The Magnetic Fields began their fall tour this past Friday at the State Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Beforehand, Stephin Merritt stopped by The Current studio to talk and perform a few solo acoustic songs. The next night brought a show in Madison, Wisconsin, where, reports The Isthmus, Merritt's "astonishing and sweeping body of work" was "yielded up wit, emotional nuance, memorable hooks and crisp, careful rhymes." Then came a Dallas show the Star-Telegram termed a "victory lap for one of the most idiosyncratic and interesting bands in indie pop" and the Dallas Morning News lauded as "meticulous chamber-pop."

Stephin Merritt and Laurie Anderson will each participate in the Talking Music series of conversations and performances from San Francisco's City Arts & Lectures, held at the Herbst Theatre. Stephin will open the season on September 11 in conversation and song hosted by Lemony Snicket author and fellow Gothic Archie Daniel Handler; Laurie will talk with music journalist Michael Azerrad for the season closer in April. In between are talks and performances by artists like Barbara Cook, Michael Tilson Thomas, Neko Case, and Okkervil River's Will Sheff.

During the last leg of their US tour, The Magnetic Fields played several nights at The Town Hall in New York. While there, Stephin Merritt invited the folks at Other Music backstage to discuss the new record and tape a few solo performances—just him and his bouzouki—of “The Nun’s Litany,” from the new album, and “This Little Ukulele,” from his soundtrack for the 2000 film Eban & Charley. You can watch the videos now ...

The Magnetic Fields recently complete a sold-out, five-night stint at London's Cadogan Hall to which The Independent gives a perfect five stars, calling the band "masters of the pocket symphony" and finding the roots of Stephin Merritt's songwriting in Cole Porter and Tom Lehrer. NME asserts that with the concerts, the group "proved themselves the greatest band in operation today without even breaking a sweat."

New York magazine celebrates its 40th year with a special anniversary issue. In it, the magazine's culture critics give their take on the most essential New York works of art since the publication's inception, "The New York Canon: 1968-2008," featuring performances and works by Steve Reich, John Adams, Laurie Anderson, Audra McDonald, Adam Guettel, Stephen Sondheim, David Byrne, Brian Eno, and The Magnetic Fields.

The Magnetic Fields' Distortion tour may have come to a close, but that just means more time for Stephin Merritt to share another of his many talents: DJing. He stopped by the KCRW studios in his newly adopted hometown of Los Angeles this past Sunday to play guest DJ on Gary Calamar's late-night show.

Tune in to Seattle public radio station KEXP, 90.3 FM, today at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET, to hear an in-studio performance from and conversation with Stephin Merritt. The Magnetic Fields were in Seattle last week to play two nights at Town Hall; they'll close out their Distortion tour with three nights---six shows---at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music this weekend.

The Magnetic Fields are gearing up for the last two stops of their Distortion tour, with shows at Seattle's Town Hall set for Thursday and Friday and a six-show residency over three nights at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music the following weekend. In the review of Sunday's show in LA, the Los Angeles Times sees Distortion as a "delightful anomaly in the Magnetic Fields' catalog" for all its distorted fuzziness. At the same time, he says, the "tidy chamber-folk" arrangements the band performs in concert allow the audience "to admire Merritt's watertight song craft."

The Magnetic Fields kick off their US tour with two sold-out shows at the Iron Horse in Northampton, Massachusetts, where they'll unveil "unplugged" versions of songs off their feedback-heavy new album, Distortion. The Hartford Courant spoke with Stephin Merritt about creating the signature sound for the album, which he calls "a collection of 13 pop songs with catchy, quirky melodies swathed in velvety noise," and adapting it for the road. In a feature story and an accompanying podcast, the Courant explores the making of these "witty, droll and often hilarious" songs.