Stephin Merritt has fronted the band The Magnetic Fields for over twenty-five years. In this episode, he breaks down the song “Andrew in Drag” from the band’s latest album, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, even though he doesn’t actually remember writing it. After releasing his triple-album 69 Love Songs to huge acclaim in 1999, Stephin stopped using synthesizers for the next three Magnetic Fields albums. He talks about why he stopped, and why started using them again, and why he doesn’t write down his melodies.

Buy “Andrew in Drag” on iTunes. 

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Bumblebee Tuna – commercial jingle

Here’s a picture of Stephin’s Dewanatron. To learn more about the instrument, head to the official Dewanatron website.

And here’s Stephin’s studio:

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