I've been very vocal about the fact that I absolutely love MGMT's sophomore record Congratulations from last year, and was frankly baffled by the fact that a lot of people hated it.
And so, despite the fact that I'm not too thrilled with the concept of 'remixes' in general, I'm excited to hear that MGMT are releasing an EP with 3 remixes from their latest record.
It's called Congratulations Remix EP, which is as self-explanatory as it gets. Drops March 15.
Tracklisting:
1) Congratulations (Erol Alkan Rework)
2) Siberian Breaks (Ed Banger All Stars Remix)
3) Brian Eno (Cornelius Mix)
MGMT have released a mini live album of sorts. It's called Qu'est-Ce Que C'est La Vie, Chaton? That title translates to "What Is Life, Kitten?" Wacky.
Only 5 songs on this mini live album - the fantastic "Destrokk" from their early Time to Pretend EP, only "Weekend Wars" from their breakthrough debut LP Oracular Spectacular, and then "Flash Delirium", "Congratulations", and "Brian Eno" from their sophomore record Congratulations.
If you're a fan of MGMT and you haven't heard "Destrokk", you really must. I've honestly come to think of it as one of their best songs.
I would have killed for a full length live album, but this is a solid bite-sized taste of live MGMT.
Tracklisting:
01) Weekend Wars
02) Flash Delirium
03) Destrokk
04) Congratulations
05) Brian Eno
MGMT's sophomore record Congratulations is awesome, you guys. Face facts.
The band stopped by Daytrotter (is it really a place?) and recorded a session. Fantastic semi-stripped-down versions of "Song for Dan Treacy", "It's Working" and "I Found A Whistle". Also a cover of "Only A Shadow" by The Cleaners from Venus.
Going to see Wavves tonight at one of my favorite venues, Music Hall of Williamsburg. I have high hopes for an awesome show. I've become a huge fan of Wavves in the past year and half or so, and their new record King of the Beach is one of my favorites to come out in 2k10.
I've heard a few less than stellar reactions to Wavves live shows in the past, but I think the situation has improved greatly since Nathan picked up Jay Reatard's (R.I.P.) former band. MGMT weren't the greatest live band when they started either, but they really impressed me at Radio City Music Hall last month (definitely not one of my favorite venues, btw).
In this day + age, bands become famous (blog famous at least) before they have the live chops. It's gonna happen. All you need to do is generate a few halfway decent MP3s in your bedroom to get some serious attention. A band might be thrust into the spotlight before they've truly earned it, but that doesn't mean they won't earn it over time.
Anyway, Wavves! Their music is so much fun, and I hope the live show will match. I fully expect to be able to pick up a Wavves brand weed grinder, and will be very disappointed if they're not at the merchandise table. A shirt with that cat on the cover of King of the Beach would be pretty sweet too.
My number one song request is "Cool Jumper". I also want to hear "Baby Say Goodbye", "Mickey Mouse", "Weed Demon", "No Hope Kids", "So Bored"...I pretty much want to hear all the material from their last two records, so it's pointless to continue the list. But definitely "Cool Jumper".
*UPDATE* The show was awesome. A whole lot of fun. There was actually a mosh pit! I threw myself in there towards the end, let off some steam. High energy, got my head banging almost every song. King of the Beach heavy (no problem with that whatsoever) with a few Wavvves standouts. They left me wanting more - no encore, no "Cool Jumper". And no grinders, goddammit. That was very disappointing. There was actually a little cardboard sign on the merch table that read "Sorry, no grinders". Nonetheless, I can't wait to see them again.
So...if I'm really going to be serious about this 'blogging' thing, I guess I should be reviewing albums, right? (Am I serious about this hobby? Fuck if I know.)
Anyway, this is going to be a review, but I'm not going to assign a numerical score. Maybe I'm 'not ready' to do that yet. Maybe I work with numbers all day long in my job as a market research professional, and find the very idea of assessing my enjoyment of or the quality and cultural significance of an album (or any work of art - book, movie, TV show) via a number to be offensive. Think that's a cop out? Go fuck yourself. I will express my honest opinion of an album in the form that I so choose.
MGMT's sophomore record Congratulations is my favorite record of the year...so far (It's July. There are records from of Montreal, Deerhunter, Panda Bear, and Arcade Fire on the way. This race is far from over.)
I won't waste too much time discussing what other people think about this album, but Congratulations has seen its fair share of negative reactions. It's hard to reconcile that fact with the joy I experience from this record. This wasn't what people were expecting after Oracular Spectacular. That's the best I can come up with. I have encountered others who absolutely love this album, like I do, so I know I'm not crazy.
MGMT's debut record Oracular Spectacular was a cool slice of electro pop. At least the singles were - "Time to Pretend", "Electric Feel", "Kids". Congratulations, on the other hand, is a psychedelic freak out, and it doesn't contain a single song comparable to any of those hit singles.
What is common between the two MGMT records? They both sound lush, alive, filled with energy. If you look past the singles at some of the other songs off of Oracular, the leap between albums doesn't seem so large. They did weird stuff on that record too. But this time, that's all you get.
I really don't care one way or the other how 'controversial' an opinion this may be, but MGMT's Congratulations easily holds my top spot for album of the year so far. Yeasayer's Odd Blood, Caribou's Swim, LCD Soundsystem's This Is Happening, and Wolf Parade's Expo 86 probably round out the Top 5.
I love "Time to Pretend", "Kids", and "Electrical Feel" as much as the next person, but pound-for-pound, Congrats is by far the superior album over Oracular Spectacular. I've heard it said that MGMT are trying to fit too many ideas into single songs, which is quite possibly the dumbest criticism I've ever heard. Oh no, too many ideas, I can't take it! The album is totally more psychedelic freak out and less cool electro pop, and for that reason I can understand some negative reactions. But I love this shit.
Anyway, even someone who doesn't love Congratulations could probably still love "It's Working", it's an awesome tune. There's a lot of energy, and it's cool the way the chorus seems to flow into itself, if that makes sense. "It's working in the blood. But you know it's not the same as love, it's only in your mind, and not your heart. It's working in the blood...". And so on.
The MGMT boys have made a video for "It's Working", featuring a crazy contraption that gets out of control. Check it out.
11. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 542 plays
It kinda quietly crept on me how much I like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I loved "Maps" when it first came out, but didn't go any further than that. Didn't even listen to Fever to Tell. Seems strange now that I wouldn't have, considering.
But anyway, fast forward to It's Blitz! coming out, and the band has added some electro pop to their sound. And electro pop is like my crack these days. So I listened to It's Blitz!, loved it, listened to their previous two albums and loved them as well. Now the YYY's are a staple.
Karen O seems like the ultimate frontwoman. I have not had the pleasure of seeing this band live yet, but I hope to correct that very soon.
My favorite song of theirs is probably "Down Boy", off the Is Is EP.
12. MGMT - 529 plays
MGMT have risen the ranks! Definitely the most recent addition to this upper territory of my last.fm chart. This is in no small part to me loving their sophomore record Congratulations, only officially dropping this week. Oracular Spectacular has the killer singles, and I do hope they make more songs like that again at some point. But I love their new direction, it's a glorious album. Do not understand the early wave of hate/disappointment. I hope that over time it is vindicated, but who knows.
13. LCD Soundsystem - 499 plays
Just shy of 5k, LCD! That will change by tonight. This Is Happening is soooo fucking good. James Murphy is a genius, and this is dance rock of the highest caliber. That is all.
14. TV on the Radio - 491 plays
Return to Cookie Mountain is one of the albums that got me into all this art-rock and electro-pop crap in the first place. I was so impressed. Dear Science is prolly even better, and came around during one of the best times in my life to date. It'll hold a special place in my heart forever.
15. The White Stripes - 488 plays
The oldest band in the Top 15, in terms of when I started listening to them. Jack White is the man. His output across three bands (and counting?) in the past decade is legendary.
"The Hardest Button to Button", "Seven Nation Army", "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground", "Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine" and "Conquest" are some faves.
MGMT are offering their new tune "Flash Delirium", first cut off of their new album Congratulations, for free on their website.
"Flash Delirium" has some Of Montreal style (not to mention bass), and the electronic backbeat reminds me of LCD Soundsystem's "Tribulations", but it all adds up to something undeniably new...and awesome. Cue the flute solo!
MGMT have announced the details for their sophomore album Congratulations. It's gonna come out April 13, a short two months away. The album was produced by Peter Kember and mixed by Dave Fridmann. Apparently there's a surfing thread throughout the record.
Here's hoping we get to hear a cut off of the album real soon. The tracklisting is below.
01) It's Working 02) Song for Dan Treacy 03) Someone's Missing 04) Flash Delirium 05) I Found a Whistle 06) Siberian Breaks 07) Brian Eno 08) Lady Dada's Nightmare 09) Congratulations
2009 has been a great year for music. It looks like 2010 is gonna pretty sweet too. There are a bunch of albums I'm looking forward to in the new year...
Spoon - Transference The last LP we got from Spoon is 2007's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, with fantastic songs like "Don't You Evah", "The Underdog", and "Don't Make Me a Target". This year we got an EP from Spoon called Got Nuffin. It turns out that EP was an appetizer for the new album, with the title track "Got Nuffin" showing up on Transference as well. I didn't think too much of that track at first, but it's definitely grown on me. And now we have the piano-based single "Written in Reverse", which I'm loving. It sounds vaguely menacing and has a cool groove to it. Spoon have been producing solid albums time-after-time for many years now. I don't expect this effort to be any different. One interesting tidbit that I heard is that the band produced this album themselves for the first time.
Yeasayer - Odd Blood
Yeasayer's Odd Blood is the album to beat for 2010, so far. How can I say that? Um, because I've listened to it 7 times already. It's a funny world we live in now where albums are leaked out onto the internet months before their official release. But you've gotta draw the line somewhere, and my Best of 2009 list is already written. This album has a little less folk and world music influence than Yeasayer's All Hour Cymbals, and a little more electro pop and funk. I love All Hour Cymbals, but I don't need another one. I'm happy with the direction Yeasayer have moved in. These are catchy, incredibly listenable tunes. "Ambling Alp", "Madder Red", and "ONE" are early standouts.
