The Magnetic Fields' tour settles in for two nights in Boston. In the Toronto Star, Stephin Merritt ("one of indie-rock's most beloved songwriters") gives fans an idea of what to expect on tour: "If we played it last time we toured, we're not playing it this time." With The A.V. Club, he shares some secrets to writing a good love song, advising: "Keep it vague." And Strange Powers, a new documentary about Merritt and the band, will be given a sneak preview at San Francisco's Noise Pop Festival and premiere at South by Southwest.
The Magnetic Fields' tour with music from their latest Nonesuch release, Realism, began last week in Washington, DC, and took them up to Canada for shows in Montreal ("the long-overdue Montreal debut of word-nerd songwriting savant Stephin Merritt and his band of romantics," said the Montreal Gazette) and Toronto. The band is back in the States and will settle in for two nights at Boston's Wilbur Theatre tonight and tomorrow night before heading down to some of the band's home turf of Brooklyn and a sold-out set at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Howard Gilman Opera House on Saturday. The US tour continues through mid-March.
Previewing this past Monday's show, the Toronto Star's Raju Mudhar describes Merritt as "one of indie-rock's most beloved songwriters, a man who specializes in writing quip-worthy couplets." In the article, Merritt gives audiences an idea of what to expect (or not) during the tour. "Our rule for the set list," he explains, "is that if we played it last time we toured, we're not playing it this time." Read more at thestar.com.
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As Valentine's Day approaches, Merritt, the man behind 69 Love Songs and not a few other dubiously love-themed tunes in the records to follow, including Realism, touched on the topic in an interview with The A.V. Club. In the article, he discusses a new song, inspired by "Oprah, the TV show starring Oprah Winfrey," and gives The A.V. Club's Scott Gordon a few pointers on writing a decent love song, recommending, among other things, clichés, scientific detachment, and a drink or two, then advising: "Keep it vague. That’s the T-shirt from this article." Read said article at avclub.com.
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Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields, a new documentary feature filmed over the course of a decade by directors Kerthy Fix and Gail O'Hara and cinematographer Paul Kloss, will be given a sneak preview at the Noise Pop Festival on February 28 in San Francisco. (The band's performance at the Herbst Theatre on March 1 is also part of the festival's events.) The world premiere of the film will take place at the South by Southwest Film Festival, which runs from March 12 through 20 in Austin, Texas. For more on the film and to watch the trailer, visit strangepowersfilm.com.
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For more on The Magnetic Fields' US and European tours, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour. To pick up a copy of Realism, visit the Nonesuch Store.
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