When I first heard that we were going to watch “Magnetic Fields: Strange Powers” at Film Forum, I was excited. I was anticipating a science fiction type of film. Like my other classmates, I was surprised to learn what the film was really about. It was a documentary starring Stephin Merritt about music. Although many people enjoyed the documentary, the film did not meet my expectations. Documentaries were just not meant for me. I felt as if the story dragged on and I had a hard time staying awake. Stephin Merritt had an interesting case of humor, but it was not my type of humor.
Some aspects of the film that caught my attention though was how Stephin Merritt used basic household items to create music. The idea of using basic items to produce music reminded me of my visit to the Meet The Artist event last month. At the Meet the Artist event, David Ellis showed us a video on items, such as trash cans, producing music. I find it fascinating how both David Ellis and Stephin Merritt thought of such a creative idea.
Out of all the songs played throughout the film, the one song that remained stuck in my head was “Papa Was A Rodeo” by the Magnetic Fields. Even though this isn’t usually the kind of music I usually listen to, the song remained stuck in my head. The deep voice of Stephin Merritt’s combined with the soft background music produced a unique result. One criticism of the song, though, are the lyrics. I felt as if the lyrics did not flow together. Maybe I just didn’t understand the lyrics’ meaning, but when looking at the lyrics, it seemed as if he just took random lines and pieced them together into one song.
Watching Magnetic Fields: Strange Powers was an interesting experience. Film Forum is a local small movie theater, yet it produces the same effects of the bigger theaters. The most interesting part of my visit to Film Forums is when we went backstage and how the place functions. I was amazed by the number of different machines it had and the way films are displayed on the bigger screen.
Below is the song that I mentioned earlier, “Papa Was A Rodeo”:
Magnetic Fields sounded like a trance or an electronic type of band. I had no idea that it was a popular indie pop group or that I would be mildly interested in them even after seeing the movie. I never watched a movie in this kind of theater before, and was a little apprehensive as to what I was about to watch. But from my classmates’ positive reactions to the film earlier in the week I knew I had to go see it!
Stephin Merritt turned out to be very admirable especially in the music industry. It’s refreshing to see that not all musicians just want the fame and recognition. He was humble and perhaps a bit negative, but I don’t see how he can be any another way. His personality made the film quite interesting. It was about his music and his band. It showed how seriously he takes writing lyrics and producing quality music, but more so for himself and his own satisfaction.
Claudia Gonson was an interesting character as well. She brought more dynamic to Merritt. I became more and more sympathetic to his character. She was his manager but more importantly his childhood friend, who has been with him through obviously many hardships and is probably the only person that truly understands him. I found their relationship to be something sacred and intimate and without fully exposing this aspect of Merritt’s life, the film would not have been so intriguing.
The band, like probably many other indie bands are rarely talked about because they don’t have that spotlight like the mainstream music does. It’s disheartening that so much good music gets swept under the rug. Their lyrics are in my opinion more meaningful and they don’t concern much with becoming a hit on the radio station. After watching “Strange Powers” I am more open minded to hear indie rock/pop music and I’m likely to look up musicians like Stephin Merritt in hopes to discover something bigger than just a catchy beat and a high quality music video.
When I first found out that I would be seeing a movie at the Film Forum, I was ecstatic. I knew that this theater did not play mainstream movies, and I’ve seen enough independent films to know that they can be very amusing. When I later learned that the movie I was going to watch was going to be a documentary entitled, “Strange Powers: Magnetic Fields,” I was all the more excited. I have always been a fan of documentaries and the title was very captivating. Though, I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed when I learned that the film was about a musician, because I thought it would be something more scientific or abstract.
The film was about a band named Stephin Meritt and the Magnetic Fields. It followed the lives of the members, their roots and their accomplishments as a band in their nineteen years of existence. However, the film mainly focused on Stephin Meritt, the lead songwriter and composer of the group. Stephin can only be described as an introvert who is both cynical and humorous, creative and daring. He is responsible for the creation of very nonstandard yet strangely appealing and catchy music. I guess that’s where the title comes from. It’s hard to explain, but his persona and his delivery of lyrics just have a way of drawing listeners in, almost forcing them to enjoy and appreciate the music.
This documentary gave people a chance to not only discover a rather fascinating band, but also get a glimpse of the creation process involved in making music. Even if they’re not your favorite band, I’m sure such insight can be very interesting. Throughout the film, one gets to know Stephin on a close level, and then see how his personality is projected onto his music. I enjoyed this because often, this process happens in reverse. First you listen to a band, and then if you like them, you can research its members and their outlooks on life.
All in all, Strange Powers is definitely a film worth watching. Even if you’re not a fan of his music, and even if you’ve never heard of his music, you can still enjoy Stephin’s personality and attitude, which the film seems to grasp perfectly.
Living in NYC, I’ve always come across small theatres. In particular, I had seen Film Forum quite a few times. Although I’ve always wondered what kind of movies they played and what it was like to watch a movie in a small theatre, I never had the motivation to actually go watch a movie. When I heard we were going to be watching Magnetic Fields at the Film Forum, I was actually pleasantly surprised.
Walking into the theatre, I realized just how different these small theatres were from big movie theatres. I didn’t see long lines of anxious movie goers, I didn’t see any arcades, I just saw a small box office in a modest little room. Going into the movie, I had no idea what I was in for. The only thing I knew about the movie was that it was called Strange Powers.
As the movie begun, I came to understand that the movie was about a band, Stephin Meritt and the Magnetic Fields. I’d never heard of Stephin Meritt before I walked into that theatre, nor had I heard of the Magnetic Fields. However, I soon became very well acquainted with them. As I thought about how there was an actual documentary on a band I’d never even heard before, the movie narrator uttered that “to most, they’re completely unknown.” It was refreshing to see that the narrator was down to earth and understanding of his audience.
I found the documentary itself to be fairly interesting. It gave us insight into the lives of Stephin Meritt and the rest of his band. It was interesting to see how songs came together and how the songs sound before they’re actually ready to be performed in a studio or in public. I wasn’t used to seeing songwriters actually writing their songs. Additionally, it was interesting to get a glimpse into the actual lives of these singers. I have no idea what the artists I listen to are like in real life. However, the documentary added a third dimension to many of the band members and allowed me to understand and appreciate the band more.
Although the movie wasn’t the most exciting movie I’ve ever seen, I still found it intriguing to watch. It was also a great experience being in a small theatre and looking at and appreciating the smaller aspects of the movie business. I’d recommend that everyone watch something at a small theatre – it’s an experience they surely won’t regret.
One of my favorite Magnetic Fields songs. If you look along the right side for the “Related Videos,” you can find plenty of other Magnetic Fields songs.
Like most of my friends, I had expected walking into the Film Forum and watching a movie about scientific experiments and the like. After all, what else would come to mind when one thinks of magnetic fields? But how pleasantly surprised we were when we found out that this a film was about a rather unknown band that Stephin Merritt and his friends John Woo, Sam Davol, and Claudia Gonson had made in 1991.
I arrived into the theatre about ten minutes late, so I was unable to see the beginning of the film. When I walked in, the first thing I saw on-screen was a group of people performing on stage. The thing that really caught my attention was the tone of the main character’s voice both singing and talking. With a resounding steadiness, Stephin Merritt’s voice extends to the audience with more base and bravado than even Josh Groban’s. The background music, in my opinion, was a bit lackluster and mismatched, with a cello, ukelele, banjo and other various instruments chiming in from time to time. I liked the diversity, but I feel that the songs themselves needed a bit more cohesion.
The film goes behind the scenes and gives us a glimpse of Stephin Merritt’s personality and all the vulnerabilities of each band member. The audience is immediately given the presumption that the main character is very introverted and difficult to interview. Only over time does the audience get to see the musical genius behind the dark and witty person that is Stephin Merritt. The interview of Stephin while he was outside the Film Forum years before the movie Strange Powers and the Magnetic Fields came out left me laughing as he reminisced about his first encounter with an acupuncturist. Claiming to have been assaulted by the acupuncturist in his youth, he explains his fears surrounding acupuncture, saying that he might “retaliate” against the next unsuspecting person.
Stephin Merritt’s melancholy demeanor serves as such a great foil to Claudia Gonson, a childhood friend of his. She serves as the manager of the group–the foundation of the band that keeps everyone sane. As Stephin describes, “As far as people go, she’s okay.” I had rather mixed feelings about the supporting character. Although Claudia shows signs of being the more mature one between herself and Merritt, the scuttle in the car between the two gave a picture of someone who gets agitated a little too easily. The other two members of the band, John Woo and Sam Davol, are given relatively little screen time, but their relationship to Stephin Merritt is portrayed as that of a business-type relationship. There is little sentimentality amongst the cellist and the guitarist towards Stephin, but despite that, you can still feel the honesty and ingenuity in their work.
As I had mentioned earlier in the review, The Magnetic Fields is a largely unknown band to the world, but this movie gives us a great introduction to a group of artists who deserve better. Amongst Stephin Merritt’s chagrin, there is an undeniable likability in such a unique character. It’s the first time I’ve ever watched a documentary about a band, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I did not have very high expectations for the documentary Strange Powers. After all I was going to see a movie about a band I had never heard of in a movie theatre I had never heard of. And my suspicions were correct. I did not enjoy the documentary at all, which is odd for someone like me who usually likes quirky movies.
Stephin Merritt, the main character in the movie and the lead singer of the band Magnetic Fields, has a cynical sense of humor that was amusing at times, but was mostly just plain boring. It seemed as though he had nothing to say. I found myself wondering why someone would choose to make a documentary about him numerous times during the film, and why a theatre as small as Film Forum would choose to run it.
This film was also my first introduction to the Magnetic Fields, and probably my last. Their music sounded like folk gone bad, something I do not want to experience again. The lyrics were completely ridiculous and sounded as though they were trying so hard to be “artsy,” yet they failed miserably. Lines such as “I want to be a topless waitress” in the song The Nun’s Litany, left me wondering what they were thinking releasing a song like that. He mentioned that his lyrics were not about anything, but there has to be some reason why he would choose those words; although frankly it is beyond my comprehension.
On a more positive note, the film did succeed in one area. It was really able to capture the whole artistic process. The documentary gave me a better picture of what goes on behind the scenes of every song that is produced. I did not think it was possible for an entire song to be produced and recorded in a room the size of a closet in the West Village in New York City. But Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields proved me wrong!
Overall I would have to say I was not the biggest fan of Strange Powers, but it was definitely an experience at best.
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