The 6ths

Last updated
The 6ths
Genres Indie pop
Years active1993–2000
Labels Factory Too, Merge
Members Stephin Merritt
Website houseoftomorrow.com/6ths

The 6ths was a band created by Stephin Merritt, also the primary songwriter and instrumentalist behind The Magnetic Fields, The Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. One story has it that the band was conceived when Merritt, observing that there was no tribute album dedicated to him, decided to make one himself.[ citation needed ] In the group, Merritt writes and plays songs which are then sung by other artists—a different artist on each track. It has so far produced two well-received albums and many different collaborations. [1]

Contents

Releases

The two albums the band released were Wasps' Nests in 1995 (Factory Too via London Records) and Hyacinths and Thistles in 2000. Wasps' Nests was preceded by a 7" vinyl single of album track "Heaven in a Black Leather Jacket" in 1993 on Merge Records that contains a B-side, "Rot in the Sun", sung by Merritt himself. The song was also later included on Merritt's Obscurities compilation in 2011.

The names of both albums, as well as the name of the band, are deliberate tongue-twisters. The words are chosen for their abundance of s and th sounds; sixths alone packs one th and three s sounds into one syllable. The band's website refers to the 6ths as "every lisper's nightmare". [2]

The list of singers on Wasps' Nests includes many notable mid-90s indie-rockers, including Barbara Manning, Mary Timony, Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500, Luna, Dean & Britta), Lou Barlow, Chris Knox (Tall Dwarfs), Robert Scott (The Bats, The Clean), Georgia Hubley (Yo La Tengo), and Mark Robinson. [3]

Some of the more notable artists appearing on Hyacinths and Thistles are Bob Mould, Sally Timms (The Mekons), Sarah Cracknell (Saint Etienne), Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy), Gary Numan, Marc Almond, Momus, Clare Grogan (Altered Images), Melanie, Miss Lily Banquette (Combustible Edison), Katharine Whalen (Squirrel Nut Zippers) and the accomplished toy piano player Margaret Leng Tan. The album also features an improbable duet of singer Odetta accompanied by Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler on accordion. [4]

"Falling out of Love (with You)" from Wasps' Nests was featured on the popular 90's children's show The Adventures of Pete and Pete .

Two songs from Hyacinths and Thistles, "You, You, You, You, You" and "As You Turn To Go", are featured in the movie Pieces of April and its accompanying soundtrack by Stephin Merritt. "You, You, You, You, You" was featured in Google's 2016 pixel ad.

Their song "Night Falls Like a Grand Piano" was covered by South African group Wonderboom on their 2003 album Tell Someone Who Cares.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Magnetic Fields</span> American band

The Magnetic Fields are an American band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as frequent multi-instrumentalist. The band is named after the André Breton/Philippe Soupault novel Les Champs Magnétiques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephin Merritt</span> American singer-songwriter

Stephin Merritt is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the songwriter and principal singer of the bands the Magnetic Fields, the Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. He is known for his distinctive bass voice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Mould</span> American musician

Robert Arthur Mould is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s.

The Gothic Archies are an American indie rock/gothic rock band established by Stephin Merritt of The Magnetic Fields. In 1997, Merritt released The New Despair. The EP featured the song "Your Long White Fingers", which appeared frequently in the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miho Hatori</span> Japanese singer and musician

Miho Hatori is a Japanese singer, songwriter, and musician. She is best known as a solo artist, co-founder of New York City band Cibo Matto, and as the first person to provide the voice of Noodle in the virtual band Gorillaz, as well as for her work with the Beastie Boys, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Smokey Hormel, John Zorn, and many more.

<i>69 Love Songs</i> 1999 studio album by the Magnetic Fields

69 Love Songs is the sixth studio album by American indie pop band the Magnetic Fields, released on September 14, 1999, by Merge Records. As its title indicates, 69 Love Songs is a three-volume concept album composed of 69 love songs, all written by Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Timony</span> American musician

Mary Bozana Timony is an American independent singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, bassist, and violist. She has been a member of the bands Helium, Autoclave, Wild Flag, and Hammered Hulls, and currently fronts Ex Hex.

<i>Holiday</i> (The Magnetic Fields album) 1994 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

Holiday is the fourth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. The album was the band's third to be recorded and was intended to be release prior to The Charm of the Highway Strip through the label Feel Good All Over, but due to the label delaying its release, was issued in 1994 five months after its successor. Merge Records would later rerelease the album in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barbara Manning</span> American musician

Barbara Manning is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist whose albums blend elements of rock, folk, pop and proto-punk. She is also known for her cover versions of often obscure pop songs. In addition to an acclaimed solo career, Manning has been active in a number of bands, including 28th Day, World of Pooh, SF Seals, and The Go-Luckys!.

<i>i</i> (The Magnetic Fields album) 2004 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

i is the seventh studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was released on May 4, 2004, by record label Nonesuch. The songs of the album all start with the letter "i" and are all sung by Stephin Merritt. The songs are also in alphabetical order.

<i>The Wayward Bus</i> (album) 1992 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

The Wayward Bus is the second studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released in 1992 by the band's own label, PoPuP Records.

<i>Pieces of April</i> (soundtrack) 2003 soundtrack album by Stephin Merritt

Pieces of April is the soundtrack to the film of the same name. Written by Stephin Merritt and performed by his various bands, it was released on November 4, 2003 on Nonesuch Records. Three of the songs were previously released on The Magnetic Fields' 69 Love Songs, and "As You Turn to Go" and "You You You You You" were previously seen on The 6ths' album, Hyacinths and Thistles.

<i>The Tragic Treasury: Songs from A Series of Unfortunate Events</i> 2006 studio album by the Gothic Archies

The Tragic Treasury: Songs from A Series of Unfortunate Events is the second studio album by American indie pop band the Gothic Archies, released on October 10, 2006, by Nonesuch Records. It is a concept album where the songs are inspired by the thirteen books of Daniel Handler's book series A Series of Unfortunate Events and were originally included at the end of the audiobook editions of each novel.

<i>Wasps Nests</i> 1995 studio album by the 6ths

Wasps' Nests is the 1995 debut album by the 6ths, a side-project created by Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields. Merritt wrote and recorded the album, inviting different vocalists to sing lead. Like the band's name, the album title is a tongue-twister.

<i>Hyacinths and Thistles</i> 2000 studio album by the 6ths

Hyacinths and Thistles is the second and final studio album by the indie pop band the 6ths. It was released in 2000 on Merge Records.

<i>Reproductions: Songs of The Human League</i> 2000 compilation album by various artists

Reproductions is an album of cover versions of songs by The Human League, recorded by various artists. It was released in 7 November 2000 as a tribute to The Human League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What a Catch, Donnie</span> 2008 single by Fall Out Boy

"What a Catch, Donnie" is Fall Out Boy's second digital download single and third radio single from their fourth studio album Folie à Deux (2008). It was first released as part of the buildup to the new album on iTunes on October 14, 2008, and charted on the US and Canadian singles charts. The track features numerous musicians performing cameo appearances in the song, singing lines from past Fall Out Boy songs. Bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz has said that he wrote the song to remind himself of vocalist and guitarist Patrick Stump. Fall Out Boy played the song live on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Kenneth Mellman is an American musician and cabaret artist. He is a member of The Julie Ruin.

<i>Realism</i> (The Magnetic Fields album) 2010 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

Realism is the ninth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields. It was officially released on January 26, 2010, by Nonesuch Records.

<i>50 Song Memoir</i> 2017 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

50 Song Memoir is the eleventh studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released on March 10, 2017. 50 Song Memoir is an autobiographical concept album that chronicles the first 50 years of lyricist Stephin Merritt's life, with one song for each year that he has lived.

References

  1. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "The 6ths". AllMusic . All Media Network.
  2. ↑ The 6ths home page Archived 2010-09-14 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ House of Tomorrow Wasps' Nests Track List Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ House of Tomorrow Hyacinths and Thistles Track List Archived 2008-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.