MGMT - "Time To Pretend" (4:29)
I saw these guys open for Of Montreal and they sucked. But when I saw the name of their cd, Time To Pretend, I thought it was so honest of them. They don't play instruments (literally, a guitar hung from strings and they strummed it with a drumstick), they can't really sing, they just want to be cool, so they buckle down and start pretending. And it's only fitting that the song of the same name, the only good song on the disc, is actually quite fun to listen to. So pretending is being, and everyone's wrong about being right. The Wizard of Oz reminds us that we're all fakers in some way, and MGMT reminds us that if you're willing to pay, you can have it. [Buy]
Karl Blau - "Crashing Waves" (7:28)
I feel so welcomed when this song begins, like I belong here. It's as if the song were made of older kids that were going to protect me, because I'm suddenly very young again. I feel so safe that we can all take a nap, while someone goes on a car trip to pick up the horns, and the songs starts again once the horns arrive back at camp. We're either going fishing tomorrow, or playing Frustration, depending on whether or not it rains. [Buy]
Posted by Dan at February 6, 2006 1:00 AMI too saw them open for Of Montreal, but I thought they were rather entertaining.
Posted by matt at February 6, 2006 7:05 AMre: Karl Blau, this is one of the most intriguing song interpretations I ever read, thanks, and if the song cannot deliver these qualities, I will go on looking for a song that actually can.
Posted by mattB at February 6, 2006 10:25 AMOk...so I'm pretty sure "Kids" is on Time to Pretend. If you think that is a bad song then I really don't know what to say to you. The MGMT went to Wesleyan University and before graduating, they were THE Wesleyan band. "Kids" was a song that united all the hipsters, frat kids, and essentially the entire campus. DO YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH UNITY!?!
Ok...so I'm sort of kidding. I'm not that mad, but I think your assessment of MGMT is a little overboard.
Posted by Joe John at February 6, 2006 10:46 AMI saw MGMT open for Of Montreal too and they were terrible. So terrible they were almost amazing- but yet, still terrible. I think I went home crying from that show for reasons unrelated to seeing MGMT- although perhaps my foul mood was exacerbated by watching two guys in sunglasses bang on guitars hanging from PVC piping.
Posted by Miranda at February 6, 2006 12:44 PMI wish I had your heavenly insight into whether or not people are faking their music. I heard them open for Of Montreal and then spoke too 2 guys who were there to have fun, not take themselves too seriously and hope that everyone else does the same. But, then again, I don't have that "insight" that you apparently hold...
Posted by Ros at February 6, 2006 12:48 PMhaha - oh SNAP.
Posted by Sean at February 6, 2006 1:41 PMthe funny thing is after the first leg of opening for of montreal the band totally changed their sound. they now play instruments and added a drummer (they're actually really talented players) they also changed up their sound and now sound like a classic rock band. it sounds great. although i liked the old synth stuff too, so you might disagree.
Posted by thetodd2000 at February 6, 2006 5:51 PMGood stuff, I like both songs.
Crashing waves sounds like a break up song from some movie, one with long shots of a sad guy watching it rain from a big window.
Yep, they're now a rock trio, and good. And for the record, they were music majors and can play all kinds of instruments quite well. All the music on Time to Pretend was created by MGMT. They sang to their own backing tapes because when you're making shit money as an opening act, you can't afford to hire a band to play your songs. I knew them at Wes and they are talented muthafuckas.
Posted by blanche at February 9, 2006 1:36 PMI saw them open for Of Montreal in September, and I was fortunate enough to be standing next to a kid who went to Wesleyan with them (actually, they knew each other), so I got the whole MGMT story. Yes, it was kind of disturbing to see them not playing any instruments, but they were having fun on stage, and it actually was a lot of fun to watch. I bought the EP, and I don't regret it. However, I think their best song is "Everything", which isn't on the EP (I got it off of their Myspace).
Posted by michele at February 11, 2006 1:19 PMI too saw them open for Of Montreal a few months ago and was hooked after the first song, which was "Time to Pretend" if I remember correctly. I know it's the MGMT we're talking about here, but they seriously blew my mind. Before their set was even over I went and bought their EP. I'd never heard or seen anything like it before. I loved how they didn't take themselves seriously and could care less if they played their instruments or not. I'm still baffled that people even care if they do or not. You go to a concert to have fun and dance. Right? And I hate to beat a dead horse but, what made their show such a breath of fresh air for me was the fact that every concert i've been to was just the band getting up on stage and hammering out some songs. It was great to see something different.
Posted by B at February 14, 2006 11:32 AMMgmt ufcking rocks
Posted by John at April 18, 2006 6:12 PMandrew from MGMT is working on an album with kevin barnes (of montreal)..they're called ocelot fang and it will rule
Posted by duder at August 3, 2006 2:49 PMYeah - I saw MGMT open for Of Montreal and in fact lost my voice attempting to boo them off stage. I must say, for as bad as they suck at 'playing' music they don't get easily embarrassed (which was a bad thing in this case). I think it's fitting that they graduated from the nations first all girls college.
Posted by mark at December 5, 2006 1:00 PMMark,
Wesleyan is not an all girls college, and you're an asshole.
Posted by Alex at January 8, 2007 6:19 PMthis is a little late but mark: wesleyan is not an all girls college, wellesley is. wesleyan is and has always been a co-ed liberal arts school.
Posted by liza at July 28, 2007 10:58 PMmark, wesleyan is among the most selective schools in the country, and it makes us sick to our stomachs to hear it degraded or confused with wellesley. a similar name doesnt mean poop. grow a brain. and if you were making fun of the fact that wes has a tolerance for gays, get used to it, because we're not getting any less liberal
Posted by pissed off wes kid at August 5, 2008 1:01 AM
and it will begin playing. All songs are also available to download: just right-click the link and choose 'Save as...'
