Detail view of Wendy Smith's cover art for Distant Plastic Trees, The Magnetic Fields' debut album, on which the song "100,000 Fireflies" was released in 1991. Wendy Smith/Courtesy of Merge Records hide caption
The Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music
The Magnetic Fields
Charli XCX. Her latest release, How I'm Feeling Now, tops our list of the best new albums out on May 15. Courtesy of the artist hide caption
50 Song Memoir is Stephin Merritt's latest album as the driving force behind The Magnetic Fields. Marcelo Krasilcic/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
The Magnetic Fields On The Improbably Autobiographical '50 Song Memoir'
Clockwise from upper left: Joan Shelley, alt-J, Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields, Girlpool, Elliott Smith Courtesy of the artists hide caption
Like all albums by The Magnetic Fields since the group's landmark 69 Love Songs, the new 50 Song Memoir hinges on a concept. This time it's the life of songwriter Stephin Merritt (center, looking at the camera), with one song for each year of his life. Marcelo Krasilcic/Courtesy of Nonesuch Records hide caption
The Magnetic Fields' new album, 50 Song Memoir, comes out March 10. Marcelo Krasilcic/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Magnetic Fields frontman and lyricist Stephin Merritt Marcelo Krasilcic hide caption
California Girls
The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt On World Cafe
The Magnetic Fields video 'Quick!' Magnetic Fields hide caption
Stephin Merritt (far left) has led The Magnetic Fields since the early 1990s, with a songwriting style that ranges from sincere to bitter to ironic. Marcelo Krasilcic hide caption
Hear Highlights From Magnetic Fields In Concert
The paint-splattered members of Venezuelan rock band La Vida Boheme won over NPR Music's team on the second day of the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. Katie Hayes Luke for NPR hide caption
The Magnetic Fields' new album, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, comes out March 6. Marcelo Krasilcic/Courtesy of the artist hide caption
Love at the Bottom of the Sea
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