Editing Stephin Merritt (section)

==Musical style==
[[File:Stephin-merritt-at-cadogan-hall-crop.jpg|thumb|Merritt at [[Cadogan Hall]] in London, 2008]]
Merritt has been acclaimed for his lyrics, which have been described as "romantic", "humorous",<ref name="rollingstone.com">{{cite magazine |title=Stephin Merritt: My Life in 15 Songs |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/stephin-merritt-my-life-in-15-songs-160365/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=October 30, 2015 |access-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115134155/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/stephin-merritt-my-life-in-15-songs-160365/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and "literary",<ref>{{cite web |title=Stephin Merritt: The Silent Type |url=https://www.motherjones.com/media/2008/01/stephin-merritt-silent-type/ |website=Mother Jones (magazine) |access-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115134154/https://www.motherjones.com/media/2008/01/stephin-merritt-silent-type/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and he has been called an "insightful lyricist"<ref name="loudandquiet.com">{{cite web |title=50 years, 50 songs: The extraordinary story of Stephin Merritt from The Magnetic Fields' 'whole life' LP |url=https://www.loudandquiet.com/interview/the-story-of-the-magnetic-fields-through-stephin-merritts-50-song-memoir-a-new-5-disc-album-that-chronicles-each-year-of-his-life/ |website=loudandquiet.com |access-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115134155/https://www.loudandquiet.com/interview/the-story-of-the-magnetic-fields-through-stephin-merritts-50-song-memoir-a-new-5-disc-album-that-chronicles-each-year-of-his-life/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and a "brilliant wordsmith".<ref name="stereogum.com">{{cite web |title=Stephin Merritt Albums From Worst To Best |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1926509/stephin-merritt-albums-from-worst-to-best/lists/ |website=stereogum.com |date=March 13, 2017 |access-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115134153/https://www.stereogum.com/1926509/stephin-merritt-albums-from-worst-to-best/lists/ |url-status=live }}</ref> At other times, writers have emphasized the unhappiness of his lyrics.<ref name="Irresistible force">{{cite web |title=Irresistible force |url=https://www.salon.com/2004/05/01/magnetic/ |website=salon.com |date=May 2004 |access-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115134153/https://www.salon.com/2004/05/01/magnetic/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2005, an interviewer quoted an anonymous reviewer to [[Bob Mould]] that Mould was "the most depressed man in rock." Mould's response was "He's never met Stephin Merritt, obviously."<ref name="AVMould">{{cite web |last=Ryan |first=Kyle |title=Interview: Bob Mould |url=http://www.avclub.com/article/bob-mould-13952 |work=[[The Onion]] |date=September 21, 2005 |access-date=December 22, 2013 |archive-date=December 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224091807/http://www.avclub.com/article/bob-mould-13952 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Unlike most singer-songwriters, Merritt rarely writes autobiographical songs<ref name="rollingstone.com"/> and does not consider songwriting to be emotionally expressive but an exercise in craft, carried out for its own pleasure.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Thoughtful Interview With Stephin Merritt Of The Magnetic Fields |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2015/05/27/stephin-merritt-magnetic-fields |website=wbur.org |date=May 27, 2015 |access-date=November 15, 2021}}</ref> His albums generally have a lyrical theme; for instance, ''[[The Charm of the Highway Strip]]'' is imitation country music. He has stated that he finds writing lyrics with constraints easier.<ref name="Stephin Merritt">{{cite web |title=Stephin Merritt |url=https://bombmagazine.org/articles/stephin-merritt-1/ |website=bombmagazine.org |date=October 22, 2010 |access-date=November 15, 2021}}</ref> Merritt's preferred method of writing songs involves spending several hours sitting in [[gay bars]] "one-third full of cranky old gay men gossiping over thumping [[disco music]]" with a glass of [[cognac]], which provides him with inspiration for lyrics.

Critics have also praised his tunes and production, calling him a "master melody-writer"<ref name="loudandquiet.com"/> and "an arduous studio rat".<ref name="stereogum.com"/> Some albums also have musical themes: for instance, the Magnetic Fields album ''[[Distortion (The Magnetic Fields album)|Distortion]]'' is [[Audio feedback|feedback]]-rich mix of [[Noise music|noise]] and pop, and it, ''[[I (The Magnetic Fields album)|i]]'', and ''[[Realism (The Magnetic Fields album)|Realism]]'' make a "trilogy" of records without synthesizers. In contrast, their next album, ''[[Love at the Bottom of the Sea]]'', used synthesizers extensively. Throughout Merritt's career, he has changed styles frequently, and uses a wide variety of instruments on his records.<ref name="Stephin Merritt"/>

He has described [[ABBA]],<ref name="Irresistible force"/> [[Stephen Sondheim]],<ref name="Stephin Merritt"/> and [[Phil Spector]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Stephin Merritt |url=https://www.avclub.com/stephin-merritt-1798207855 |website=The A.V. Club |date=June 4, 1997 |access-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-date=November 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115134153/https://www.avclub.com/stephin-merritt-1798207855 |url-status=live }}</ref> as influences. Merritt has said he is an avid listener of [[bubblegum pop]], listing [[Ramones]], [[Kraftwerk]], Abba, [[The Troggs]] as examples of the style.<ref name="bubblegum">{{cite news |last1=Weisbard |first1=Eric |title=Recordings View; Bubble Gum With a Punk Attitude |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/21/arts/recordings-view-bubble-gum-with-a-punk-attitude.html |access-date=January 4, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=May 21, 1995 |archive-date=March 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319203914/http://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/21/arts/recordings-view-bubble-gum-with-a-punk-attitude.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He has expressed a disdain for [[hip hop]] and much of [[contemporary pop]], describing the former as responsible for "more vicious caricatures of African-Americans than they had in the 19th century."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Carr |first1=David |title=One Man's Musical Tastes as Fodder for a Flame War |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/arts/music/18rock.html |access-date=January 4, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=May 18, 2006 |archive-date=January 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104075413/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/18/arts/music/18rock.html |url-status=live }}</ref>