Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt on Tibet, Gay Marriage and 'Wacky' Religion

Let's talk about your new album for a little. First, how does it feel to be back on Merge Records.?

I don't really deal with the record labels. My manager, Claudia, does, so it doesn't feel like anything. Merge and Nonesuch are the same distributor, ADA, so from my perspective absolutely nothing changes. So I would say that you would have to ask Claudia.

People are calling 'Love at the Bottom of the Sea' a return to early Magnetic Fields form. Would you say those comments are on the mark?

I don't think that has anything to do with the record. I would imagine they would say that without having heard the record, and it sounds like they haven't heard the record.

All the songs are under three minutes, was that a preconceived restraint?

No, I just like short songs. The average length of the songs on '69 Love Songs' is only a few seconds longer than the average length of songs on 'Love at the Bottom of the Sea.' All the songs on 'Distortion' are three minutes long, within a few seconds of three minutes long. This average is 2:15.

Why did you return to synths for this album?

Well, synthesizer was the first instrument that I learned to play well. The instrument that I took lessons on in high school was organ. If I could only play with my feet while playing with my hands, I would now be an organist. But no, I have some in-built inadequacy. I can play perfectly well with my feet as long as I don't also try to play with my hands. So I'm an incompetent drummer and an incompetent organist. But still, I think of organ, organ played only with the hands, like Farfisas, my main instrument, if you don't count the synthesizer. I think like an organist.

How did you come up with the concept for the 'Andrew in Drag' video?

I didn't, actually. A friend who works at an ad agency approached me about making a video and I said, "Well, we'd love to make a video but our new single is called 'Andrew in Drag.' Good luck." So Claudia went in for 20 minutes and got photographed drinking cognac and standing on our little rotating turntable and that was our basic contribution to the video.

Given the current political climate, with Prop 8 being recently banned, what are your feelings concerning how the gay-marriage question is being dealt with in America?

I don't discuss politics because I like to keep my passport.

You feel discussing this would get you deported?

No, I think I wouldn't be able to enter particular countries if my politics were widely known.

Anything else that you would like to say about Tibet House?

Well, the Tibet House benefit is a good cause. The money is going directly to Tibetan refugees in New York, I believe, of which there are a lot. There is a large community of people who have been forced out of Tibet. So it's a good cause. And the show is going to be ridiculously wonderful.

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