How did you initially get involved with the Lemony Snicket books?
Stephin Merritt: Well, Daniel Handler played accordion on 69 Love Songs and we’ve been writing a musical together called “Songs From Venus.” We’ve been pals for seven years or so. I’m known for writing depressing but funny songs, and I seemed like a natural person to write for the audiobooks in the Lemony Snicket series. So I’ve been doing one song per audiobook for all 13 books. What is it about the Lemony Snicket books that attracted you? They’re very funny and literate and vastly entertaining. What is your songwriting process like for these songs? I read the books first and write songs that have to do with the concepts of the books. I try not to actually explain the plot of the book. I don’t want to ruin it. Although that might have been a good idea: “Stop listening here if you don’t know the plot of the book. Do you have to be more careful when writing for a children’s audience? I just make sure not to use any obscenities. A lot of the titles of the books contain long words and exp
