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MGMT

Most bands get together to play good music. MGMT got together to play bad music. Founding members Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser formed the band in 2002 as freshmen at Wesleyan University, a prestigious liberal arts school in Connecticut. The band began as a joke; the pair would play music together in their dorm room, strumming improvised bass and guitar over hastily-created electronic synthesizer loops. Eventually Ben and Andrew decided to take their experiment to the next level, originally naming their act The Management and playing gigs at local bars and school functions. Their intention wasn’t to be a serious band - purposely stringing together annoying songs - but they began to build a fan base nonetheless.

Though the pair originally began making music with the intention of weirding people out, the left-field popularity of their post-post-ironic brand of disco and psychedelic-infused synth pop convinced the duo to hit the recording studio, independently issuing the We (don’t) Care EP in 2004 and the Climbing to New Lows CD in 2005. They also scored a spot as the opening act for Of Montreal’s 2005 tour, further increasing their visibility. By the end of 2005 the band signed to a record deal with Cantora Records (a New York-based label formed by NYU students for the express purpose of issuing MGMT releases), formally changing their name from The Management to MGMT after finding out that the name 'The Management' was already in use by a UK rock band.

Time To Pretend, before major labels began knocking at their door. Time to Pretend came to the attention of Maureen Kenny, a Colombia Records executive, who immediately signed the band to his label in 2006. The band hit the studio with acclaimed music producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Weezer) in 2007, eventually emerging with their major label debut Oracular Spectacular in October of that year.

Billboard Top Heatseekers index and #12 on the UK Albums Chart - not bad for a college joke band. The duo’s debut received praise from fans and critics alike for its eclectic influences and tongue-in-cheek lyricism, obvious in singles "Electric Feel" and "Time To Pretend" as well as other standout tracks like "Kids", which originally appeared along with of a handful of other songs on the Time to Pretend EP.

The Late Show With David Letterman and as the opening act for a Radiohead gig in early 2008, MGMT has gone on to appear at a number of major 2008 music festivals including SXSW, Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, and Lollapalooza. We recently had a chance to interview MGMT; take a look at our UnCut interview and see what the band had to say to us!

From Discogs:

Previously known as The Management, MGMT is a duo formed at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.

From Lastfm:

MGMT is a neo-psychedelic/alternative group which formed in 2002 in Brooklyn, New York, United States. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums) and Ben Goldwasser (vocals, keyboards, synths, drums), both alumni of Wesleyan University. Recently confirmed as official band members are Matthew Asti (bass), James Richardson (Guitar, Backing vocals), and Will Berman (drums), who also played and wrote parts of Congratulations.

Their biggest hit is their 2008 single "Kids", which was a Top 20 hit in the UK and hit #9 on the Billboard Alternative Tracks chart in early 2009. Their other most popular songs are "Time to Pretend" , which has been featured on the motion pictures "21" and "Sex Drive" and on the TV shows "Skins", "Gossip Girl" & "90210", (the music video has reached over 11,000,000 views on YouTube) and "Electric Feel", their most purchased single on iTunes.

Electronic Indie Dance Rock began as a thesis project from music majors at Wesleyan University. They used to be known as "The Management" with songs about not quite growing up and a lot of nonsense. Despite this, 'MGMT' is pronounced by saying each letter.

Andrew VanWyngarden, one of the MGMT figureheads, is currently collaborating with of Montreal's Kevin Barnes, with plans to release a record in late 2009 under the name Blikk Fang. MGMT was on tour with Of Montreal in late 2005 (and again in 2007) and VanWyngarden appeared on stage during some performances on of Montreal's summer '06 tour.

MGMT released Congratulations, their follow up to Oracular Spectacular, on April 13th, 2010. They are on a tour across North America and Europe throughout 2010.

You can learn more about MGMT, browse photos, and see the tour schedule at the Official Website.

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From Wikipedia:

MGMT is an American band based in Brooklyn, New York, consisting of founding members Ben 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.

On October 5, 2007, Spin.com named MGMT "Artist of the Day". On November 14, 2007, Rolling Stone pegged MGMT as a top 10 "Artist to Watch" in 2008. The band was named 9th in the BBC's Sound of 2008 top 10 poll. They were also named as Last.fm's most played new artist of 2008 in their Best of 2008 lists.

Their first album as MGMT, Oracular Spectacular, debuted at number 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. It was named the best album of 2008 by NME. 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".

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. 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

Their second album, Congratulations, was released on April 13, 2010.[citation needed] MGMT performed at Lollapalooza 2010 in Chicago's Grant Park. They have just been added to the lineup for the well-known Voodoo Experience 2010 taking place over Halloween weekend in New Orleans, LA.