My night with MGMT

April 30th, 2010

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MGMT are more than a band – they’re an experience. I’ll share my experience in meeting the band, plus a bit of a breakdown of the new album. Sound fair? Good.

I went to 102.1 the Edge on Wednesday (29th) to meet the band and even that was epic. They were there for an hour for an on-air interview and a meet and greet.

The Edge’s Bookie conducted the interview with Andrew WynGardren and Ben Goldwasser of MGMT. He asked them about their time at Coachella, the artwork on their new record, Congratulations’, and more. Andrew decided to answer every single question with one-worded answers…and still had the crowd on their toes. Normally it wouldn’t suffice, but it turns out that a simple “Yeah” out of Andrew WynGarden’s mouth totally worked. Seriously.

All the while, Ben, almost shyly, sat in his chair and barely said anything. But what he didn’t say he totally made up in awesomeness in his ability to pull off thick-framed glasses.

More with MGMT after the jump!

Andrew also decided to write a few random words on separate pieces of paper. Words like, “Applesauce”, “Yeah!”, “OH Yeah!”, etc. You get the picture. Why though? In the midst of the interview he would raise his signs up and the audience in the studio would scream the word out.

The format in which they signed stuff/took pictures: Ben would simply sign whatever you had and slide it over to Andrew, then Andrew would go nuts with it. He’d draw mythic creatures, make shapes, turn himself into a turtle – anything and everything you could think of was covered. On my vinyl copy of Congratulations he turned himself into an alien warrior and another guy into a spaceman. I’m satisfied.

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All in all… if they’re this much fun during an interview, imagine what they’re like at a show. Oh wait! They’re playing a show right now! Right now! At the Mod Club! If you’re there, hope you’re having a great time. If you’re stuck at home like me… let’s all sulk in a corner together.

Congratulations Breakdown

Hopefully you’ve given the album a listen and if not, get on that!!! For now, though, here’s a brief-ish breakdown of each song from the album:

“It’s Working”
The highlight of this track is the intro. It begins with an almost Beatles-esque beat, then a whoosh. A great introduction to such a weird, amazing album. The rest of the song you’ll have to listen to yourself – there’s nothing else like it at all. It’s interesting. But very, very nice to listen to. Very nice.

“Song For Dan Treacy”
This song’s a little eh for me, minus the lyrics. Probably the best lyrics on the album. “He made his mind up, to get things done and overcome. He made his mind up, yeah he’s gonna let it go. He made his mind up, in the park and at the station.” That to a decently dope tune = goodness.

“Someone’s Missing”
This is the one song on the album that I’m not really fond of. For me, it’s a little slow until 1:47, where it gets good, I guess. It’s probably a preference thing. Give it a listen – I’m sure you’ll like it!

“Flash Delirium”
Yes! This is tied for my favourite song on the album with “Brian Eno.” I love how the song totally tells a story, without even having to see a video. (I mean, the video is ridiculously epic, but still). I love the ups and downs that this song takes. It starts off soft and slow, but by the end they’re singing 35897 words per second… and it works! Highly recommended for Oracular Spectacular fans, but also for fans of psychedelic, insane music.

“I Found A Whistle”
Such a good song to proceed “Flash Delirium”. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to get past the hardcore-ness of the final 20 seconds of “Flash Delirium,” so it’s great to have a slow song straight after. For a song about a whistle, they certainly found a lot to say about it. But hey, as long as it’s to a good tune and sounds good, it’s fine by me.

“Siberian Breaks”
The. Most. Chill. Song. Ever. Twelve minutes and ten seconds of pure bliss and relaxation. Highly recommended for aspiring nappers – this will lead you in the right direction (in a good way)!

“Brian Eno”
“So tired, soul searching. I followed the sounds to a cathedral. Imagine my surprise to find that they were produce by Brian Eno.” … DUN DUN DUN. So good in so many respects. Tied for first with “Flash Delirium.”

“Lady Dada’s Nightmare”
For a fully instrumental song (I kid you not… no words!), this is actually really great. You’ll never find that type of thing on a pop/rock records these days… ever! Such a nice change. This is also great for aspiring nappers, so switch this up with “Siberian Breaks” once in a while.

“Congratulations”
Feel free to sway side to side while listening to “Congratulations”. This is almost a camp-firey song to me… but not really. I don’t know why. The chorus is what really ties the whole song together. No. It ties the album together. The instruments are also really nice to listen to in this. REAL NICE.

“Inbetween the Liners”
At first this song was a little scary to me, but once I realized the man was saying what was on the back of the record… it’s actually quite cool! A nice bonus, I guess. And cool sounds.

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