MGMT
MGMT (/ɛm-dʒi-ɛm-tiː/[1]) is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by singers and multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. Alongside VanWyngarden and Goldwasser, MGMT's live lineup currently consists of drummer Will Berman, bassist Simon O’Connor, and guitarist and keyboardist James Richardson.
For the MGMT gene, see O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase. For the band's self-titled album, see MGMT (album). For management, see Management.
MGMT
Originally signed to Cantora Records by the nascent label's co-founder, NYU undergrad Will Griggs, MGMT later signed with Columbia and RED Ink in 2006[2][3][4] and released their debut album Oracular Spectacular the next year. After the release of Oracular Spectacular, Richardson, Berman and Matthew Asti joined the core band in the studio for Congratulations, which was released on April 13, 2010.[5] In January 2011, they began work on their eponymous third studio album.[6] It was released on September 17, 2013, and was released as an early exclusive on Rdio on September 9, 2013.[7] The group's fourth studio album, titled Little Dark Age, was released in February 2018 and marked the end of their contract with Columbia. Beginning in 2019, the duo began producing music independent of a label for the first time since 2006. In late 2019, the two released a new song called "In the Afternoon" as their first fully self-produced single.[8]
On October 5, 2007, Spin named MGMT "Artist of the Day".[9] In November Rolling Stone pegged MGMT as a top ten "Artist to Watch" in 2008[10] and went on to name Oracular Spectacular number 494 in their top 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. The band placed ninth in the BBC's Sound of 2008 Top Ten Poll.[11] They were also named as Last.fm's most played new artist of 2008 in their Best of 2008 list.[12] At the 51st Grammy Awards, the Justice remix of "Electric Feel" won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.[13] The group was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist and "Kids" was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 52nd Grammy Awards.[14]
Musical style and influences[edit]
MGMT's musical style has been characterized as a range of pop and rock genres, including indie pop,[62][63] synth-pop,[64][65] psychedelic pop,[3] indie rock,[66][67][68] psychedelic rock,[69] neo-psychedelia,[70] and electronic rock.[71] Paco Alvarez of Spin described their sound as a "brand of shape-shifting psychedelic pop"[3] and Gavin Haynes of the Guardian describes MGMT as being "between pop and experimental".[63] MGMT regularly covered a Magazine song "Burst" when touring in 2011.[72]
Legal proceedings[edit]
In January 2009, MGMT demanded compensation from the French Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) Party. The UMP, headed by Nicolas Sarkozy, the former President of France, had used the song "Kids" without permission at a party conference and in two online videos in 2008. In an official statement, MGMT remarked that "the fact that the UMP used our song without permission while simultaneously pushing anti-piracy legislation seemed a little wack."[73] The UMP initially offered a symbolic compensation of €1 to MGMT, but the band refused that offer. in April 2009, the parties settled out of court, and the UMP agreed to pay MGMT around €2,500 for legal fees and €30,000 (US $39,050) for copyright infringement. MGMT donated this money to artists' rights organizations.[74]
Collaborations[edit]
They have collaborated with rapper Kid Cudi, and are featured on the single "Pursuit of Happiness" from his album Man on the Moon: The End of Day. For the 2010 MTV VMA's Kid Cudi was nominated for Best Hip-Hop video for "Pursuit of Happiness". They also collaborated on the track "Worm Mountain" on The Flaming Lips' Embryonic.
On September 4, 2009, Beck announced his second Record Club covers album, Songs of Leonard Cohen. MGMT contributed, alongside Devendra Banhart, Andrew Stockdale of Wolfmother and Binki Shapiro of Little Joy.
During the production of Congratulations in 2009, VanWyngarden and Goldwasser met with Lou Reed, the former lead singer and guitarist of The Velvet Underground, about contributing vocals to "Lady Dada's Nightmare". VanWyngarden recalls, "he pretty much said it didn't need it. And then he also talked about how we didn't need managers."[75]
In 2010, they provided guest vocals on "Call from the Bank" on rapper Nipsey Hussle's mixtape The Marathon, which would be their last collaborative effort for ten years until 2020, when they contributed vocals to "The Divine Chord" and "Solitary Ceremonies" alongside guitar work by Johnny Marr on electronic group The Avalanches' third studio album We Will Always Love You.
In 2012, the group covered "Future Games" by Fleetwood Mac on the tribute album Just Tell Me That You Want Me: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac, produced by Randall Poster.[76]