MGMT

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This article is about a musical group. For the human gene, see O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase.
MGMT
MGMT at La Route du Rock 2008
MGMT at La Route du Rock 2008
Background information
Origin Middletown, Connecticut, United States[1]
Genre(s) Electronic rock,[2] indie rock,[3] pop,[4] psychedelic pop[5]
Years active 2002–present
Label(s) Columbia, Sony, Red Ink, Cantora
Website whoismgmt.com
Members
Andrew VanWyngarden
Ben Goldwasser

MGMT (also known as The Management)[6] is an American musical duo based in Brooklyn, New York consisting of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. Originally with Cantora Records, they signed with Columbia Records/Red Ink/Sony in 2006.

On October 5, 2007, Spin.com named MGMT "Artist of the Day".[7] On November 14, 2007 Rolling Stone pegged MGMT as a top 10 "Artist to Watch" in 2008.[8] The band was named 9th in the BBC's Sound of 2008 top 10 poll.[9] They were also named as Last.fm's most played artist of 2008 in their Best of 2008 lists[10]. Their debut album Oracular Spectacular debuted at number twelve on the UK album chart, and hit number one on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.[11] It was named the best album of 2008 by NME.[12] 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."[13]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Formation

Goldwasser and VanWyngarden formed the band while attending Wesleyan University during their freshman year.[14] "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, electronica and hallucinogens before settling on what David Marchese of Spin magazine calls "their current brand of shape-shifting psychedelic pop."[15] They graduated in 2005 and toured extensively in support of the Time to Pretend EP, opening for indie rock band Of Montreal.[16]

[edit] Oracular Spectacular

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

In the autumn of 2006 Maureen Kenny signed the band to Columbia Records.[6][17] The duo recorded with Flaming Lips music producer Dave Fridmann in 2007 for their major label debut, Oracular Spectacular.[18] 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).[19] As of March 2008, the lineup changed with Will Berman on drums.

[edit] Appearances and touring

 Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (March 2009)
MGMT performing at La Route du Rock 2008

MGMT performed the song "Time to Pretend" on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 8, 2008. The song subsequently hit #19 on the Mediabase US Alternative chart.[20] The song also opened the 2008 film 21 and is featured on its soundtrack. MGMT also performed "Time To Pretend" on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on May 15, 2008, and the song was played during the last scene and closing credits of the Skins season two finale, first broadcast on April 14, 2008 in the UK on E4. It was also featured during the season finale of Gossip Girl on May 19, 2008, and the premier opener for the new series 90210 on September 2, 2008 (both of the CW). Another of their songs, "Kids", was selected for the soundtrack for the game FIFA 09 in commemoration to the AC Milan Soccer star Kaká, released in September 2008. "Kids" was also featured in the snowboarding film, That's It, That's All, in episode 6 the BBC's Survivors (2008 TV series), and as the trailer song in the documentary American Teen. Another of their songs, "Electric Feel", was selected for the soundtrack for the game Midnight Club Los Angeles, released in October 2008. Also the song "Time to Pretend" was featured in one of the driving scenes from the movie Sex Drive. "Time To Pretend" is also featured in the game Shaun White Snowboarding, released in November 2008, along with another track "Of Moons Birds Monsters". The song is also featured in the movie "Eagle Eye", released in theaters Septemer 2008.

MGMT performing at the 2008 Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN.

The band supported Radiohead on the Manchester date of their world tour[21] 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 performed at both the 2008 SXSW Music Festival and Austin City Limits festivals in Austin, the first day of Bonnaroo 2008, Coachella Music Festival, performed twice at Glastonbury 2008, and also played Roskilde Festival, Reading Festival, partnering Leeds Festival, T in the Park and the Irish Oxegen Festival (where fans and spectators scaled the tent's internal rigging towers causing the gig to be temporarily stopped for 20 minutes). They also played at Lollapalooza and the Osheaga (Canada) festival as well as Summersonic (Japan), Oeiras Alive! (Portugal) and Rock Werchter (Belgium) in 2008. August 2008 saw the band play the Hungary Sziget Festival, UK Reading and Leeds Festival, & at Lowlands in Holland, where they played their album integrally live. They also played at the Toronto Virgin Festival in 2008.

MGMT opened for M.I.A. on the Vassar College date of her 2008 tour,[22] and also played several shows with Beck while he toured in 2008. They also toured Australia with a headlining spot on the Meredith Music Festival line-up. They played a show at the Virgin Vestival on Toronto Island on September sixth, playing nine songs off their Oracular Spectacular album (nine out of ten), ending with their smash hit 'Kids'. They also played the 2008 Street Scene festival in San Diego, CA; at this performance they played a bluegrass-influenced version of their song "Pieces of What". MGMT performed alongside Spectrum at "The Dome" in Finsbury Park on February 27, 2009.

[edit] Legal proceedings

MGMT is currently involved in a legal dispute with the President of France Nicolas Sarkozy. The song "Kids" was used on several occasions without permission, at a party conference and in two online videos. The UMP, Sarkozy's political party, admitted that the song had been used without permission and offered a symbolic compensation of €1. The band rejected the offer, claiming it was "insulting".[23] The band's lawyer commented that "We are dealing with acts of counterfeiting, with infringements of intellectual property."[24] Nicolas Sarkozy is known as a vocal supporter of stricter intellectual property laws.[25]

[edit] Band name pronunciation

There has been some confusion over how to pronounce the band name. The band and their label confirmed that the correct pronunciation is to say the individual letters (Em-Gee-Em-Tee).[26] whilst Rolling Stone claims the name is pronounced 'management' as the previous band name.[27]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs

[edit] Singles

Year Title Peak chart positions Album
US

[30]

 US
Mod
Rock

[31]

 UK

[32]

 GER

[33]

 AUS

[34]

 AUS (Club)

[35]

 IRE

[36]

 JPN

[37]

 LAT

[38]

 CAN

[39]

 NOR

[40]

 EUR

[41]

 NZ
[42]
2008 "Time to Pretend" 109 23 35 91 62 — 33 62 17 69 — 99 — Oracular Spectacular
"Electric Feel" 120 — 22 88 7 27 21 — — 53 — — 10
"Kids" 91 11 16 48 21 11 9 — 22 44 1 — 29

Other Popular Songs

  • "Metanoia" - additional track on the Time to Pretend CD single and special limited release 10" vinyl, peaked at #2 on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales Chart
  • "Weekend Wars" - B-side of Time to Pretend 7" vinyl (as BBC Radio 1 Session[43]) and "Single of the Week" (April 30, 2008), made available free on iTunes. (Unofficial Apple Weblog)
  • "The Youth" - (not released) received considerable airplay since the release of Eric Wareheim's video in October, 2008.
  • "Love Always Remains" - Time To Pretend EP

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.whoismgmt.com/bio.php
  2. ^ Rolling Stone - Artist to Watch: MGMT
  3. ^ New York Times
  4. ^ Pop duo MGMT's rocky road to fame
  5. ^ "MGMT Overview". Mason, Stewart. Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:djfexqyrld6e. Retrieved on 14 January 2009. 
  6. ^ a b Perry, Jonathan (2008-02-08). "MGMT once sang to annoy. Now they're winning acclaim.". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/02/08/year_of_the_brats. Retrieved on 2008-07-16. 
  7. ^ D'Amato, Anthony M.. "Artist of the Day: MGMT". Spin.com. http://www.spin.com/features/band_of_the_day/2007/10/071005_mgmt/. Retrieved on 2007-10-05. 
  8. ^ O'Donnell, Kevin. "Artist to Watch: MGMT". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17323914/artist_to_watch_mgmt. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
  9. ^ "Record of the Week". BBC Radio. 2008-01-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7163404.stm. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. 
  10. ^ "Last.fm Best of 2008". Last.fm. 2008-12-14. http://www.last.fm/bestof/2008/artist/1. Retrieved on 2008-12-14. 
  11. ^ "Top Heatseekers - Oracular Spectacular". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=324&cfgn=Albums&cfn=Top+Heatseekers&ci=3093255&cdi=9723178&cid=04%2F12%2F2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-30. 
  12. ^ New Musical Express, December 8, 2008 edition.
  13. ^ "Sex on Fire tops triple j's hottest 100". Online News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 2009-01-26. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/26/2474630.htm. 
  14. ^ Landerman, Jessie (2004-04-13). "Weekly Wes Celeb: The magmo". Wesleyan Argus. http://www.wesleyanargus.com/article.php?article_id=2053. Retrieved on 2007-07-27. 
  15. ^ Marchese, David (2007-11-23). "Breaking Out: MGMT". Spin.com. http://www.spin.com/features/magazine/2007/11/0712_mgmt/. Retrieved on 2007-11-23. [dead link]
  16. ^ "Of Montreal Plan Late Summer Tour". Pitchfork Media. 2005-07-13. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/34897-of-montreal-plan-late-summer-tour. Retrieved on 2007-03-24. 
  17. ^ Brydson, Nicole (2008-02-11). "'Psychic Pilgrims' MGMT Make It All Look So Easy". New York Observer. http://www.observer.com/2008/psychic-pilgrims-mgmt-make-it-all-look-so-easy. Retrieved on 2008-07-16. 
  18. ^ "Dave Fridmann/Tarbox News/Notes". http://www.netsync.net/users/fridmann/news2.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-24. 
  19. ^ "Mystic Future Pop Duo MGMT Heading Out On Major North American Tour With Of Montreal From October-November". PR Newswire. 2007-08-16. http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=ind_focus.story&STORY=/www/story/08-16-2007/0004646569&EDATE=THU+Aug+16+2007,+05:00+AM. Retrieved on 2007-08-28. 
  20. ^ Mediabase US Alternative Radio Airplay Monitor Accessed on February 7, 2008
  21. ^ "Radiohead Live — LCCC, Manchester". http://www.radiohead.com/tourdates/29jun_manchester.html. Retrieved on 2008-06-18. 
  22. ^ Reeves, Jackson (2008-04-10). "M.I.A.-ViCE, students prep for year's biggest concert". The Miscellany News (Vassar College). http://misc.vassar.edu/archives/2008/04/mia_vice_studen.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-27. 
  23. ^ MGMT to sue Sarkozy for music use 26th Feb 2009
  24. ^ "MGMT Grapple with the President of France". idiomag. 2009-02-26. http://www.idiomag.com/peek/67142/mgmt. Retrieved on 2009-03-04. 
  25. ^ "MGMT Sues French President". idiomag. 2009-03-01. http://www.idiomag.com/peek/67558/mgmt. Retrieved on 2009-03-04. 
  26. ^ "Once and for All: How Do You Pronounce MGMT?". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/07/once_and_for_all_how_do_you_pr.html. Retrieved on 2009-02-25. 
  27. ^ O'Donnell, Kevin (2007-11-29). "Artist to Watch: MGMT". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17323914/artist_to_watch_mgmt. Retrieved on 2009-02-25. 
  28. ^ Australian Charts.com
  29. ^ ""Congratulations coming from MGMT"". Triple J music news. http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s2444086.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-11. 
  30. ^ "Billboard Chart positions". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/searchResult.jsp?exp=y&Ne=4&inert=25&Ntt=MGMT&Ntk=Keyword&an=bbcom&nor=10&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&N=37+4294089322#pos25. Retrieved on 2008-07-06. 
  31. ^ "MGMT Billboard Artist Chart History". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=946806&model.vnuAlbumId=1094503. Retrieved on 2008-07-06. 
  32. ^ "British Singles Chart". The Official UK Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/top40_singles.php. Retrieved on 2008-07-23. 
  33. ^ "Alle Musikmarkt-Informationen aus einer Hand" (in German). media control. http://www.media-control.de/musik/. 
  34. ^ "Australian Singles Chart". australian-charts.com. http://www.australian-charts.com/search.asp?cat=s&search=MGMT. Retrieved on 2008-07-23. 
  35. ^ "Australian Club Chart". ariacharts.com.au. http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display.asp?chart=1L50. Retrieved on 2008-07-23. 
  36. ^ "Irish Singles Chart". Chart-track.com. http://www.chart-track.com/index.jsp?c=p%2Fmusicvideo%2Fmusic%2Farchive%2Findex_test.jsp&ct=240001&arch=t&lyr=2008&year=2008&week=36. Retrieved on 2008-07-23. 
  37. ^ "Japanese Singles Chart". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/searchResult.jsp?keyword=MGMT&x=0&y=0&exposeNavigation=true&applicationName=bbcom&matchType=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&rangePropertyName=FORMATTED_DATE&rangeFilterType=BTWN. Retrieved on 2008-07-23. 
  38. ^ & http://www.europeanhitradio.com/topi "Latvian Airplay Top 50, European Hit Radio". Atis Klušs. http://as8605.http.sasm3.net/news/airplay/2008/080601lv.html & http://www.europeanhitradio.com/topi. Retrieved on 2009-03-27. 
  39. ^ "Canadian Singles Chart". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=793&cfgn=Singles&cfn=Canadian+Hot+100&ci=3094067&cdi=9748647&cid=05%2F03%2F2008. Retrieved on 2008-07-23. 
  40. ^ "VG Lista Topp 20". Verdens Gang. http://lista.vg.no/show_list.php?ListsOp=showWeek&week=37&year=2008&listID=1. Retrieved on 2008-07-23. 
  41. ^ "European Hot 100 Singles Chart". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/esearch/chart_display.jsp?cfi=349&cfgn=Singles&cfn=European+Hot+100+Singles&ci=3094243&cdi=9753986&cid=05%2F03%2F2008. Retrieved on 2008-07-23. 
  42. ^ "New Zealand Singles Chart". RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF NEW ZEALAND. http://www.charts.org.nz/weekchart.asp?cat=s. Retrieved on 2008-06-24. 
  43. ^ "MGMT Time To Pretend UK 7" RECORD (428836)". eil.com. http://eil.com/shop/moreinfo.asp?catalogid=428836. Retrieved on 2008-10-24. 

[edit] External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Category:MGMT
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MGMT
Andrew VanWyngarden · Ben Goldwasser
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
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