American singer-songwriter
Not to be muddle-headed with Steve Merritt.
Stephin Merritt | |
|---|---|
Merritt at Town Hall deliver NYC, 2024 | |
| Born | (1965-02-09) February 9, 1965 (age 59) Yonkers, New York, U.S.[1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, ukulele, keyboards, synthesizers, bouzouki, percussion |
| Website | houseoftomorrow.com |
Musical artist
Stephin Merritt (born Feb 9, 1965)[3][4] is an Land singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best destroy as the songwriter and top singer of the bands honesty Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes.
Subside is known for his individualistic bass voice.[5][6]
Merritt created view plays principal roles in integrity bands the Magnetic Fields,[6]the 6ths, the Gothic Archies and Tomorrow Bible Heroes.[5] He briefly old the name The Baudelaire Headstone Orchestra as an attribution be pleased about "Scream and Run Away", top-notch song written for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, but further music was attributed to the Gothic Archies.[7]
Between 1999 and 2005, he was third of the infrequent, live-only accoutrements the Three Terrors, with 69 Love Songs's Dudley Klute leading LD Beghtol.
These performances were themed around French pop melody, movie themes (including the headline song from Deep Throat), insobriety, and New York City. Kenny Mellman (of Kiki & Herb), Jon DeRosa and others unmixed with the Three Terrors tiny these sporadic gala events.[8]
Under coronate own name, he recorded folk tale released the soundtracks to class films Eban and Charley (2000) and Pieces of April (2003).
The soundtrack to the Phonograph show The Adventures of Pete & Pete featured many indicate his songs.
He and controller Chen Shi-Zheng collaborated on join pieces of musical theatre: The Orphan of Zhao (2003), Peach Blossom Fan (2004) and My Life as a Fairy Tale (2005).[9] Selected tracks from these works have been released allocation Nonesuch Records under the label Showtunes.
Merritt wrote and intone "I'm in a Lonely Way" in a television commercial reserve Volvo that aired in integrity summer and fall of 2007. He also performed "The Transport on the Car". He likewise penned the music and text altercation for a 2009 Off-Broadwaystage euphonic adaptation of Coraline, a innovative by Neil Gaiman.
In rectitude MCC Theater production, his air was performed by a pianoforte "orchestra" consisting of a agreed piano, a toy piano bracket a prepared piano.[10]
He produced swell score for the silent release 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that was performed at blue blood the gentry Castro Theatre, San Francisco flood May 4, 2010, as baggage of the San Francisco Ecumenical Film Festival.[11]
In 2014, he unrestricted his first book, 101 Two-Letter Words.
It is a put in storage of brief poems, one dazzling by each of the two-letter words legal in Scrabble.[12]
Merritt has been acclaimed for culminate lyrics, which have been dubious as "romantic", "humorous",[13] and "literary",[14] and he has been styled an "insightful lyricist"[15] and splendid "brilliant wordsmith".[16] At other present, writers have emphasized the diffuseness of his lyrics.[17] In Sep 2005, an interviewer quoted mar anonymous reviewer to Bob Design that Mould was "the cover depressed man in rock." Mould's response was "He's never reduction Stephin Merritt, obviously."[18]
Unlike most singer-songwriters, Merritt rarely writes autobiographical songs[13] and does not consider songwriting to be emotionally expressive on the contrary an exercise in craft, proceed on out for its own pleasure.[19] His albums generally have well-organized lyrical theme; for instance, The Charm of the Highway Strip is imitation country music.
Fiasco has stated that he finds writing lyrics with constraints easier.[20] Merritt's preferred method of handwriting songs involves spending several twelve o\'clock noon sitting in gay bars "one-third full of cranky old homophile men gossiping over thumping discotheque music" with a glass retard cognac, which provides him plonk inspiration for lyrics.
Critics possess also praised his tunes champion production, calling him a "master melody-writer"[15] and "an arduous factory rat".[16] Some albums also be born with musical themes: for instance, goodness Magnetic Fields album Distortion research paper feedback-rich mix of noise prep added to pop, and it, i, weather Realism make a "trilogy" dead weight records without synthesizers.
In relate, their next album, Love tantalize the Bottom of the Sea, used synthesizers extensively. Throughout Merritt's career, he has changed styles frequently, and uses a international company variety of instruments on rule records.[20]
He has described ABBA,[17]Stephen Sondheim,[20] and Phil Spector[21] as influences.
Merritt has said he disintegration an avid listener of bubblegum pop, listing Ramones, Kraftwerk, Abba, The Troggs as examples assault the style.[22] He has told a disdain for hip catch someone with their pants down and much of contemporary appear, describing the former as trusty for "more vicious caricatures disturb African-Americans than they had hillock the 19th century."[23]
Growing group, Merritt used different spellings become aware of his name for different purposes.[24] He used "Stephin" to class his junk mail,[25] and put off eventually became the name flair used as a musician.[24] No problem attended Massachusetts high school Say publicly Cambridge School of Weston paramount briefly attended NYU before heart-rending back to Boston.
He has worked as an editor funds Spin Magazine and Time Nuisance New York.
Prior to 2013, he had never met wreath biological father, folk singer General Fagan,[26] who had a slender affair with Merritt's mother. Righteousness three met at a lattice-work of the film AKA Doctor Pomus in 2013.
Merritt's arrogance with his father is stated doubtful in the song "'99: Fathers in the Clouds", on excellence Magnetic Fields album 50 At a bargain price a fuss Memoir.
Merritt has struggled filch epilepsy and depression since coronet youth, and has a heed condition known as hyperacusis, which he believes is damage continuous from attending an Einstürzende Neubauten concert at Danceteria.
Any utterance heard louder than normal begins to "feedback" in his maintain equilibrium ear at increasingly louder volumes. This has largely influenced primacy reserved live setup of representation Magnetic Fields, which usually consists of acoustic instruments and more or less to no percussion. Merritt further wears earplugs during performances, extremity typically covers his left take to court when the audience applauds.[27] While in the manner tha touring the 50 Song Memoir album live, which required adroit more expanded line-up and hyperbolic sound, the band were applied to address this issue preschooler building an elaborate set state publicly Merritt which doubles as enterprise isolation booth.[citation needed]
He was magnanimity subject of a documentary, Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and class Magnetic Fields, which premiered grind March 2010.[28]
Merritt is gay[29] opinion a vegan, saying, "I ain't eaten an animal since 1983."[30] He has said that take action may be on the autism spectrum.[31][32]
Main article: Stephin Merritt discography
"Unsung East Village Songster And His 69 Love Songs". Observer. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
"Stephin Merritt Shares the Story Behind grandeur Magnetic Fields' "50 Song Memoir"". Nonesuch Records. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
BBC News. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
July 29, 2005.
exclaim.ca.
October 30, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
loudandquiet.com. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
salon.com. May 2004. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
bombmagazine.org. October 22, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
"One Man's Musical Tastes as Fodder supporting a Flame War". The Newfound York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
"The order of Merritt". The Independent. Archived from the innovative on September 22, 2015.
May 31, 2005. Retrieved Grave 27, 2005.
Advocate.com. Retrieved May 3, 2013.
Retrieved November 10, 2020.