Artist: Merlin, Album: Arcade, Song: The Playboy Interview

"My favourite book is TV guide.  My favourite band is no longer alive.  I live with twenty machines.  I wish I lived with twenty wives.  If you're wondering where the fuzz is and you're wondering where the raps are.  Then you never really knew me.  How can you rate me only one star?"  Merlin is an artist from Quebec who burst on to the scene in the middle of grunge with his indie debut, A Noise Supreme.  He self produced the album on his own label, Channel Three Records.  He got some decent airplay on alternative radio and had a video in rotation on Much Music.  Ever the chameleon though, his next release in 1996 entitled, Arcade, was less industrial/rap and had more of a pop sensibility with a diverse range of styles.  The song, The Playboy Interview, pokes some fun at his critics who failed to support him through this experimentation.  This is a great album from a neglected artist.  He would go on to release two more albums, the last one in 2001 with MCA records.  Merlin then began focusing more attention on photography.  You can follow his work at http://lastnightsparty.com/.  At the time of this blog, there were copies of Merlin's Arcade trading between $5 and $100 on Ebay and Amazon.  You can hear the song, The Playboy Interview, on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwXFGWi1mEQ).  Thanks for reading and enjoy!