The Magnetic Fields Unveil Video for "'81 How to Play the Synthesizer"

  • The Magnetic Fields, whose new album, 50 Song Memoir, is due March 10 on Nonesuch, have unveiled the video for the album track "'81 How to Play the Synthesizer," via its YouTube channel. The song, which may be downloaded now with pre-orders of the album on iTunes and the Nonesuch Store, is one of fifty on the five-disc set that chronicles the fifty years of songwriter Stephin Merritt's life with one song per year. You can watch it below.

    The video was directed by John Erickson, Alex Basco Koch, and José Zayas and produced by Ghost Corporeal. It was originally created for the Magnetic Fields' 50 Song Memoir concert tour directed by Zayas. Audiences across the United States can have a look at all of the great visuals that are part of the stage extravaganza in person when the tour begins in full swing on March 15. For tickets, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

    For another sneak peek at the live show's visuals, the fifty-day countdown to the album's release continues on the band's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

    50 Song Memoir may be pre-ordered now at iTunes and in the Nonesuch Store, where "'81 How to Play the Synthesizer," "'83 Foxx and I," and one song from each of the five decades of Merritt's life may be downloaded immediately. 50 Song Memoir is available in five-LP and five-CD editions including an extensive interview by Daniel Handler and facsimile handwritten lyrics by Merritt, and as a standalone bound book with a full-album download card. For a limited time, pre-orders at the Nonesuch Store also come with an exclusive print signed by Merritt.

     

     

The Magnetic Fields Unveil Video for "'83 Foxx and I" from "50 Song Memoir"

  • The Magnetic Fields, whose new album, 50 Song Memoir, is due March 10 on Nonesuch, have unveiled the video for the album track "'83 Foxx and I," via its new official YouTube channel. The song, which may be downloaded now with pre-orders of the album on iTunes and the Nonesuch Store, is one of fifty on the five-disc set that chronicles the fifty years of songwriter Stephin Merritt's life with one song per year. You can watch it below.

    The video was directed by Alex Basco Koch and produced by José Zayas for Ghost Corporeal. It was originally created for the Magnetic Fields' 50 Song Memoir concert tour directed by Zayas. Fans at the first performances of the piece at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA, and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) last year got an early look at the great visuals that are part of the stage extravaganza. Audiences across the country can catch them in person as well, when the tour begins in full swing on March 15. For tickets, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

    For another sneak peek at the live show's visuals, the band has begun a visual fifty-day countdown to the album's release on its Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

    50 Song Memoir is available to pre-order now at iTunes and in the Nonesuch Store, where "'83 Foxx and I" plus one song from each decade of Merritt's life may be downloaded immediately: "'74: No," "'86: How I Failed Ethics," "'93: Me and Fred and Dave and Ted," "'02: Be True to Your Bar," and "'13: Big Enough for Both of Us." 50 Song Memoir is available in five-LP and five-CD editions including an extensive interview by Daniel Handler and facsimile handwritten lyrics by Merritt, and as a standalone bound book with a full-album download card. For a limited time, pre-orders at the Nonesuch Store also come with an exclusive print signed by Merritt.

     

Nonesuch to release 50 Song Memoir in March, 2017

Nonesuch Records will be releasing the new Magnetic Fields album, 50 Song Memoir, on March 10, 2017. This 50-song, 5 disc recording chronicles the 50 years of Stephin Merritt's life with one song per year. Pre-orders are available now. 

50 Song Memoir is available in five-LP and five-CD editions, including an extensive interview by Daniel Handler and facsimile handwritten lyrics by Merritt, and as a standalone bound book with a full-album download card. For a limited time, pre-orders at the Nonesuch Store also come with an exclusive print signed by Merritt.

50 Song Memoir is available to pre-order now at iTunes and at nonesuch.com, where one song from each decade of Merritt’s life may be downloaded immediately. 

These five songs may also be heard here:

MAGNETIC FIELDS ROLL OUT 2017 US TOUR SCHEDULE FOR 50 SONG MEMOIR

The Magnetic Fields are delighted to announce their 2016-2017 US tour schedule. They will be performing around the country in support of their forthcoming multi-disc album, 50 Song Memoir, to be released Spring 2017 on Nonesuch Records. This 50-song series will be performed over two nights in each city (songs #1-25 on night 1, songs #26-50 on night 2). 

The quintet turned septet is working with director Jose Zayas (Love in the Time of Cholera), along with a crew of projection, sets and lighting designers to create this fully staged, special concert series. The concerts will premiere at Mass MoCA on November 18-19, 2016, and then head to Brooklyn Academy of Music’s “Next Wave” festival on December 2-3, 2016. 

Following the two 2016 pre-album release performances, the band will then perform around the US, beginning in March 2017. See below for full the band’s 2017 schedule (note: Boston performances will be announced at a later date). Tickets for the Philadelphia, DC, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Oakland, and Portland shows go on sale Friday. All others are on sale now. For information on tickets, please visit our calendar page. 

First two Magnetic Fields albums to be released on vinyl for the first time

The Magnetic Fields’ first two albums, The Wayward Bus and Distant Plastic Trees, will make their debut appearance on vinyl in December 2016, packaged together as a two-LP set.

Distant Plastic Trees, the Magnetic Fields’ first album, was originally released in England and Japan in 1991. Merritt’s accordion player, the novelist Daniel Handler, later noted that “this tinny and intimate recording, in quiet defiance of the reigning roar of pop music, recalls both the early, scratchy field recordings of folk music and the first experiments in electronic music—precisely the sort of stylistic balance the Magnetic Fields liked to achieve.” The album includes the early-’90s college radio single “100,000 Fireflies” which had earlier appeared as a single on Harriet Records and was later covered by Superchunk.

For its domestic debut, Distant Plastic Trees was paired with the Magnetic Fields’ 1992 album The Wayward Bus on a single CD that came out on the band’s own PoPuP Records imprint before its re-release on Merge in 1994. While both albums feature singer Susan Anway (formerly of early-’80s Boston punk band V;), the latter introduced several new players who would subsequently make regular appearances on Merritt’s various musical projects. As Handler explained, “The Wayward Bus adds cellist Sam Davol, tuba player Johny Blood and percussionist Claudia Gonson to create a plinky, orchestral sound in tribute to pop producer Phil Spector and his ‘Wall of Sound.’”

The album artwork on both Distant Plastic Trees and The Wayward Bus was created by watercolorist Wendy Smith. Her beautiful wrap-around paintings, now printed in a larger format, along with remastered audio make this two-LP set an exciting addition to the Magnetic Fields discography.

Preorder information can be found over at Merge Records. 

MAGNETIC FIELDS PERFORM INAUGURAL CONCERTS AT MASS MoCA

***ON SALE TODAY!***
The Magnetic Fields' will perform their very first shows of their 2016-2017 tour at MASS MoCA, in North Adams, Massachusetts, on Nov 18+19, 2016. 

 

Get your tickets here for these exclusive performances, which take place in advance of the album release on Nonesuch in early 2017. 

Be the first to hear the entirety of their new album, 50 Song Memoir, performed over two nights, by a new, expanded band!

BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF MUSIC CONCERTS ON SALE AUGUST 1st, 2016

New York area friends- 

General ticket sales go LIVE on Monday, August 1st for The Magnetic Fields 2-day concert at BAM Next Wave Festival on December 2+3, 2016. 

Note: these New York shows are likely to sell out. 

Additional note- The two nights are completely separate programs of music. Both nights together will comprise the upcoming album, "50 Song Memoir," which will be released in early 2017 on Nonesuch Records. 

To purchase tickets for the BAM shows, visit the following links. 
PROGRAM A: http://www.bam.org/music/2016/50-song-memoir-a
PROGRAM B: http://www.bam.org/music/2016/50-song-memoir-b

We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,

The Magnetic Fields

MAGNETIC FIELDS "50 SONG MEMOIR"- ALBUM AND TOUR

stephinstudio.jpg

Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields are hard at work at a long album, entitled "50 Song Memoir." It is projected for release by Nonesuch Records in the start of 2017. We will update you with more album release information over the next months. 

Additionally, the band will be performing live, starting at the end of 2016, and throughout 2017. 

Here is ticket information for the first three announced shows:

Brooklyn Academy of Music - Brooklyn, NY
Program A - December 2nd, 2016
Program B - December 3rd, 2016

Royce Hall, UCLA - Los Angeles, CA
Program A - April 27th, 2017
Program B - April 28th, 2017

Moore Theater - Seattle, WA
Program A - May 6th, 2017
Program B - May 7th, 2017

More tour dates and album information to follow! Stay tuned!

 

MERGE RECORDS ANNOUNCES "69 LOVE SONGS" VINYL RE-RELEASE

Merge records announced today that they will reissue the Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs on vinyl on November 6, 2015. 

The limited-edition 10-inch box set includes six records—2 black, 2 red, and 2 clear—housed in a sturdy slipcase along with a full-size, 24-page color booklet featuring liner notes written by author Daniel Handler, a.k.a. Lemony Snicket.

The first 1,000 preorders will receive limited-edition colored vinyl. Preorders will ship to arrive on or around the release date of November 6.
 

To preorder the record, visit http://www.mergerecords.com/69-love-songs-lp-reissue.

STEPHIN MERRITT TO PERFORM TWO EAST COAST SHOWS IN NOVEMBER

Photo by Bridget Bennett for MPR

Photo by Bridget Bennett for MPR

Stephin Merritt, along with Sam Davol, will perform his 26-song set in alphabetical order, in his home town of New York City, on November 14 at City Winery. Presale tickets for VinoFile and Brooklyn Vegan members are available here. 

Regular tickets are on sale 9/3. 

Stephin and Sam are also performing at Mass MOCA, on November 21. Tickets available here.

TWO STEPHIN MERRITT MICRO-SONGS

Stephin Merritt recently composed two micro-songs entitled "Lo" and "La". The micro-songs are based on two poems from "101 Two Letter Words," Stephin's homage to the smallest words recognized by Scrabble. "Lo" and "La" were commissioned by Interfictions: A Journal of Interstitial Arts and were dedicated to a rat terrier named Lola. Videos of Stephin performing "Lo" and "La" to Lola can be viewed here. 

 

STEPHIN MERRITT TO DO TWO EVENTS AT "TWENTY SUMMERS AT THE BARN" IN PROVINCETOWN

As part of his upcoming tour, Stephin Merritt will appear in two events as part of the "Twenty Summers at the Barn" festival in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

The first on Friday June 5, is a book event for "101 Two Letter Words," Stephin's poetic homage to the smallest words in the Scrabble Dictionary. Merritt will be in conversation with the poet Rives, reading passages from the book and discussing it together. Tickets are available here.

The second performance, on June 6, will be a solo show with Sam Davol on cello. He will perform 26 songs in alphabetical order in an exclusive and elegant setting, in front of only 75 people. Tickets are available here.

For further info and ticket purchase, visit The Barn's website.

STEPHIN MERRITT WILL TOUR the U.S.A. in MAY + JUNE, 2015

Stephin Merritt will embark on a rare solo tour of the U.S.A. starting May 2nd, 2015, accompanied by long-time bandmate Sam Davol on cello. The duo will play 14 dates across the country, including two dates in Los Angeles and shows in Washington, D.C.; Austin; San Francisco and more. Visit the calendar for the tour itinerary and ticket information.

For this series of intimate performances, Merritt will present a set of solo, acoustic versions of selected songs from his wide ranging catalog. As a framework, Merritt plans to perform 26 of his songs in alphabetical order. Will he begin with "Absolutely Cuckoo" or "A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off," or...? Will he end with "Zebra" or "Zombie Boy," or...? You'll find out!

Stephin Merritt Pens Original Score for This American Life

Stephin Merritt's original score for a segment of This American Life, episode 541; "Regrets, I've had a Few", aired on Dec 5, 2014 and can be heard here. 

The band has also made the music available for download. Listen below or download via Stephin's Bandcamp site.