Distant Plastic Treehouse Members

Welcome. Below are the members of the Distant Plastic Treehouse, the year they became Merritt fans, some homepages, and often a quote about Stephin Merritt. If you wish to become a member, email Rusty Spell with the above information for yourself (quote optional). We are so pleased that you are here.

Rusty Spell (1995) -- I first heard "100,000 Fireflies" and "Born on a Train" on a compilation someone made me. Soon after, I started buying The Magnetic Fields one by one, followed by all the other projects and everything I could get a hold of. Stephin Merritt's music is interestingly beautiful, never seems to get old, and has inspired my own music greatly.
Amanda Spielman (1993) -- Everything Stephin Merritt does is beautiful, sometimes sad and haunting, and often perfect. He himself seems a little bitter, oddly detached, wonderfully cynical, he smokes throughout live performances, and he's short.
Gary Ruisinger (1990)
Justin Treadway
Peter Karys (1996) -- The best of The Pet Shop Boys and Joy Division combined (seriously)!
Chris Phillips (1995) -- Stephin is one of my current favorites. I have yet to get my hands on the Future Bible Heroes release, but I've just ordered it. I'm REALLY looking forward to the tour. He's coming through Nashville (which is where I live)! I have about six Stephin Merritt CDs and I hope there are many more to come. I think he's a pop genius! If there are any (straight) female Stephin Merritt fans, please check out my home page! I'm badly in need of inspired dates!
Brad (1996)
Lawrence Horsburgh (1996)
Sean Callihan (1996) -- Mr. Merritt's music makes my head spin if I listen to it with headphones on; there aren't many artists that cause this phenomenon in me.
Kristin Ellis (1994) -- i would like to say my dream has been to see the magnetic fields since the first time i heard them. my dream finaaly came true and i got to see them three glorious times. i truly adore the magnetic fields and i wish stephin would be my boyfriend. I love everything about this band.
Ryan Stearman ((1994)
Josh Penn (1997) -- Stephen Merritt is one of the most ingenious musicians of our time. He has practically made up a new kind of music. Not only is his music increadible but his lyrics are even more amazing.
Brian O'Donnel (1994)
Ben (1996)
Darin Gladfelter (1992)
Jaclyn Andrews (1995) -- I discovered Stephin Merrit's genius in 1995. I'm still in recovery.
Danielle Flores (1996) -- All the projects Stephen has had a hand in produce heartbreaking gems. I find nothing as soothing as the sound of his voice. If the world were ending and Stephen Merritt was singing, the chaos would be slow motion perfection.
Debi Spell (1997) -- I spent my life looking for music that would move my soul, I went from group to group never finding the true soul moving stuff, occasionally I would find a song or two but nothing with any staying power, then I meet Rusty and he introduces me to Stevie baby and what do you know I have found a couple of things with staying power, Stephin and his music for the soul and Rusty. What a deal.
Christine Fernsebner Eslao (1997) -- I have made so damn many "best of" tapes of Mr. Merritt's bands for so many people (who may or may not have wanted to hear them), a few of whom actually appreciated it. one recipient of such a tape described it as "the Swans guy singing for Duran Duran." the Fields have been my new favorite band for at least six months now. I played The Wayward Bus when I was alone in the dark in my basement tonight, to keep the scary things away.
Cody Schell (1994) -- I bought Charm of the Highway Strip while on a road trip across South Dakota. The trip is nothing but highway, and it made me a total fan. I've met Stephin and Claudia once, and they are oh-so-friendly. I got them to buy a Tamagotchi, and Stephin played "Alien Being" for me when I got my friend Melissa to hold up a napkin on which I had written "Alien Being." I do the design for their webpage, and my fondest wish is to someday do an album cover for them. So please write them and tell them if you like the design to the webpage, because I'm too shy to ever ask them myself.
Emily Sours (1996)
A.C. Rodriguez (1997) -- This music is the stuff of magic! It's the best, most refreshing I've heard since Pet Shop Boys. And a lot groovier!
Brian Bauman (1992)
Donna Rail (1996)
Hershal Shevade (1996)
Marty Flanagan (1995) -- At the moment my favorite band. You know how hard it is to make a M.F. compilation tape? What songs do you leave out? He's my candidate for best pop-songwriter of the 90's. He should cut down on those cigarettes though...
Barbara Zeszut (1993)
Nicholas Marcilio (1996) -- The first music I ever heard by the Magnetic Fields was the House of Tommorow EP. A former internet friend of mine had mentioned them a number of times, and I trusted her taste, so I went out and bought it. Everything from the style of recording, to the photo of the Dymaxion house was exactly the mood I was in.
Robert Irwin (1996) -- I truly believe that most of Stephin's songs are not about men or women... his songs are about the love and loss of his CIGARETTES!!!
UGawd (1996) -- I think the guy is a musical genius. I love everuthing he has ever put out. The only album I don't have is Holiday. They are re-releasing it on Jan. 11. Along with House of No Tommarrow. Overall the guy rocks.
Audrey Bahl (1998) -- Stephin Merrit's lyrics are some of the most original, creative, beautiful words I have heard. I love how his lyrics are meaningful and deep while his music has a poppy feel to it. The combination is incredible, he's incredible.
Ben (1998)
Patrick Rogers (1995)
Daniel Barrow (1995)
Stacey S. Vairo (1995)
Brian Mattson (1994)
Cynthia Jacks (1998) -- Ever since one of my friends introduced me to the Magnetic Fields, I haven't been able to get enough Stephin Merritt. I now own The Wayward Bus (also the name of my friend's radio show) and Distant Plastic Trees, The 6ths Wasps' Nests, Future Bible Heroes' Memories of Love, and I'm planning on collecting more. Merritt is genius. I never get tired of his music.
Joseph Zaremba (1995)
Anthony Baker (1997) -- Everyday I go to my silly job to make money for rent, food and booze. I get extremely tired, bored and sad. Then I come home and listen to Stephin Merritt's songs and go far, far away. Then I wake up and do it again.
Edward Adi Marcum (1997)
Wyatt Morris (1996) -- The Magnetic Fields remind me of sitting on the porch of an old house drinking coctails on a warm cloudy day and watching the traffic and the neon plastic world roll by. I think Merritt is the Brian Wilson of the 90s. Would love to hear a country band do some covers of his songs.
Lou (1995) -- merritt is beyond words for me, so it's difficult to give a quote about him. my love for him is partly based on his eloquence and ability to put into songs experiences and emotions i could never stutter. after seeing him perform several times, i decided to paint him a wine bottle and give it to him with a white rose in it. he was like an awkward teenager when he picked it up off of the stage, but he seemed grateful--in that painfully shy, awkward way of his...
Meg Bratsch (1993) -- Stephin Merritt: n. The rare occurrence of a cherry blossom falling from a tree in May knocking one unconscious. adj. A shade of black that turns vibrant colors when pressed firmly against one's ear, forehead, or belly. v. The act of whistling one's way down an indeterminately long dark corridor with a nosebleed whilst carrying a single red rose.
Jason Eaton (1995)
Christopher Lantz (1997) -- Boy, Stephin Merritt's something else.
Matthew Hart (1996) -- I almost wept two minutes into the box set, there has never been a better lyricist. I really love everything Stephin does.
Bob Moulton (1995)
Matthew Dohn (1997) -- Stephin Merritt's genius is an anomaly. They just don't "make 'em" like this anymore.
Mark Seega (1998) -- In February 1998, I had a week off school, which I spent most of stuck in my bedroom with homework and the radio. The radio presenter Mark Radcliffe has a show in the early afternoon, and his record of the week that week was Lonely Days. I was sixteen at the time, and hacked off with most of the rubbish that was about at the time, but this was great! I bought Lonely Days, the Memories Of Love, and after a LOT of searching (Merritt stuff is so hard to find in the UK) now have every Merritt CD from Charm Of The Highway Strip to 69 Love Songs except the Gothic Archies CD. The man’s songs are just so special… much more eloquent than everything else I’ve heard.
Ben Swire (2000) -- "You can leave the village in the morning when the radio writes poetry for avenue pi." The way that Stephin can combine such melancholy themes with wit and humor, all while encorporating experimental means of production and catchy molodies never ceases to amaze me. 69 Love songs is incredible, although it still hasn't grown on me to the same extent that some of the other records, most notably Get Lost and Holiday. I am eagerly awaiting the next 6ths album, and hope that at some point more info in reguards to a release date will be posted. The Magnetic Fields have been my favorite band for over two years now, and I can't see that changing anytime soon.
Jer Hayes (1999) -- In these days, when the "music industry" has begun to leave up to its name and to treat music akin to a factory product, it is so refreshing to realise that there are still true artists out there like Stephin Merritt. An artist who both intelligently constructs his music as well as his lyrics.
Karen Blose (1999) -- I first heard the Magnetic Fields while visiting my dear friend Stacey (who is also a member of the Distant Plastic Treehouse). Although I am a relative latecomer to the music of Stephin Merritt, it feels as though these songs have lived in my soul since conception. I simply never tire of listening to them. Last fall I was going crazy looking for 69 Love Songs -- all stores had sold out of the box set in ten minutes -- but my roommate found it on Amazon and gave it to me for my birthday. I'm sure she now regrets having done this because I have been singing all the songs constantly since then (6+ months), but I feel my voice has drastically improved as a result. My hope is to one day sing on a Stephin Merritt album. Stephin, can I send you a demo tape?
Johnny Alucard (1995) -- felt no need to ever start a band after hearing magnetic fields.
Melinda Nelson (1995) -- I can't think of another artist that inspires a greater emotional range from a single tune.
Ariel (1994) -- I'm impressed that Merritt can be as consistent as he has been over the past ten years. I'd put him a few notches over Nick Currie of Momus, who is about the only person I can see as being in the same league. Loved the complete 69 Love songs show I saw, too. Hope he stays on Merge, as well.
David Jennings (2000) -- Seven days. A week ago I hadn't heard of Stephin Merritt or any of his bands. The first Magnetic Fields performance I saw was near the culmination of one of the three most perfect weeks of my life. I dragged my oldest friend, Jeremy, along to see them on a sunny Saturday afternoon in a tent at the WOMAD festival, purely on the strength that the most interesting music at the moment seems to be coming out of the American independent sector. First we were amused, then captivated, then speechless. Only after it was all over could we admit to each other that we'd been crying. I bought 69 Love Songs the next day at the festival, and played it to our other friends on the boat we had hired for our holiday on the River Thames. They were gutted that they'd missed the gig. Well, we thought we'd witnessed the early days of a new band surely destined for a meteoric rise, and were all shocked to find that that this was the fifth album of a band who'd been around for almost a decade. To be honest, I was a bit put out and bemused that I'd managed to miss out on hearing of Merritt for so long. Back in the office on Tuesday I did a web search, and was beautifully surprised to find out how many resources are out there from wonderful people like the Treehouse. I also found that the Magnetic Fields were playing two more gigs in the UK. I mailed Jeremy to tell him of the gig that night in London (where he lives). Sadly, he told me it was sold out. But I managed to get tickets for the show in Birmingham last night. I talked my second oldest friend Tim into coming along, and we drove down. Arriving early, we got a table right in front of the stage. This time it was just Stephin and Claudia (Sam also played at WOMAD), and they also played songs from the forthcoming 6ths' album. A very intimate experience. I have ordered further albums by the 6ths, and Future Bible Heroes, as well as the Wayward Bus, and I anticipate their arrival keenly. Many more people will be hearing about Stephin's work from me very soon.
Robert Neugarten (2000)
Ronald Loaf (1999) -- Stephin Merrit is one talented faggot.
Lea Svane (2001) -- My knowledge of Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields is only one month old, and I know just the 69 album - so I'm not such a hardcore fan, like the rest of you, yet. All I can say, is that they're music really makes me happy. I want to listen to it all the time. Like being in love.
Ryan Peterson (2001) -- Stephin Merritt is in a league of his own in innovative techniques through music. His sound is unmatched by the best writers out there. He has the ability to change the way we listen and accept music. Here's looking to the future.
Drue (2001) -- Listening to the magnetic fields makes me feel a lot cooler than I am.
Adam Cowley (1998) -- Merritt's sound is the way the sixties should have sounded and the way today's music could never dream of sounding.
Luis Garcia (1995) -- Stephin Seritt is the only person in the world that can make me cry..... really.
Adrian Potts (2000) -- The Magnetic Fields make sense. Lots of it. What can I say, I like depressed as fuck pop music. Maybe I'm a walking, depressed as fuck pop song. I suppose life is one long depressing as fuck pop song. Stephin talks pretty.
Simone Fluter (2002) -- I was given FBH's Eternal Youth to review. I immediately fell in love with Stephin Merritt's genius, and with each year that passes, my devotion only grows.
Ted Maul (2003) - I can't stop listening to all things Merritt, it is like an addiction.
Austin Tasseltine (2003)
Linda Shambly (2004) -- Stephin's songs could change my life.
Graham Clark (2004)
Erik Bosko (2000)
Ingeborg Davik (2005)
Maria Kokkinou (2000) -- I first heard the Magnetic Fields in 2000 in a record shop in London. They were playing the first CD of the album 69 Love Songs. Stephin Merritt is a genius and an inexhaustible source of ideas and witty musical findings. He makes beautiful, melancholic, happy, touching, romantic, clean and most importantly unpretentious music, combined with some of the most playful lyrics in contemporary song writing. Absolutely adorable. Merritt’s side projects (the 6ths, Future Bible Heroes, Gothic Archies) are also excellent.
Luca Gambetti (2004) -- Stephin is one of my current favorites. I am struggling to get my hands on all CDs by Magnetic Fields, FBH, Gothic Archies and the 6ths, that is not an easy task here in Italy. My first contact was with "Busby Berkeley Dreams", found in a compilation of the best 500 rock songs ever.
Merrie Snell (2003) -- A late-comer to Stephin, I'm now a complete geek for him, so much so that I'm writing a research paper on him for a masters program. Talk about taking the fun out of it! ;-) Ah, but at least I get to study something I love. I'd welcome correspondence with anyone (merriedots@gmail.com), particularly on the subject of Merritt's music and ideas of sentimentality, your own or others'.
Susan Kirby-Smith (1996) -- I fell in love with "Born on a Train" in 1996 and a year or so later "100,000 Fireflies" and "Strange Powers." All of them were on unlabeled mixes so I didn't know who it was until much later. I am currently collecting essays about Merritt songs for a book. Email susancallow@hotmail.com for details.
Jakob Just Sørensen (1999) -- The first time I listened to Magnetic Fields was on the Gary Numan tribute album - Random - I thought "Hmmmn... this is different but a really good cover" so I went out and bought 69 Love Songs, AND LOVED IT. Has been my favourite musician since. Oh and i sometimes call my old Porsche 911 from 65 Stephin, because they both produce a really strange deep tone that i love.
M&L Howard (2007) -- One day I had typed in "Men Without Hats" for my pandora.com listening session. My life was changed when I heard "In My Secret Place," and soon after that heard what I claim to be my favorite song of all-time: "Strange Powers." Mr. Merritt is a talented individual and I'm happy to be a fan and happy to have seen the Mag Fields live in Chicago a year and a half ago. Hopefully the first of many!
Samantha Manniex (2008) -- I'd never heard of the Magnetic Fields until 2008. I stumbled upon an mp3 of 'Sunset City' hidden amongst a downloaded Belle and Sebastian album. Finding the song haunting and intriguing, I set out to discover more about the band. I now have almost everything Stephin ever made, and have been listening constantly for the last 2 years :) Long may it continue.