The album that revived MGMT

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Most people will recognize MGMT for three singles: “Time to Pretend”, “Electric Feel” and “Kids”. These trifecta of festival anthems were Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser’s attempt at writing the poppiest songs possible with the goal of selling out. And much to their surprise, it worked! But those three tracks were made to mock modern-day pop music; they weren’t a great representation of what the band wanted to be known for, despite how much success it would garner the group. Victims of their own irony, what initially began as a joke would go on to overshadow the majority of their subsequent work.
Following their debut, the pair would vow to never make another radio-friendly hit -- instead veering into neo-psychedelic experimentation. Five years and two critically-panned releases later, fairweather fans would jump off the bandwagon. Congratulations was a prog-rock jab at mainstream music and their self-titled release was an even more dense acid-rock affair. But their latest offering seems to have ended their Little Dark Age. Their fourth record would be the band’s reset button and a welcomed return to what MGMT does best -- having fun with their music again.
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#Middle8 #MGMT #LittleDarkAge
This video is sponsored by CuriosityStream
Written, voiced and edited by Frank Furtado
Additional Music by Joywalk - / @joywalk

[@KaosMasterX]

THEY PLANNED THAT SONG/BEAT OF WHEN YOU DIE IN 2008 BY LOOKING AT A ROLLERCOASTER??? AAAAAH FUCKING GOLDEN

[@DJ_POOP_IT_OUT_FEAT_LIL_WiiWii]

his shoulder went viral

[@MobbareKurtz]

The funniest thing about MGMT is that when making Time To Pretend, they we're trying to think of the poppiest song ever and thought "Ah, Dancing Queen". So they made Time To Pretend the same bpm as Dancing Queen and what's more, at the end of the song, if you listen closely you can even hear the classic Dancing Queen ascending piano fill. I never recognized it until I heard them talk about it in the Song Exploder podcast

[@Infaziation]

Little Dark Age is such a great album

[@RandomRabbit007]

Nah, first 2 albums were the best

[@ImNotFine44]

Nope

[@bugass81]

yeah i love Me and Michael and When You Die. great album

[@DavidSmith-zd2rp]

I've completely come around to it. Could care less whether it's as good as O.S. or not. Just like it for what it is

[@ordotectonicus8585]

And the song

[@momon4266]

"When you die" is such a master piece, it sounds like the Beatles

[@MessiRonaldo-ex4pl]

thats what i thought at first lol. sounds like st sgt peppers

[@MessiRonaldo-ex4pl]

the album in general not the song

[@MessiRonaldo-ex4pl]

one last thing left to try is also a master piece

[@DJ_POOP_IT_OUT_FEAT_LIL_WiiWii]

When i ferst heard it i had a semi

[@timeladyana9872]

i was actually surprised when i saw little dark age going viral on tiktok, i had accepted this nice album had went over the radar of pop music but im glas it's getting the light it deserves, i really like it a lot.

[@divyanshsingh9369]

It went viral on KZbin as well

[@DJ_POOP_IT_OUT_FEAT_LIL_WiiWii]

My favorite is Double Half Moon Insertion

[@mrpandabites]

Congratulations convinced me MGMT weren't just a flash in the pan. It is easily their best album.

[@Helaw0lf]

Same here! They broke the sophomore effect other bands/artists struggle to conquer.

[@moonlander9012]

Agreed, Congratulations is severely underrated though.

[@Kay-vr4ft]

congratulations is better imo

[@Chinaski629]

Black star lyric

[@animalvoices2249]

Congratulations is my favourite album of all time.

[@cringetrender]

Feels so good to see a sequel to the video that got me into you, and even had me as a Patron for a while! Thanks Middle 8 💖

[@user-qt6ud3sp6w]

Same! It was the first video I saw on this channel and it had me hooked

[@nifty8327]

Honestly MGMT’s self titled is very underrated. It has some amazing music in it and some of their best lyrics

[@OfficialKip]

For me its mostly just too much in one song. But some of the songs on it are peak MGMT. Alien Days, AOOF.

[@gabrielsaladbar3547]

I probably like 6/10 songs but those 6 songs are some of my fave MGMT songs. And it’s by far their most psychedelic album. “ORPHAN OF FORTUNE” might be a top 3 song from them imo

[@xneon3428]

Mystery disease you noobs

[@nifty8327]

@@xneon3428 plenty of girls in the sea is amazing tho

[@bobmarvin7341]

@@gabrielsaladbar3547 Agreed. Mystery disease bops hard too

[@cloudboi4357]

I know it seems slightly irrelevant when discussing MGMT's increase in confidence as a band, but I still believe it's worth noting the fact that Little Dark Age also recieved a bit more mainstream acclaim than their last album due to the track 'Little Dark Age' becoming a popular TikTok audio. While it didn't completely launch the band into the spotlight again, it still gave the band just enough popularity for a bit that I feel like it should be at least addressed.

[@comradeelmo8923]

Good Point

[@zappin4596]

i agree brother, Tiktok is slowly becoming a vessel of unintentional marketing for a lot of musicians nowadays i've noticed. One example is Surf Curse with their track Freaks, released half a decade ago and only now reaching somewhat of critical acclaim, solely because more and more people are being exposed to it from one of the largest mediums of contemporary entertainment

[@ewww21]

It didn't really take the song off tho, it got big on tik tok like 2 years after

[@jeremyc9593]

@@zappin4596 Absolutely. I'm glad that Surf Curse song didn't get suspended in obscurity forever, and if it takes something like Tik Tok (which isn't my thing) to rescue good music, then I'm all for it.

[@phrogthejam2998]

Little dark age came before tiktok. If anything is contributing to their new fans, they are probably the young people who listened to kids, time to pretend, and electric feel. But of course, that is how most of us became mgmt fans anyway. There's just a big indie pop scene going on rn

[@me-nah3343]

"Congratulations" is so good! "Siberian Breaks" 👌.

[@pabloamgarcia28]

These guys still fuel the psychedelic desires of modern society.

[@ummok5316]

for sure

[@paulj6138]

Little Dark Age is about 4 years old Is there a new LP from MGMT label??? During pandemic they should have streamed a performance like many artists have already done. I still remember the Amazing live gig from Letterman Ed Sullivan Theater 😜💙❤️👍👍

[@dragon-id5uj]

yeah what the heck? feels clickbaity

[@marcosposse3750]

I dont think hes saying they're coming back now. Although w little darkage blowing up on tik tok at one point, it did give them a small comeback in 2021. But I think hes just talking about how they came back when little dark age came out. Just my impression of the vid.

[@dn4339]

They’ve posted on instagram about new music soon

[@ryanlikeshiking]

Funny enough, I met Andrew about 2 weeks ago and he said they were going into the studio the following week

[@epicstudio7185]

But here is the thing. The video about Oracular Septacular was about 2 years ago or so. But the album was released in 2007 so I don't see an issue in this video, because release date was only 4 years ago not that big of deal

[@KoenRH2803]

Congratulations isn’t badly received, is it? It’s my all-time favorite album and I’m definitely not the only one. Admittedly I’m much more into the psychedelic side of their catalog than any of their pop tracks.

[@deekoei]

My favourite OAT too!

[@TheRealBlueSwan]

Yup. 100% their best.

[@HotStrange]

S/T is my favorite but Congratulations is very very close.

[@KoenRH2803]

@@HotStrange S/T is my close second favorite too! :)

[@coreyedwards159]

it was upon release, saying that it's polarizing now would be like saying something like fight club is polarizing, like tons of people like it now in retrospect lol

[@Tamingmyimpala361]

Hand It Over could be a double entendre. The song is about MGMT’s record label, taking “what’s rightfully theirs” but it’s also about accepting your own mortality, hence, “handing it over,” adding to the recurring themes of death in the album

[@realoliver9912]

A lot of it is actually about the presidency, but I agree with you, there's definitely elements of that within the song

[@BobbyGeneric145]

Dude, the opening audio with the Time to Pretend riff as a ghostly echo... BRILLIANT! I already knew what the theme of the narrative was going to be just by that.

[@EzioAuditore1500]

4:20 ok this was so amazing to watch and see he kept this idea alive

[@johnpaulcross424]

Guess they burned the page on their Little Dark Age

[@dms5341]

Congratulations is one of the greatest albums of all time.

[@pthomasgarcia]

Is it?

[@milanklaui5158]

With Congratulations being my all time favourite, I'm a bit biased, but it's incredibly unique, creative and intriguing

[@KoenRH2803]

Hell yeah it is

[@DocterMaxis115]

So glad to see a follow up to your first MGMT video! It was my first video from yours I saw and MGMT is my favorite band so this is a good day!

[@indiesoku]

This band will always have a place in my heart for introducing me to my favorite type of music, and for showing me that some art deserves a second chance to be fully appreciated with congratulations(my favorite album of theirs) MGMT forever❤️

[@Kittick_Art]

I remember your video on them three years ago was what got me listening to their songs again, and it was such a delight to see this come up in my recommended! Really great video :)

[@loversspit]

You're seriously one of my favourite channels. I adore everything you put into a video, the craft is impeccable. Thank you once more! I adored this video

[@reed6445]

This is an amazing sequel to the video you made a couple years ago. Just amazing!

[@abel3736]

omg my favorite band, i’m really stoked to see another video essay on them

[@mitchlmitten5874]

Been waiting for this one. Fantastic job!

[@Blarg]

*MGMT and Gorillaz are a huge inspiration to me!*

[@StrikerTheSlacker]

Hello

[@jesseculp9452]

@@StrikerTheSlacker sup

[@iDayVids]

Love the gorillaz. Been listening to this artist from Perth named Razegod who reminds me a lot of the gorillaz in certain instances. Makes a really wide variety of music, similar to how xxxtentacion had a very wide range of sounds. She is, dont run and Snake are all great songs

[@fuckdott7308]

@@iDayVids check out Particle Kid

[@kennedyreynolds8567]

Love this video - LDA is one of my favorite albums of all time! That bit about the origin of When You Die blew my mind!!

[@Kiriafycso]

your first video got me into mgmt’s music. loved them ever since

[@carmentaborda971]

Oracular Spectacular is a great album, one of the albums of my life...

[@raymundoo2879]

I agree! Congrats is their best but oracle spectacular is a masterpiece. Of moond birds and monster gives me goosebumps every single time I hear ir

[@paulsmallmusic]

I subscribed to you after seeing the MGMT video and it's so cool to see this follow-up!

[@godofthunderwastaken]

This is why I still grieve in stereo

[@christopherrusch]

thank you so much for this episode, loved it! i feel you could do a great one on Alt-J

[@TommCC]

So glad that you made another video about MGMT!

[@TheRaphaelxau]

Love those guys, they marked my teenage years. A lot of my memories have MGMT songs playing at the background like a soundtrack. I'm here for MGMT as long as they are crafting music

[@sophiar5847]

ive been waiting so patiently for this video!!

[@ummok5316]

Congratulations and mgmt are beautiful albums, they have amazing sounds all throughout especially listening from beginning to end.

[@tbhreviews6611]

Always loved them and I always get excited when they release something

[@ypbd6943]

dude you animation skills are amazing now Great video !

[@Rkitt8]

Congratulations is in my top 10 of all time. I think the general consensus is that it’s a brilliant album. I was traveling through the Baltic states on a deployment when it came out and it was my soundtrack going through the Polish, German, Finnish, and Estonian countrysides and cities. Every time I put the album on it takes me back there.

[@andrewthepancake]

So happy we got a sequel to this. You really did the band justice.

[@markolijus]

Had a great luck to see them live in Slovenia, Congratulations tour... Amazing band, still one of my favourites..

[@EmoBoi91]

I feel so bad cuz I just recently dove deep into mgmt and now they’re one of my favorite bands 🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽 Congratulations needs more recognition

[@chadsatomicdustbin9516]

This fan never dropped off. Love all the albums and ‘In the Afternoon’, Stellar!🤩

[@martondenes240]

First video i watched from you was your little dark age video. Became a fan instantly and watched that video like 5 times since, so I’m happy you made a new one🤝😂

[@mattcurtis]

Remember they annouced they would make a song called Corona? I thought they would mention that in this video. The last song i know that they made was in the afternoon and somewhere in the world? I think its called. What happened to Corona? Mgmt is my fave band, they inspired me cuz i waa making similar muzic when i discovered them, i didnt discover them until the Congratulations album, i waa behind ha, the 1st song i heard was flash delirium and i thought this just a bunch of noise until near the end and suddenly fell in love with the song and then the album and the next albums, their whole discography. I bought tickets to see them but covid happened. Maybe someday. My favorite album is actually the self titled album, mgmt, with cool song no.2, mysterious disease (interesting), alien days, imtrospection...i play that album over and over to this day!

[@dababy7400]

Thank you for an update from your old mgmt video

[@Chelseajustwatches]

Actually started listening to MGMT because of your first video about them, and Congratulations is now one of my favorite albums

[@aleksmyrene7029]

love the vids!!

[@willm3027]

Excited to watch this video ☺️

[@ryangilmourXT]

Little late but good video. Liked their neo psychedelic jams but they do pop quite well. Love psychedelic pop, Kevin Barnes has been my love during the SARS. Want to see what they do independently.

[@paranoid97]

Little Dark Age & Congratulations are my top fav albums of them, classic stuff filled with psychedelic, emotive synths and playful tunes ❤️

[@salamandertommy666]

In The Afternoon is such a good single

[@ducki1970]

The vibe I get from the song little dark age is like no other I love that song

[@augustocesarmusic1661]

Yes

[@greatsupper]

Congratulations and the self titled album are so freakin good man.

[@ordotectonicus8585]

I love how the little dark age song has experienced a boost in popularity because of history memes (tributes would be more appropriate). It's how i discovered mgmt

[@yashcfc4]

Great video as always! Can you do an analysis on Prince? Would love to gett your thoughts on his artistry.

[@jessenorman91]

a middle8 video about Frank Ocean would make my life

[@davemckay6511]

It sounds like their journey into experimentation has made them even better song writers. Sort of like how Pink Floyd went from very experimental to deeply personal songs that resonated with people.

[@dracoquintas9141]

I just started listening to their music, so this video came just in time for me lol

[@TheCyanSqueegee]

I really haven't seen much to suggest that Congratulations was poorly received. In fact, Oracular Spectacular was actually not that well received if we are going by critics because I think a lot of them were expecting more like the singles only to find the rest of the album was completely different and disjointed in style. What I remember for critical reactions to Congratulations was that they were surprised by the sudden shift in style, but many still found the album to be musically engaging and complex. If we are talking about fan reactions (not counting people who just listened to the singles from Oracular as fans, not to be snobby or anything but just that they weren't really there for the band itself, just for the rave music), then Congratulations is probably the most widely beloved and has the greatest following. They may have lost in sheer number of listeners, but the fans who stayed had much more positive reactions. Now self-titled on the other hand, completely different story. Very very polarizing from what I have seen (I personally don't really enjoy listening to it). For this reason, I think it's weird to call the Congratulations and S/T era their "little dark age" because for many Congratulations was their peak. I personally always believed the "Little Dark Age" was supposed to just refer to Donald Trump's presidency. Also, In the Afternoon is such a banger and so underrated and underappreciated. As You Move Through The World is also a great proggy trip-out soundtrack.

[@matt-ns3nn]

As you move through the world is crazyyy

[@brenon4741]

what you're talking about? most people hated congratulations back then, mainly popular magazines (but quite influencial at that time) and the reaction it got from people who loved the first album was underwhelming at best

[@TheCyanSqueegee]

@@brenon4741 huh maybe you're right, I was mostly going by the Wikipedia "critical reception" section because I couldn't remember the exact reviews from when Congratulations initially dropped. I think it's fair to say that maybe the reaction was mixed at the time, but it has still now achieved cult status and is widely considered their best project by a sizable portion of their fans.

[@brenon4741]

@@TheCyanSqueegee yep!

[@_zoehhhhh]

yaaayyy another mgmt vid by middle 8 yayyy

[@ickybobclay26]

You should do a video on Ratatat since they are kinda coming back with different solo acts

[@TheCyanSqueegee]

Ratatat is so great and I almost never hear anyone talking about them. Maybe I'm just not in the right circles. Weird coincidence with both MGMT and Ratatat being featured on Pursuit of Happiness. I remember finding out MGMT did the backing vocals on the chorus and freaking out because I was already a huge fan had never realized it was them. You can definitely hear Andrew's voice though.

[@JWSOLOMAN5000]

I really struggle to listen to the trinity of pop songs (Time to Pretend etc) any more, so much so that I have to skip them entirely. I love Congratulations so much! I randomly bought the CD I guess around the time it came out, expecting it to be synth pop but loved the weirdness regardless. It wasn't until after that I realised I hadn't heard the whole of the first album, so I was amazed to find it was more guitar based. That's when I understood the real MGMT. I found the self titled album to be really dark and so that's how I've always remembered it, but I stuck the record on a few weeks back and it isn't at all how I've built it up to be, so I highly recommend you go and give it another listen! I'm really pleased to see that Congratulations is loved by so many people though!!

[@jacksondoughty]

Your videos are so good

[@momentsmeanmore]

Great video!! I honestly enjoy the breadth of MGMT's work. From their earlier works like Climbing to New Lows and the EPs We (don't) Care and Time to Pretend into their debut album Oracular Spectacular and Congratulations but also as their careers progressed into the self titled album and Little Dark Age. I know the self titled album catches some flak from fans but I really enjoyed it and spent a lot of time listening to it. Looking at the tracklisting I don't think there's one song that I absolutely hated in any sense. Every song was solid in it's own right. As MGMT often do, Little Dark Age took me for a loop with some of the styles of sound that they were presenting in that album. I couldn't help but feel that there was some theme of closure with Hand it Over at the end of the album. An end of an era if you will. But then the following year with the track In the Afternoon and 2020's As You Move Through The World I was happy to see them starting their own label and I like the more darkwave influence that they've conjured up. One thing that I can honestly say about Ben and Andrew, they never got cornered into just one box. They constantly keep experimenting with different styles of music and aren't afraid to brave new territory while keeping things refreshing and still dipping into familiar memories of the past.

[@mylo9753]

I seriously love congratulations

[@gabrielcandido2492]

Every time I watch a Middle 8 video, it gives me an insane will to listen to the band they're talking about

[@sinisklemmo567]

Sorry but I find ,Congratulations' was what MGMT could do the best. This is their peak album for me

[@Askalott]

It's genius. Love the surf-y sound.

[@christopherrusch]

it’s an incredible record

[@markolijus]

What an amazing album!

[@isaiahsimmons5776]

i dont hear any surfy sound. the album cover does that, and album cover is great.

[@fenomozo9108]

@@isaiahsimmons5776 Bro, It´s Working, Song for Dean Tracy and Brian Enno sound really surfie with a psychedelich touch. Heck, even I Found a Whistle and some parts of Siberian Breaks.

[@lottasaari8484]

Your last video of them got me into MGMT! I clicked sooo fast haha

[@riyapatadia4166]

This is awesome to watch after the previous video

[@cynical182]

4:26 I KNEW THAT SOUND BYTE SOUNDED FAMILIAR. what an absolute trip yo ❤️

[@Justinmeatybonds]

Love this band. Every time I bring them up the response is, "they're still making music?"

[@ainaaina4505]

I absolutely LOVE their album little dark age🌼 been a part of my life since it was published ngl

[@SebastianTinajero]

Congratulations is one of my favorite records to throw on whenever I’m painting

[@gawdspeed]

this reminds me of the other MGMT video you guys did awhile ago. In fact its like a facsimile.

[@6joe16ful]

Weekend wars, the handshake, the youth, and future reflection has been my life lately

[@anthonypfranco]

Have to chime in here. Congratulations had the best, as in most fun and original single of that year; Flash Delirium.

[@connor3198]

Congratulations and Little Dark Age are some of my favorite albums of all time. Love MGMT!

[@falsegod.969]

Little Dark Age was my introduction to this band, I haven't looked back since

[@survivor8518]

I love them sm

[@basedkitty]

“Fair weathered fans” was a nice touch, Mr. 8.

[@MadChatterYT]

Thank you for continuing to talk about mgmt

[@Helaw0lf]

Congratulations was a hit with me, as I was already familiar with Dream Theater and Gentle Giant and King Crimson when I was getting into Prog Rock/Metal at the time of its release. Sucks to be a trendster from back when Oracular Spectacular dropped to that point. I wanted to see them experiment than get too comfortable writing radio hits that get forgotten to time.

[@nerdrocker89]

MGMT never went anywhere for me, I love all of it.

[@dreamspot3417]

This record had a huge impact in my life, electric feel was the first music video I ever saw sitting in my living room floor watching MTV before school. Little dark age resparked that initial love and beauty of mgmt

[@neszero]

jesus christ i’m old

[@churroinyomouf]

Love this album

[@spilled_beans]

I don't know if I should feel embarrassed that I really love their first album and had their artistic meaning fly over my head. 👁👄👁

[@perrodetokio]

Same here

[@jmstock03]

You’re really good at listening to music man

[@Jayslo1357]

Oracular spectacular was the soundrack for so many students at university in 2008 and 2009. Myself being one of them. Good Times

[@kevinmulligan2006]

noticed the same thing, when I hear electric feel it takes me back to that time in such a weird way, I think it's partly an acid flashback to a memory from bonnaroo back then

[@johnbailey8036]

I actually enjoy Litte Dark Age far more than any of their previous albums. It's so odd, fun, and catchy as hell. For as poppy as it seems, it's such a different style than what you get from someone making "pop" songs.

[@jedraver3400]

Love this channel. A video about The Postal Service next??

[@wizoldthebard]

Should do a video around Ariel Pinks writing style or just a video on songwriting :)

[@JWSOLOMAN5000]

Maybe 4-5 years back my hair was like Andrews VanWyngarden's (I've also been told I look like him lol). I was working at an airport, and passengers were just starting to come through the store whilst I was setting up the checkout. I could sense someone was there waiting to pay so when I turned to serve them I was met by a guy who looked and dressed exactly like Ben Goldwasser! We both looked at one another in shock for a few seconds before continuing. It was so funny. He was probably shocked by my shock or something but I genuinely thought it was Ben until I saw his passport.

[@barbarossavr]

You should do 'The Libertines and how they re-instilled energy into british rock'

[@kevinmulligan2006]

every track on little dark age just slaps in it's own way, me and michael was the real one for me that showed another glimpse of their potential to go anywhere creatively.

[@post_ironik]

...Self-titled is my favorite album of all time. T_T

[@pseudonoises]

i actually prefer the mgmt album... i think it has some of the strongest songs in their discography and its music gives such a high. also the album art is my personal fav

[@psychedelicpiper999]

Yeah, Little Dark Age felt like a letdown, a fan service album where they had to reign themselves in hard. Both Congratulations and the self-titled album proved they have so much more potential.

[@moritzmuessig]

They dropped a new Album and its super experimental again :D

[@cadenbenton6235]

Unfortunately its not new, its actually a live show from 2011

[@Marcelo-ms4od]

I just watched the previous video some weeks ago and thought "yep, they made a great comeback"

[@nifty8327]

YES THANK YOU AAA YES YAY