Stephin Merritt | NPR: Project Song

That's not Stephin Merritt in the photo. It's just the photo that was meant to inspire Merritt to write a song in just two days. Quite frankly, it looks like the living embodiment of the floor in my daughter's bedroom.

NPR has started a new segment called Project Song where they invite artists into their studios to record a song as NPR chronicles the "song creating process". Merritt was the first person to participate in the experiment. It seems a bit forced but it did offer some interesting insights into how Merritt comes up with lyrics and music.

Regarding lyrics, he likes to write at a bar with lots of noise. So, NPR built a bar in the studio for Merritt. Regarding music, Merritt once read an interview with ABBA where they claimed they never write their music down because they believe that if they can't remember the music then the fan won't be able to either. So, Merritt follows that philosophy. Considering how catchy both ABBA and Merritt's tunes are, they may have a point.

I wouldn't call the final product one of Merritt's best songs ever but it's pretty good for creating something out of nothing while being monitored like a monkey in a lab experiment.

You can watch a video of the entire segment on NPR's site. Just follow the link and click on "Watch Stephin Merritt's Two Days with Project Song".

Stephin Merritt | A Man of a Million Faces