ref name="npr">[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6493324 Merritt, Snicket and the 'Tragic Treasury'], ''All Things Considered'' December 3, 2006</ref>
*[[The Magnetic Fields]]
*[[The 6ths]]
*[[The Gothic Archies]]
*[[Future Bible Heroes]]

⚫
He briefly used the name ''The Baudelaire Memorial Orchestra'' as an attribution for a song written for [[Lemony Snicket]]'s ''[[A Series of Unfortunate Events]]'', entitled "Scream and Run Away". Further music was recorded for the audiobook versions of the series and is attributed to The Gothic Archies. ''[[The Tragic Treasury]]'' was released by [[Nonesuch Records]] in October 2006 along with the 13th and final book of the series.


Under his own name, he recorded and released the soundtracks to the films ''[[Eban and Charley]]'' and ''[[Pieces of April]]''. The soundtrack to the [[Nickelodeon (TV channel)|Nickelodeon]] show ''[[The Adventures of Pete & Pete]]'' featured many of his songs.
Under his own name, he recorded and released the soundtracks to the films ''[[Eban and Charley]]'' and ''[[Pieces of April]]''. The soundtrack to the [[Nickelodeon (TV channel)|Nickelodeon]] show ''[[The Adventures of Pete & Pete]]'' featured many of his songs.


He and director [[Chen Shi-zheng]] have collaborated on three pieces of musical theatre; ''Orphan of Zhao'' (2003), ''Peach Blossom Fan'' (2004), and ''My Life as a Fairy Tale'' (2005). Select tracks from these works have been released on [[Nonesuch Records]] under the title ''[[Showtunes]]''.
He and director [[Chen Shi-zheng]] have collaborated on three pieces of musical theatre; ''Orphan of Zhao'' (2003), ''Peach Blossom Fan'' (2004), and ''My Life as a Fairy Tale'' (2005)<ref name="brantley">Brantley, Ben. [http://theater.nytimes.com/2005/07/29/theater/reviews/29tale.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=Stephin%20Merritt&st=nyt Exploring the Shadows of a Sunny Writer's Nightmare] ''New York Times''. July 29, 2005. Select tracks from these works have been released on [[Nonesuch Records]] under the title ''[[Showtunes]]''.


Additionally, he is one-third of the infrequent, live-only musical extravaganza [[the Three Terrors]] ensemble, whose other principal members include ''[[69 Love Songs]]'' album's [[Dudley Klute]] and [[LD Beghtol]]; past themes of these performances have included: French pop, movie themes (including the title song from ''[[Deep Throat (film)|Deep Throat]]''), intoxication, and [[New York]]. Kenny Mellman (of [[Kiki & Herb]]), James Jacobs, [[Daniel Handler]], [[Jon DeRosa]] and others have performed with T3T at these sporadic gala events. Merritt was referenced in the [[Beulah (band)|Beulah]] song "Popular Mechanics for Lovers".
Additionally, he is one-third of the infrequent, live-only musical extravaganza [[the Three Terrors]] ensemble, whose other principal members include ''[[69 Love Songs]]'' album's [[Dudley Klute]] and [[LD Beghtol]]; past themes of these performances have included: French pop, movie themes (including the title song from ''[[Deep Throat (film)|Deep Throat]]''), intoxication, and [[New York]]. Kenny Mellman (of [[Kiki & Herb]]), James Jacobs, [[Daniel Handler]], [[Jon DeRosa]] and others have performed with T3T at these sporadic gala events. Merritt was referenced in the [[Beulah (band)|Beulah]] song "Popular Mechanics for Lovers".

Revision as of 06:07, 23 February 2011

Stephin Merritt

Stephin Merritt (born February 9, 1966[citation needed]) is an American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles (formerly in New York City), best known as the principal singer and songwriter in the band The Magnetic Fields. He is known for his distinctive and untrained bass-baritone voice.[1]

Musical projects

He created and played principal roles in the bands, The Magnetic Fields, The 6ths, The Gothic Archies, & Future Bible Heroes.[2]

He briefly used the name The Baudelaire Memorial Orchestra as an attribution for a song written for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, entitled "Scream and Run Away". Further music was recorded for the audiobook versions of the series and is attributed to The Gothic Archies. The Tragic Treasury was released by Nonesuch Records in October 2006 along with the 13th and final book of the series.[3]

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

He and director Chen Shi-zheng have collaborated on three pieces of musical theatre; Orphan of Zhao (2003), Peach Blossom Fan (2004), and My Life as a Fairy Tale (2005)Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

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.[4]

Songwriting topics

Merritt is gay,[5] and his lyrics are known for bending and blurring gender lines; examples include the song "When My Boy Walks Down the Street", which contains the lyric "and he's going to be my wife." He is fascinated with the undead, often making veiled or explicit references to vampires. Other frequent motifs in his lyrics include the age 17, dancing, seasons (most often summer), youth, old age, cities (especially New York City and Paris), the moon, the sun, the stars, rain, the night, marriage, blue eyes, faces, trains and railroads, the road, crying, clowns, murder, drinking, musical instruments, and love.

Personal life

Merritt was raised Buddhist by his counter-culture mother, though he is now non-religious.[5] He has never met his father, folk singer Scott Fagan,[6] who had a brief affair with Merritt's mother. Merritt attended progressive 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. Merritt has a chihuahua named Irving, after Irving Berlin.[7]

Merritt is known for having a dry personality, embracing a persona and life that is very different from the traditional rock star image. In a September 2005 interview conducted by The Onion's AV Club, alternative rock musician Bob Mould was reminded of an interviewer who once referred to Mould as "the most depressed man in rock." Mould's response was, "He's never met Stephin Merritt, obviously."[8]

Merritt suffers from a hearing condition known as hyperacusis; 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 if the audience applauds.[9]

Merritt is the subject of a documentary, Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields, which premiered in March, 2010.[10]

Solo discography

Main article: Stephin Merritt discography

References

  1. ^ Berlind, William (2002-02-24). "The Stephin Merritt Standard". The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  2. ^ Berlind, William, [The Stephin Merritt Standard, New York Times, February 24 2002.
  3. ^ Merritt, Snicket and the 'Tragic Treasury', All Things Considered December 3, 2006
  4. ^ Khanna, Vish (2010-01-28). "Exclusive: Stephin Merritt Promises to Return to the Synth on Next Magnetic Fields Album, Scores 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". exclaim.ca.
  5. ^ a b Hyperreal: Magnetic Fields Arch Duke Stephin Merritt Interviewed. The Quietus 20 Jan. 2010.
  6. ^ "Conversations With Scott Fagan".
  7. ^ Rule, Doug. Magnetic Mystery. Metro Weekly. 27 Jan. 2010.
  8. ^ Kyle, Ryan (2005-09-21). "Interview: Bob Mould". The Onion. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
  9. ^ "The Magnetic Fields in Concert". Creators at Carnegie. National Public Radio. 2005-05-31. Retrieved 2005-08-27.
  10. ^ http://strangepowersfilm.wordpress.com/previous-screenings/

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