Shoegazers will gaze on jealously: for while they could only gaze at shoes, The Magnetic Fields have inspired shoes. Yes, Stephin Merritt has somehow inspired a range of loafers from a French company. The same company also makes shoes called James, but it's unclear if they're inspired by Hymn From A Village.
Well only one: this wonderful website *cough cough*. Well, while Mrs. Toad and I are either sloshing about in the mud or, and I am hoping this is the case, lazing about in the sunshine at the End of the Road Festival you will presumably all be at work, shuffling paper in some lame pretence of productivity. Sigh exhasperatedly at your computer, never walk somewhere when you can march purposefully, suddenly search briskly through that pile of shite on your desk, rub your chin thoughtfully, anything but let them know that you don't give a flying fuck [...]
Imagine, if you will: They Might Be Giants, Tom Waits, and Stephin Merritt have a lovechild. After incubating in the fertile musical womb of Philadelphia, it comes bursting onto the scene as a three headed monster of awesomeness called Sweetheart Parade. Sweetheart Parade mixes in equal parts melancholy and beauty. Lead singer Joshua Britton bares his [...]
Ok I'll admit it. This whole post started here, on You Ain't No Picasso , but it somehow turned into something completely different so while I think YANP for the Intelligence track that totally slays one of the crappiest tracks on the entire Magnetic Fields' "69 Love Songs" boxed set, which I love, srsly I do...I have only myself and my wreckless sleep deprivation to thank for the final outcome. Which isn't very terrific anyway. Except for the songs you can grab below and all the gnarly tour dates they that the Intelligence apparently need help filling. First thing's [...]
or: A Post That Begins With Some Discussion of Matmos, Continues With a Reference to John Cage, and Ends With a Song by Toad the Wet Sprocket Matmos was in town on Sunday night and put on a solid show that included everything from shining lasers and flashlights on a photoelectrically activated oscillator to projections of gay porn. J Lesser also performed with the band, though I think I was the only one in the audience who was excited about this. [...]
This week's appearance included Gothic Archies favorite, 'Walking My Gargoyle'. MP3: The Magnetic Fields - When You're Old & Lonely [ alt link ]
Here is Stephin Merritt on NPR. I had originally saved the podcast in iTunes some time in December but never bothered to watch/listen until a moment ago. I feel like it's worth mentioning. Here is Stephin Merritt's entry for NPR's "Project Song" section of the "All Songs Considered" program: Stephin Merritt - A Man of a Million Faces He's [...]
Here is Stephin Merritt on NPR. I had originally saved the podcast in iTunes some time in December but never bothered to watch/listen until a moment ago. I feel like it's worth mentioning. Here is Stephin Merritt's entry for NPR's "Project Song" section of the "All Songs Considered" program: Stephin Merritt - A Man of a Million Faces He's [...]
All Things Considered, November 5, 2007 - The challenge : Write and record a song — in two days. The instructions: Choose one photo to inspire the subject of the song; choose a word or phrase that will inspire the style. An odd but vaguely fascinating glimpse into the mind and methods of a modern day songwriting genius. (And my god does he make it look easy. fucker.) Here's the finished song as an mp3. (via some hot analog line-in action) Stephin Merritt - [...]
Magnetic Fields maestro, Stephin Merritt, was a guest on NPR's All Songs Considered this week. He took part in "Project Song." It's a musical challenge where an artist is given a picture and a word as inspiration and has two days to write and record an original tune. The picture: The word: 1974 Go here to watch Mr. 69 Love Songs brainstorm, write, and record... And here's the song he came up [...]
That's not Stephin Merritt in the photo. It's just the photo that was meant to inspire Merritt to write a song in just two days. Quite frankly, it looks like the living embodiment of the floor in my daughter's bedroom. NPR has started a new segment called Project Song where they invite artists into their studios to record a song as NPR chronicles the "song creating process". Merritt was the first person to participate in the experiment. It seems a bit forced but it did offer some interesting insights into [...]
[mp3] Magnolia Electric Co. - Lonesome Valley (from the record Fading Trails out now on Secretly Canadian Records) Jason Molina and crew are forever waltzing along that dry desert highway, spreading their Neil Young-inspired country rock one lonely story at a time. Their second full length Fading Trails may not have been as strong as their debut What Comes After the Blues , but it features a few strong tracks such as the attached 'Lonesome Valley'. [mp3] Stephen Merritt - The Meaning of Lice (from the compilation Plague Songs out [...]
When worlds collide. (The last two seconds are the best.) More here . Stephin Merritt - Smile! No One Cares How You Feel
Stephin Merritt - Ukulele Me! (from Showtunes ) Jens Lekman - Julie (RMX) (from Oh You're So Silent Jens ) Beirut - The Bunker (from Gulag Orkestar ) Jolie Holland - Darlin' Ukulele [...]
How about 10 songs that feature one of Hawaii's most famous exports and no, I'm not talking about Kona coffee (although, I would love a cup of Kona coffee right about now, if you happen to have one handy, send it my way)? Shotgun & Jaybird ~ Secret Ukulele Track The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain ~ Miss Dy-na-mi-tee Beirut ~ Postcards From Italy Stephin Merritt ~ Ukulele Me! Mara Carlyle ~ Game For Fools (Ukulady Mix) [...]
Lucky me, I got to go see Stephin Merritt and Daniel Handler play songs from The Tragic Treasury and read from--I don't know which book it was, possibly A Bad Beginning ? (So unfortunate that Mr. Snicket himself couldn't make it, but he seems to have briefed Mr. Handler most thoroughly--and clearly, their shared habit of formality is catching!) It may scandalize but it can hardly surprise my audience that I have never actually read any of his books, and I went entirely to hear Stephin Merritt. I can't imagine two more suited [...]
Billboard reports: It's been nearly 10 years since Stephin Merritt released an album under the moniker the Gothic Archies, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been working on one. Indeed, for every volume of the "A Series of Unfortunate Events" books that Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, has produced since 1999, the Magnetic Fields mastermind wrote a corresponding track. On Oct. 10, the Gothic Archies will round up those songs on "The Tragic Treasury: Songs From A Series of Unfortunate Events" (Nonesuch), the same week Handler's 13th and final book in [...]
Everything from Stephin Merritt is good; this includes the interview at Pitchfork , but not showtunes , because I said so. Particularly interviews wherein artificial lyric engines come up. . . Pitchfork: You've spoken a lot about the importance of new technology in pushing music forward. Do you think that new technologies might actually revitalize song craft, by necessitating new techniques of writing and production? Merritt: Well, I'm still waiting for the lyric generator. Pitchfork: There are text machines, but they're not very well-oiled. Merritt: The good [...]
![Feed of [Stephin Merritt] at Elbo.ws](http://cdn.elbo.ws/images/feedicon.png)
No Rock And Roll Fun
Song, by Toad
PopWreck(oning)
Fantastic Weapon
VIDEO POP
the music slut
Firecolor.org
Jeff.firecolor.org
Drawer B
The Anchor Center
False 45th
The world famous Invisible Limb
Fabulist!
The Post-Rockist
The Late Greats
All That She Surveys
A Place to Bury Strangers
Hot Chip - Night & Day
Sleigh Bells - Demons (Official Music Video)
The Rains of Castamere by The National
A-Trak & Dillon Francis - "Money Makin'" (Official Video)
DIIV "How Long Have You Known?" (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
Kae — Crazy
Disclosure – What’s In Your Head
Music Singles Chart #109
