Future Bible Heroes

Future Bible Heroes is one of the musical projects from the Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt, who writes all the melodies and lyrics for the band. His longtime friend and collaborator Christopher Ewen composes the instrumental backing tracks. Joining Merritt on lead vocals for these songs is the Magnetic Fields’ Claudia Gonson.

To support their forthcoming album Partygoing and the re-issue of their back-catalogue on Merge Records (all in stores June 8), Future Bible Heroes will join the Chickfactor Summer Festival in Brooklyn, New York on June 12, followed by eleven US dates in July.

Also, watch “Catching Up with Future Bible Heroes” now at YouTube. Directed by JL Aronson (Danielson: a Family Movie, Last Summer at Coney Island) and featuring photographs old and new by Kimberly Butler and Gail O’Hara, the video shows the band hanging out and talking about the old days as well as the new.

Listen & share “Living, Loving, Partygoing” and pre-order Future Bible Heroes’ new album Partygoing on CD as well as their 4-CD or 3-LP collection Memories of Love, Eternal Youth, and Partygoing. now in the Merge store. LP pre-orders will include a free Merge Records slipmat.

Future Bible Heroes on tour:
June 12 Brooklyn, NY The Bell House Chickfactor Summer Festival
July 8 Los Angeles, CA The Echoplex
July 9 San Francisco, CA The Independent
July 11 Portland, OR Doug Fir
July 12 Seattle, WA The Tractor Tavern
July 16 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
July 17 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
July 21 Cambridge, MA The Sinclair
July 22 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace
July 23 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom
July 25 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live
July 26 Washington, DC The Black Cat

Future Bible Heroes is one of the musical projects from the Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt, who writes all the melodies and lyrics for the band. His longtime friend and collaborator Christopher Ewen composes the instrumental backing tracks. Joining Merritt on lead vocals is the Magnetic Fields’ Claudia Gonson. Directed by JL Aronson (Danielson: a Family Movie, Last Summer at Coney Island) and featuring photographs old and new by Kimberly Butler and Gail O’Hara, the video shows the band just hanging out and talking about the old days as well as the new.

Watch “Catching up with Future Bible Heroes” now at YouTube

Partygoing features a number of songs that meditate upon both the good and bad sides of parties: there’s the fun, and then there’s the morning after. Running themes for this album are drinking, dancing, and death. Memories of Love, Eternal Youth and Partygoing. marks the first time the entire original Future Bible Heroes catalog has been available in one place. In addition to the three full-length albums, the CD collection includes a fourth disc that compiles the band’s three EPs—The Lonely Robot, I’m Lonely (And I Love It), and Lonely Days—plus several tracks from outside compilations, including a song from the soundtrack to the film Welcome to the Dollhouse and the band’s hilarious gender-bending rendition of “Don’t You Want Me?” from a tribute album to the Human League. The LP collection includes each of the three albums (Memories of Love, Eternal Youth, and Partygoing) on vinyl plus a download card containing all of the EP and compilation tracks as well as digital versions of the full-lengths.

Future Bible Heroes (sans Stephin) will perform June 12 at the Bell House in Brooklyn as part of the Chickfactor summer festival. More tour dates coming soon! Listen & share “Living, Loving, Partygoing” and pre-order Future Bible Heroes’ new album Partygoing on CD as well as their 4-CD or 3-LP collection Memories of Love, Eternal Youth, and Partygoing. now in the Merge store. LP pre-orders will include a free Merge Records slipmat.

Future Bible Heroes is one of the musical projects from the Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt, who writes all the melodies and lyrics for the band. His longtime friend and collaborator Christopher Ewen composes the instrumental backing tracks. Joining Merritt on lead vocals is the Magnetic Fields’ Claudia Gonson.

Partygoing features the signature Future Bible Heroes mix of dancefloor-filling club anthems and super-sad ballads. The record is their first release since 2002’s Eternal Youth. Why the long break between albums? Well, the trio has been busy. Merritt has made four stage musicals, four Magnetic Fields albums, a Gothic Archies album, and done some film work. Ewen has been working on another band, the Hidden Variable, and DJing in Boston. Gonson has discovered parenthood while navigating the Magnetic Fields’ busy post-69 Love Songs schedule.

Future Bible Heroes are known for their fantastical lyrical themes, which on prior albums were preoccupied with B-movies, science fiction, aliens, robots, disco dancing, and committing suicide on camera. Along with songs like “Keep Your Children in a Coma,” which is about keeping youngsters under sedation until they pass through their vulnerable teenage years, Partygoing features a number of songs that meditate upon both the good and bad sides of parties: there’s the fun, and then there’s the morning after. Running themes for this album are drinking, dancing, and death. “The songs ‘When Evening Falls on Tinseltown’ and ‘A Drink Is Just the Thing’ are quite old,” Merritt says. “The first describes my experience of living in Los Angeles—and leaving it, which I did while recording Partygoing; the second describes solving all your problems with alcohol, which I don’t do much anymore either. Writing true and heartfelt lyrics is pointless because once you get around to singing them, they’re lies.”

Listen to “Living, Loving, Partygoing” now from Partygoing via Soundcloud

Memories of Love, Eternal Youth and Partygoing. marks the first time the entire original Future Bible Heroes catalog has been available in one place. In addition to the three full-length albums, the CD collection includes a fourth disc that compiles the band’s three EPs—The Lonely Robot, I’m Lonely (And I Love It), and Lonely Days—plus several tracks from outside compilations, including a song from the soundtrack to the film Welcome to the Dollhouse and the band’s hilarious gender-bending rendition of “Don’t You Want Me?” from a tribute album to the Human League. The LP collection includes each of the three albums (Memories of Love, Eternal Youth, and Partygoing) on vinyl plus a download card containing all of the EP and compilation tracks as well as digital versions of the full-lengths.

Pre-order Future Bible Heroes’ new album Partygoing on CD as well as their 4-CD or 3-LP collection Memories of Love, Eternal Youth, and Partygoing. now in the Merge store. LP pre-orders will include a free Merge Records slipmat.

Full list of dates with ticket information listed below.

The band will soon announce further solo Stephin Merritt appearances and an additional full band appearance this fall. Keep up with the Magnetic Fields on Twitter, Facebook and at Houseoftomorrow.com.

Visit the Merge store to find Love at the Bottom of the Sea on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store as well as Stephin Merritt’s Obscurities and more from the Magnetic Fields’ catalog.

“Merritt’s songwriting ability makes crafting extremely catchy songs seem easy.” ~ NPR Music

The Magnetic Fields on tour:
* = Emma Straub reading from her debut novel Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures
Oct 25 Hudson, NY Helsinki Hudson (Onsale Jul 31)
Nov 14 St. Louis, MO Sheldon Concert Hall (Onsale Aug 11)
Nov 15 Detroit, MI The Redford Theatre (Onsale Aug 4)*
Nov 16 Pittsburgh, PA Carnegie Lecture Hall (Onsale Jul 31)*
Nov 17 Washington, DC Sixth & I Synagogue (Onsale Aug 3)*
Nov 18 Washington, DC Sixth & I Synagogue (Onsale Aug 3)*

On their recent North American tour, the Magnetic Fields‘ Stephin Merritt stopped by WXPN’s World Cafe for a session spanning the band’s catalog. Relive your favorite moments from the recent tour while David Dye digs through Stephin’s songwriting process.

“Singing clever and emotive lyrics with a deep and resonant voice, Merritt playfully explores both dramatic events and everyday trifles.” – NPR Music

Love at the Bottom of the Sea is available on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store & worldwide now.

Watch the new video for “Quick!” at YouTube.

Visit iTunes to download Merge Records Spring Sampler 2012 now

Visit the Merge store to find full-length albums from these artists, and bookmark our SoundCloud page where we are adding new songs all the time!

Track list:
1.  The Magnetic Fields “Andrew in Drag”
2.  Sugar “A Good Idea”
3.  Times New Viking “Try Harder”
4.  Eleanor Friedberger “Heaven”
5.  The Rosebuds “Second Bird of Paradise”
6.  Archers of Loaf “Dead Red Eyes”
7.  Wild Flag “Electric Band”
8.  Imperial Teen “Out from Inside”
9.  Hospitality “Friends of Friends”
10.  M. Ward “The First Time I Ran Away”
11.  Stephin Merritt “Forever and a Day”
12.  Lambchop “Gone Tomorrow”
13.  Crooked Fingers “Heavy Hours”

The Magnetic Fields’ new album Love at the Bottom of the Sea is available on CD, LP and digital download now in the Merge store.

Directed by James Spinney, and showcasing vocals from Shirley Simms’ with harmonies from Claudia Gonson, “Quick!” is one of the standout tracks from an album described by Blackbook as “the band’s most consistently entertaining album since 69 Love Songs.” The video introduces us to a woman living in a trashcan as she discovers another of her kind and perhaps kindles a little romance.

Watch the new video for “Quick!” now

The Magnetic Fields are currently on tour in Europe. Keep up with them at their tour diary and check out US merch girl and writer Emma Straub’s entries for The Paris Review, too.

The Magnetic Fields have wrapped up their North American tour and are currently in Europe, but before departure, Stephin visited WFUV in the Bronx for a live session from Studio A. Watch the session online now, and follow their European adventures at Tour at the Bottom of the Sea.

Stephin Merritt also visited the Guardian for another rendition of “Andrew in Drag.” Love at the Bottom of the Sea & Stephin Merritt’s Obscurities are on sale at Amazon MP3 for the month of May, and is available in the Merge store on CD, LP, and digital download. Also, a handful of limited-edition “Andrew in Drag” 7″ singles (b/w “When Next in Love I Fall”) have been found and listed in the Merge store!

The Magnetic Fields

Listen to Stephin’s KEXP performance live from the men’s room at KEXP.org, and read a great interview with Stephin about his favorite musical gear at the Village Voice’s Sound of the City blog. And don’t miss this video of the soon-to-be-hit song “Hookers and Blow” by the ladies of the Magnetic Fields.

The “Tour at the Bottom of the Sea” wraps up soon, so get your tickets now! Love at the Bottom of the Sea is available on CD, LP and digital download now in the Merge store.

The Magnetic Fields on tour:

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

See the Magnetic Fields on tour now & follow more exploits at their tour diary. Love at the Bottom of the Sea is available on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store.

Just added: Ross from Apex Manor will be DJ’ing in-between sets at our showcase!

WEDNESDAY 3/14
M. Ward – KGSR performance – W Hotel, Main Ballroom (200 Lavaca St.) 8 am
M. Ward – KUT performance – Four Seasons Hotel, Main Ballroom (98 San Jacinto Blvd.) 9 am
Hospitality – Warby Parker Citizen’s Circus – French Legation Museum (802 San Marcos St.) 1 pm
The Love Language – Warby Parker Citizen’s Circus – French Legation Museum (802 San Marcos St.) 2 pm
Hospitality – Paste party – The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th St.) 3 pm
The Love Language – Under the Radar party – Flamingo Cantina (515 E. 6th St.) 3:15 pm
Hospitality – Ground Control Touring party – Emo’s Annex 5pm
M. Ward – Central Presbyterian Church (200 E. 8th St.) 11 pm

THURSDAY 3/15
Imperial Teen – Live on KEXP – Mellow Johnny’s (400 Nueces St.) 11:30 am
Hospitality – Brooklyn Vegan party – Hotel Vegas (1500 E. 6th St.) 2:15 pm
The Magnetic Fields – NPR showcase – The Parish (214 E. 6th St.) 4pm
Hospitality – Waterloo Records (600 N. Lamar Blvd.) 5 pm
Crooked Fingers – End of an Ear (2209 South 1st St.) 5pm
M. Ward – Auditorium Shores with The Shins (920 W. Riverside Dr.) 6:45 pm
Hospitality – Fire Records showcase – Beale Street Tavern (214 E. 6th St.) 10 pm
The Love Language – Death+Taxes party/Solid Gold – Cheer Up Charlie’s (1104 E. 6th St.) 5pm

FRIDAY 3/16
Imperial Teen – Homeslice Pizza (1415 S. Congress Ave.) 11:45
Hospitality – Rolling Stone party – La Zona Rosa (612 West 4th Street) 1:40-2:10pm
Crooked Fingers - Paste party – The Stage on Sixth (508 E. 6th St.) 12:30 pm
Eleanor Friedberger – Brooklyn Vegan party – Hotel Vegas (1500 E. 6th St.) 2 pm
Hospitality – Home Slice Pizza (1415 S. Congress Ave.) 3:40pm
Merge Showcase – Frank (407 Colorado St.) 7:30 pm
The Magnetic Fields – Austin City Limits Live (310 Willie Nelson Blvd.) 8:30 pm

SATURDAY 3/17
Eleanor Friedberger – Urban Outfitters (2406 Guadalupe St.) 2 pm
Bob Mould  – MOG at Mohawk (912 Red River Street) 3:30pm *Playing Copper Blue
Crooked Fingers  – Twangfest – Jovita’s (1619 S. 1st St.) 4 pm

The Magnetic Fields

Love at the Bottom of the Sea is their first release of new material with Merge since 1999’s highly acclaimed 69 Love Songs. In addition to the SXSW shows, the Magnetic Fields will also be embarking on a North American tour that includes two dates at the Beacon Theater in New York City. A full list of dates are below and tickets are on sale now.

Stream Love at the Bottom of the Sea in its entirety at NPR Music and watch the video for the first single “Andrew in Drag”. Love at the Bottom of the Sea is available for pre-order on CD and LP now in the Merge store.

The Magnetic Fields on tour:
Mar 6 Hudson, NY Helsinki Hudson
Mar 7 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Mar 10 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow’s Parties
Mar 15 Austin, TX NPR’s SXSW day party @ The Parish
Mar 16 Austin, TX  ACL Live @ 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 4 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

NPR says of Love at the Bottom of the Sea:

Full of confused and otherwise conflicted love songs, Love at the Bottom of the Sea explores many facets of forbidden romance, particularly in the delightful, album-opening pairing of “God Wants Us to Wait” and “Andrew in Drag.” The colorful but not exactly existential dilemmas continue in songs ideally crafted to match The Magnetic Fields’ dour-but-droll delivery: “I Don’t Like Your Tone.” “All She Cares About Is Mariachi.” “I’ve Run Away to Join the Fairies.” “The Horrible Parties.” These are hardly end-of-the-world concerns, so the conflicts play out with just the right mix of ruefulness and playfulness.

Listen to The Magnetic Fields’ Love at the Bottom of the Sea at NPR Music

Watch the video for the first single “Andrew in Drag” and pre-order Love at the Bottom of the Sea on CD and LP now in the Merge store.

The Magnetic Fields have announced their spring tour and tickets are on sale now!

The Magnetic Fields on tour:
Mar 6 Hudson, NY Helsinki Hudson
Mar 7 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
Mar 10 Minehead, UK All Tomorrow’s Parties
Mar 16 Austin, TX  ACL Live @ 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 4 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

Visit the Merge store to sample the most recent albums from all of the bands, and to pre-order their upcoming releases! Check out the Merge SoundCloud page for songs to hear now, too!

Merge SXSW Showcase 2012
Friday, March 16 @ Frank
Doors at 7; show at 7:30

from first to last:
M. Ward
Hospitality
Eleanor Friedberger
the Love Language
Crooked Fingers
Imperial Teen

The Magnetic Fields at SXSW
Friday, March 16 @ Austin City Limits Live
Doors are at 6:30, and the band goes on at 8:30

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

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

photo by Bill Wadman

CLAUDIA’s TOP 6 FORTUNE COOKIE MESSAGES for 2011

1. Life is a verb.
2. When you are squeezed, what comes out is what is inside.
3. If the cake is bad, what good is the frosting?
4. If I bring forth what is inside me, what I bring forth will save me.
5. Cooperation will work better.
6. You will have gold pieces by the bushel.

Merritt notes about the new album that “instead of using a synthesizer as a melodic instrument, much of the time I used it as a compositional destructive mechanism, something eating away at the apparent order of my perfectionist arrangements. I was very happy to be using synthesizers in ways that I had not done before. Most of the synthesizers on the record didn’t exist when we were last using synthesizers.”

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

Watch the musical performance here and click the second dot of the full show video to jump to Zooey’s chat with Craig!

Stephin Merritt’s new compilation Obscurities is available on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store as well as the newly released reissue of the Magnetic Fields’ Holiday on 180-gm LP. She & Him’s A Very She & Him Christmas is available on CD, red vinyl & digital download with special gift bundles in the Merge store, too!

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

“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)

Please consider this your first update from Jay and Madonna in the Merge Records basement! We’re happy to be serving you wonderful people.

First things first: to celebrate Dinosaur Jr’s Bug tour, we’re giving away five signed, Bug LP jackets. Comment on this post with your favorite song from the album or your favorite Dinosaur Jr show moment and retweet this blog post with the hashtag #mergebuggiveaway to win! Five winners will be chosen by a panel of experts and contacted by 6/30 when the tour is over.

In addition to the Wild Flag preorder that just went live (oh lawd there are so many of you people that want this album), we’ve got Stephin Merritt’s Obscurities (also, 69 Love Songs, its 33 1/3 book, and the Strange Powers documentary about Stephin himself), an Archers of Loaf re-issue of Icky Mettle, from Arcade Fire, The Suburbs Deluxe, and a brand new full-length record from long time Merger, Richard Buckner. Our Blood is the first time he’s ever released vinyl!

Just because a band has graduated from Merge doesn’t mean that we’re not interested in helping them sell more records; we’ve got The Cakekitchen’s Kangaroos in my Top Paddock LPs for sale, but only a few (less than 10). Merge staffers have snapped the first few of these up, so get yours from us before we don’t have any more!

In case you missed them…we’ve got wonderfully soft and lightweight Merge Records tee shirts back in stock, in light blue. Printed on 50/50 Royal Apparel heather tees, these will keep you cool in more ways than one this summer. Be sure to admire Reed, our model / intern.

That’s gonna wrap it up!

~Jay & Madonna, your Merge Records Web store customer service team. Keepers of the flame.

The new documentary feature – Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields – will be released in North American theaters starting October 27.

Fresh from a highly successful festival run (including SXSW, Full Frame, Hot Docs, Karlovy Vary and Outfest, where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature), the film will open in select theaters this fall. Shot over a period of 10 years, Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields explores Merrittʼs recording and songwriting process and focuses on his relationships with his band mates, specifically longtime friend-manager Claudia Gonson. The film traces a 20-year career that has yielded one of the most engaging bodies of work in the contemporary American songbook.

Oct 15–16: London Film Festival (NFT1, the ICA)
Oct 27–Nov 9: Film Forum, NYC
Opens Nov 4: Tiff Bell Lightbox, Toronto, ON
Opens Nov 5: Laemmle Sunset 5, Los Angeles, CA
Opens Nov 7: Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, Austin, TX
Opens Nov 12: Roxie Film Center, San Francisco, CA
Nov 18: Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis, MN
Opens Nov 19: Texas Theater, Dallas, TX
Opens Dec 10: NW Film Forum, Seattle, WA
More cities announcing opening dates soon….

See Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields for free at the Nasher Museum in Durham, NC on November 6 as part of “The Full Frame Fix” event. For more information, visit fullframefest.org.

A digital release and DVD are expected in early 2011.

The Magnetic Fields’ epic release 69 Love Songs is available on CD and digital download in the Merge store and as a limited-edition vinyl box set in stores now.

AVC: What are some of the big clichés you try to avoid in writing about this subject?

SM: I don’t think there are any clichés I try to avoid. As soon as I spot a cliché, I go for it. I feel like clichés are the most useful thing in songwriting. They’re the tool on which you build all the rest of the song. Clichés that other people should try to avoid, I suppose, are rhyming “dance” with “romance,” or putting the word “love” at the end of a line and having to rhyme it. That’s about it. If you want to write a love song, you need to not try to write it for a particular person in a particular situation. It needs to be vague, otherwise you’re going to fall into trap after trap of trying to rhyme with somebody’s name. Keep it vague. That’s the T-shirt from this article.

Read the interview at the Onion AV Club and pre-order your limited-edition vinyl 69 Love Songs box set in the Merge store now. Orders of the box set will ship on or around the April 20 release date.

And, as a special preview, download the newly re-mastered for vinyl MP3 of “The Book of Love!”

Watch the trailer for Strange Powers, a Magnetic Fields documentary 10 years in the making!

The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs is now available as a limited-edition vinyl box set which 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. Pre-order your box set now at a special low 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.

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

In addition to the Spoon cover above, Spin.com has a review and more live videos of Mac’s performances at the Our Noise reading last week at Housing Works in New York City.

Order Our Noise now in the Merge store or from your local bookstore.

All photos by Brian Vetter

I did have one random Merge related encounter when I ran into Magnetic Fields cellist Sam Davol at the Wellfleet Public Library. Small world.

Tonight I will see Deerhoof.

I promise if I post again in the future it will be more interesting.
-Paul