Stephin Merritt

The way it goes with singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt is that you are either wild about his music or you've never heard of him. A new documentary called "Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields" is likely to move people from the second category into the first. Though he has somewhat of a reputation for being a grumpy iconoclast, Merritt sat still for a filmmaking process by Gail O'Hara and Kerthy Fix that lasted 300 hours spread over 11 years. Clearly, the directors have to be Merritt advocates to hang in there that long, but the film that resulted has elements that keep it from being simply a fan's notes.

"Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields" Unrated Running time: 1 hour, 21 minutes Playing: Laemmle's Sunset 5, West Hollywood

'20,000 Leagues' and Stephin Merritt A splendid combination of sight and sound is in store Sunday for those who venture to the Cinefamily. Not only is the 1916 silent version of Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," complete with then-state-of-the-art underwater photography, going to get a rare screening, but the live musical accompaniment is by the gifted Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields. Merritt, whose music enlivened the indie hit "Pieces of April," will be working from a score commissioned by the San Francisco Film Society.

The way it goes with singer-songwriter Stephin Merritt is that you are either wild about his music or you've never heard of him. A new documentary called "Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields" is likely to move people from the second category into the first. Though he has somewhat of a reputation for being a grumpy iconoclast, Merritt sat still for a filmmaking process by Gail O'Hara and Kerthy Fix that lasted 300 hours spread over 11 years. Clearly, the directors have to be Merritt advocates to hang in there that long, but the film that resulted has elements that keep it from being simply a fan's notes.

There are some two dozen people scattered throughout the cozy downtown cafe, but it's not hard to figure out who the quirky underground musician is. Stephin Merritt, the critically revered songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who is the creative force behind the Manhattan-based outfit the Magnetic Fields, is sitting at a table in the back, looking blissfully unkempt and somewhat distracted.

"Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields" Unrated Running time: 1 hour, 21 minutes Playing: Laemmle's Sunset 5, West Hollywood

Claudia Gonson of the Magnetic Fields opened the band's two-hour show Sunday at the Music Box @ Fonda by welcoming the capacity crowd to "sleepy performances night." Was this a sly dig at the seated audience's relatively muted enthusiasm? Several fans evidently thought so and quickly sent up a cheer to demonstrate devotion. "No, it's OK," Gonson said. "We like the quiet." In fact, they need it.

When he took the stage at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on Saturday with his band the Magnetic Fields, Stephin Merritt didn't look much like a man who's going to revive the film musical and take over Broadway. Drably dressed in brown and tan, he sat on a tall stool and moved only as much as necessary as he sang and strummed his ukulele. He didn't much sound like it either, singing in a morose voice that suggested Leonard Cohen with a head cold.

"What do you do about the morning sunlight?" Stephin Merritt asks, like a newcomer seeking advice from a local about earthquakes or some other native affliction. Merritt knew he'd be dealing with this when he moved to L.A. from New York, and he does what he can to resist. His Los Feliz apartment is darkened by heavy curtains. When he parks his Mini Cooper after a short drive, he fits a foil-surfaced reflector inside the windshield. He picks the shadiest block for the walk to a bistro on Vermont.

The 6ths, "Hyacinths and Thistles," Merge. In studio recluse and cult hero Stephin Merritt's grand romance, characters eloquently open their hearts in a series of luminous nocturnes. The result is both sweeping and intimate.

'20,000 Leagues' and Stephin Merritt A splendid combination of sight and sound is in store Sunday for those who venture to the Cinefamily. Not only is the 1916 silent version of Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," complete with then-state-of-the-art underwater photography, going to get a rare screening, but the live musical accompaniment is by the gifted Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields. Merritt, whose music enlivened the indie hit "Pieces of April," will be working from a score commissioned by the San Francisco Film Society.

Claudia Gonson of the Magnetic Fields opened the band's two-hour show Sunday at the Music Box @ Fonda by welcoming the capacity crowd to "sleepy performances night." Was this a sly dig at the seated audience's relatively muted enthusiasm? Several fans evidently thought so and quickly sent up a cheer to demonstrate devotion. "No, it's OK," Gonson said. "We like the quiet." In fact, they need it.

"What do you do about the morning sunlight?" Stephin Merritt asks, like a newcomer seeking advice from a local about earthquakes or some other native affliction. Merritt knew he'd be dealing with this when he moved to L.A. from New York, and he does what he can to resist. His Los Feliz apartment is darkened by heavy curtains. When he parks his Mini Cooper after a short drive, he fits a foil-surfaced reflector inside the windshield. He picks the shadiest block for the walk to a bistro on Vermont.

When he took the stage at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on Saturday with his band the Magnetic Fields, Stephin Merritt didn't look much like a man who's going to revive the film musical and take over Broadway. Drably dressed in brown and tan, he sat on a tall stool and moved only as much as necessary as he sang and strummed his ukulele. He didn't much sound like it either, singing in a morose voice that suggested Leonard Cohen with a head cold.

There are some two dozen people scattered throughout the cozy downtown cafe, but it's not hard to figure out who the quirky underground musician is. Stephin Merritt, the critically revered songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist who is the creative force behind the Manhattan-based outfit the Magnetic Fields, is sitting at a table in the back, looking blissfully unkempt and somewhat distracted.

Stephin Merritt "Showtunes" (Nonesuch) * * * 1/2 TO summarize: Hans Christian Andersen was a 13th century Chinese emperor who was resurrected in a Ming Dynasty opera 400 years later. No, wait. That's not it. But it's easy to lose track on this album of songs from three stage productions all jumbled together. And why not?

MUSIC The Magnetic Fields' first effort for Merge Records since 1999, the 15-track "Love at the Bottom of the Sea" reclaims the willfully dinky synth-pop sound the New York indie-pop outfit renounced in recent years in favor of fuzzed-out guitar rock and strummy chamber folk. Fans of buzz-building mid-'90s albums such as "Get Lost" and "The Charm of the Highway Strip" will instantly recognize "God Wants Us to Wait," the shimmering pro-abstinence ditty that opens the CD with a bracing spritz of big-city sarcasm.