Merritt did "Not One Of Us" as a Scratch My Back tie-in: "Peter's [...] showcases his singing voice, whereas my version showcases this evil dwarf choir." It'll appear on a digital single with…   Read Story »

Good news for lovers of cantankerous, hyperacusis-afflicted songwriters (also, just plain old good news): Stephin Merritt and his Magnetic Fields will be back with their eighth LP Realism on January…   Read Story »

69 Love Songs was released September 7, 1999 by Merge. I was in school in Buffalo at the time and taking a break from music writing, so I was able to approach the collection entirely as a fan, which…   Read Story »

Vanity Fair has pics and a preview of the Magnetic Fielder's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's creepy kid's book. Merritt says: "This is part of my plan to make 50 successful Hollywood musicals." Don't…   Read Story »

From his "Wheels On The Car" to his Wrigley commercial that's impossible to find on-line, etc., the Magnetic Fields' crooner certainly isn't shy about writing jingles or allowing his songs to be…   Read Story »

These days live video is all the rage (well, that and nostalgia, repetitious festivals, and getting too excited about things that don't deserve it because you want to be "first"). But yeah, from…   Read Story »

By Amrit Singh As with most Magnetic Fields albums, Distortion is organized around a singular concept. Unlike say 69 Love Songs (love songs, guess how many) or i (songs all beginning with the same…   Read Story »

Listening to the super duper Distortion -- which we've already prematurely sainted -- it's pretty clear Stephin Merritt likes the Jesus & Mary Chain and their rainy feedback. Listen no further than…   Read Story »

NPR's All Songs Considered has this new segment "Project Song" where a musician type's given 48 hours to write a tune based on the materials the Public Radio peeps provide. The first person selected,…   Read Story »

It's been almost a decade since Stephin Merritt's last Gothic Archies album, but that's about to change thanks to Lemony Snicket. We haven't actually read Daniel Handler's Series Of Unfortunate…   Read Story »