Walking down Houston St., I had a feeling of what to expect. A small theater with a couple of movies no one knew about. I was the first one of our group so I walked around. I was surprised. There were a couple of previews of old japanese movies I’ve seen. All the foreign movies looked interesting as well.
As we walked into the movie room,to see Strange Powers. A film about the band The Magnetic Fields. I did not know who the Magnetic Fields were. All I knew that they were involved with the Series of Unfortunate Events audiobooks. Having heard one in my friend’s car, I assumed that their music must be weird and depressing sounding.
I was wrong. Their music was different,that is a given, but not all of it was depressing sounding. The band used usual instruments and sounds and more unorthodox methods and tools as well. Stephen Merritt was like everyone described, somewhat direct and aloof. He is talented musician who was more into the production of music rather than the live playing of it. His conversations was a really funny aspect of the film because Merritt made the person feel so awkward asking the questions.
Claudia, the band’s pianist and manager, was basically the antithesis of Merritt’s personality and this dynamic was what made the duo interesting. There was arguing and banter back and forth between them. The other two members, John Woo and Sam Davol, also gave their opinions and origins about the band. It was interesting when Woo said that the band would not have worked if they were all friends.
The film was created over ten years, ending with Merritt moving to LA. The band still gets together to play their music. I believe that this film introduced me to a more diverse music group, as I never heard any independent bands before. There was another world of music I’ve never saw before. I also believe that because The Magnetic Fields is an independent band, this movie would only be significant and view in the local area as most of their fan base is in New York. I feel it is like a compromise between Merritt’s and Claudia’s ideas of what the band was going to be. It is seen and by people live but not that many know of them.
