The Magnetic Fields have premiered their drag-tastic new video for “Andrew in Drag” at NPR Music! Clean white backgrounds and clever camera angles compliment Stephin’s trademark witty songwriting perfectly, but be forewarned, this video is NSFW!

Watch the video for “Andrew in Drag” now at NPR Music

Pre-order both the “Andrew in Drag” 7-inch and Love at the Bottom of the Sea (on CD or LP) now in the Merge store.

The Magnetic Fields have announced their spring tour in support of Love at the Bottom of the Sea and tickets are on sale now!

The Magnetic Fields on tour:
Mar 6 Hudson, NY Helsinki Hudson
Mar 7 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Mar 11 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow’s Parties
Mar 14, 15, 16 Austin, TX  SXSW
Mar 18 Vancouver, BC  The Vogue
Mar 19 Seattle, WA Neptune Theater
Mar 20 Seattle, WA Neptune Theater
Mar 21 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Mar 23 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theater
Mar 24 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
Mar 26 Chicago, IL Vic Theater
Mar 27 Chicago, IL Vic Theater
Mar 28 Iowa City, IA Englert Theater
Mar 30 Toronto, ON Sound Academy
Mar 31 Montreal, QC Le National
Apr 3 New York, NY Beacon Theater
Apr 6 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Apr 7 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Apr 9 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Apr 11 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Apr 12 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Apr 14 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse

The Magnetic Fields will return to Merge on March 6 with their new album Love at the Bottom of the Sea. Today, NY Magazine’s Vulture blog premiered the first single “Andrew in Drag.”

Listen to “Andrew in Drag” now at the Merge SoundCloud page

“Andrew in Drag” will be the A-side of the limited edition vinyl 7-inch which will be released on January 31. The ukulele-centered B-side, “When Next in Love I Fall,” is an exclusive non-album track. 7-inches are limited to one thousand pieces and include coupons for download.

Pre-order both the “Andrew in Drag” 7-inch and Love at the Bottom of the Sea (on CD or LP) now in the Merge store.

The Magnetic Fields have announced their spring tour in support of Love at the Bottom of the Sea and tickets are on sale now!

The Magnetic Fields on tour:
Mar 6 Hudson, NY Helsinki Hudson
Mar 7 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Mar 11 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow’s Parties
Mar 14, 15, 16 Austin, TX  SXSW
Mar 18 Vancouver, BC  The Vogue
Mar 19 Seattle, WA Neptune Theater
Mar 20 Seattle, WA Neptune Theater
Mar 21 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Mar 23 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theater
Mar 24 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
Mar 26 Chicago, IL Vic Theater
Mar 27 Chicago, IL Vic Theater
Mar 28 Iowa City, IA Englert Theater
Mar 30 Toronto, ON Sound Academy
Mar 31 Montreal, QC Le National
Apr 3 New York, NY Beacon Theater
Apr 6 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Apr 7 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Apr 9 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Apr 11 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Apr 12 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Apr 14 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse

The Magnetic Fields will release Love at the Bottom of the Sea, their tenth full-length album and first release of new material with Merge since 1999’s highly acclaimed 69 Love Songs, on March 6. The band will celebrate their new album with a North American tour that passes through the SXSW Music Showcase in Austin, Texas.

After putting out three synthesizer-free albums, The Magnetic Fields are returning to the signature mix of synth and acoustic sounds they established in the 90s with Merge releases such as The Charm of the Highway Strip and Get Lost. Stephin Merritt has come back to synths with a fresh approach: “Most of the synthesizers on the record didn’t exist when we were last using synthesizers,” he notes. The songs — none over three minutes long — were recorded in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York with Merritt’s usual cast of collaborators: Claudia Gonson, Sam Davol, John Woo, Shirley Simms, Johny Blood and Daniel Handler.

Pre-order the Magnetic Fields’ Love at the Bottom of the Sea in the Merge store for exclusive limited-edition eggshell-colored vinyl. Also, the first 100 people who order the album from Merge on CD or LP will receive a free signed poster and a Magnetic Fields button, as well. Don’t forget . . . the Merge Holiday Code works on pre-orders, too! Follow The Magnetic Fields at @TheMagFields and check The House of Tomorrow for all ticketing information.


Track Listing:
1. God Wants Us to Wait
2. Andrew in Drag
3. Your Girlfriend’s Face
4. Born For Love
5. I’d Go Anywhere with Hugh
6. Infatuation (With Your Gyration)
7. The Only Boy in Town
8. The Machine in Your Hand
9. Goin’ Back to the Country
10. I’ve Run Away to Join the Fairies
11. The Horrible Party
12. My Husband’s Pied-a-Terre
13. I Don’t Like Your Tone
14. Quick!
15. All She Cares About Is Mariachi

The Magnetic Fields on tour:
Mar 6 Hudson, NY Helsinki Hudson
Mar 7 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Mar 11 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow’s Parties
Mar 14, 15, 16 Austin, TX  SXSW
Mar 18 Vancouver, BC  The Vogue
Mar 19 Seattle, WA Neptune Theater
Mar 20 Seattle, WA Neptune Theater
Mar 21 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Mar 23 Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theater
Mar 24 Oakland, CA Fox Theater
Mar 26 Chicago, IL Vic Theater
Mar 27 Chicago, IL Vic Theater
Mar 28 Iowa City, IA Englert Theater
Mar 30 Toronto, ON Sound Academy
Mar 31 Montreal, QC Le National
Apr 3 New York, NY Beacon Theater
Apr 6 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Apr 7 Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Apr 9 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Apr 11 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Apr 12 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Apr 14 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse
Apr 24 Brighton, UK Komedia
Apr 25 London, UK Royal Festival Hall
Apr 27 Manchester, UK RNCM
Apr 28 Dublin, IR Olympia
Apr 29 Cork, IR Opera House
May 1 Porto, PT TBA
May 2 Lisbon, PT TBA
May 9 Oslo, NO Rockefeller
May 11 Gothenburg, SE Annedalskyrkan
May 12 Stockholm, SE Filadelfiakyrkan
May 14 Berlin, DE Passionskirche
May 15 Hamburg, DE Kampnagel k6
May 16 Amsterdam, NL De Duif

Today, Merge Records will reissue The Magnetic Fields’ classic Holiday on 180-gram vinyl, marking the album’s first appearance in LP format. Holiday was originally released in 1994 by Feel Good All Over and subsequently reissued on CD by Merge in 1999. The album has been remastered for vinyl by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering.

Salon wrote a review of the album back in 1999, saying “Holiday [...] shouldn’t be missed—it’s Merritt’s most sonically striking record to date, and it’s full of darkly hilarious, inconceivably catchy songwriting.” You can read the full article here.

In addition to the LP, we are offering a limited-time, specially priced 4x LP bundle of all three Magnetic Fields vinyl re-pressings (Holiday, Charm of the Highway Strip, and Get Lost) plus Stephin Merritt’s recently released Obscurities. All LPs include a download coupon.

Holiday track listing:
1. BBC Radiophonic Workshop
2. Desert Island
3. Deep Sea Diving Suit
4. Strange Powers
5. Torn Green Velvet Eyes
6. The Flowers She Sent and the Flowers She Said She Sent
7. Swinging London
8. In My Secret Place
9. Sad Little Moon
10. The Trouble I’ve Been Looking For
11. Sugar World
12. All You Ever Do Is Walk Away
13. In My Car
14. Take Ecstasy With Me

Critically acclaimed songwriter and mastermind behind The Magnetic Fields, Stephin Merritt’s Obscurities is out today! Obscurities is a collection of Merritt’s hard-to-find recordings dating back to his time on Merge Records (1994-99) and prior.

“an uncommonly enjoyable odds-and-ends collection”~ Dusted

“a refreshingly diverse release from a laser-focused songwriter.” ~ AV Club

Obscurities features 14 tracks in all, including five previously unreleased songs, all recorded prior to The Magnetic Fields’ seminal album 69 Love Songs. Three of the unreleased tracks hail from The Song From Venus, the unfinished science fiction musical written by Merritt and Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket. Also included on the record are five songs culled from various Merge-era 7” vinyl singles by The Magnetic Fields, along with two from Merritt’s guest vocalist-laden side project the 6ths, one from an audio book, one from the Oh, Merge compilation CD, and a track from a rare K Records cassette-only release.

Among the tracks on Obscurities is The Song From Venus’ “Forever and a Day,” a solo-acoustic ukelele-based love song reminiscent of 69 Love Songs’ “The Book of Love.” Also included on Obscurities is “The Sun and the Sea and the Sky,” a previously unreleased 69 Love Songs outtake. “This song didn’t go on 69 Love Songs because it wasn’t actually about romantic love,” Merritt points out. The album concludes with “You are not my Mother and I Want to go Home,” which originally appeared in the audio book version of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline for which Merritt composed the soundtrack.

In 1999 The Magnetic Fields’ three-CD collection (and now available as a 10-inch vinyl box set) 69 Love Songs established Stephin Merritt as one of this generation’s most talented songwriters. That breakthrough was preceded by a six-year collaboration between Merritt and Merge Records that yielded such indie-rock classics as The Magnetic Fields’ The Charm of the Highway Strip, Holiday and Get Lost.

We are happy to welcome Stephin Merritt back to Merge family with Obscurities available on CD, LP and digital download on August 23.

Track listing:
1. Forever and a Day (previously unreleased)
2. Rats in the Garbage of the Western World (The Magnetic Fields)
3. I Don’t Believe You (The Magnetic Fields)
4. Plant White Roses (Buffalo Rome)
5. Rot in the Sun (the 6ths)
6. The Sun and the Sea and the Sky (previously unreleased)
7. Yet Another Girl (the 6ths)
8. Scream (Till you Make the Scene) (previously unreleased)
9. The Song from Venus (previously unreleased)
10. Beach-A-Boop-Boop (The Magnetic Fields)
11. When I’m Not Looking, You’re Not There (The Magnetic Fields)
12. Take Ecstasy with Me (The Magnetic Fields)
13. When You’re Young and In Love (previously unreleased)
14. You Are Not My Mother and I Want to Go Home (The Gothic Archies)

As an early Valentine’s Day treat, we are announcing the release of The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs box set on limited-edition 10” vinyl (with MP3 download coupon) to be released in stores on April 20! Pre-order now at a special price in the Merge store.

Orders will ship to arrive on or around the April 20 release date.

The story has it that Stephin Merritt came up with the idea for 69 Love Songs while sitting in an elegant midtown Manhattan gay piano bar. He originally planned for it to be a live musical revue, performed with a rotating cast of singers in the plush hotel bars and cabarets of New York City.

69 Love Songs was released in September of 1999. Fans and critics were ecstatic, and 69 Love Songs became one of the most talked-about records of 1999. It remains one of the most beloved albums in our catalog. As Spin magazine said, “Like the best cabaret, Stephin Merritt’s triple-CD monsterpiece charms on contact, and like the best indie-pop, you’ll want to unravel it endlessly.”

The limited-edition box set includes all 69 love songs re-mastered for vinyl on six 10” records and housed in a super-sized 69 Love Songs box, along with a 10” version of the original booklet featuring liner notes written by Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler.

From now until April 20, pre-order the vinyl box set at the discounted price of $89.99 in the Merge store.

On June 11, 2009, musician Chris Knox suffered a life-altering stroke at his home in Grey Lynn, New Zealand. Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox is a celebration of Chris and his music. He was instrumental in bringing New Zealand punk and alternative music to international audiences with Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love, and his solo work. Artists from the U.S. (Jeff Mangum, Yo La Tengo, The Mountain Goats, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Lambchop, Stephin Merritt, Portastatic, Bill Callahan, Lou Barlow, Jay Reatard), New Zealand (The Bats, The Verlaines, The Chills), and the world over have donated their time and talent covering songs from Knox’s extensive catalog so that all proceeds can go towards assisting Chris with his recovery.

Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox is available for download now from the Merge store and our usual digital outlets. The 2-CD limited-edition release will be available in stores on February 23, but you can pre-order it today and receive the digital download via email after your order is complete!

Visit the fantastic Stroke website for updates on Chris Knox, information on all of the artists who contributed their versions of Knox’s songs, and for previews of many of the tracks—originals and covers.

Tracklisting:
*Tracks are arranged chronologically

Disc 1:
1. Jay Reatard – Pull Down The Shades
2. The Checks – Rebel
3. The Bleeding Allstars – Ain’t It Nice
4. Peter Gutteridge – Don’t Catch Fire
5. The Chills – Luck Or Loveliness
6. David Kilgour – Nothing’s Going To Happen
7. The Crying Wolfs – All My Hollowness To You
8. Stephin Merritt – Beauty
9. Portastatic – Nostalgia’s No Excuse
10. The Mint Chicks – Crush
11. Jay & Sam Clarkson – I’ve Left Memories Behind
12. Sky Green Leopards – Burning Blue
13. Shayne Carter – The Slide
14. Pumice – Grand Mal
15. Hamish Kilgour – Knoxed Out

Disc 2:
1. Boh Runga – Not Given Lightly
2. Red & Zeke (Feat. Bill Doss and Neil Cleary) – Bodies
3. Jeff Mangum – Sign The Dotted Line
4. Bill Callahan – Lapse
5. Genghis Smith – Growth Spurt
6. Yo La Tengo – Coloured
7. AC Newman – Dunno Much About Life But I Know How To Breathe
8. Alec Bathgate – Glide
9. Don McGlashan – Inside Story
10. Sean Donnelly – The Outer Skin
11. Lambchop – What Goes Up
12. The Mountain Goats – Brave
13. The Tokey Tones (and friends) – Round These Walls
14. The Bats – Just Do It
15. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – My Only Friend
16. The Finn Family – It’s Love
17. Jordan Luck – Becoming Something Other
18. The Verlaines – Driftwood
19. Lou Barlow – Song Of The Tall Poppy
20. The Nothing – Napping In Lapland
21. Tall Dwarfs – Sunday Son