A SONGWRITER'S CONFESSION : LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III SETS EMOTION, EXPERIENCE TO MUSIC.

Byline: Fred Shuster Daily News Music Writer

Singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III tried to head 'em off at the pass with his humorous ``They Spelled My Name Wrong Again,'' a song about rampant spelling distortions of his not-terribly unwieldy surname.

Then, he came to town to play the Troubadour in West Hollywood. Sure enough, his name was spelled ``Wainright'' on the tickets.

``That's par for the course,'' Wainwright said when told of the error. ``There's nothing new under the sun. The good thing is, when they spell my name wrong at the concert, I have a good reason to do that song at the gig. You've got to look at the bright side, always.''

Wainwright sings in the tune: ``My parents should shoulder some blame/For calling their kid a strange name.''

A composer with a witty, confessional style, Wainwright has more than a dozen albums under his belt, plus a fluke top 20 hit in 1973 with ``Dead Skunk.'' Wainwright's latest effort is ``Grown Man,'' his third disc for Virgin.

Dubbing himself ``the Mickey Rooney of something or another,'' the 49-year-old expatriate folkie has recorded for no less than eight labels during his almost 30-year career. His ``Man Who Couldn't Cry'' was covered by Johnny Cash on the country legend's acclaimed ``American Recordings'' album two years ago.

Surprisingly, Wainwright is getting some airplay lately for the new album's ``I Wish I Was a Lesbian,'' a wry look at sex roles that stems from an offhand comment made by his girlfriend while driving in London.

``She was noticing all these other women on the street, so I sort of joked, `Maybe you're really a lesbian and don't even know it,' '' Wainwright recalled. ``And she snapped back, `I wish I was a lesbian.' That shut me up and got me thinking. And out popped the song.''

Through the years, Wainwright, who is managed by his sister Teddy, never changed his often self-deprecating lyrics dealing with his marriages, divorces, children, therapy, career errors and life as an American in London. His folk-based musical style also remains unchanged.

Often likened to Randy Newman and Lyle Lovett, Wainwright said he tries to write constantly, even while on the road in one foreign hotel room after another.

``It's fishing,'' he said. ``I keep my line in the water.''

Typically, much of the material on ``Grown Man'' is autobiographical. In ``That Hospital,'' Wainwright tells of the upstate New York hospital that saw the birth of his daughter, various family ills, and the death of his father, who was a well-known editor and writer for Life magazine.

``If I didn't write about my family and friends, I think they'd be mad,'' Wainwright said. ``They complain about it all the time, and although people in my family secretly enjoy being written about, they run and hide when they see me coming. But this is what I do. It's like taking pictures. I'm taking photos with my guitar.''

Another insightful new tune is ``Father/Daughter Dialogue,'' a duet with Wainwright's 19-year-old daughter, Martha, who accuses her father of attempting to make amends by confessing his faults in song: ``You like to think that things are OK/By singing things that you should say.''

Wainwright argues that the narrator of his songs isn't always the real Loudon.

``It's not me all the time,'' he said. ``Sometimes, I'm putting down a version of how I feel. It might appear the songs are terribly honest, and while they're rooted in honesty and autobiographical detail, it isn't always so.''

One of Wainwright's sturdiest albums to date was 1989's ``Therapy,'' which boasted the oddly moving ``Thanksgiving,'' a song about a grown son's return to the family home for the holidays. The disc also includes the concert staple ``You Don't Want to Know,'' a humorous description of one of Britain's coldest winters.

Despite the weather, Wainwright finds life in London conducive at the moment.

``I'm stoic, amused and horrified at events in America,'' he said. ``London is the perfect place for someone like me. It's slower-paced, quieter. But things are weird all over.''

So weird, in fact, that he was recently booked to play a gig in Istanbul. What sort of crowd turns up for a Loudon Wainwright III recital in Istanbul?

``Oddly enough, a Turkish audience,'' Wainwright said with a laugh. ``All I know is the promoter lost a lot of money. But it was interesting.''

During his recent brief visit to Los Angeles, Wainwright said he was having second thoughts about ever living in the Big Orange.

``With this weather, what's to complain about?'' he asked.

We answered with one of his own song titles: ``You Don't Want to Know.''

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Photo: ``If I didn't write about my family and friends, I t hink they'd be mad,'' says Loudon Wainwright III, whose latest album is ``Grown Man.''

Evan Yee/Daily News