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Magnetic Fields
Magnetic Fields. From left to right: John Woo, Claudia Gonson, Stephin Merritt and Sam Davol.
Background information
Origin	New York, USA
Genre(s)	Indie pop
Years active	1990 – present
Label(s)	Feel Good All Over Merge Records Nonesuch Records
Associated acts	The 6ths, The Gothic Archies, Future Bible Heroes
Website	Official website
Members
Stephin Merritt Claudia Gonson Sam Davol John Woo
Former members
Susan Anway

Magnetic Fields is a band led by New York City singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt. Albums released by Merritt under the name "Magnetic Fields" usually consist of synth-pop music in a 1980s style underlying clever lyrics, often about love, that are by turns ironic, bitter, and humorous. While The Wayward Bus and Distant Plastic Trees (now available together as a compilation) are sung by Susan Anway, all subsequent albums are principally sung by Merritt himself.

The band began as Merritt's studio project, with him playing all instruments. With the help of friend Claudia Gonson, who had played in Merritt's band The Zinnias during high school, a live band was assembled in Boston, where Merritt and Gonson lived, to play Merritt's compositions. The band's first live performance was at TT the Bear's Place in Cambridge, MA in 1991 where they played to a sparse audience expecting to see Galaxie 500 spinoff Magnetophone. The live performance sounded nothing like the recordings.^{[citation needed]}

One of the group's most significant albums to date is the 1999 triple album 69 Love Songs. It showcased Merritt's songwriting abilities and the group's musicianship, demonstrated by the use of unorthodox instruments (including ukulele, banjo, accordion, cello, mandolin, flute, xylophone, and Marxophone, in addition to their usual setup of synthesizers, guitars, and effects). The album features vocalists Shirley Simms, Dudley Klute, LD Beghtol and Gonson, each of whom sings lead on six songs as well as various backing vocals, plus Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket) on accordion, and longtime collaborator Christopher Ewen (of Future Bible Heroes) as guest arranger/synthesist. Violinist Ida Pearle makes a brief cameo on "Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side".

Their 2004 album i continues Merritt's love of themed albums, with each of the 14 songs beginning with the letter (or, in the case of half the songs' titles, the pronoun) "I". The liner notes claim the album was made without synthesizers.

It was announced that the band is in the studio recording and that the new album, entitled Distortion, is to be released through Nonesuch^[1] on the 15th January 2008.^[2] The album's release will be followed by a limited US tour starting in February, though more dates could still be announced. Tickets go on sale November 9th, 2007 at 12pm.

The Magnetic Fields in concert.

• Stephin Merritt
• Claudia Gonson – percussion/piano/vocals (and group manager)
• Sam Davol – cello
• John Woo – banjo/guitar

Past contributors include the singers Susan Anway, Dudley Klute, Shirley Simms, and LD Beghtol, as well as instrumentalists Daniel Handler and Chris Ewen.

• Distant Plastic Trees
  1991
• The Wayward Bus
  1992
• The House of Tomorrow (EP)
  1992
• Holiday
  1994
• The Charm of the Highway Strip
  April 18, 1994
• Get Lost
  October 24, 1995
• 69 Love Songs
  September 7, 1999
• i
  May 4, 2004
  #152 (Billboard 200)
• Distortion
  January 15, 2008

• "100,000 Fireflies" (7")
• "Long Vermont Roads" (7")
• "All The Umbrellas In London" (7")
• "Why I Cry" (7")
• "I Don't Believe You" (7")

• The 6ths
• The Gothic Archies
• Future Bible Heroes

• The House of Tomorrow - The official site of Stephin Merritt, The Magnetic Fields, Future Bible Heroes, The 6ths, and The Gothic Archies

• David Jennings' site about the band's magnum opus.