Stephin Merritt (born February 9, 1965) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands

the Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields are an American Band (rock and pop), band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. The band is named after the André B ...

the Gothic Archies The Gothic Archies are an American indie rock/gothic rock band established by Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields. In 1997, Merritt released ''The New Despair''. The EP featured the song "Your Long White Fingers", which appeared frequently ...

, and Future Bible Heroes. He is known for his distinctive

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

voice.Grow, Kory. "Stephen Merritt: My Life in 15 Songs". Rolling Stone. October 30, 2015. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/stephin-merritt-my-life-in-15-songs-20151030/alien-being-20151023

Musical projects

Merritt created and plays principal roles in the bands

the 6ths The 6ths was a band created by Stephin Merritt, also the primary songwriter and instrumentalist behind The Magnetic Fields, The Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. In the group, Merritt wrote and played songs which were then sung, in most ...

and Future Bible Heroes. He briefly used the name ''The Baudelaire Memorial Orchestra'' as an attribution for "Scream and Run Away", a song written for

Lemony Snicket Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler and a fictional character of his creation. Handler has published various children's books under the name, including ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 millio ...

's ''

A Series of Unfortunate Events ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen Children's literature, children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of orphaned siblings List of A ...

'', but further music was attributed to the Gothic Archies.Merritt, Snicket and the 'Tragic Treasury'
, ''All Things Considered'' December 3, 2006 Between 1999 and 2005, he was one-third of the infrequent, live-only ensemble the Three Terrors, with '' 69 Love Songs''s

Dudley Klute Dudley Klute (born December 10) is an American vocalist and songwriter noted for his work with the Belgian New wave music, New Wave band Kid Montana in the 1980s, and his subsequent collaborations with Stephin Merritt's The Magnetic Fields (he ...

and

LD Beghtol LD Beghtol (13 December 1964 – 2020), also known as "Uncle LD", was an American musician, art director and writer. He was best known for participating in The Magnetic Fields' ''69 Love Songs'' and writing the illustrated companion book ''69 Lov ...

. These performances were themed around French pop music, movie themes (including the title song from '' Deep Throat''), intoxication, and New York City. Kenny Mellman (of Kiki & Herb), Jon DeRosa and others performed with the Three Terrors at these sporadic gala events. Under his own name, he recorded and released the soundtracks to the films '' Eban and Charley'' (2000) and '' Pieces of April'' (2003). The soundtrack to the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

show '' The Adventures of Pete & Pete'' featured many of his songs. He and director Chen Shi-Zheng collaborated on three pieces of musical theatre: '' The Orphan of Zhao'' (2003), ''Peach Blossom Fan'' (2004) and ''My Life as a Fairy Tale'' (2005).Brantley, Ben
Exploring the Shadows of a Sunny Writer's Nightmare
''The New York Times''. July 29, 2005. Selected tracks from these works have been released on

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...

under the title ''

Showtunes A show tune is a popular song, song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a Standard (music), standard, more or less detached in most people's minds ...

''. Merritt wrote and sang "I'm in a Lonely Way" in a television commercial for

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

that aired in the summer and fall of 2007. He also performed "The Wheels on the Car". He also penned the music and lyrics for a 2009

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

adaptation of ''

Coraline ''Coraline'' () is a 2002 British dark fantasy horror children's novella by author Neil Gaiman. Gaiman started writing ''Coraline'' in 1990, and it was published in 2002 by Bloomsbury and HarperCollins. It was awarded the 2003 Hugo Award for ...

'', a novel by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

. In the MCC Theater production, his music was performed by a piano "orchestra" consisting of a traditional piano, a

toy piano The toy piano, also known as the ( in German), is a small piano-like musical instrument. Most modern toy pianos use round metal rods, as opposed to strings in a regular piano, to produce sound. The U.S. Library of Congress recognizes the toy pia ...

and a prepared piano. He produced a score for the silent film ''

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne. It is considered a classic within its genres and world literature. It was originally serialised from March 1869 to June 1870 i ...

'' that was performed at the Castro Theatre, San Francisco on May 4, 2010, as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival. In 2014, he released his first book, ''101 Two-Letter Words''. It is a collection of brief poems, one inspired by each of the two-letter words legal in Scrabble.

Musical style

Merritt has been acclaimed for his lyrics, which have been described as "romantic", "humorous", and "literary", and he has been called an "insightful lyricist" and a "brilliant wordsmith". At other times, writers have emphasized the unhappiness of his lyrics. In September 2005, an interviewer quoted an anonymous reviewer to

Bob Mould Robert Arthur Mould (born October 16, 1960) is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar (American band), Sugar in the 1990s. Early ...

that Mould was "the most depressed man in rock." Mould's response was "He's never met Stephin Merritt, obviously." Unlike most singer-songwriters, Merritt rarely writes autobiographical songs and does not consider songwriting to be emotionally expressive but an exercise in craft, carried out for its own pleasure. His albums generally have a lyrical theme; for instance, ''

The Charm of the Highway Strip ''The Charm of the Highway Strip'' is the third studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1994. It was the fourth Magnetic Fields album to be recorded, but was released five months prior to their intended third al ...

'' is imitation country music. He has stated that he finds writing lyrics with constraints easier. Merritt's preferred method of writing songs involves spending several hours sitting in gay bars "one-third full of cranky old gay men gossiping over thumping disco music" with a glass of

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cogn ...

, which provides him with inspiration for lyrics. Critics have also praised his tunes and production, calling him a "master melody-writer" and "an arduous studio rat". Some albums also have musical themes: for instance, the Magnetic Fields album ''

Distortion In signal processing, distortion is the alteration of the original shape (or other characteristic) of a signal. In communications and electronics it means the alteration of the waveform of an information-bearing signal, such as an audio signal ...

'' is

feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause and effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handle ...

-rich mix of

noise Noise is sound, chiefly unwanted, unintentional, or harmful sound considered unpleasant, loud, or disruptive to mental or hearing faculties. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrat ...

and pop, and it, '' i'', and '' Realism'' make a "trilogy" of records without synthesizers. In contrast, their next album, '' Love at the Bottom of the Sea'', used synthesizers extensively. Throughout Merritt's career, he has changed styles frequently, and uses a wide variety of instruments on his records. He has described

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

, and

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...

as influences. Merritt has said he is an avid listener of

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a more specific rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States in the late 1960s, th ...

, listing

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

, ABBA,

The Troggs The Troggs (originally called the Troglodytes) are an English beat music band formed in Andover, Hampshire, in May 1964. Their most famous songs include the US chart-topper " Wild Thing", " With a Girl Like You" and " Love Is All Around", al ...

as examples of the style. He has expressed a disdain for

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and much of contemporary pop, describing the former as responsible for "more vicious caricatures of African-Americans than they had in the 19th century."

Personal life

Growing up, Merritt used different spellings of his name for different purposes. He used "Stephin" to sort his junk mail, and that eventually became the name he used as a musician. He attended Massachusetts high school The Cambridge School of Weston and briefly attended NYU before moving back to Boston. He has worked as an editor for ''

Spin Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps as ''SPIN'') is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. ...

'' and ''

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...

''. Prior to 2013, he had never met his biological father,

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

Scott Fagan, who had a brief affair with Merritt's mother. The three met at a screening of the film ''AKA Doc Pomus'' in 2013. Merritt's relationship with his father is described in the song "'99: Fathers in the Clouds", on the Magnetic Fields album '' 50 Song Memoir''. Merritt has struggled with

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

and depression since his youth, and has a hearing condition known as

hyperacusis Hyperacusis is an increased Hearing, sensitivity to sound and a low tolerance for environmental noise. Definitions of hyperacusis can vary significantly; it often revolves around damage to or dysfunction of the Stapes, ''stapes'' bone, stapedius ...

, which he believes is damage sustained from attending an

Einstürzende Neubauten (, 'Collapsing New Buildings') is a German experimental music group, formed in West Berlin in 1980. The band currently comprises founding members Blixa Bargeld (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard) and N.U. Unruh (custom-made instruments, percussion, ...

concert at

Danceteria Danceteria was a nightclub that operated in New York City from May 1980 until 1986 and in the Hamptons until 1995. The club operated in various locations over the years, a total of three in New York City and four in the Hamptons. The most famous l ...

. Any sound heard louder than normal begins to "

" in his left ear at increasingly louder volumes. This has largely influenced the reserved live setup of the Magnetic Fields, which usually consists of acoustic instruments and little to no percussion. Merritt also wears

earplug An earplug is a device that is inserted in the ear canal to protect the user's ears from loud noises, intrusion of water, foreign bodies, dust or excessive wind. Earplugs may be used as well to improve sleep quality or focus in noisy environments ...

s during performances, and typically covers his left ear when the audience applauds. When touring the ''50 Song Memoir'' album live, which required a more expanded line-up and amplified sound, the band were able to address this issue by building an elaborate set around Merritt which doubles as an isolation booth. He was the subject of a documentary, ''Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields'', which premiered in March 2010. Merritt is gay and a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

, saying, "I ain't eaten an animal since 1983." He has said that he may be on the

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

spectrum.

Solo discography

* '' Eban and Charley'' ( Merge, 2002) * '' Pieces of April'' ( Nonesuch, 2003) * ''

'' (Nonesuch, 2006) * '' Obscurities'' (Merge, 2011)

References

External links

*
The House of Tomorrow – The official site of Stephin Merritt, the Magnetic Fields, Future Bible Heroes, the 6ths, and the Gothic Archies

Stephin Merritt biography (mixed English and German)

Aging Spinsters: A Stephin Merritt Fan-Blog

The Distant Plastic Treehouse – "a hangout for Stephin Merritt fans"

Stephin Songs – The music and lyrics of Stephin Merritt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Stephin 1965 births 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people American atheists American basses American gay musicians American LGBTQ singers American LGBTQ songwriters American male pop singers American male singer-songwriters American multi-instrumentalists American people of German descent American ukulele players Gay singers Gay songwriters LGBTQ people from New York (state) Living people The Magnetic Fields members Merge Records artists Musicians from Yonkers, New York People with epilepsy Place of birth missing (living people) Singer-songwriters from New York (state)