Saw this trailer over the weekend and was genuinely surprised to find out that this documentary about the very private songwriter — or most dubiously known as “the most miserable man in rock” — has been in the works for nearly ten years.  Directed by Kerthy Fix and Gail O’Hara, the film seems to primarily focus on the period of Merritt’s time between the releases of 69 Love Songs (1999) and Distortion (2008).

From the many horror stories I’ve heard/read in regards to most interviews with The Magnetic Fields frontman — mostly due in part to his very oft-putting, dry sense of humor and the fact that most of the time he seems to generally not care at all — it’s particularly interesting to have the chance to see a more genuine and open side of the very odd songwriter.

All things considered, it seems to be a big year for Merritt, as The Magnetic Fields are currently touring in support of their recently released 9th studio album titled Realism, along with the announcement of a limited-edition vinyl boxset of 69 Love Songs. Check out the trailer below along with a random assortment of Magnetic Fields covers.

MP3: The Antlers :: “Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing (Magnetic Fields cover)”
MP3: The Arcade Fire :: “Born On A Train (Magnetic Fields cover)”
MP3: The Divine Comedy :: “Famous (Magnetic Fields cover)”
MP3: The Lucksmiths :: “Deep Sea Diving Suit (Magnetic Fields cover)”
MP3: The Shins :: “Strange Powers (Magnetic Fields cover)”
MP3: Woodpigeon :: “Asleep and Dreaming (Magnetic Fields cover)”

Tags: Stephin Merritt, The Magnetic Fields

Sorry for not having the Graboid up last week, but I’ve included those releases (Spoon, Surfer Blood, Editors) in with the already incredibly amount of great releases that are available this week. So much good amazing stuff to choose from, that one would be hard-pressed to decide where to spend their hard-earned cash.

Two albums that I’m extremely excited about and will surely be picking up at some point this week are Beach House’s awe-inspiring third album Teen Dream and The Magnetic Fields’ Realism.  I haven’t had a chance to listen to all of Realism yet (which many have dubbed the yin to Distortion’s (2008) yang, but Teen Dream is so good it hurts.  Early candidate for album of the year?  Too early for that kind of talk, but it is sure to be in the discussion when that time comes.  It is definitely that good, people.

Also worth mentioning are a number of great releases, too numerous to single out any one in particular, from the likes of Basia Bulat, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Boy Genius, and Four Tet.

As always, feel free to recommend anything I may have missed.  What releases are you most excited about?

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Tags: Aziz Ansari, Barton Carroll, Basia Bulat, Beach House, Boy Genius, Cars & Trains, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Citay, Dinowalrus, Editors, EELS, Four Tet, Fucked Up, Gigi, Home, Los Campesinos!, Major Stars, Oh No Ono, Pit Er Pat, Retribution Gospel Choir, Robert A.A. Lowe & Rose Lazar, Slow Six, Spoon, Surfer Blood, The Happy Hollows, The Magnetic Fields, The Weekly Graboid