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MGMT

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This article is about the psychedelic rock band. For the human gene, see O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase.
MGMT
MGMT in 2009
MGMT in 2009
Background information
OriginMiddletown, Connecticut, U.S.
GenresNeo-psychedelia, indie pop, psychedelic rock, indietronica, progressive rock
Years active2005—present
LabelsColumbia Records
MembersAndrew VanWyngarden
Ben Goldwasser
James Richardson
Matt Asti
Will Berman
Websitewww.whoismgmt.com

MGMT is an American alternative rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. After the release of their first album, the members of their live band, Matthew Asti, James Richardson and Will Berman, joined the core band in the studio. Formed at Wesleyan University and originally with Cantora Records, they signed with Columbia Records and Red Ink in 2006.[1][2][3]

On October 5, 2007, Spin.com named MGMT "Artist of the Day."[4] On November 14, 2007, Rolling Stone pegged MGMT as a top ten "Artist to Watch" in 2008.[5] The band was named ninth in the BBC's Sound of 2008 Top Ten Poll.[6] They were also named as Last.fm's most played new artist of 2008 in their Best of 2008 lists.[7]

MGMT's first album, Oracular Spectacular, debuted at #12 on the UK album chart and number six on the Australian ARIA Charts, and hit number one on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. It has also been named the 18th best album of the decade by Rolling Stone magazine.[8] It was named the best album of 2008 by NME.[9] MGMT also appeared prominently in Australia's Triple J Hottest 100 2008, coming in 2nd with "Electric Feel", 5th with "Kids" and 18th with "Time to Pretend".[10] MGMT was nominated for the 2010 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, and their track "Kids" was nominated for Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals.[11] These are the first Grammy nominations for the band. At the 2009 Grammy Awards, the Justice remix of "Electric Feel" won the Grammy for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical.[12] Their second album, Congratulations, was released on April 13, 2010.[13] In April 2011 they began work on their third album, which will be called MGMT.[14]

History

Formation (circa 2002–2006)

Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden formed the band while attending Wesleyan University during their freshman year.[15] "We weren't trying to start a band," remarked Goldwasser. "We were just hanging out, showing each other music that we liked." They experimented with noise rock and electronica before settling on what Paco Alvarez of Spin calls "their current brand of shape-shifting psychedelic pop."[16] They graduated in 2005 and toured extensively in support of the Time to Pretend EP, opening for indie rock band Of Montreal.[17]

The band first started with the name The Management, but since this name was already being used by another band, they later changed it to MGMT.

Oracular Spectacular (2007–2009)

MGMT performing at Higher Ground in Burlington, Vermont, late 2005

In the autumn of 2006, Maureen Kenny signed the band to Columbia Records.[18][19] When they got a phone call from the A&R department of Columbia Records saying they were interested in their music, they thought it was a joke.[20] The duo recorded with Flaming Lips/Sleater-Kinney music producer Dave Fridmann in 2007 for their major label debut, Oracular Spectacular.[21] MGMT opened for Of Montreal on tour in autumn 2007 as a five-piece touring band including Matthew Asti (bass), James Richardson (drums), and Hank Sullivant (guitar).[22] In November 2007, they performed for the first time in Europe, supporting the band Samantha and The Courteeners at Koko in London, England.[23] After March 2008, Hank Sullivant left the band to pursue his own band, Kuroma. Will Berman joined as the new drummer, James Richardson switched from drums to guitar, and Matthew Asti remained on bass.

The band supported Radiohead on the Manchester date of their world tour[24] and went on a headline tour of the UK during November 2008, playing at venues such as Manchester Academy and Shepherd's Bush Empire.

MGMT opened for M.I.A. on the Vassar College date of her 2008 tour,[25] and also played several shows with Beck while he toured in 2008. They appeared at the 2008 and 2009 editions of the Bonnaroo Music Festival. Bruce Springsteen was in attendance during their 2009 Bonnaroo late-night set, which followed his headlining appearance on What Stage. They also toured Australia with a headlining spot on the Meredith Music Festival line-up.

They also played a show at the Virgin Music Festival on the Toronto Islands on September 6, 2008, playing nine songs off their Oracular Spectacular album. They also played the 2008 Street Scene festival in San Diego, California. On February 27, 2009, MGMT performed alongside Spectrum at The Dome in Finsbury Park. MGMT also played another show in Australia at the 2009 Splendour in the Grass Festival. MGMT headlined this music festival along with other well known bands such as Bloc Party, The Flaming Lips, Happy Mondays, and Jane's Addiction.[26]

MGMT opened for Paul McCartney, an admitted fan,[27] at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 5 and 6, 2009.

On August 15, 2009, MGMT played in Hamburg, Germany, at the Dockville Festival and performed several songs from their upcoming album.

MGMT was one of the headlining bands for the Treasure Island Music Festival on Treasure Island in San Francisco, California, on October 17, 2009.

Congratulations (2010–present)

MGMT's Congratulations was released on April 13, 2010. The band, including Matthew Asti, James Richardson, and Will Berman from the live band, spent the summer of 2009 in Malibu, California, recording the album with Pete Kember (a.k.a. Sonic Boom) — formerly of Spacemen 3 and Spectrum — serving as producer/guru, and long-time friend, Billy Bennett, as engineer.

MGMT performing live at Sasquatch! Music Festival at The Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington in 2010

MGMT originally suggested that they might not release any singles from the album.[28] By July 2010, however, four single releases from the album had been confirmed. The album cover art for Congratulations was created for MGMT by Anthony Ausgang and the overall design of the packaging is by Josh Cheuse of Sony Entertainment. On March 9, 2010, MGMT released the song "Flash Delirium" for free download on their official website. On March 20, the band allowed users to stream their new album from their website.

MGMT started their Congratulations Tour on April 12, 2010, in San Francisco, California, at The Fillmore. They performed on April 23 at Brown University's Spring Weekend; on April 27 at Yale University's Spring Fling; on April 30 at the University of New Hampshire's Spring Climax; and on May 1 at Fordham University's Spring Weekend.

They performed on Saturday Night Live on April 24, 2010, and on the Late Show With David Letterman on May 11 to promote their new album, and on June 11, MGMT played their largest headlining show anywhere in the world with a sold-out, 9,500 capacity gig at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado.[29] On June 25, MGMT performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and on July 23, they were the musical guests on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

On August 25, MGMT released a music video for "Congratulations", the third video of their second album.[citation needed] MGMT was one of the third tier bands for the 2010 Coachella Festival in Indio, California. The event draws nearly 120,000 attendees annually. On October 31, 2010, the band performed for the Voodoo Experience in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band decided to dress as the main characters from Scooby-Doo for Halloween; Andrew dressed up as Daphne and Ben dressed up as Velma. They headlined at Fun Fun Fun Fest which was held at Waterloo Park in Austin, Texas on November 6, 2010. The performance was the last show in the US for MGMT in 2010. Their first 2011 gig was at Mar del Plata, Argentina, in front of a crowd of more than 40,000 on the beach in a free event which they headlined.

MGMT began their first Asian tour on February 22, 2011.[30]

On September 22, 2011 MGMT performed the Pink Floyd song "Lucifer Sam" during Late Night with Jimmy Fallon's "Pink Floyd Week". [31]

In January 2009, MGMT demanded compensation from the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) Party, headed by the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy. The song "Kids" was used on several occasions without permission (in 2008) at a party conference and in two online videos.

At first, a 1 Euro compensation was offered to the band by the UMP, but MGMT refused that offer. Finally, in April 2009, an amicable settlement was decided and the UMP agreed to pay MGMT around 2,500 Euros for legal fees and 30,000 Euros for copyright piracy, which were donated to an organization that supports copyright law.[32]

Discography

Main articles: MGMT discography and List of MGMT songs

Albums

Extended plays

Demo albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Singles

Appearances

Media appearances

Television

Year Show Episode Song
2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship "Time to Pretend"
Skins "Everyone"
90210 "We're Not in Kansas Anymore"
Gossip Girl "Much 'I Do' About Nothing"
2009 "The Grandfather" "Kids"
The Vampire Diaries "Pilot episode"
The Beautiful Life "Pilot episode" "Time to Pretend"
Yo Gabba Gabba Art "Art is Everywhere"
2010 Saturday Night Live Season 35, Episode 20 "Flash Delirium", "Brian Eno"
Late Show with David Letterman Season 17, May 11 "Flash Delirium", "Destrokk", "The Youth", "Electric Feel", "It's Working", "The Handshake", "Song For Dan Treacy", "Time to Pretend", "Congratulations", "Brian Eno"
Radio 1's Big Weekend 1 episode, 2010 "Time to Pretend"
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson 1 episode, 2010 "It's Working"
The Secret Life of the American Teenager Season 3 Episode 5 "Which Way Did She Go?" "Kids"
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Episode #1.271, 2010 "It's Working", "Congratulations"
Chuck Season 3 Episode: Chuck VS. The Subway "Congratulations"
American Dad! Season 6 Episode: Son of Stan "Electric Feel"
Jimmy Kimmel Live "Congratulations", "The Handshake"
The World's Strictest Parents Season 3 Episode: 8 "Electric Feel", "Weekend Wars"
2011 Orange Slovensko "advertisement" "Kids"
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Episode 512 Lucifer Sam, off 1967 Pink Floyd's album The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.
"Beavis and Butt-head" "Werewolves of Highland" "Kids"

Movies

Year Movie Song Notes
2008 How to Lose Friends and Alienate People "Time to Pretend"
Sex Drive
American Teen "Kids"
That's It, That's All
21 "Time to Pretend", "Kids"
2009 Reasons "Kids"
Double Decade
Whip It
The Heart is a Drum Machine
The Drifter "Pieces of What"
2010 Alice In Wonderland "Time to Pretend" Only in early trailers
Wah Do Dem
The Kids Are All Right "The Youth"
Inside Job "Congratulations"

Documentaries

Year Documentary Song Notes
2009 Tapped "Kids"

Video games

Year Name Song
2008 Midnight Club: Los Angeles "Electric Feel (Justice Remix)"
2009 Tony Hawk: Ride "Electric Feel"
NBA 2K10
FIFA 09 "Kids"
Shaun White Snowboarding "Time to Pretend", "Of Moons, Birds, & Monsters"
NHL 2K10 "Time to Pretend"
2010 FIFA 11 "Flash Delirium"
2011 MLB 11: The Show "Congratulations"

Collaborations

They have recently collaborated with up-and-coming rapper Kid Cudi, and are featured on one track – "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" a track which features MGMT and Ratatat. 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. Andrew VanWyngarden chose the album.[33]

Band members

  • Andrew VanWyngarden – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, drums (2002–present)
  • Benjamin Goldwasser – vocals, keyboards, guitar (2002–present)
  • Matthew Asti – bass guitar (2008–present)
  • James Richardson – lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, percussion (2008–present)
  • Will Berman – drums, percussion, backing vocals (2005, 2008–present)

Former live members

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by MGMT

References

  1. ^ Ryzik, Melena (April 11, 2010). "MGMT's Sophomore Challenges". The New York Times.
  2. ^ "Internet Archive Wayback Machine". Web.archive.org. February 8, 2008. Retrieved August 6, 2011. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  3. ^ Cristina Black (August 4, 2009). "The Wesleyan Mafia: MGMT, Boy Crisis, Amazing Baby - Page 1 - Music - New York". Village Voice. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  4. ^ D'Amato, Anthony M. "Artist of the Day: MGMT". Spin.com. Retrieved October 5, 2007.
  5. ^ O'Donnell, Kevin. "Artist to Watch: MGMT". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 14, 2007.
  6. ^ "Record of the Week". BBC Radio. January 4, 2008. Retrieved March 24, 2008.
  7. ^ "Last.fm Best of 2008". Last.fm. December 14, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2008.
  8. ^ "Top Heatseekers – Oracular Spectacular". billboard.com. Retrieved May 30, 2008. [dead link‍]
  9. ^ New Musical Express, December 8, 2008 WTFedition.
  10. ^ "Sex on Fire tops triple j's hottest 100". Online News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. January 26, 2009.
  11. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/beyonce/48701. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ^ The 51st Annual Grammy Awards Winners List[dead link‍]
  13. ^ Goodman, William (February 8, 2010). "EXCLUSIVE: MGMT Unveil New Album!". Spin.com. Retrieved February 16, 2010.
  14. ^ "MGMT's ANDREW VANWYNGARDEN issues a vinyl shopping and coffee date invitation". Coupdemainmagazine.com. February 28, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  15. ^ Landerman, Jessie (April 13, 2004). "Weekly Wes Celeb: The magmo". McGill Argus. Retrieved July 27, 2007.
  16. ^ Marchese, David (November 23, 2007). "Breaking Out: MGMT". Spin.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2008. Retrieved November 23, 2007.
  17. ^ "Of Montreal Plan Late Summer Tour". Pitchfork Media. July 13, 2005. Retrieved March 24, 2007.
  18. ^ Perry, Jonathan (February 8, 2008). "MGMT once sang to annoy. Now they're winning acclaim". Boston Globe. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
  19. ^ Gonzalez, Briana (February 11, 2008). "'Psychic Pilgrims' MGMT Make It All Look So Easy". New York Observer. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
  20. ^ "Interview with MGMT". Lifelounge. December 2, 2010. Retrieved December 15, 2010.
  21. ^ "Dave Fridmann/Tarbox News/Notes". Archived from the original on December 12, 2002. Retrieved March 24, 2007.
  22. ^ "Mystic Future Pop Duo MGMT Heading Out On Major North American Tour With Of Montreal From October–November". PR Newswire. August 16, 2007. Retrieved August 28, 2007.
  23. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  24. ^ "Radiohead Live — LCCC, Manchester". Retrieved June 18, 2008.
  25. ^ Reeves, Jackson (April 10, 2008). "M.I.A.-ViCE, students prep for year's biggest concert". The Miscellany News. Vassar College. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  26. ^ "Splendour in the Grass - History". Splendour In The Grass Pty Ltd. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  27. ^ "Paul McCartney: 'I want to work with MGMT' – video". NME. June 9, 2009. Retrieved November 2, 2009.
  28. ^ "MGMT: 'We're not releasing any singles from our new album' | News". NME.com. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  29. ^ http://discosalt.com/blog/2010/06/15/mgmt-its-working/
  30. ^ "MGMT starts Asian tour in Japan". Asia Pacific Arts. February 22, 2011.
  31. ^ Schneider, Marc. "Jimmy Fallon to Honor Pink Floyd With Week of Tributes", [[Billboard (magazine)|]], 22 September 2011.
  32. ^ "L'UMP s'arrange et va verser 30.000 euros au groupe de rock MGMT" (in French). April 28, 2009.
  33. ^ Lindsay, Andrew. "Beck, MGMT & Banhart cover Leonard Cohen". stereokill.net. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
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