The Magnetic Fields
Encyclopedia
The Magnetic Fields is the principal creative outlet of singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt
. While the particular musical style of the band is usually as malleable as Merritt's songwriting, they are commonly attributed to pop genres and subgenres: synthpop
, indie pop
, noise pop
, and, most recently, folk-pop
.
Earlier in the band's career, The Magnetic Fields were characterized by synthesized
instrumentation by Merritt with lead vocals provided by Susan Anway (and then by Stephin Merrit himself). A more traditional band later materialized, currently composed of Merritt, Claudia Gonson
, Sam Davol
, and John Woo
, with occasional guest vocals by Shirley Simms. The band is recognizable for Merrit's lyrics, often about love, that are by turns ironic, bitter, and humorous. Their best-known work is the 1999 three-volume concept album 69 Love Songs
. It was followed in the succeeding years by a "no-synth" trilogy: i (2004), Distortion (2008), and Realism
(2010).
, who had played in Merritt's band The Zinnias during high school, a live band was assembled in Boston
, where Merritt and Gonson lived, to play Merritt's compositions. The band's first live performance was at T.T. the Bear's Place in Cambridge, Massachusetts
, in 1991 where they played to a sparse audience that was expecting to see Galaxie 500
spin-off Magnetophone
.
The 1999 triple album 69 Love Songs
showcased Merritt's songwriting abilities and the group's musicianship, demonstrated by the use of such varied instruments as ukulele, banjo, accordion, cello, mandolin, flute, xylophone
, and Marxophone
, in addition to their usual setting of synthesizers, guitars, and effects. The album features vocalists Shirley Simms, Dudley Klute, L.D. Beghtol
, and Gonson, each of whom sings lead on six songs as well as various backing vocals, plus Daniel Handler
(who has written under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket
) on accordion, and longtime collaborator Christopher Ewen (of Future Bible Heroes
) as guest arranger/synthesist. Violinist Ida Pearle makes a brief cameo on "Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side."
The band's recent albums, i
(2004) and Distortion (2008), both followed the album theme structure of 69 Love Songs: The song titles on i begin with the letter (or, in the case of half the songs' titles, the pronoun) "I
", whilst Distortion was an experiment in combining noise music
with their typically unconventional musical approach. The liner notes claim the album was made without synthesizers. According to an article: "To celebrate the release of Distortion, Merritt and The Magnetic Fields played mini-residencies in cities around the country, culminating with six shows at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music."
Realism
was released in January 2010, concluding what Merritt termed the "no-synth" trilogy (following i and Distortion). The next album produced will feature synthesisers "almost exclusively".
In 2010, the documentary film
"Strange Powers: Stephen Merritt and the Magnetic Fields"
made its debut in film festivals around the world. It was directed by Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara
. It was shot over a period of 10 years discusses the formation of the band, Stephin's friendship with Claudia Gonson, the production of various albums, and Stephin's move to California from New York. It won the Outfest 2010 Grand Jury Prize for Feature Documentary and Starigrad Paklenice Prize for Directing.
Past and current contributors include singers Susan Anway, Dudley Klute
, Shirley Simms, Nell Beram, and LD Beghtol
, as well as instrumentalists Daniel Handler
and Chris Ewen.
Stephin Merritt
Stephin Merritt is an American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles , best known as the principal singer and songwriter in the band The Magnetic Fields...
. While the particular musical style of the band is usually as malleable as Merritt's songwriting, they are commonly attributed to pop genres and subgenres: synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
, indie pop
Indie pop
Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid 1980s, with its roots in the Scottish post-punk bands on the Postcard Records label in the early '80s, such as Orange Juice, Josef K and Aztec Camera, and the dominant UK independent band of the mid...
, noise pop
Noise pop
Noise pop is a subgenre of alternative rock developed in the mid 1980s in the UK and US, that mixes atonal noise or feedback, or both, with the melodic instrumentation and production elements more often found in pop music, making it more melodic and angst-free than noise rock.-History:Noise pop has...
, and, most recently, folk-pop
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
.
Earlier in the band's career, The Magnetic Fields were characterized by synthesized
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
instrumentation by Merritt with lead vocals provided by Susan Anway (and then by Stephin Merrit himself). A more traditional band later materialized, currently composed of Merritt, Claudia Gonson
Claudia Gonson
Claudia Miriam Gonson, is an American musician best known for her work with The Magnetic Fields. She occasionally provides the band lead vocals as well as performing the piano or drums...
, Sam Davol
Sam Davol
Samuel Bradford Davol is a musician best known for his work with the indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. He is featured several times in videos for The Magnetic Fields, and in the opening for "Born on a Train", his cello is featured at the beginning of the video...
, and John Woo
John Woo (musician)
John Woo is a musician best known for his work with the indie pop band The Magnetic Fields.- References :...
, with occasional guest vocals by Shirley Simms. The band is recognizable for Merrit's lyrics, often about love, that are by turns ironic, bitter, and humorous. Their best-known work is the 1999 three-volume concept album 69 Love Songs
69 Love Songs
69 Love Songs is a three-volume concept album by The Magnetic Fields released in 1999. As its title indicates, the album is composed of 69 love songs, all written by Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt.-Conception and live performance:...
. It was followed in the succeeding years by a "no-synth" trilogy: i (2004), Distortion (2008), and Realism
Realism (The Magnetic Fields album)
Realism is an album by The Magnetic Fields. It was officially released on January 26, 2010 by Nonesuch Records.Described by songwriter Stephin Merritt as "my folk album", the instrumentation of Realism is largely acoustic, stark in contrast to the band's previous album, Distortion, released in 2008...
(2010).
History
The band began as Merritt's studio project, under the name Buffalo Rome,. With the help of friend Claudia GonsonClaudia Gonson
Claudia Miriam Gonson, is an American musician best known for her work with The Magnetic Fields. She occasionally provides the band lead vocals as well as performing the piano or drums...
, who had played in Merritt's band The Zinnias during high school, a live band was assembled in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, where Merritt and Gonson lived, to play Merritt's compositions. The band's first live performance was at T.T. the Bear's Place in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, in 1991 where they played to a sparse audience that was expecting to see Galaxie 500
Galaxie 500
Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums.-History:Guitarist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon Krukowski and bassist Naomi Yang had met at the Dalton School in New York City in 1981, but began playing together during their time...
spin-off Magnetophone
Magnetophone
Magnétophone are an electronic / art-rock band originating from Birmingham UK, composed of Matt Saunders and John Hanson...
.
The 1999 triple album 69 Love Songs
69 Love Songs
69 Love Songs is a three-volume concept album by The Magnetic Fields released in 1999. As its title indicates, the album is composed of 69 love songs, all written by Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt.-Conception and live performance:...
showcased Merritt's songwriting abilities and the group's musicianship, demonstrated by the use of such varied instruments as ukulele, banjo, accordion, cello, mandolin, flute, xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
, and Marxophone
Marxophone
The Marxophone is a fretless zither that has four sets of chord strings to be strummed with the left hand and two octaves of double melody strings, which are struck by metal hammers activated by the right hand...
, in addition to their usual setting of synthesizers, guitars, and effects. The album features vocalists Shirley Simms, Dudley Klute, L.D. Beghtol
LD Beghtol
LD Beghtol is an American musician, art director and writer. Beghtol participated in The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs recordings and live shows. Beghtol is a founding member of the band Flare—aka Flare Acoustic Arts League—and the death-pop outfit LD & the New Criticism, and was also in the...
, and Gonson, each of whom sings lead on six songs as well as various backing vocals, plus Daniel Handler
Daniel Handler
Daniel Handler is an American author, screenwriter and accordionist. He is best known for his work under the pen name Lemony Snicket.-Personal life:...
(who has written under the pseudonym Lemony Snicket
Lemony Snicket
Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American novelist Daniel Handler . Snicket is the author of several children's books, serving as the narrator of A Series of Unfortunate Events and appearing as a character within the series. Because of this, the name Lemony Snicket may refer to both a fictional...
) on accordion, and longtime collaborator Christopher Ewen (of Future Bible Heroes
Future Bible Heroes
Future Bible Heroes is one of several musical groups led by Stephin Merritt, best known for his work with The Magnetic Fields. He shares vocal duties with Claudia Gonson, who sings on the entirety of 2002's Eternal Youth...
) as guest arranger/synthesist. Violinist Ida Pearle makes a brief cameo on "Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side."
The band's recent albums, i
I (Magnetic Fields album)
i is the seventh studio album from the New York-based indie pop band, The Magnetic Fields. Several Magnetic Fields albums feature a strong cohesive theme; the songs of i are connected by their starting with the letter "i", also the tracks are arranged in alphabetical order.Merritt here ditches many...
(2004) and Distortion (2008), both followed the album theme structure of 69 Love Songs: The song titles on i begin with the letter (or, in the case of half the songs' titles, the pronoun) "I
I (Magnetic Fields album)
i is the seventh studio album from the New York-based indie pop band, The Magnetic Fields. Several Magnetic Fields albums feature a strong cohesive theme; the songs of i are connected by their starting with the letter "i", also the tracks are arranged in alphabetical order.Merritt here ditches many...
", whilst Distortion was an experiment in combining noise music
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
with their typically unconventional musical approach. The liner notes claim the album was made without synthesizers. According to an article: "To celebrate the release of Distortion, Merritt and The Magnetic Fields played mini-residencies in cities around the country, culminating with six shows at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music."
Realism
Realism (The Magnetic Fields album)
Realism is an album by The Magnetic Fields. It was officially released on January 26, 2010 by Nonesuch Records.Described by songwriter Stephin Merritt as "my folk album", the instrumentation of Realism is largely acoustic, stark in contrast to the band's previous album, Distortion, released in 2008...
was released in January 2010, concluding what Merritt termed the "no-synth" trilogy (following i and Distortion). The next album produced will feature synthesisers "almost exclusively".
In 2010, the documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
"Strange Powers: Stephen Merritt and the Magnetic Fields"
Strange Powers
Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields is a 2010 American documentary film by Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara that documents the work and life of the American cult songwriter, Stephin Merritt and his primary group.-Film info:...
made its debut in film festivals around the world. It was directed by Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara
Gail O'Hara
Gail O'Hara is a US editor, writer, photographer, recording label owner, and filmmaker. She lives in Portland, Oregon. O'Hara attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA, where she worked for WVCW radio and the Commonwealth Times...
. It was shot over a period of 10 years discusses the formation of the band, Stephin's friendship with Claudia Gonson, the production of various albums, and Stephin's move to California from New York. It won the Outfest 2010 Grand Jury Prize for Feature Documentary and Starigrad Paklenice Prize for Directing.
Members
- Stephin MerrittStephin MerrittStephin Merritt is an American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles , best known as the principal singer and songwriter in the band The Magnetic Fields...
– ukulele/keyboard/lead vocals - Claudia GonsonClaudia GonsonClaudia Miriam Gonson, is an American musician best known for her work with The Magnetic Fields. She occasionally provides the band lead vocals as well as performing the piano or drums...
– percussion/piano/vocals (and group manager) - Sam DavolSam DavolSamuel Bradford Davol is a musician best known for his work with the indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. He is featured several times in videos for The Magnetic Fields, and in the opening for "Born on a Train", his cello is featured at the beginning of the video...
– cello/flute - John WooJohn Woo (musician)John Woo is a musician best known for his work with the indie pop band The Magnetic Fields.- References :...
– banjo/guitar
Past and current contributors include singers Susan Anway, Dudley Klute
Dudley Klute
Dudley Klute is an American vocalist and songwriter noted for his work with the Belgian New Wave band Kid Montana in the 1980s, and his subsequent collaborations with Stephin Merritt's The Magnetic Fields , LD Beghtol, and other musicians...
, Shirley Simms, Nell Beram, and LD Beghtol
LD Beghtol
LD Beghtol is an American musician, art director and writer. Beghtol participated in The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs recordings and live shows. Beghtol is a founding member of the band Flare—aka Flare Acoustic Arts League—and the death-pop outfit LD & the New Criticism, and was also in the...
, as well as instrumentalists Daniel Handler
Daniel Handler
Daniel Handler is an American author, screenwriter and accordionist. He is best known for his work under the pen name Lemony Snicket.-Personal life:...
and Chris Ewen.
Selected discography
- Distant Plastic TreesDistant Plastic TreesDistant Plastic Trees is the 1991 debut album by The Magnetic Fields, featuring the lead vocals of Susan Anway. Merge Records reissued the album in 1994 as a double album compilation with the band's following release, The Wayward Bus...
(1991) - The Wayward BusThe Wayward Bus (album)The Wayward Bus is a 1992 album by The Magnetic Fields. It is the follow-up to the band's debut album, Distant Plastic Trees, and the last album to feature Susan Anway as lead vocalist. The album was reissued by Merge Records in 1994 as the first half of a double album compilation with Distant...
(1992) - The House of TomorrowThe House of TomorrowThe House of Tomorrow EP is the third major release by The Magnetic Fields, and the first to feature Stephin Merritt as main vocalist. Merge Records reissued it in 1996...
(EP) (1992) - Holiday (1994)
- The Charm of the Highway StripThe Charm of the Highway StripThe Charm of the Highway Strip is the fourth studio album by The Magnetic Fields, released in 1994. It is the first Magnetic Fields album to have its original release with Merge Records. Its title, lyrics and musical styling are a nod to country music, though the songs of Stephin Merritt remain...
(1994) - Get Lost (1995)
- 69 Love Songs69 Love Songs69 Love Songs is a three-volume concept album by The Magnetic Fields released in 1999. As its title indicates, the album is composed of 69 love songs, all written by Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt.-Conception and live performance:...
(1999) - i (2004)
- Distortion (2008)
- RealismRealism (The Magnetic Fields album)Realism is an album by The Magnetic Fields. It was officially released on January 26, 2010 by Nonesuch Records.Described by songwriter Stephin Merritt as "my folk album", the instrumentation of Realism is largely acoustic, stark in contrast to the band's previous album, Distortion, released in 2008...
(2010)
External links
- The House of Tomorrow, official site
- The Magnetic Fields at The House of Tomorrow
- Magnetic Fields article February 2008
- NY Mag interview
- Strange Powers documentary title sequence
- Stephin Merritt interview at musicOMH February 2010