Podcasts about Stephin Merritt

Songwriter Stephin Merritt on impermanence, organizing principles, and the art of constraints: Raised by a spiritually seeking mother, Merritt moved 33 times by age 22 and describes himself as a “hippie brat” who “never liked children—even as a child.” This sense of solitude shaped his singular voice as the creative force behind The Magnetic Fields, who are touring this year to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their landmark triple album 69 Love Songs.  In recent years, his productivity has slowed due to long COVID, a development he accepts with dark humor: “The gods have punished me for my dependence on inspiration by withdrawing it.” Here he reflects on creativity, aging, and songwriting, following a warm and revealing conversation with his longtime friend—and former personal assistant—bestselling author Emma Straub. www.third-story.com www.leosidran.substack.com www.wbgo.org/podcast/the-third-story  

On this episode of The Third Story, host Leo Sidran chats with Stephin Merritt

In this episode, David Harris, Holly Hazelwood and Eric Mellor are joined by special guest, Stephin Merritt from the Magnetic Fields, to complain about new pop while praising old pop, discover why having a will is important and find creative uses for Nosferatu popcorn caskets. Support the show

Acerca de “Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt & The Magnetic Fields” (2010), documental de Kerthy Fix y Gail O'Hara que se centra en la figura del músico y compositor estadounidense y en su banda.

Page One, produced and hosted by author Holly Lynn Payne, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books. Today's episode is a republishing of Ep. 6 because Holly was in the hospital. She'll explain why.About the guest author:Daniel Handler is the author of seven novels, including Why We Broke Up, We Are Pirates, All The Dirty Parts and, Bottle Grove and most recently Poison for Breakfast, his first book for readers of all ages published by Liveright/W.W. Norton.As Lemony Snicket, he is responsible for numerous books for children, including the thirteen-volume A Series of Unfortunate Events, the four-volume All the Wrong Questions, and The Dark, which won the Charlotte Zolotow Award. Handler has received commissions from the San Francisco Symphony, Berkeley Reperatory Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has collaborated with artist Maira Kalman on a series of books for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and with musicians Stephin Merritt (of the Magnetic Fields), Benjamin Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie), Colin Meloy (of the Decemberists) and Torquil Campbell (of Stars).His books have sold more than 70 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages, and have been adapted for film, stage and television, including the recent adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events for which he was awarded both the Peabody and the Writers Guild of America awards. He lives in San Francisco with the illustrator Lisa Brown, to whom he is married and with whom he has collaborated on several books and one son.You may also find him on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, IMDB, and purchase his books via Upstream(for signed copies), Indiebound, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.About the host:Holly Lynn Payne is the CEO and founder of Booxby , a startup helping authors succeed. Holly is also an internationally published novelist in eleven countries whose work has been translated into nine languages. Her most recent novel, Damascena:The Tale of Roses and Rumi, has been optioned for a film series. She is the founder of Skywriter Books, an award-winning small press, publishing consultancy and writing coaching service. She lives in Marin County with her daughter and enjoys mountain biking, surfing and hiking with her labrador retriever, Lady Gaia. To learn more about her writing coaching services, please visit hollylynnpayne.com.Thank you for listening to the Page One Podcast, where master storytellers discuss the stories and struggles behind the critical first page of their books. If you liked this episode, please share it on social, leave a review on your favorite podcast players and tell your friends! I hope you enjoy this labor of love as much as I love hosting, producing, and editing it. Please keep in touch by signing up to receive my newsletter at www.hollylynnpayne.com with the latest episodes each month. Delivered to your inbox with a smile.  For the love of books and writers,Holly Lynn Payne@hollylynnpaynewww.hollylynnpayne.com Thank you for listening to the Page One Podcast, where master storytellers discuss the stories and struggles behind the critical first page of their books. If you liked this episode, please share it on social, leave a review on your favorite podcast players and tell your friends! I hope you enjoy this labor of love as much as I love hosting, producing, and editing it. Please keep in touch by signing up to receive my newsletter at www.hollylynnpayne.com with the latest episodes each month. Delivered to your inbox with a smile. For the love of books and writers,Holly Lynn Payne@hollylynnpaynewww.hollylynnpayne.com

En mans de qualsevol altre, fer un disc triple de 69 can

En mans de qualsevol altre, fer un disc triple de 69 can

In September 1999, the Stephin Merritt-led indie pop band The Magnetic Fields released 69 Love Songs, a three-hour concept album described by its writer as "not remotely an album about love. It's an album about love songs, which are very far away from anything to do with love.” The release became a cult classic and ranks on all-time-greatest-albums lists from Rolling Stone, NME, and elsewhere. As part of our Silver Liner Notes series celebrating 25-year album anniversaries, we're joined by Merritt and bandmate Claudia Gonson, and we take your calls.The Magnetic Fields will take part in a Q&A at Film Forum following a Tuesday evening screening at Film Forum of the documentary STRANGE POWERS: STEPHIN MERRITT AND THE MAGNETIC FIELDS. Plus, tickets are still available for their run of shows at Town Hall in NYC this week. This segment is guest-hosted by Kousha Navidar.

Zach Condon, AKA Beirut, Blondie's Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, and Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields discuss the myth of self-expression as an artist, the influence your location, and particularly New York, has on songwriting, and what unexpected genres we might get musical influences from.Zach Condon, AKA Beirut, grew up in the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and from a young age absorbed a vast array of musical influences. When he was 14 his older brother moved to New York and left behind a strict musical education of minimal German electronica, hip hop and mix tapes of Neutral Milk Hotel. From ther,e he began recording little tunes with a trumpet, a drum machine, a synthesizer and his father's acoustic guitar. He was finally convinced to try playing a few concerts when he was around 17, and has since gone on to release eight studio albums and tour all over the world. His new album Hadsel came out this year and is named after a northern Norwegian island where he spent time in 2020. Singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Stephin Merritt is best known for fronting The Magnetic Fields, one of the most important indie rock bands of the last 30 years. He is renowned for his beautiful melodies and rich lyrics, meticulously crafting soundscapes using a variety of acoustic, electronic and improvised instruments. Debbie Harry and Chris Stein are members of one of punk and pop's most influential bands, Blondie. They formed in 1974 in New York and were pioneers of the city's new wave scene, going on to top the charts around the world with hits such as Atomic, Heart of Glass and Hanging on the Telephone. They've gone through many line-up changes over the years, but been held together by the two amazing musicians we have with us today.

Host Meg Wolitzer presents a celebration of the 25th anniversary of powerhouse indie publisher McSweeney's, known for clever, funny, playful, weird, and literary writing.  Ophira Eisenberg reads “Poor Little Egg-Boy Hatched in a Shul,"  by Nathan Englander. Andy Richter performs “Crumb Cake,” by Etgar Keret.  And B.D. Wong reads “Stay Brave, My Hercules,” by Ernie Wang. Singer and songwriter Stephin Merritt, who's recognizable as the mastermind behind The Magnetic Fields, also performed live onstage at Symphony Space as part of the tribute to McSweeney's.

For the 20th anniversary of The Postal Service record, GIVE UP, we take a detailed look at how it was made. After Jimmy Tamborello was looking for vocalists to collaborate with for a Dntel album he was working on, he connected with Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie. Gibbard agreed to provide vocals for a track that became, “(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan.” The two of them worked so well together that they decided to work on more material and form a new project. Tamborello's friend, Tony Kiewel at Sub Pop heard about their collaboration and suggested they would be interested in releasing a full album. Tamborello got to work creating instrumentals at his home in Los Angeles and would mail rough mixes of the tracks on CD-Rs to Gibbard in Seattle. Gibbard would then come up with the melodies and lyrics, recording his vocals and other instruments to send back to Tamborello. Over the course of the year, they would keep collaborating through the mail, enlisting Jenny Lewis and Jen Wood to provide additional vocals. After the ten tracks were nearly complete, they met in Los Angeles to finish mixing the album. GIVE UP was eventually released in 2003. In this episode, Gibbard describes how these Postal Service tracks that Tamborello would send were nice breaks in his writing schedule for Death Cab for Cutie, who were in the middle of writing TRANSATLANTICISM. Because their collaboration started so spontaneously, he describes how this approach opened up his writing and pushed him into new territory. Tamborello describes how he initially conceived of a more experimental project but quickly changed directions as the tracks became more pop oriented and Gibbard's melodies were so infectious. With the limited technology of the early 2000s, he describes how the album was made almost entirely on a Kurzweil K2000 synthesizer and how he would manipulate sounds and sample classical records for added effect. As the concept of remote collaboration has taken off in recent years, GIVE UP remains a fascinating document of its time. From the unlikely marriage of indie rock and electronic music in the early 2000s to the slow process of mixing by mail to the spontaneous idea of asking Jenny Lewis to sing on the album, to the key influences of Bjork, Liz Phair, Conor Oberst and Stephin Merritt to the mysterious effortlessness of the whole project, we'll hear the stories of how the record came together.

Often side-project bands don't live up to the hype of the artist or band's main gig. But for Stephin Merritt, this isn't the case with several of his non-Magnetic Fields bands. With The 6ths, he's taken on the challenge of writing the songs but handing them over to guest vocalists. On the 1995 debut Wasps' Nests, that means a wide array of contributors, including Lou Barlow from Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr., Mary Timony of Helium and Ex Hex, Dean Wareham of Galaxie 500 and Luna, Georgia Hubley of Yo La Tengo, Mac McCaughan of Superchunk, Mitch Easter of Let's Active, and more. The musical landscape shifts from song to song, one minute aping the motortik of Stereolab and next the harmony sunshine of Laurel Canyon in the 1970s. But it's all in Stephin Merritt's wheelhouse, utilizing an array of synth and keyboard sounds over minimalist rhythms that reveal layers upon repeated listens.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - Aging Spinsters 15:56 - All Dressed Up in Dreams 20:23 - San Diego Zoo 35:02 - Here in My Heart Outro - Falling Out of Love (With You)   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Often side-project bands don't live up to the hype of the artist or band's main gig. But for Stephin Merritt, this isn't the case with several of his non-Magnetic Fields bands. With The 6ths, he's taken on the challenge of writing the songs but handing them over to guest vocalists. On the 1995 debut Wasps' Nests, that means a wide array of contributors, including Lou Barlow from Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr., Mary Timony of Helium and Ex Hex, Dean Wareham of Galaxie 500 and Luna, Georgia Hubley of Yo La Tengo, Mac McCaughan of Superchunk, Mitch Easter of Let's Active, and more. The musical landscape shifts from song to song, one minute aping the motortik of Stereolab and next the harmony sunshine of Laurel Canyon in the 1970s. But it's all in Stephin Merritt's wheelhouse, utilizing an array of synth and keyboard sounds over minimalist rhythms that reveal layers upon repeated listens.   Songs In This Episode: Intro - Aging Spinsters 15:56 - All Dressed Up in Dreams 20:23 - San Diego Zoo 35:02 - Here in My Heart Outro - Falling Out of Love (With You)   Support the podcast, join the DMO UNION at Patreon. Listen to the episode archive at DigMeOutPodcast.com.

Our most ambitious live show ever! We pulled together a massive team of theater pros at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Opera House—nearly 50 singers, actors, dancers and musicians. The result? Journalism turned into a Broadway musical, into opera. Mike Birbiglia, Sasheer Zamata, Stephin Merritt, Josh Hamilton, Lindsay Mendez, Lin-Manuel Miranda and others.

Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields' aesthetic is best described as show tune catchiness meets unexpected instrumentation. In this episode, he shares how the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic impacted his songwriting.

Hear the composition that Stephin Merritt created exclusively for Listening.

This week on "I've Been Meaning To Listen To That", we listen to "Distant Plastic Trees" by The Magnetic Fields with special guest Samantha Leigh Allen (Patricia Wants to Cuddle, Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States, Love & Estrogen, You Should See The Other Guy)! Plus, Andrew, Sean, Michael, & Samantha discuss Stephin Merritt's quiet but impactful legacy as a brilliant singer/songwriter and gay curmudgeon, how excellence in lyricism and craft can be a means to evade vulnerability, and how Owl City ripped off “100000 fireflies” by upping the ante firefly quantity-wise! Samantha's Pick: Take Ecstasy with Me by The Magnetic Fields Andrew's Pick: No Surprises by Radiohead Sean's Pick: The Fox in the Snow by Belle and Sebastian Michael's Pick: This Hell by Rina Sawayama & The Cha-Cha Slide by Mr. C The Slide Man Edited by Andrew Ambrose Lee Follow Samantha Leigh Allen on Twitter (@SLAwrites) and pre-order her new novel PATRICIA WANTS TO CUDDLE Follow Samantha's Podcast YOU SHOULD SEE THE OTHER GUY on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Twitter, & Patreon Follow Andrew Ambrose Lee on Twitter (@AundrewALee) & Instagram (@aundrewalee) Follow Michael Limentato on Twitter (@limentaco) & Instagram (@limentaco) Follow Sean Wilkinson on Instagram (@diabetictwink) Follow Stefanie Senior on Instagram (@stefmsenior) & Twitter (@stefmsenior) Theme Song by Emily Blue (Twitter: @emilybluemusic Instagram: @emilybluelovesyou) Cover Art by Olivia Jensen (Twitter: @oliviaaj22, Instagram: @oliviajensen_art) Listen to our I've Been Meaning To Listen to That (And I Did!) Playlist Follow us at (@ibmtltt) on Facebook, Tiktok & Instagram, and email us at ivebeenmeaningtolistentothat@gmail.com Have a good daaay! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/ibmtltt/message

Indie Americana/Folk Artist Delaney Hafener reveals her musical journey.  Her ethereal voice resonates in beautiful harmony with her music.  Over the past decade, Delaney has covered tremendous ground in live performances, original music as well as touring with her band.  Before she could speak, Delaney Hafener has found the best way for her to communicate is through music. She began singing Gram Parsons and Neil Young songs with her dad, and at the age of 12 started learning guitar with an old Gibson she revived from the basement. She wrote her first songs with the help and encouragement of her mom and began cutting her teeth as a performer at open mics when she was 14. Hafener founded the indie-folk band Pandafan at 17 and found some regional success with the group. Based mostly in NYC, they've played in venues such as Mercury Lounge, Cafe Lena, The Bug Jar, Gypsy Sally's Vinyl Lounge, Rockwood Music Hall, Suffolk Theater, and Guild Hall, and many others. At the height of their gigs, the young band was playing up to 5 gigs a week with frequent double-header Saturdays in the busy Long Island summer season. The Belle Curves' sound is akin to bands such as Brandi Carlile, The Wild Reeds, Lucinda Williams, and The Jayhawks. The Belle Curves is led by Delaney Hafener, formerly of indie-folk outfit Pandafan, and features a rotating cast of musicians. They have crafted a unique sound inspired by the many traditions of Americana, complementing introspective lyrics and a songwriting style that can be reminiscent of both the Laurel Canyon and Bakersfield. The Belle Curves' music touches on themes of self-doubt, progressive politics, identity, and disaffection, working to create a distinctly youthful folk aesthetic. A collection of protest music for this moment in American history, The Belle Curves' EP "2020" has been described as "absolutely brutal. If Dar Williams and Stephin Merritt started a Woody Guthrie inspired band, it would be something like The Belle Curves," according to Country Queer. Connect with The Long Island Sound Podcast:Website: Https://GigDestiny.com/podcast Follow Steve Yusko, GigDestiny.com, and his adventures:  Website: https://www.GigDestiny.com  Twitter, Instagram,  YouTube, FacebookThe growth of The Long Island Sound Podcast has been exponential. Help us grow the show!Subscribe to the GigDestiny.com Site here for bonus contentSubscribe to our YouTube ChannelCall the Listener Line & leave your comments: (631) 800-3579 Remember to Rate & Review the show! Help us keep the conversation going with your donation - Click Right Here or go to GigDestiny.com Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREE

Join Jewish Comedians Rachel Creeger & Philip Simon for their comedy podcast, a chat show about all things Jewish, produced by Russell Balkind. This week's guest is author Daniel Handler aka Lemony Snicket, creator of A Series Of Unfortunate Events which has sold over 60 million copies and been adapted for both the big and small screen! His newest book, Poison For Breakfast, is out now.Follow him on social media, follow US on social media and don't forget to let us know what you think about the show.Facebook: @JewTalkinTwitter: @JewTalkinInstagram: @JewTalkinLots more fantastic episodes waiting to be released every Friday morning, so don't forget to subscribe and leave us a 5* review - it really helps other people find the show. Go on… it's what your mother would want!--------------------------------------------------------------------- Twitter: @lemonysnicket @DanielHandlerInstagram: @authordanielhhandlerWebsite: www.danielhandler.comDaniel Handler is the author of seven novels, including Why We Broke Up, We Are Pirates, All The Dirty Parts and, most recently, Bottle Grove.As Lemony Snicket, he is responsible for numerous books for children, including the thirteen-volume A Series of Unfortunate Events, the four-volume All the Wrong Questions, and The Dark, which won the Charlotte Zolotow Award. He's also written some brilliant Jewish themed stories, including The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming (a perfect Hanukkah gift) and Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid (why not buy it for someone as a Passover treat?). Mr. Snicket's first book for readers of all ages, Poison for Breakfast, is out now!Handler has received commissions from the San Francisco Symphony, Berkeley Reperatory Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has collaborated with artist Maira Kalman on a series of books for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and with musicians Stephin Merritt (of the Magnetic Fields), Benjamin Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie), Colin Meloy (of the Decemberists) and Torquil Campbell (of Stars).His books have sold more than 70 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages, and have been adapted for film, stage and television, including the recent adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events for which he was awarded both the Peabody and the Writers Guild of America awards.He lives in San Francisco with the illustrator Lisa Brown, to whom he is married and with whom he has collaborated on several books and one son. Get bonus content on the Jew Talkin' To Me? Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono podcast tells the story of the making of the compilation tribute album of the same name. Conceived and curated by Benjamin Gibbard (lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Death Cab for Cutie), the LP celebrates the extraordinary work of multimedia artist, singer, songwriter and activist Yoko Ono with inspired new renditions of her songs by an array of brilliant artists - Sharon Van Etten, David Byrne, Sudan Archives, Death Cab for Cutie, Thao, U.S. Girls, Jaysom, Stephin Merritt (of Magnetic Fields), Deerhoof, We Are King, the Flaming Lips, Japanese Breakfast, Yo La Tengo and Amber Coffman. These re-interpretations of her work accentuate Ono's powerful artistic impact, lasting cultural relevance, and utterly unique approach to songcraft. Hosted by Gibbard and music journalist Jenny Eliscu, The Ocean Child Podcast features interviews with several of the album's contributors about their own meaningful connections to Ono's music and art: - Ben Gibbard discusses his own relationship with Ono's music, what first inspired the idea for the album, and why misconceptions about Ono's catalog need to be set straight once and for all. - David Byrne highlights the influence of Ono's book Grapefruit on his Broadway show American Utopia, and talks about adding some new lyrics to his version of the song "Who Has Seen The Wind?," and how he wrangled Yo La Tengo to join him on the track. - Thao examines the barriers that kept her from delving into Ono's music earlier, and explains why recording her version of "Yellow Girl (Stand By For Life)" was so cathartic. - Deerhoof's Greg Saunier reminisces about dancing alongside Ono in a video for one of her songs, and reveling in the sense of freedom she brings to every artistic endeavor. - The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne describes what it's like to record with Ono ("She is one of the only people that you just don't get to figure out," he says), and remembers his early encounters with her music -- listening to the early Plastic Ono Band stuff while his older brothers drove him to school, "smoking 4 or 5 joints in the fifteen minutes it took to get there." - Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner talks about how her Asian identity informed her early perceptions of Ono, and how pandemic life influenced her choice to perform her version of "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do" on piano. - Amber Coffman comments on the concept behind her beautiful cover of "Run, Run, Run" and the inspiration she draws from Ono's "incredible sense of personal freedom and peacefulness." Find the Music + Talk version of this show on Spotify HERE

Happy Valentine's Day!!! To celebrate, for the second year in a row, we are continuing to break down Stephin Merritt's colossal 69 Love Songs with our guest from the former podcast "Spoofs, Goofs, and Novelty Songs" (and known Stephin Merritt expert) Martin Kaszubowski. It's disc 2 this year (tracks 24 through 46) and this year, it's time to go full New Wave. Strap in and prepare for the tongue-cheekiest love albums you've ever heard. Episode Links: Spoofs, Goofs, and Novelty Songs!: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spoofs-goofs-and-novelty-songs/id1481123520 Ringolevio movie on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ringolevio-Nicole-Velasco-Lockard/dp/B097JMHN7B Other Links: OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/2stA2P7pTC Flyover State Hotline - 1 608 HIT-NERD FLYOVER STATE TV YOUTUBE live every other Tues. at 730pm CST: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClxl2ivi_eO93zL49QZDuqA (for local listeners) Under the Covers is Wednesday mornings from 6 to 8am on 91.7 WSUM FM, 92.5 WISY FM Sunday afternoons 1-3pm EVERYTHING ELSE: https://linktr.ee/FlyoverStatePark --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/albumconcepthour/support

This week we're resurfacing a delightful episode that originally ran in April of 2020, and which features two of our favorite songwriters/performers: Matt Berninger of The National and Aimee Mann. Their chat was inspired by the release of an excellent documentary about Other Music, the revered New York record store that closed in 2016. The conversation veers into many other areas as well, including creativity during the pandemic. The challenges of the past couple of years were no match for these two: Berninger released a solo album called Serpentine Prison last year, and Mann just released Queens of the Summer Hotel, a set of new songs inspired by the book Girl, Interrupted. Enjoy, and we'll be back with a brand new episode next week. —Josh Modell ------- This week on the show, we celebrate the wonderful Other Music documentary with two Grammy-winning artists: singer-songwriter Aimee Mann and the National's Matt Berninger. The two discuss the iconic record store and the creative importance of having physical spaces dedicated to musical community, plus we hear how they're managing to work during the pandemic, and Matt reveals that he's both writing a musical and launching a label imprint. The Other Music doc features many wonderful artists that have appeared on our show — TV on the Radio, the Magnetic Fields, Superchunk, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Jason Schwartzman, Animal Collective, William Basinski, Frankie Cosmos and more — this is truly a #talkhousecore film! Other Music is currently being screened via a "virtual theatrical release," with more than 200 independent record shops and movie theaters offering it to rent, and splitting the profits 50/50. This is a wonderful chance to support your local purveyor of brilliant art, and catch one of the must-see music films of the year. Click here to find your local favorite store or theater that's screening it! (Our producer Mark Yoshizumi rented it from his alma mater Reckless Records in Chicago; Talkhouse Film's Editor-in-Chief Nick Dawson supported Permanent Records in L.A., and I went with Record Grouch in Brooklyn, where I've spent many and many a happy hour amongst the hallowed racks.) Enjoy today's show, and subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast, including upcoming talks like Jarvis Cocker (Pulp) with the Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt, and Black Belt Eagle Scout with Sasami. —Elia Einhorn, Talkhouse Podcast host and producer This week's show was recorded by Aimee Mann, Matt Berninger, Nick Dawson, and myself in our respective #stayhome studios. The Talkhouse Podcast's co-producer is Mark Yoshizumi. Our theme song was composed and performed by The Range.

Due out February 18th, on Yoko Ono's 89th birthday, the Ocean Child: Songs of Yoko Ono podcast will accompany the compilation tribute album of the same name. Imagined and curated by Benjamin Gibbard (lead singer, guitarist and songwriter of Death Cab for Cutie), the LP celebrates the extraordinary work of multimedia artist, singer, songwriter and activist Yoko Ono with new renditions of her songs by an array of brilliant artists including (in order of their voices in the trailer): David Byrne, Japanese Breakfast, The Flaming Lips, Thao, and Death Cab for Cutie, as well as Sharon Van Etten, Deerhoof, Yo La Tengo, Stephin Merritt (of Magnetic Fields), We Are KING, Amber Coffman, Jay Som, Sudan Archives and U.S. Girls. These new interpretations of her work accentuate Ono's powerful artistic impact, lasting cultural relevance, and utterly unique approach to songcraft. Hosted by Gibbard and journalist Jenny Eliscu, the Ocean Child podcast features interviews with contributors about their own meaningful connections to Ono's music and art, whether it's David Byrne describing the influence of Ono's book Grapefruit on his Broadway show American Utopia, or The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne describing what it's like to work with Ono, or Japanese Breakfast's Michelle Zauner examining how her own Asian identity affects her relationship with Ono's songs, or Gibbard remembering picking up a vinyl copy of Ono's Season of Glass at a record store years ago, and feeling stopped in his tracks by its beauty, from the very first listen. As he explains, “Her songwriting has been criminally overlooked. This is an artist whose output has run the gamut from avant-garde to bubblegum pop, often across a single album. She has consistently created melodies as memorable as those of the best pop writers. As a lyricist, she has always written with poignance, sophistication and deep introspection. It is my sincere hope that a new crop of Yoko Ono fans fall in love with her songwriting due in some small part to this album we have put together.” On Spotify, thanks to their awesome Music + Talk feature, the Ocean Child podcast will also feature renditions from the Ocean Child album, along with some of Ono's original versions. A portion of the album's proceeds will be donated to WhyHunger, a non-profit organization Ono has supported for decades in their efforts to transform our food system by building social justice and striking at the root causes of hunger and poverty. A visual of the trailer is available HERE Watch the lyric video for David Byrne and Yo La Tengo's collaborative cover of “Who Has Seen The Wind?” HERE

Hablamos con el líder de The Magnetic Fields sobre su último álbum, Quickies, su proceso creativo, su querencia por los bares, y la posibilidad de venir a vivir a Barcelona, Cádiz o el Madrid de Pedro Almodóvar. Parece que sólo "I will survive" puede acallar las canciones que lleva dentro.

Page One, produced and hosted by author Holly Lynn Payne, celebrates the craft that goes into writing the first sentence, first paragraph and first page of your favorite books. The first page is often the most rewritten page of any book because it has to work so hard to do so much—hook the reader. We interview master storytellers on the struggles and stories behind the first page of their books.About the guest author:Daniel Handler is the author of seven novels, including Why We Broke Up, We Are Pirates, All The Dirty Parts and, Bottle Grove and most recently Poison for Breakfast, his first book for readers of all ages published by Liveright/W.W. Norton.As Lemony Snicket, he is responsible for numerous books for children, including the thirteen-volume A Series of Unfortunate Events, the four-volume All the Wrong Questions, and The Dark, which won the Charlotte Zolotow Award. Handler has received commissions from the San Francisco Symphony, Berkeley Reperatory Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company, and has collaborated with artist Maira Kalman on a series of books for the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and with musicians Stephin Merritt (of the Magnetic Fields), Benjamin Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie), Colin Meloy (of the Decemberists) and Torquil Campbell (of Stars).His books have sold more than 70 million copies and have been translated into 40 languages, and have been adapted for film, stage and television, including the recent adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events for which he was awarded both the Peabody and the Writers Guild of America awards. He lives in San Francisco with the illustrator Lisa Brown, to whom he is married and with whom he has collaborated on several books and one son.You may also find him on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, IMDB, and purchase his books via Upstream(for signed copies), Indiebound, Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.About the host:Holly Lynn Payne is the CEO and founder of Booxby , a startup helping authors succeed. Holly is also an internationally published novelist in eleven countries whose work has been translated into nine languages. Her most recent novel, Damascena:The Tale of Roses and Rumi, has been optioned for a film series. She is the founder of Skywriter Books, an award-winning small press, publishing consultancy and writing coaching service. She lives in Marin County with her daughter and enjoys mountain biking, surfing and hiking with her labrador retriever, Lady Gaia. To learn more about her writing coaching services, please visit hollylynnpayne.com.

En tres discos y grabado bajo Stephin Merritt cerró el milenio pasado como el mayor ciclo de canciones de amor que ha entregado la música indie.

This week, we're continuing our journey through the third season of "Bob's Burgers" with the end credits sequence to: Season 3, Episode 16: "O.T. The Outside Toilet"----Follow and Support Us On: PatreonInstagramTwitter----Links as promised in the episode: Mark Proksch (the voice of Mr. Dinkler) pretending to be a Yo Yo expert on various local news stations. Fully animated cover of "Electric Love" performed by Stephin Merritt and Kenny Mellman--Also, if you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you can. And more importantly, spread the word. The more action the show gets the better. We want to continue to make these, and building an audience is the best way to make sure we'll be able to.  Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Since this podcast's very beginning, there was only one real option for our 69th album: 69 Love Songs, Stephin Merritt’s three-disc 1999 opus. It's a seemingly impossible romp through dozens of musical styles that could be hilarious, heartbreaking, mocking, sincere, or all of the above in one big clump. This is the third and last episode of this series, so get your bottle of gin and join us! Cohosts for vol. 3: Chris Willie Williams, Rich Bunnell, Amanda Rodgers, John McFerrin Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/069-the-magnetic-fields-69-love-songs-1999 Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod

Since this podcast's very beginning, there was only one real option for our 69th album: 69 Love Songs, Stephin Merritt’s three-disc 1999 opus. It's a seemingly impossible romp through dozens of musical styles that could be hilarious, heartbreaking, mocking, sincere, or all of the above in one big clump. This is the second of three episodes we've recorded, one for each disc. Come on and kiss us like you mean it. Cohosts for vol. 2: Chris Willie Williams, Rich Bunnell, Amanda Rodgers, John McFerrin Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/069-the-magnetic-fields-69-love-songs-1999 Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod

Since this podcast's very beginning, there was only one real option for our 69th album: 69 Love Songs, Stephin Merritt’s three-disc 1999 opus. It's a seemingly impossible romp through dozens of musical styles that could be hilarious, heartbreaking, mocking, sincere, or all of the above in one big clump. We've recorded one episode for each disc, which we'll be releasing over the next three days. Please enjoy all our little words!  Cohosts for vol. 1: Chris Willie Williams, Rich Bunnell, Amanda Rodgers, John McFerrin, Libby Cudmore, B. Heard Complete show notes: https://discordpod.com/listen/069-the-magnetic-fields-69-love-songs-1999 Support the podcast! https://www.patreon.com/discordpod

ABOUT THE GUEST Stephin Merritt is a singer-songwriter who has released more than a dozen albums with his band the Magnetic Fields, along with albums from the 6ths, Future Bible Heroes and the Gothic Archies. He’s also composed music for movies (Pieces of April, Eban and Charley) and stage (Coraline, The Orphan of Zhao, Peach Blossom Fan) and was the subject of the documentary Strange Powers. ABOUT THE HOST Neil Goldberg is an artist in NYC who makes work that The New York Times has described as “tender, moving and sad but also deeply funny.” His work is in the permanent collection of MoMA, he’s a Guggenheim Fellow, and teaches at the Yale School of Art. More information at neilgoldberg.com. ABOUT THE TITLE SHE'S A TALKER was the name of Neil’s first video project. “One night in the early 90s I was combing my roommate’s cat and found myself saying the words ‘She’s a talker.’ I wondered how many other other gay men in NYC might be doing the exact same thing at that very moment. With that, I set out on a project in which I videotaped over 80 gay men in their living room all over NYC, combing their cats and saying ‘She’s a talker.’” A similar spirit of NYC-centric curiosity and absurdity animates the podcast. CREDITS This series is made possible with generous support from Stillpoint Fund Producer: Devon Guinn Creative Consultants: Aaron Dalton, Molly Donahue Mixer: Andrew Litton Visuals and Sounds: Joshua Graver Theme Song: Jeff Hiller Website: Itai Almor & Jesse Kimotho Intern: Emme Zhou Digital Strategy: Ziv Steinberg Thanks: Jennifer Callahan, Larry Krone, Tod Lippy, Sue Simon, Jonathan Taylor TRANSCRIPTION STEPHIN: Should we do a slate? NEIL: Yeah, sure. I'll just clap. Neil, talking to Stephin Merritt whose work he has adored since whenever the Faraway Bus came out. STEPHIN: Wayward. NEIL: Wayward Bus. There's a faraway. Where does faraway fit in that? I know there's something. STEPHIN: I don't know. I have a large catalog. NEIL: Yeah, I've heard. Word on the street. But it is true, I have just so profoundly loved your work since way back then. STEPHIN: Thank you. I'm thirsty. It's hot in here because I've turned the air conditioner off for audio. NEIL: I appreciate that. STEPHIN: I will be doing product placement for Mineragua Sparkling Water again and again. NEIL: Mineragua sounds like it could be a symptom. I'm sorry, I can't have a podcast today. I have Mineragua. I feel a little bit refreshed just looking at the label. Do you mind my asking, before we got on online, you were mentioning that you had COVID and you are experiencing brain fog. Can you describe what that feels like? STEPHIN: Well, it feels like writer's block and an inability to organize anything. I mean, everybody, pretty much... A lot of people have writer's block, but I have really weird writer's block. I agreed to write an article about ELO for a book someone is doing about the albums that changed my life. And I tried to write about ELO out of the blue. I just had to write 1000 words. I happened to have already written 1000 words on ELO out of the blue in junior high school, so it should not be a problem. But it took me six weeks and I eventually gave up. I just couldn't do it. STEPHIN: At the risk of interviewing you, in your background you have what seems to be a painting studio with a television on it, on the desk. Do you paint the television? STEPHIN: When I was in film school I filmed the television all the time. It's a really good source of images. NEIL: I don't paint, my studio mate does, so those are her paintings. Then the TV, I've got asked to do a project where I'm reviewing some work I did back in the mid 90s and reflect on it, so I broke out the old CRT and I've been pulling a Stephin Merritt in film school, I've been filming the TV set. Which is a very familiar, old feeling because I used to do that a bit too. STEPHIN: Everything looks better if you record it onto more than one medium. NEIL: You mean if there's like a generation loss? STEPHIN: Yes. Well, two generation losses of different kinds so that they have a sort of moire pattern in between them, so that you got the grain of the film and the scan lines of the video distorting each other. It makes everything prettier. NEIL: I love that. It's almost like wearing a plaid tie and a striped shirt, but the plaid tie is translucent or something like that. STEPHIN: Yes. NEIL: I didn't know you went to film school, though. STEPHIN: Yes. I never finished, but I went. NEIL: I remember when you wrote in TimeOut, was that about film? No. Or was it about books? No, it was about music. What the fuck am I talking about? STEPHIN: I reviewed a lot of different things in TimeOut, music, theater, food. I don't think I reviewed any books for TimeOut. Every year, I reviewed the calendars for the following year and the Christmas records, which is the worst job I have ever had. Entailed listening to at least 10, well, I chose 10, so a lot more than 10, Christmas albums. I hate Christmas albums. NEIL: Where are you speaking to me from? STEPHIN: New York City. I have a view of the Empire State Building from my chair. NEIL: Is it a north view, are you looking downtown onto the Empire State Building or uptown? STEPHIN: No. NEIL: Sideways? STEPHIN: You think I'm uptown? Jesus Christ. NEIL: Yeah, sorry. STEPHIN: No, I'm downtown baby. I am looking at the southern angle of the Empire State Building. NEIL: That's beautiful. STEPHIN: Where are you? NEIL: I'm on the lower east side, where I used to be able to actually to see The World Trade Center right out my window, speaking of landmarks. STEPHIN: I hope you were not able to see it burning. NEIL: Yeah, I did see it burning. Did you? STEPHIN: I saw it burning, but not from my room. NEIL: It is a different thing. STEPHIN: I would have been very upset. I mean, I was very upset. No, I saw it from my roof with binoculars, an experience I'm glad to never repeat. I now have a phobia of binoculars. NEIL: Because of that? STEPHIN: Yeah. NEIL: Some entomologist is really loving that they have, on the tip of their tongue, the scientific name for the phobia of binoculars. I've never heard that before, though. STEPHIN: Diocularaphobia, or something. NEIL: Also, there's something about a phobia is sort of in a meta relationship to something, which binoculars are in relationship to the thing being seen, so it's like... I don't know. There's something very complex going on. I'm detecting a kind of like lens theme happening. You spotted the TV set, film school, the filming of one thing with another thing, binoculars. What's going on? STEPHIN: Sometimes when suddenly a theme occurs to one it's always been there in everything and you just grabbed onto it as a filter. NEIL: Can I ask, when people don't know you, do you have a succinct way that you describe what it is you do? STEPHIN: I'm a songwriter not aligned to any particular genre. My preferred genre is variety. And I recently realized that my favorite genre is variety because I grew up on AM radio, and that was what AM radio was like. It would be Frank Sinatra followed by Black Sabbath. NEIL: That's so beautiful. I love it as a genre. I often say my favorite TV show is the menu, and I have spent vast amounts of time pretty contentedly looking through the selection of things to watch on the Netflix menu, whatever, and then kind of called it a night. STEPHIN: Reading the TV guide listings was almost always more entertaining than watching television. NEIL: It was a precursor to the genre variety. STEPHIN: Yes. Also, I'm not a good cook, but I do collect bento boxes and I make bento for lunch for myself. NEIL: Bentos are like a structure for variety. STEPHIN: Yes. NEIL: Shall we try some cards? But if anything doesn't speak to you just say pass or whatever. STEPHIN: No, I'll say brain fog. NEIL: Brain fog. Yeah. But so the first card says certain art ideas, when you come back to them or like a cup of coffee you left out on the counter. STEPHIN: I don't drink coffee, so I don't know what it's like when you leave coffee out on the counter. But I suppose if you have milk in it, the milk is probably curdled. NEIL: It's gotten cold. STEPHIN: What about iced coffee? Can you make iced coffee out of coffee that is simply gone cold or does it now taste bad? NEIL: I have very specific requirements around the iced coffee. I need for it to be designated from the start as iced coffee. STEPHIN: I'm a tea drinker and tea doesn't work that way at all. You can just heat it up again and it's fine. NEIL: Well, what's it like for you? How do you return to something that's in process, the cup of coffee that's been put down, and follow through on it maybe even after the initial heat, I'm really pushing the metaphor, has gone? STEPHIN: If I don't find what I worked on yesterday to be inspiring, I don't work on it again. I guess I don't work on things where the initial heat has dissipated. Red says I dump out the coffee. Or if I don't dump out the coffee, what I'm more likely to do is find something fun in it, cross out everything else, copy that to another page, and just go with the fact that Wallaby turned out to rhyme with. NEIL: Implicit in that is the idea that your working style involves pushing through to a type of finish. STEPHIN: Well, the most recent Magnetic Fields album was called Quickies. And by the standards of, say, The Cure, none of the songs on Quickies are finished because they're all under two minutes 20 seconds long. And I think that the two minutes 20 seconds is actually made that long by the guitarist tacking on an intro and outro that isn't a part of the song. STEPHIN: Everything is under two minutes long and all of the songs are a maximum of two parts, they don't have middle eights or anything, and they end as soon as they can. They don't have vamps at the end and that sort of thing. So there's that kind of finished/unfinished, but also I usually have a pretty wide variety of lengths of song on a given record. 69 Love Songs goes from 15 seconds to five minutes. So a song is really finished when I say it's finished. STEPHIN: I guess the recording is what's going to sound under cooked or not under cooked, not so much the song itself. I don't think I've ever left in a really stupid line in a song just because I can't think of something else. I don't know. Maybe on... I was going to say maybe on my first album, but then I was a perfectionist on my first album, so no, probably not. NEIL: Have you become less of a perfectionist with time? STEPHIN: I think every artist becomes less of a perfectionist with time. Especially Mondrian, who got bored. He got bored quite rightly. NEIL: Is there any correlation between a duration of time that it takes to, let's say, "finish" a song and the duration of the song itself, or can it take a really long time to do a short song? STEPHIN: There's a number of songs on Quickies that have been sitting in notebooks for decades unfinished, and they were finished by, sometimes, my simply looking at them and saying, "Oh, they're finished," and other times by my saying, "Well, if I just subtract this part, then it'll be finished." So I take songs that were really awful because the verse was so terrible, but the chorus was great, just play the chorus, and the song is done. NEIL: That is wisdom. STEPHIN: Finish by subtracting. NEIL: Yeah. Hello. One of the cards I hadn't thought of, but that I remember now, is I hate bridges in music generally. How do you feel about bridges? STEPHIN: I'm trying to think of one that I love. Here's a bridge that I love. In the ABBA song, Hole In Your Soul, it's a hard rock song, the closest ABBA could conceivably come to being hardcore. And then there's a bridge and the bridge is completely different. No drums, everything drops out, and you hear a beautiful synthesizer and an almost operatic tone of voice. You really hear Agnetha doing her Connie Francis imitation, because Connie Francis was her favorite singer, and then it goes out of that into a shrill, very high note, and you can't believe she can sustain this note, as the hardcore comes rushing back. And the bridge has actually done what bridges are supposed to do, which is give you something completely different to listen to for 10 seconds as an excuse to play the chorus a fourth and fifth time. That's the only bridge I can think of that really justifies the existence of bridges. NEIL: I feel like we're comrades on that. Because it always seems to me the bridge is serving a purpose outside itself. You know what I mean? STEPHIN: Generally the purpose of the bridge is to make the song longer than two minutes and 50 seconds, which is the length that singles used to have as a maximum in the heyday of the seven inch single. Before Bohemian Rhapsody you were never going to get a song on the radio if it was more than two minutes and 50 seconds long, unless it was going to be on FM radio and who cares about FM radio? So yeah, bridges are a purely commercial thing. Art songs never have bridges and folk songs never have bridges. NEIL: I feel so vindicated. What about key changes? I feel like often there can be a type of hubris in a key change. STEPHIN: The Barry Manilow problem is that once you're tired of the chorus, he goes up one half step and plays the same exact chorus all over again in identical arrangement, except that it's one half step up. And sometimes that pesky Barry Manilow does it again, more than one. NEIL: Can't Smile Without You. STEPHIN: Can't Smile Without You, yes. I actually love Barry Manilow's voice, but the key change habit drives me nuts. NEIL: You're someone who, if there's a key change in your music, I am 100% all in. Nothing is coming to mind. I know there is one. There's got to be. STEPHIN: I always make sure that if I really hate something, I make sure that I put it into my music. So I agree that there must be an unnecessary modulation somewhere, I just can't think of where it is. NEIL: Perhaps we'll call this episode, unnecessary modulation. Next card. STEPHIN: Maybe gratuitous. Gratuitous modulation. NEIL: Gratuitous modulation. See now gratuitous bridge is almost redundant, right? STEPHIN: Yes, it's redundant. NEIL: We've determined. STEPHIN: Except in Hole In Your Soul, where the bridge is at least half the point of the song. NEIL: I can't wait to hear it. And I should apologize, every now and then I'm speaking over you just because there's a little delay in my earphones. STEPHIN: That's fine. NEIL: Apologies if that's confusing to you. STEPHIN: A friend of mine hates being interrupted. That's her problem. She's miserable. She thinks everyone disrespects her. Not at all, it's the way everyone speaks. She just has a pet peeve that she should get over. NEIL: It's interesting, so I teach and I had this student who was amazing, but was completely... She was wild, and she was also a just insane interrupter of other people in the class, but- STEPHIN: Classrooms are not conversations, and if the other person is trying to learn something from you, then her interrupting them, interrupting a question in particular, is much ruder than it would be in an ordinary conversation. NEIL: Great point. And so I said, "How would you like to be interrupted?" And she said, "I love being interrupted." And I really believed her. It wasn't just like she was okay with it, she loved it. STEPHIN: I also love being interrupted. I'm all in favor of that. However, it's not really her decision to make if this is a hierarchical class. I don't know. Was it a lecture or a seminar? It makes a difference. NEIL: Studio art class. I mean, that's very contested hierarchy there. STEPHIN: If she did it all the time, it's just annoying. NEIL: And she did indeed. She was a great student, though. Sondheim related card. The song Ladies Who Lunch, I really get stopped on the line, aren't they a gem? And I know you're a stickler for grammar, and I don't know if this is a grammatical error or what it is, or it's just a choice. But how do you feel about that? Here's to the ladies who lunch, aren't they a gem? STEPHIN: I'm failing to see what you're pointing out as a grammatical error. NEIL: Aren't they gems? Unless ladies who lunch is singular. STEPHIN: They collectively. Aren't they a circus? Aren't they a gem? Aren't they a peach? NEIL: Aren't they a peach. Aren't they peaches. You don't have a problem with it. See, aren't they a circus I would be okay with because that a circus is a collection of... I guess a gem is a collection of what? STEPHIN: Carbon atoms. NEIL: So you're okay. That was in Sondheim's notebook, aren't they a collection of- STEPHIN: Carbon atom. More than on carbon atom. A gem, in fact. NEIL: All right, you've solved it. We're done in terms of my issues with that song. Next card.   STEPHIN: All of my Sondheim quibbles are from West Side Story, but I don't really want to air them. NEIL: I have a lot of quibbles with Sondheim. Can I just go there? Sorry Stephen Sondheim, if you're a listener of She's A Talker. I don't emotionally trust his work. So much of it is about relationships, but the way he talks about it, it feels very outsider speaking as an insider. It doesn't ring true, maybe, is all I'm saying. STEPHIN: Do Rodgers and Hammerstein ring true? Do you find Flower Drum Song to be a photorealist masterpiece? Not a hint? NEIL: I guess I am talking to the wrong person. But is it claiming to be? Or maybe it's in the uncanny valley of sentiment. Meaning it's trying to represent- STEPHIN: And then it's not realistic enough for you. NEIL: Exactly. I don't go into Rodgers and Hammerstein song, at least in this historical period, expecting that. Sondheim represents himself as offering this kind of acute nuanced insight into the dynamics of relationship. Or am I wrong? STEPHIN: I don't want to speak for him. I certainly don't present myself as offering a particularly subtle or nuanced insight into relationships. NEIL: But, I'm going to interrupt, that's the paradox. STEPHIN: My work is more about other work than it is about portraying reality. And you could say, I'm not sure that Sondheim would be comfortable with it, but you could say that Sondheim's work is more about theater and music than it is about whether Bobby is going to get married. STEPHIN: I always say that the kind of plot that I hate boils down to, will the boring straight people fuck each other? And it is. Two thirds of the plots in the world are, will the boring straight people fuck each other? Which is why gay cinema should not emulate straight cinema. NEIL: Not to mention gay life. STEPHIN: Gay life. NEIL: The thing I was going to say about your work is there's a paradox, for me at least, which is I've heard you say that you don't, and you've just said it, that you're not aiming for a certain type of realism, for lack of a better word, but paradoxically it inadvertently achieves it one way or the other, for me at least. Emotional- STEPHIN: Realism. NEIL: Emotional realism, absolutely. STEPHIN: Psychological realism, in fact. NEIL: Indeed. Verily. STEPHIN: I'm not a fan of psychological realism as a genre, so I don't delve. NEIL: You may be getting in through the back door, as it were, speaking of queer. STEPHIN: Hubba hubba. NEIL: Dog's name? STEPHIN: What's the next card? NEIL: This one's about animals, and I know you're a dog person. What are your pups' names? STEPHIN: Edgar and Agatha. They are not named after the mystery novel prizes, they're named after the people the mystery novel prizes are named after, Edgar Allan Poe and Agatha Christie, because they were from mysterious origins. NEIL: Where are they from? Or it's mysterious. STEPHIN: They were found rooting through garbage in Atlanta, Georgia. NEIL: Beautiful origin story. STEPHIN: They should probably have been named after some realist authors like Zola and Tolstoy, or something. NEIL: We could talk more about that, but I'll say that my cat's origin story, and Beverly is the mascot of the podcast, was found hiding in the wheel-well of a car in Brooklyn as a little kitten. She's a survivor. But this card says, the way an animal's affection and vulnerability are connected. STEPHIN: Is what? NEIL: It's just an observation, I guess. That, at least for cats, they'll do things like they'll slow blink, which is a way of making themselves vulnerable, which apparently is a way of, according to the interpreters of cat behavior, it's a way of expressing affection for you. STEPHIN: Like putting your head down is a way of being lower and therefore more vulnerable. NEIL: Yeah. STEPHIN: Like kneeling before the queen to be knighted. She could decapitate you, but she doesn't. She symbolically decapitates you in order to show that you are loyal enough to present your neck for decapitation by the queen. NEIL: Is that what that's about? STEPHIN: Yes. NEIL: How does that live with Edgar and Agatha? STEPHIN: They put their heads down, I don't decapitate them, we live happily. NEIL: All right, one more card. The sound of turning off an NPR story mid-sentence always makes me feel like I'm in a movie. Like, let's say I have to get out of the apartment, but I'm listening to NPR and there's a news story and I turn it off, suddenly I'm like, I'm in a movie. No? Yes? STEPHIN: This is Nina Totenberg reporting on the zombie massacres happening in Lebanon today. We have the BBC correspondent. Are you there? Are you there? I can't quite hear you. Well, we'll have to get back to Lebanon. Now, we go... Yes, sounds like you're in a movie. NEIL: To me, it does. Just when I turn it off in the middle of a sentence, do you have that experience? STEPHIN: I am so unlikely to turn anything off in the middle of a sentence that I would have to say non-applicable. NEIL: Is that because you're a completist or is it because... What's that about? STEPHIN: I'm sure it's a mental illness of some kind, but although I'm willing to interrupt people who are having a conversation with me, I'm less willing to interrupt people who are mechanical reproductions, I guess. NEIL: Kind of reminds me of someone I know, came as a child from Romania for the fall of communism, and she saw Tony the Tiger on TV saying, "Buy Frosted Flakes, they're great." And then she went to the store with her mom and she became desperate, telling her mom, "We have to get the Frosted Flakes." She didn't realize that someone on TV telling her to get something, it's actually optional. Could it be that? STEPHIN: What a sad story. NEIL: She's doing okay now. STEPHIN: It's probably more that I want to hear the end of the sentence. NEIL: So the unit is the sentence. STEPHIN: It's not like I wait until the end of the show to turn it off or anything. NEIL: Got it. All right, well, last question. When current circumstances, however you understand them, COVID, quarantine, social distancing, are over, what is it that you're looking forward to, if anything? STEPHIN: BEAR WEEK!  

It's that time of year again... Where lovers love and dancers dance, and and Quentin Tarantino writes "True Romance"... I just made that up in like 10 seconds. And it made it in the episode description... Folks, this is the kind of stream of consciousness avant-garde writing style that one must embrace if they are to write and record the kind of album that we have for you today. It is one of the most ambitious concepts we've seen someone tackle. It's the first disc of The Magnetic Fields' gigantic undertaking: "69 Love Songs." The album is split into three sections, each with 23 tracks, and covers a variety of love song tropes, as well as different narrative perspectives. We're just covering the first 23 tracks on disc one, but it's still the most tracks we have covered on one episode. Join us as we hear the range of genres that Stephin Merritt weaves in and out of the quintessential love song album... Our guest today is Martin Kaszubowski from the podcast "Spoofs, Goofs, and Novelty Songs!" where you can hear them talk about your favorite movie and music spoofs, a variety of novelty songs (and products), and many goofs along the way. Check them out where you listen to podcasts or click on the link below! Episode links: Spoofs, Goofs, and Novelty Songs!: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spoofs-goofs-and-novelty-songs/id1481123520 , https://www.facebook.com/goofspod/ Ringolevio movie on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ringolevio-Nicole-Velasco-Lockard/dp/B097JMHN7B Pick Apart the Passion: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4Uk6UBPMYEu9mW8iHZraNI932p95Fkdf Other Links: OUR DISCORD: https://discord.gg/2stA2P7pTC TACHP Desert Island Discord Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4wNErQHfrAYgSsIZlLJ6ym?si=dtrMJCuqQwa1Zt7RtwrXNg www.patreon.com/FlyoverStatePark www.twitter.com/FlyoverPodcasts www.anchor.fm/AlbumConceptHour www.twitter.com/AlbumConceptPod --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/albumconcepthour/support

The Magnetic Fields (aka Stephin Merritt) had a very unique vision when he set about making 1999's "69 Love Songs". 69 songs - 3 hours - dedicated to the idea of "a love song". Not even love itself! Who better than longtime die-hard fan and fellow singer-songwriter Nicholas Krgovich to help us dive in, and learn how/why this thing works? https://nicholaskrgovich.bandcamp.com/ https://www.niagaramoonmusic.com/ http://danbarracuda.com/

The piece of music we're listening to in the background is called Dark Streets. It's one of the soundtrack pieces I wrote for The Lost Cat podcast. Today, we'll break it down and get into why and how it was made. You will listening to How I Make Music, where audio drama composers get to tell their own stories. Every Wednesday, we break apart a song, soundtrack or composition and take a trip and how it was made. My name is A.P. Clark. I'm a musician and writer from London, England. And this is How I Make Music. Welcome back to How I Make Music episode 87, Dark Streets. by me A.P. Clark. Thanks for listening in. The Lost Cat podcast is a storytelling audio drama that details my continuing adventures and trying to find my cat, which is lost. It features monsters, ghosts, old ones, some cats, several ends of the world, and lots and lots of wine. 01:44 INFLUENCES I've been a musician since I was a teenager, you know, started in rock bands. But then I discovered all of the 60s singer-songwriters. And that was just much more narrative driven. Ballad form and story and character and stuff. When podcasts exploded about five, six years ago, it was like Ah, I can do music and I can do storytelling and I can do spoken word stuff. I can do all of it in one thing. So that's what got me into doing the Lost Cat podcast. So one of my influences at the time was I was listening to a lot of Sigur Ros, which is that post rock minimalist atmospheric style of music. Take a listen. It's a beautiful sort of cyclical piano. Piano figures. It affected my practice as I plonked away at the piano. I was getting into all of the the like the minimalists, classical composers like Reich and Glass. And that obviously fits perfectly with the idea of scoring which goes underneath and doesn't take focus off of the talking. So another influence that I was listening to a lot was the Magnetic Fields, all of the works of Stephin Merritt. A very specific song that I liked was his side project called The 6ths. I think the album was called Hyacinths And Thistles. And the impossibility of pronouncing that does give you an idea of his sense of humor. It's called The Dead Only Quickly Decay. Take a listen to it. Obviously has that slightly Gothic but slightly funny but slightly dark but slightly warm and human. It doesn't undermine the morbidness with funniness All of the Magnetic Fields is fairly wonderful for this stuff. 05:06 WELCOME TO NIGHT VALE  So as I was starting to make this podcast, Welcome to Night Vale was hugely popular is one of the first big independent podcasts, audio dramas to really break through. And so I was listening to it, and I was massively inspired by it. The fact that there is a song in the middle of all my episodes is just entirely because Night Vale did it. I was looking for a format, they had a format that was really good. And I really responded to so I just went with it. Because even Welcome to Night Vale, which is a famously sort of subversive queer podcast, still kept the Lovecraftian tone of fear of the other. So my unique input was to take the Lovecraftian tone, subvert the fear of the other and make it into a going towards the other, use what you got around you and make stuff. That's what I did. I needed a format. So I borrowed stuff from Night Vale.  06:41 GOING DIY  I was freelance at the time, which is to say I was massively underemployed part of it was just to like, give myself a project. You can't neurose about like, "is the idea ready yet? Is it good enough yet?" You just have to dive in and go with what you've got. I needed some music, it needed to be sort of dark and scary. So I just played something that sounded dark and scary moved on. The piece of music is improvised, it took 10 minutes. And I find that a very useful way of actually creating stuff. As an example, me and my friends made a feature length movie last year, called Apocalypse of the Blood Freak, which you can actually watch on YouTube, if you dare. We made it in five months. Cost 200 pounds. And it was all about just doing that DIY, put the show on with what you've got. And amazing things are possible when you do that. 07:59 PROCESS  The inspiration from the making the music was just I've got a hole in my aural landscape and I need to fill it with some dark blue scary music. Essentially, in the left hand, you've got a fairly you know, it's a drone, basically, it's that's the bed of it, that's the atmospheric bed that the right hand will sort of just sort of meld with the left hand. So it's just sort of shaping the atmosphere. If you press hard, it'll sort of come through really strongly. So mostly when I was improvising, I was I was I was worried about pressing the buttons too hard. It kind of didn't matter how the music changed as long as it changed, that would shape the scene. You know, when the dialogue had an emotional shift. You as long as you had some sort of change in the music. It would it would light up at the moment and it would really really work. I'm not quite sure which organ I use, but you know, like the Wurlitzer is or the the Rhodes or something that often have a speaker that actually span around in the cabinet so that you'd have this whoo sound. And at that point, I could just put stabs in there. Created the atmosphere really, really well.  10:04 NEW INSTRUMENTS  So I am a guitarist. But one of the ways to spark creativity is often to just move to an instrument that you're not comfortable with. And for example, the piano or the the MIDI keyboard synthesizer that I was using, pretty much, I could just play it one finger at a time. That's about as good as I could do. So just improvising in that very, very simply, without trying to get complicated at all, really created a bunch of different atmospheres that I couldn't create as a guitarist. So this is the theme tunes of The Lost Cat podcast, just written on piano, which I felt set the tone for the entire podcast. The interesting things here is the balance between repetition and variation. Because if you make it too repetitive, it's boring. But if you vary it up too much it you lose the atmosphere. I would recommend not giving into trying to be wacky if you're doing a funny thing, like don't use slide whistles or anything, you can just have a piano playing a slightly dark piece, the comedy will still come through I promise. 12:00 FREEING YOURSELF  I think it's very useful advice for those who are worried about what they don't have the resources or the talent to create something to not get ground down and paralyzed with. I'm not quite ready for this yet. I haven't quite figured it out, I can do better. Nope. I've got one weekend to write this story. So the ideas that are going through my head, that's what the story is going to be about this week. And it frees you immensely. 12:32 OUTRO  And that's about it for this week's episode. We'll listen to the full track in just a moment. But before we do that, thank you for listening to How I Make Music. Catch new episodes every Wednesday on Spotify, Apple, or wherever else you listen to podcasts. We've been listening to music featured in the audio drama called The Lost Cat podcast. To hear the full story or to check out my other compositions, please follow the links in the show notes. And check out what's on offer at patreon.com/howimakemusic or visit howimakemusic.com for more on the aims of this show. How I Make Music is created by John Bartmann. For audio experiences that keep people listening, contact John Bartmann via the show notes. And now, here is Dark Streets, a moody, menacing organ drone in its entirety. My name is A.P. Clark, and thank you for listening to How I Make Music. Catch you next Wednesday. ABOUT THIS SHOW**** How I Make Music is created by John Bartmann. For audio experiences that keep people listening, visit https://johnbartmann.com How I Make Music is a dramatically edited sound experience where behind-the-scenes musicians get to tell their own stories. Every Wednesday, we challenge audio drama composers to break apart a song, soundtrack or composition and get into why and how it was made. Subscribe to How I Make Music https://pod.link/howimakemusic Support How I Make Music https://patreon.com/howimakemusic How I Make Music https://howimakemusic.com For a full credit list of music and sound effects from this episode, visit https://howimakemusic.com

Brian Wilson, he of Beach Boys fame and writer of such brilliance as “Good Vibrations” and “God Only Knows,” is notoriously shy and reclusive. His genius, however, is indisputable. In this episode, we take a look at three artists with shades of Brian Wilson: reclusive, a bit prickly, genius-level songwriters. The Magnetic Field’s 69 Love Songs, Spin’s entry for the week, showcases Stephin Merritt’s love of literal titles and his genuinely impressive range. After some, lively, discussion of 69 Love Songs’ relative merits, Matt brings D’Angelo back into the fold with Black Messiah and tries not to fanboy too hard about Fiona Apple and The Idler Wheel.

Andy talks about his family's new dog and the Alissa Nutting novel Tampa. Andy admits to being ignorant of The Rolling Stones' discography. Andy speaks glowingly of Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields, the new Bill Callahan album, Gold Record, and Fiona Apple's latest record, Fetch the Bolt Cutters.

En este episodio de TanGente, conseguimos colarnos en el universo de Eduardo Alegría, y nos salpicamos de esa energía que solo se encuentra en la pureza del arte, en la honestidad de la música y la precisión del teatro. Él es músico, actor, tiene una voz espectacular y un sonido único. El ADN de Superaquello y Alegría Rampante no estaría completo sin sus genes... directamente desde Puerto Rico… Eduardo Alegría.Entren que caben 100: En este episodio caben Buscabulla, Devendra Banhart, Helado Negro, Mireya Ramos, Flor de Toloache, Andres Eloy Blanco, Camilo Lara, Maritza Perez Otero, Ita Venegas, Viveca Vázquez, Superaquello, Kate Bush, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Álex Anwandter, Stephin Merritt, Future Bible Heroes, Fofé Abreu, Oswaldo Colón… 50 parados, 50 de pie.Enlaces:Nuestro website: http://tangentepodcast.com/Nuestras redes:IG: https://www.instagram.com/tangentepodcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tangentepodcastTwitter: https://twitter.com/TangentePodcastPlaylist en Spotify – El Soundtrack de TanGente:https://open.spotify.com/user/reflautas/playlist/5kiHR1IAqC2WSVi777TCCm?si=2qNcDqEMQ-26MYhXiRhg5wBuscabulla - Vámono (Official Video): https://youtu.be/weIwiyBWeWIDevendra Banhart - It's Not Always Funny (Official Audio): https://youtu.be/ux5iVOEMGKkMireya Ramos - Angelitos Negros: https://youtu.be/_I59cNfJQ-QRedes sociales de Alegría Rampante:https://www.facebook.com/alegriarampante/https://www.instagram.com/alegriarampante/Instagram de Eduardo Alegría:https://www.instagram.com/alegrialegrialegria/Alegría Rampante - "Cícero" (Official Music Video): https://youtu.be/S_tm-n0Vx6ESuperaquello - ELP (Entre las patas): https://youtu.be/VQDvEnm5YDASuperaquello - Ornitorrinco: https://youtu.be/0f61ROogbgoAmelie Trailer: https://youtu.be/2UT5xaAfxWUAlegría Rampante - La Iguana en la Ventana: https://youtu.be/-9dF1zgaYvwAlegría Rampante - Un Cuarto Más Pequeño: https://youtu.be/vo7mXkqmu7UAlegría Rampante - Hotel Puercoespín: https://youtu.be/lGBWnONsW3MAlegría Rampante - Esquina Periferia: https://youtu.be/xdnbiw5zWTUAlegría Rampante - Alucinando al Máximo: https://youtu.be/qSy2p6JVoGMAlegría Rampante - JIRAFA feat. Fofé Abreu: https://youtu.be/FGMoA_sxHo4Meet 4 Women Pushing Puerto Rico’s Sustainable Farming Movement Forward: https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissarowley/2020/08/19/meet-4-women-pushing-puerto-ricos-sustainable-farming-movement-forward/#d41493a652a9

Surprise! Jarvis Cocker has moved his wonderful new LP Beyond The Pale's release date up two months to... tomorrow! Get ready for it with a listen to this rebroadcast of Jarvis' fantastic Talkhouse conversation with The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt.   ~~~   On this week's show, we pair two of the greatest living songwriters, artists who've reimagined what the form can look like, and what it can accomplish. The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and ex-Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker each have great new music in the world; when I heard the latter was coming to NYC, I instantly knew I had to try to get these two together in person for a Talkhouse Podcast convo. Thankfully, when presented with the idea, both were psyched! Over cups of tea at Hook and Fade Studios in Brooklyn (before the pandemic), the guys sat down for a delightfully freewheeling conversation about songwriting — and how they both love to subvert its norms in different ways — as well as the vastly different approaches they took to making their new LPs. But of course with these two, there's so much more here, including (but not limited to!): a moving discussion of reunions with their showbiz fathers who had abandoned them; the bad omen that nearly caused Jarvis to quit music in the year 2000; why Stephin’s new sexual fetish might be a “one time only” experience; and their shared love of that "hippy writer" Richard Brautigan. This episode is dedicated to all you "mis-shapes, mistakes, misfits" — enjoy! Pick up The Magnetic Fields' Quickies here, and Jarvis's Beyond The Pale here. Subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast, including upcoming talks like Helado Negro with Buscabulla and Black Belt Eagle Scout with Sasami. Make sure to revisit Stephin Merritt and Daniel Handler (aka the author Lemony Snicket)'s 2019 look back on 69 Love Songs on its 20th anniversary. —Elia Einhorn, Talkhouse Podcast host and producer This week’s show was recorded by the Talkhouse Podcast's producer Mark Yoshizumi. Josh Modell and I recorded ourselves in our respective #stayhome studios. Our theme song was composed and performed by The Range. Please direct all podcast-related ideas, vitriol, and compliments to elia@thetalkhouse.com.

On this week's show, we pair two of the greatest living songwriters, artists who've reimagined what the form can look like, and what it can accomplish. The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and ex-Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker each have great new music in the world; when I heard the latter was coming to NYC, I instantly knew I had to try to get these two together in person for a Talkhouse Podcast convo. Thankfully, when presented with the idea, both were psyched! Over cups of tea at Hook and Fade Studios in Brooklyn (before the pandemic), the guys sat down for a delightfully freewheeling conversation about songwriting — and how they both love to subvert its norms in different ways — as well as the vastly different approaches they took to making their new LPs. But of course with these two, there's so much more here, including (but not limited to!): a moving discussion of reunions with their showbiz fathers who had abandoned them; the bad omen that nearly caused Jarvis to quit music in the year 2000; why Stephin’s new sexual fetish might be a “one time only” experience; and their shared love of that "hippy writer" Richard Brautigan. This episode is dedicated to all you "mis-shapes, mistakes, misfits" — enjoy! Pick up The Magnetic Fields' Quickies here, and Jarvis's Beyond The Pale here. Subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast, including upcoming talks like Helado Negro with Buscabulla, Black Belt Eagle Scout with Sasami, and comedian Chris D'Elia with filmmaker Amanda Kramer. Make sure to revisit Stephin Merritt and Daniel Handler (aka the author Lemony Snicket)'s 2019 look back on 69 Love Songs on its 20th anniversary. —Elia Einhorn, Talkhouse Podcast host and producer  This week’s show was recorded by the Talkhouse Podcast's producer Mark Yoshizumi. Josh Modell and I recorded ourselves in our respective #stayhome studios. Our theme song was composed and performed by The Range. Please direct all podcast-related ideas, vitriol, and compliments to elia@thetalkhouse.com.

American pop songwriting genius Stephin Merritt discusses quarantine life in New York City, each and every song on the new album Quickies by the Magnetic Fields, and more! Supported by Live at Massey Hall, Pizza Trokadero, the Bookshelf, Planet Bean Coffee, and Grandad's Donuts. Please take this listener survey. 

En Terminal Pop (orm.es; sábados, 22,00/24,00) mantenemos la actualidad musical incluso en tiempos de pandemia. Fountains Of Wayne. En el nuevo single de Mavis Staples ha colaborado su colega Jeff Tweedy de Wilco, no solo en la producción, si no también tocando la guitarra y en la parte vocal. Nick Lowe acaba de anunciar un nuevo EP acompañado de la que se ha convertido en su banda de acompañamiento durante su últimos lanzamientos, Los Straitjackets. El Primavera Sound, pospuesto a finales de agosto por la pandemia (The Strokes). El festival Tomavistas 2020 también anuncia que se pospone a septiembre (Jarv Is). Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever anuncian "Sideways to new italy", su esperado nuevo disco , con la efervescente "she's there". La expulsión de Flavour Flav (Public Enemy) fue una broma y una estrategia publicitaria. Purity ring publican "Womb", su tercer disco, de pop mitad alienígena, mitad humano. The Magnetic Fields presentan ‘Kraftwerk in a blackout’, una clásica canción Stephin Merritt, mordazmente divertida. Pearl Jam han editado "Gigaton", que se ha convertido en una ayuda para mantener el pulso firme en un mundo colapsado. Conor Oberst y sus compañeros de Bright Eyes vuelven a la actualidad con "Persona non grata". The National reeditan su disco High Violet (2010) por su décimo aniversario. A Girl Called Eddy sacan nuevo single digital, "NY man". La productora, DJ y vocalista coreana Yaeji mezcla fantasía y realidad en el ensoñador primer adelanto de su nueva mixtape.

On today's special 10th anniversary episode, I talk to musician Stephin Merritt. Stephin is the founder and primary songwriter behind the band The Magnetic Fields. Started in 1991 in Boston, the band has released 11 albums including the three-volume 69 Love Songs and his most recent 5-LP collection 50 Song Memoir. In addition to The Magnetic Fields, Stephin also performs in The 6ths, The Gothic Archies and Future Bible Heroes; has scored a number of films and TV shows; and has even collaborated on a handful of musical theater productions. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter.

"The Book of Love" is a song written by Stephin Merritt and attributed to The Magnetic Fields, an American indie pop group founded and led by him. Peter Gabriel subsequently recorded the song for the soundtrack of the 2004 film Shall We Dance.

Stephin Merritt is one of the most brilliant songwriters of our time. Through his projects The Magnetic Fields, The Gothic Archies, Future Bible Heroes, and The 6ths, he’s deconstructed and reimagined the art of the song. Stephin’s lyrics are wonderfully dark and witty, often gender-bending, sometimes intellectual, occasionally utterly heartbreaking. His melodies are addictive enough to be illegal under drug-dealing laws. Stephin is able to make listeners laugh, cry, and think, all in the same song. This year marks the 20th anniversary of 69 Love Songs, widely considered the crown jewel of Stephin Merritt's vast catalog. A three CD (now also a six 10” vinyl) box set, the album is a meta conceit: a record not only full of love songs, but also about love songs themselves. Running 172 minutes and 35 seconds, the songs stylistically jump between indie rock, synth-pop, country, faux punk and jazz, Sondheim-esque showtunes, folk, a capella, '70s singer-songwriter, world music and much more. For today’s show, Stephin sat down with Daniel Handler — aka, A Series Of Unfortunate Events author Lemony Snicket — who played accordion on 69 Love Songs as well as interviewed Stephin for the liner notes. The old friends and collaborators chop it up on the triumphs and occasional difficulties of 69 Love Songs’ improbable existence — the arduous recording, uncharted release campaign, surprising live shows, initial reaction and beloved legacy. Their deep dive talk also takes in: Daniel’s theory that 69 LS has become a children’s album; “tweecore” beefs with Belle and Sebastian and Stereolab; the record release show that found Stephin trapped above the stage; the best music to get busy to; whispering hecklers; and why 69 Love Songs should’ve been sold in sex shops. Check it out, and subscribe now to stay in the loop on future episodes of the Talkhouse Podcast. —Elia Einhorn, Talkhouse Podcast host and producer Today’s episode was co-produced by Mark Yoshizumi. It was recorded at Hook and Fade Studios in Brooklyn. The Talkhouse Podcast’s theme song was composed and performed by The Range.

The Magnetic Fields' fastidious idea-geyser Stephin Merritt decided to preempt anyone else's attempts to pay tribute to his music by doing it himself. The result was 1995's indie-pop classic Wasps' Nests, recorded under the tongue-punishing name the 6ths, for which Merritt wrote and recorded all original songs, but recruited the cream of the who's-who of mid-'90s indie-rock to sing each of the tracks. On this episode of D&R, Will plays tour guide, herding Amanda, Dan, and Rich through Merritt's menagerie of indie-rock icons, exploring how their own musical styles react and fluoresce when combined with his singular, synth-heavy indie-pop backdrops. And holy every-profanity, Barbara Manning, Will's musical heroine, stops by to tell us about her experience contributing to this album and hanging out with Merritt in general! See http://discordpod.com/listen/the-6ths-wasps-nests-1995 for complete show notes.

Episode 76 features an in depth conversation with New York City music producer and engineer, Charles Newman. Tune in to hear all about Charles’ long history in music, which includes working with Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, playing in various bands, and starting The Deli Magazine, which remains an important music publication in New York City. Charles also discussed his role as music supervisor on the independent film, All These Small Moments, which involved working with the composer of the film’s score, Dan Lipton and the film’s creator/director, Melissa Miller Costanzo. Charles hand-selected the tracks on the soundtrack, which is an indie pop rock retro-americana mashup, with a dash of 80’s and shoegaze thrown in for good measure. The episode features some of the standout tracks from the soundtrack, including songs by Kris Gruen, Slowrunner, Echo Courts, Aloud, and Tom Shaner.You can purchase the soundtrack to All These Small Moments via Amazon. The soundtrack is also available to stream on Spotify.

Jag och den beryktade mångsysslaren, levande kartoteket och greven Fredrik af Trampe pratar om låttexter! Det är ett ämne vi båda bryr oss om. Fredrik sjunger a capella. Vi nämner Björn Afzelius. Skriva snabbt och skriva långsamt. Prestationsångest. Vi spekulerar vilt kring Stephen Merrit, och huruvida man verkligen vill vara Stephen.

The iconic, international bestselling author of 14 novels, including the era-defining Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, Douglas Coupland, paid a visit to the show to rap with me about his latest collection, his strange ritual for starting a new book, and the timeless difficulties of getting published. Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You By Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting. Start getting more from your site today! Mr. Coupland started his career in journalism before rising to prominence after his acclaimed, bestselling debut in 1991. Since Generation X he has become an internationally recognized visual artist, designer, and author of 14 novels, two short story collections, a dozen nonfiction books, and scripts for the stage, TV, and film. In addition to his many contributions to traditional and online publications including the New York Times, The Guardian, and Vice Doug has written and performed for England’s Royal Shakespeare Company and is a columnist for The Financial Times of London. His latest, titled Bit Rot, is a collection of more than 65 thought-provoking essays, stories, and meditations “… on the different ways in which twentieth-century notions of the future are being shredded.” The social critic and cultural observer has been prognosticating on how technology affects our brains since the advent of the internet. If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews. In this file Douglas Coupland and I discuss: How a visual artist became a generation-defining fiction author The writer’s love of serial journalism Why listeners of this show have won the biggest lottery in history How a Canadian professor in the ’60s predicted the influence of the internet we know today The magic of writing on airplanes Listen to The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience below ... Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes The Show Notes If you re ready to see for yourself why more than 201,344 website owners trust StudioPress the industry standard for premium WordPress themes and plugins swing by StudioPress.com for all the details. Douglas Coupland’s website Douglas Coupland for The Financial Times of London Douglas Coupland: ‘I’m actually at my happiest when I’m writing on a plane’ Bit Rot: stories + essays – Douglas Coupland Marshall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of My Work! – Douglas Coupland How Bestselling Author Austin Kleon Writes: Part One Douglas Coupland on Twitter Kelton Reid on Twitter The Transcript How Bestselling Author Douglas Coupland Writes Voiceover: Rainmaker FM. Kelton Reid: Hey, hey, welcome back to The Writer Files. I am still your host Kelton Reid, here to take you on yet another tour of the habits, habitats, and brains of renowned writers. The iconic international bestselling author of 14 novels, including the era defining Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, Douglas Coupland paid a visit to the show to rap with me about his latest collection, his strange ritual for starting a new book, and the timeless difficulties of getting published. Mr. Coupland started his career in journalism before rising to prominence after his acclaimed best-selling debut in 1991. Since Generation X, he’s become an internationally recognized visual artist, designer, and author of 14 novels, two short story collections, dozen nonfiction books, and scripts for the stage, TV, and film. In addition to his many contributions to traditional and online publications, including the New York Times, The Guardian, Vice, Doug has written and performed for England’s Royal Shakespeare Company and is a columnist for the Financial Times of London. His latest, titled Bit Rot, is a collection of more than 65 thought-provoking essays, stories, and meditations on the different ways in which 20th century notions of the future are being shredded. The social critic and cultural observer has been prognosticating on how technology affects our brains since the advent of the Internet. In this file, Doug and I discuss how a visual artist became a generation defining fiction author. The writer’s love of long-form journalism, why listeners of this show have won the biggest lottery in history, how a Canadian professor in the ’60s predicted the influence of the Internet as we know it today, and the magic of riding on airplanes. If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click subscribe to automatically see new interviews as soon as they’re published and do me the favor of dropping a rating in iTunes to help other writers find us. On with the show. We are rolling today on The Writer Files with an esteemed guest. Douglas Coupland is joining us. Thank you so much for hopping on the show today. Douglas Coupland: Well, thanks for having me. Kelton Reid: If you aren’t familiar with Doug’s work, I’d be surprised, but he’s an artist, designer, international bestselling author of novels, short stories, biography, quite a bit of journalism out there in the world, I think. Yeah, you’ve worked in the visual arts, you’ve done a lot of design work, and I’m guessing that you did the artwork for your new book, the cover and … Douglas Coupland: Oh, yeah. Kelton Reid: I’m looking at the back of Bit Rot, the brand new collection of stories and essays, and your face is just kind of hovering there behind the blurbs, which is kind of cool. Douglas Coupland: The whole author photo thing is just so corny and out of date. Usually most people just go to Google Images and see, Okay, got it, and that’s all they need. The cover, yes, I did do myself. Everyone thinks I used to do all my covers but I didn’t. Finally, the one where they sent me was just so dismal, I said, “You know what, I’m doing it.” How a Visual Artist Became a Generation-Defining Fiction Author Kelton Reid: I think it turned out very well. To say that you wear a lot of hats would be an understatement. Clearly, you do many different things. You’re kind of a … I wouldn’t really know how to sum it up. I mean, looking at your resume is very intimidating, but as a writer, you had this pretty storied career, and I’d love to take you back a little bit, maybe for listeners who aren’t familiar with your amazing journey. Can you take us back maybe to those moments before Generation X was commissioned and kind of all that craziness happened to you. How you got here, how you became this best selling author, of now I think it’s 13 novels, and all these other fantastic works. How did you get here, Doug? Douglas Coupland: I think my story is similar to most other people I ve met who write long form fiction, which is that they were doing, and I was doing, something completely unconnected to writing, and then somewhere around 28 or so, something clicks in and, “Oh, I think I should maybe write some long form fiction”. I don’t think I ever met a writer who came directly out of the creative writing program or a masters lit program. There’s something about the world we’re living. I went to art school and trained in sculpture and typography and spent a lot of time living in Japan, working there. I never really thought of words, one way or the other, and then in ’87, back when answering machines were still a big thing, like, “Now we got an answering machine”, I bought one and plugged it in and the first call I got was the editor of the local city magazine. “Come on down. We want you to write for us.” I’m a little … “I hadn’t written a thing in my life.” “Well, I read the postcard you sent to Don’s wife. It was on a refrigerator at a party last night. It was really funny so we think you should write for us.” “Okay”, and then two days later I was down in Beverly Hills, writing about this art called Scoundrel. Spent three days there, wrote the story in one day and, this was back when journalism paid a lot and, “Wait, wait. You mean, I had a lot of fun and enjoyed writing it, and I get paid for it?” At the time I had a big sculpture studio in Vancouver. Anything to do with sculpture is expensive because it’s third dimension and the prices of materials and … Anyhow, it became a very quick enjoyable way of paying my studio bills. Then I realized there was something deeper that was going on. I went to Toronto about six months later and took a job working the business magazine as a junior staffer. Probably between that first phone call and moving out to middle of nowhere to write Generation X was maybe 18 months. That was all it took to go from zero to fiction. I look back on that period of my life and what I remember most about it was chronic fatigue syndrome, which I don’t even know if it exists anymore. For that 18 month window, I’d wake up every morning and around an hour after waking up, I’d ugh, like being unplugged or something, and yet I got so much stuff done. It ended one day magically when I started writing fiction, so maybe there’s a connection there somewhere. Kelton Reid: Interesting, interesting. Since then, since that trip to the desert, Coachella, I believe. Douglas Coupland: Everyone knows about Coachella now, but back then it was this completely undiscovered, sort of Nixon era fantasy underneath a glass dome, meaning it wasn’t mid century, it wasn’t gay, it wasn’t trendy, it wasn’t Coachella. It was just this place where time froze, somewhere around when Pat Nixon had a bowl of Special K in 1971 or something. It was not the Coachella that people know now. Kelton Reid: The one that people are dropping exorbitant amounts of money to go and visit and do drugs and all that stuff. Douglas Coupland: The weather was just appalling. Kelton Reid: Since then, you’ve published, I believe it’s 13 novels, collections of short stories, eight nonfiction books … I mean the list here is pretty intimidating, and a lot of scripts, both screen and stage, including a TV show that you produced, I believe. That’s pretty, pretty exciting. A lot of successes there. So, looks like the best place to find all of that agglomerated in one spot is your fantastic website, Coupland.com, and I’ll link to that. Is there anywhere else we want to point listeners to to see your work? I mean, it’s everywhere. Douglas Coupland: I do a monthly column for the Financial Times of London Weekend Magazine. That’s out there. I mean, it looks like I do a lot, but in my head, I feel almost like I got locked-in syndrome. I really feel like I’m wasting my life, that I’m not using my time properly. Even picking up a sock is like, “Why am I picking it up?” It’s like I could be doing more permanent with that amount of energy. It’s just gotten kind of weird inside my head lately. I’m finding it very hard to read. I don’t know if that’s something you’re experiencing as well, or if it’s just me, or is it some massive phenomenon where reading fiction on a Kindle or a book is just like, “Oh, get to the point.” It’s not fast enough. I feel like a terrible human being for reading a fraction of what I used to read in a period of, like in a month. Where did that part of my brain go? Is it me? Is it everyone? Is it all this, you know, the cloud? Where is this coming from? Why Listeners of This Show Have Won the Biggest Lottery in History Kelton Reid: For sure, for sure. It’s interesting that you say that, because I know you write a lot of about it, and in your observations of the modern contemporary syndrome that we’re all kind of facing, this speeded up, fast food of the brain, nation and world. With all this inter-connectedness, how do writers really stay focused and research? So, let’s talk about your process. How do you stay focused and actually produce writing for your column and then anything else you’re working on. Are you working on another book now or are you turned to more visual stuff? Douglas Coupland: Writing takes place in time, and artwork largely takes place in space so I think it comes from separate and non-competing parts of the id, or the brain, or however you want to describe that sort of thing. I began writing this column, I guess you’d call it serial nonfiction. Every month I take a subject and analyzed it. I was very nervous in doing so because I’ve never actually done that kind of nonfiction before. It turns out I really loved doing it and I didn’t expect that. I’m happy it happened and now I find a lot of energies going to nonfiction. A TV project I’m working on right now, as we’re all living the golden age of television and I’d like to be part of that. I’ve always enjoyed being in the world and out of the world. Every year I take on two or three completely unrelated writing projects because I meet people I would never otherwise have met and go to places that I would never would have otherwise been and experience all this life. I don’t know how old you are. I’m 55, and what I’m finding amazing is that it just goes so quickly. When I look in the mirror, “That’s not me!” Think of all the planet we live on, and then the sun and all these galaxies. There’s trillions of them. Each galaxy has a million stars and there’s all this matter out there and antimatter. Out of all that matter, like you and me, and if you’re listening, all the matter in the entire universe, we got to experience life, whatever this thing called life is. It’s literally winning the biggest lottery in the universe, and knowing that, having the sentience to appreciate it, how we going to get the most of having been alive, or being alive here? It seems like this, not so much a gift, but a responsibility, I think. Which is why I always take on all these crazy projects and go to Russia, yeah, Russia, why not, for six weeks to do something. When I say it keeps life interesting, it, actually more than a figure of speech, it keeps this magical thing called life interesting. I think that’s my philosophy. I have a home base here. I live in Vancouver. I’m away about half the time. I go out and have adventures and I come back. I think of myself as just an adventurer, maybe in a certain old-fashioned tradition. As the times change, as I change, fiction’s a part of it, but it’s fiction reconfigured into other formats, again like long form television, or nonfiction, which is quasi-fictional. Bit Rot, which is the book we re here to discuss, I guess, is compilation of nonfiction pieces I’ve done, some published, some not. Fiction, which I thought was experimental, but as time goes on, I think it’s fiction that I want to create in the reader that same sense of weird magic you get when you’re online and you fall down a rabbit hole and suddenly you’re looking at a model railroad in the Czech Republic and then like vroom, you’re looking at Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Wikipedia page or something. I think that is very much a part of the modern experience, so how does fiction reflect that? I don’t believe, I think, in some writers who are notorious for bunkering themselves and turning out the lights and focusing purely on the words. I used to do that a little bit, but now I think, No, no, no. You’re out in the world, write about the world as you inhabit it, so that’s what I do. How a Canadian Professor in the 60s Predicted the Influence of the Internet We Know Today Kelton Reid: You’ve actually written about it, and I’ll link to this piece, I’m actually at my happiest when I’m writing on a plane. I think it sums up what you’re talking about. You’ve written about this often, how everything has been turned into this, again, this fractal sense of what you said about falling down a rabbit hole. So it sounds like your writing process is pretty broken up, but it’s working for you because obviously, it traverses a lot of that terrain. There’s so much in there and it’s been called binge-worthy reading of the Coupland brain. Yeah, it’s so cool that it really is capturing everything that you’re talking about, this ephemeral nature of where we are now. I have the McLuhan biography that you wrote here. I was just checking it out as a reference and he was talking about that moment that I think we’re all experiencing right now so- Douglas Coupland: The thing about Marshall McLuhan is most people under the age of 40 really probably don’t know him, or much about him. He has the two famous sound bites. There was “We all live in a global village” and “The medium is the message”. So he was this crusty fuddy duddy guy who was teaching at the University of Toronto in Canada in 1962. He was quite retrograde. He was quite religious. He didn’t really like the physical world very much, but through a chain of never-to-be-repeated circumstances, he was able to anticipate the Internet, and what it would feel like and how it would change the way our sentences work. Tom Wolfe famously wrote an essay where, I think it was Esquire, called What If He s Right? back in the early ’60s. What’s happened is McLuhan was right about almost everything, except he didn’t know the interface of what this new thing was going to look like, or feel like. So he’ll use 18th century pamphleteers in England to describe what we would now call PayPal, or eBay, or online dating. He actually anticipated the pornography explosion. He said that the world would be turned into a bordello without any walls. That was like his He had to approach everything metaphorically or through literary culture, which made him sound kind of nuts, but if you can be right up to 2017, the chances are he’s going to be right as we move further on. I got dragged kicking and screaming doing that biography, but I’m really glad I did. Kelton Reid: Yeah, that’s pretty fascinating, that you can try and do that and then do fiction. Are you turning to episodic TV as an outlet for the part of your brain that wants to do fiction? Or are you actually working on another piece of longer fiction now? Douglas Coupland: I’m working on, I call it 100 sermons, but I think maybe I’ll make it 99, ’cause 99 is a more interesting number. And I m actually doing, I suppose you would say, secular theology, addressing head on the ins and out and ups and downs of the soul, or trying to locate the soul. The art world, they talk about imminence, I suppose you would talk about that in alternate worlds as well. That’s where all the philosophers always get hung up and start becoming angels dancing on the heads of pins. I think most of us have this sensation that there is a holiness that pervades certainly life on Earth, and we talked about a bit earlier, but how does that holiness operate? I’m also very scientific, so is it the gravitational field? Or is it an inaccuracy, like one of the up or down quarks? How does holiness exists? I believe it does, but I’m also agnostic so … I think that’s where 100, excuse me, 99 sermons is coming from. I know Stephin Merritt was actually going to write his 100 love songs except the project came to an organic conclusion. He called it 69 love songs, which was sort of cheeky. So who knows what the number will finally be. That’s what I’m working on now. The Magic of Writing on Airplanes Kelton Reid: It sounds like you’re a writer who just kind of … You’re practicing some kind of productive procrastination, that s something that Austin Kleon talks about. He’s also a visual artist who’s a writer and he has an office where he’s got three different desks set up so he’s doing the visual art, then he’s doing the writing part, and then he just will kind of move from one thing to the other as the muse pulls him around the room. Is that how you find yourself working? I know you talk about writing on planes, you talk about writing, if you’re on a deadline, you’re working in a hotel room oftentimes. Douglas Coupland: Writing is, I think, best done in the morning before everyone arrives at the studio or other workers arrive. You ve got that magic lucidity window of maybe two and a half hours. That’s where most conception happens. The only other place I can really conceive … there’s two other places. One is on an airplane, which is great, because there’s no wi-fi, to be honest, and there’s this super focus. Also, it’s a chemical thing. You get one or two glasses of white wine on a plane with decreased oxygen and it’s like magic. The words just flow and then of course, two hours later, it’s over. The third place I like to get writing done is in the International House of Pancakes on the north side of Interstate 15 in Las Vegas. I had this tradition of starting books there. So I’ll go down, I’ll check into my booth. Yes, that’s right, a writer who has a superstition, who’d have thought? I like to begin it there. Las Vegas used to be this piddly little thing and now it s just morphed into this massive place but the IHOP continues to exist, so I will continue going there. Kelton Reid: That’s awesome. I will ask you about writer’s block. How do you feel about it? Is it a thing? Have you ever experienced it? Is it a myth? Douglas Coupland: Oh, writer’s block is real. I don’t know of any other profession that has an analogous syndrome. The thing about writer’s block is that, obviously you can’t write, but you perpetualize it, you catastrophize it, and “Oh, my god, I can’t write, my life is over.” Of course, it always comes back in the end. I’m curious to hear what other writers have to say on this subject. I think in the end it’s probably something really banal, but beneath surface, like maybe you changed your brand of B vitamins or something. I think they forgot to put B6 in a new batch or something. I think that … is it Occam’s Razor?… the easiest to answer is probably the right answer. I think it s something very of-the-world which causes writer’s block, unless it’s cosmic. You’re always bargaining in your head, maybe it is something, oh curse those muses. The Importance of Doing What You Enjoy Kelton Reid: I know that the writers that I’ve spoken to kind of run the gamut from it’s total bullsh*t. It’s kind of like impotence. We don’t talk about it, but it is real. Before we wrap up here, do you think you can define creativity in your own words? I know so much of what you do involves some elements of creativity. Douglas Coupland: Creativity? A few things come to mind. My hair went gray and white prematurely and so I look a lot wiser than I maybe am. I get asked to do these speeches for graduation ceremonies. The question I get a lot, mostly from the parents who are worried about their kids, is, “You know, what can we do to future proof the kids?” “What do you mean?” “Well, there’s this assault of new technologies coming from every direction, impacting all parts of our human experience. How can you make yourself safe from all that?” What I say is, “You have to find out what it is you enjoy doing and then do it. If you don’t enjoy doing it and you succeed, you’ll be contemptuous of your success and you won’t enjoy it. You have to accept that maybe you enjoy something that’s not going to make you a billion dollars. Maybe, you like working with shoes, just work with shoes.” There’s something about the creation of new images I’ve always liked, and whatever it takes me to get me there is what I do. I like creating new ways of working with words, ditto. I think they should have a course starting in kindergarten, “What do you like doing?” You might have students who spend 12, 13 years and they might still don’t figure it out what it is they like doing. Okay, well, get working in advertising then. Also, the other thing too, if you have 10 ideas, one of them is going to be a hit, one of them is going to be an absolute disaster, two of them will be pretty good and two will be like eh, one or two will be like, Don’t talk about it, and one is just a flaming disaster. So sometimes people get the flaming disaster first and they just have to realize it’s actually more of a probabilistic situation. That if they try it again they’ll probably get one of the better responses. It’s so easy for me to psych myself out with people in general, and I don’t know where that comes from, but whenever I find myself trying to psych myself out then I should really be doing it. For example, the Marshall McLuhan biography, I was like, “Uh, why do I uhhhh.” Phone calls to my agent and stuff. I learned so much from that experience. Yeah, just shake it up. Not everything’s gonna work, not everything’s gonna fail. It’s a mix. Kelton Reid: Words of wisdom from Douglas Coupland, whose fantastic new collection traverses the workings of Doug’s brain, more than 65 thought-provoking essays, stories, and meditations on the different ways in which 20th century notions of the future are being shredded. Finally, do you have any advice for your fellow scribes on how to keep the ink flowing and the cursor moving? Douglas Coupland: One thing I noticed about publishing or being published … where it’s been going on like 28 years now for me, is that it’s always been just as hard to get published as it is right now. That if it’s not one thing then it’s another, but it’s almost like Avogadro’s number or Pi or something, that the difficulty in getting published factor. In some ways it’s easier now, some ways it’s harder, but it averages out about the same amount. So I don’t think you can say there was once a golden age of new writers getting published. It’s always been the same. Kelton Reid: Yes, and thank you so much for taking the time. We really appreciate you doing this, and best of luck with all your future endeavors. Please come back and talk with us again. Douglas Coupland: It’s a joy to have met you. Thanks a lot, Kelton. Kelton Reid: Thanks so much for joining me on another tour of the writer’s process. If you enjoy The Writer Files podcast, please subscribe to the show and leave us a rating or review to help other writers find us. For more episodes, or to leave a comment or question, you can drop by WriterFiles.FM and you can always chat with me on twitter @KeltonReid. Cheers. Talk to you soon.

People say some stupid stuff when they think they're among friends. "All Jews" are this, maybe. Or "all Muslims" are that. Do you confront casual racism when you hear it, in private places like the dinner table, from family or friends? Or do you bite your tongue? Two Sydney women weren't sure that straight up confrontation would work all by itself, so they helped write a play that worked it. Nur Alam and Yvonne Perczuk are part of the writing collective Abe's Babes, which wrote the play The Laden Table about casual racism around Sydney's Muslim and Jewish dinner tables. Links for this episode: Follow Abe's Babes on Facebook to keep up with future productions of the play.Bakehouse Theatre's production of the Laden Table has a short video of the production.Some short explainers, if you want to know more about the Nakba and the Holocaust. Songs from Dinner Table Racism: Poyeyu (feat. Mariela Gerez) — SelvaMir — MurcofKravchenko – Fair (Guitar Version) — Richard Patterson (Little Odessa soundtrack)The Song From Venus — Stephin MerrittCornfield Chase — Hans Zimmer (Interstellar soundtrack)

On the TFT Podcast, we listen to and discuss The Magnetic Fields’s “50 Song Memoir,” with one song for each decade of Stephin Merritt’s life. Episode 263: Accepting All Those Things That You Were originally appeared on Overthinking It, the site subjecting the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. [Latest Posts | Podcast (iTunes Link)]

Stephin Merritt is no typical memoirist. In April, the Magnetic Fields singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist sat down with Pitchfork Senior Staff Writer Marc Hogan for a conversation in front of an audience at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. Though the Magnetic Fields’ new album, 50 Song Memoir, consists of a song for each of the first 50 years of his life, Merritt isn’t a tell-all artist; in interviews, he has long been known for his acerbic reticence, often marked by lengthy pauses. Over the course of an hour, however, Merritt waxed wise and witty, reflecting on the nature of art, the challenges for a notoriously anti-autobiographical performer in finally telling his own life story, and the evolving meaning of the Magnetic Fields’ classic “The Book of Love.”

Jon DeRosa grew up in suburban NJ and became a guitar slinger which led to some great albums and stints with the likes of Stephin Merritt, he then mastered cocktails, moved to LA and discovered a personal fascination with Peru, Ayuhuasca and how the traditional herbs and medicines of the jungle could be applied to the ailments of modern life. He's still creating orchestral, country tinged, rock albums, but has traded his suspenders and rolled up sleeves for flowier garb and the tools of his trade are no longer jiggers and shakers, but kuripes and tepis.

Tyler and B talk to Stephin Merritt, frontman of The Gothic Archies and The Magnetic Fields! We discuss kazoo orchestras, Coraline the Musical, and the making of The Tragic Treasury.

Stephin Merritt

By all rights, the story of South Atlantic Blues should have ended in 1968. Released the same week as Van Morrison’s masterpiece of pastoral angst, Astral Weeks, the record failed to garner any notice, in spite of promises that its young singer-songwriter would soon become “bigger than Elvis.” A masterpiece of a soulfully sung, lush psychedelic folk, the record vanished into obscurity, thanks to a perfect storm of record company failure. Not even a chance encounter with acclaimed painter and fan Jasper Johns could rescue the album from the remainder bin. Thankfully, the story of the album and its creator don’t end there. Nearly 50 years after its release, South Atlantic Blues is finally getting the recognition it deserved — and unlike so many of these story, which recapture public consciousness posthumously, Scott Fagan is still alive, well, and singing at 70. In the intervening 47 years, Fagan has led a fascinating life, achieving some fame as a calypso singer, struggling with addiction and reuniting with his long, lost son, Magnetics Fields frontman Stephin Merritt. Fagan was already seated when I arrived a few minutes early to set up for our interview. What transpired was one of the most fascinating conversations I’ve had in some time.

Stephin Merritt has fronted the band The Magnetic Fields for over twenty-five years. In this episode, he breaks down the song "Andrew in Drag" from the band’s latest album, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, even though he doesn't actually remember writing it. After releasing his triple-album 69 Love Songs to huge acclaim in 1999, Stephin stopped using synthesizers for the next three Magnetic Fields albums. He talks about why he stopped, and why started using them again, and why he doesn’t write down his melodies. This episode is sponsored by Spire Recorder by iZotope; Merge Records (use code SONGEXPLODER at checkout for 20% off); and Audible.com (go to audiblepodcast.com/exploder for a free audiobook of your choice, and a 30-day free trial).

Ep. 144 - On this week's podcast Zach meets up with Stephen Merritt (and Sam Davol) from the Magnetic Fields at Doomie's, a vegan restaurant in Hollywood, CA.  Over vegan fried chicken and ham and cheese croissants they talk about Stephin's friendship with Doug Quint from the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, why he became Vegan, and how much better it's gotten over the years for touring musicians who don't eat meat (and he makes it clear it has nothing to do with the hummus.) Plus Stephin teaches us about the vomit fruit al, which is also one of the subjects of his new Scrabble inspired book of mnemonic poems, "101 Two Letter Words".  We were warned that Stephin is a notoriously interesting interviewee and to be ready for awkward pauses. He didn't disappoint.  

From 2012: Alt-country journeywoman Kelly Hogan has worked with many fantastic artists over the last 20 years, including holding a longtime spot in Neko Case's band. The collaborations continued on her album 'I Like To Keep Myself In Pain,' which features a few star guests as well as songs written especially for Hogan by the likes of Stephin Merritt and M. Ward. Along with gorgeous performances, there's always hilarious conversation when Kelly Hogan is involved, and her Studio A visit with host Claudia Marshall was no exception.

Stephin Merritt, singer, songwriter, and musical polymath, is best known for his band The Magnetic Fields. Today, he performs with The Magnetic Fields, as well as Future Bible Heroes, The 6ths, The Gothic Archies. He also has written for the theater and film, and most recently collaborated with New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chaste on a book of haikus about two letter Scrabble words. Pretty sure he'd crush anyone in Scrabble, but Words with Friends seems rigged, so you may still have a chance.

Interviews with three musicians who suffer from hearing disorders. Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields discusses his hyperacusis, a sensitivity to loud sounds. Chris Johanson of Sun Foot and electronic musician Gobby explore their tinnitus, a persistent ringing in the ear.  CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGE

In retrospect, there’s probably not a heck of a lot that we talk about here that Mike Doughty didn’t touch upon in Book of Drugs. His 2012 memoir is candid and rock — everything a rock and roll autobiography should be. As evidenced by the name, the book tells the musician’s tale through a series of inebriated anecdotes, including the rise and fall of his beloved 90s electro-alternative group, Soul Coughing. That’s not to say that there’s wasn’t plenty of good stuff left to talk about when we sat down for lunch at a Brooklyn Diner. Doughty has been keeping busy with his solo career in the years since, including a recent crowdfunded effort that found the singer songwriter reimagining a number of hits from those heady Buzz Bin days. Doughty also plays around the city as much as possible these days, a willingness to perform that has made him a regular on comedy bills all over a city — a challenging but welcoming environment he insists he prefers. In fact, it was a recent appearance performing at a friend’s Greenpoint stoop sale that brought the singer-songwriter to my attention once again. We talk about the beginning of his career during the twilight of the record industry, surviving in New York City and how stumbling into a show with then unknown Elliott Smith and Stephin Merritt changed his life and music forever.

Topics: Stained glass, Nicolas Cage, being moved by a piece of art, creating things with your bare hands, Raising Arizona, pets, burritos, Stephin Merritt, St. Mary's Mexican Food, men of the year, legal drinking age, Lil Jon, being made fun of by Dave Chappelle, the Supreme Court, fun with impressions so bad I should be ashamed, and the things we do for love.

This week: Stephin Merritt’s attraction to love… Actress Amy Brenneman adjudicates listener etiquette… A vengeful lunch with Joel Stein… an Alkaholic drink… Neil deGrasse Tyson defends space… Bill Plympton’s favorite animation… and a 3-song prescription from Dr. Dog. Plus: Aggie yells, a Dinner Party Timeout, and a cross-word joke from singer Cate le Bon.

This week: Stephin Merritt’s attraction to love… Actress Amy Brenneman adjudicates listener etiquette… A vengeful lunch with Joel Stein… an Alkaholic drink… Neil deGrasse Tyson defends space… Bill Plympton’s favorite animation… and a 3-song prescription from Dr. Dog. Plus: Aggie yells, a Dinner Party Timeout, and a cross-word joke from singer Cate le Bon.

Andy Markowitz talks to Kerthy Fix about Strange Powers, her decade-in-the-making doc on unlikely indie rock icon and great American songwriter Stephin Merritt and his band, The Magnetic Fields. Continue reading →

We're going to need a 70th love song because The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and Claudia Gonson have come to TOAP! Listen in as the three have a lively conversation about: what is and what isn't punk and how it's all just BS anyway. DON'T MISS THIS ONE!!!Also, don't miss the 25th Anniversary edition of The Magnetic Fields' all-time classic "69 Love Songs", on Merge Records.Also, don't miss The Magnetic Fields on tour playing all 69 songs!Our Sponsors:* Check out Factor 75 and use my code toap50 for a great deal: https://www.factor75.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/turned-out-a-punk/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy