![(photo by Phil Toledano)
From the NPR Music site (links added):
November 5, 2007 - The challenge: Write and record a song — in two days. (We provide the studio and the inspiration.) On this edition of Project Song, songwriter Stephin Merritt.
Stephin Merritt says he learned a crucial lesson from a group many musicians might sneer at.
“I read an interview with ABBA a long time ago,” says Merritt, the creative force behind the cult-phenom band the Magnetic Fields. “They said they never write down the music — because they figure if they can’t remember it, then other people won’t remember it.”
Merritt does most of his writing sitting in a bar, with throbbing music in the background.
“Some recording artists write in the studio,” he tells All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen. “I think they’re crazy.”
[snip]
The instructions: Choose one photo to inspire the subject of the song; choose a word or phrase that will inspire the style.
From the words, Merritt picked “1974.” The photograph he chose, by artist Phil Toledano, is an incredible image of a man covered head to toe in what looks like a bodysuit made of baby dolls.
Then we left him alone in the studio to write. Over the course of two days, a song emerged: “A Man of a Million Faces.”
If you have a few minutes, and if you’re a Merritt fan of any sort, I highly recommend watching this NPR video. Really interesting to see it all unfold. As much as he might not like the final result, and as unpolished as it might very well be, this is strangely one of my most favorite songs Merritt’s recorded. Best and creepy part: don’t forget to stare at this photo as you listen to the words.](http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kso28rD7x41qzpt8fo1_400.jpg)
(photo by Phil Toledano)
From the NPR Music site (links added):
November 5, 2007 - The challenge: Write and record a song — in two days. (We provide the studio and the inspiration.) On this edition of Project Song, songwriter Stephin Merritt.
Stephin Merritt says he learned a crucial lesson from a group many musicians might sneer at.
“I read an interview with ABBA a long time ago,” says Merritt, the creative force behind the cult-phenom band the Magnetic Fields. “They said they never write down the music — because they figure if they can’t remember it, then other people won’t remember it.”
Merritt does most of his writing sitting in a bar, with throbbing music in the background.
“Some recording artists write in the studio,” he tells All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen. “I think they’re crazy.”
[snip]
The instructions: Choose one photo to inspire the subject of the song; choose a word or phrase that will inspire the style.
From the words, Merritt picked “1974.” The photograph he chose, by artist Phil Toledano, is an incredible image of a man covered head to toe in what looks like a bodysuit made of baby dolls.
Then we left him alone in the studio to write. Over the course of two days, a song emerged: “A Man of a Million Faces.”
If you have a few minutes, and if you’re a Merritt fan of any sort, I highly recommend watching this NPR video. Really interesting to see it all unfold. As much as he might not like the final result, and as unpolished as it might very well be, this is strangely one of my most favorite songs Merritt’s recorded. Best and creepy part: don’t forget to stare at this photo as you listen to the words.
