“Hey, what’s goin’ orrrn?” Andrew VanWyngarden drawls down the line from Cologne, Germany. Well, I’ve just been trying to fix my TV aerial (coathanger) so I can watch the Eddie Vedder doco when we get off the phone. But you don’t tell these people that sort of shit, do you? Andrew, meanwhile, is run down. He’s got the croaky voice and interruptive cough that sometimes comes when you’ve been on tour all year and are burning the candle at both ends. You know how it is.
We’ve all heard Time To Pretend, the ironic song that MGMT wrote, when they were, you know, trying to be ironic. It worked. When Andrew and his co-conspirator Ben Goldwasser started making music they mused that they were aiming to make noises that people didn’t like. Everybody loved it. MGMT went global. There’s the irony.
Were you at all ready for this explosive popularity? I ask the elfin lyricist. “Not really. I mean, we kind of didn’t really realise.” He trails off, as if recalling the flurry of activity that followed MGMT’s demo landing on a desk somewhere inside Columbia Records. “All of a sudden we found ourselves touring for a year. We didn’t have time to figure out what was going on,” he says with a cough.
I presume that after a solid year of touring they have managed to get a handle on it. In case there is any doubt, I ask, are you still having fun?
“Yeah, it’s really fun. It’s especially fun now because we’re all comfortable and happy with our live show.” This is important. While MGMT (then The Management ) was founded on the electrical (read: computer, guitar pedal and turntable) skills of Andrew and Ben, once they hit the big time they realised they wanted to morph MGMT into a real live rock band. Andrew thinks the live translation has worked.
Whereas most bands who end up on the worldwide festival juggernaut “have been touring for a few years as a band and have a live show together,” Andrew explains, “we put our show together when people were starting to talk about us. So we were figuring shit out as we went along and I think we’re finally at the point where we’re happy with it.
“It’s really freaky. Before we signed to Columbia, we went on tour around Montreal a couple of times, but when we were in school we really only played little house parties and maybe one show at a bar or something. To go from that to playing a show every night (we played a couple of festivals with twenty thousand people there, which was just crazy) is kind of ridiculous. [It’s about] figuring out how to deal with that, ‘cause we were not used to it.”
Certainly a baptism of fire; but having done the rounds – SXSW, Bonnaroo, Lollapolooza, Leeds, Reading, Roskilde, you name it – Andrew is now in a position to consider particularly poignant festival moments from the year that was. Favourites? “Well, let’s see,” he ponders. “We’ve done all the amazing ones really. This festival in Belgium, Rock Werchter. Roskilde was cool.”
And for pure inspiration? “Probably the second show at Glastonbury,” says Andrew. “It was just the wildest people, and the most energy, I think I’ve ever experienced at a show. We went out all night and walked around with all the freaky people, it was great.” The pure volume of humans in one place would be mental, I reckon. He agrees. “It’s pretty insane,” before adding wistfully, “I hope next year we can play some smaller festivals too. The little ones in the woods, the strange little festivals.”
Naturally, the gigs and the crowds and the experience are outrageous, but then there’s the boring stuff. Travelling, hanging around, waiting. “The worst of it,” admits Andrew, “is probably the health issues. Sitting on a bus and inevitably drinking every night – even just a little bit – and then not sleeping very well, it’s not very good for your body.” It does sound like he’s been through the ringer. “That, and getting tired of doing press,” he laughs. Yep. I’m the necessary evil.
Of course, for a group who loves to deal in irony, it must be noted: while Andrew and Ben have been known to play with the minds of their interviewers, Andrew’s father Bruce, is actually a writer and editor himself. Widely published, and as an editorial director, he surely encouraged Andrew’s creativity.
He seems surprised that I know this. Early on, Andrew concedes, he “was probably more of a writer – creative writing stuff like that – before I focused on music.” He hastens to add, “in high school.”
Perhaps it was his parent’s interests in music that created a foundation for the future MGMT sound. Bruce VanWyngarden co-authored Aquarius Revisited: Seven Who Created the 1960s and Andrew remembers his first live music experience was at a young age. “My mom took me to a concert by The Roches, I was probably six or seven.”
While I would argue that his Oracular Spectacular lyrics are solid nods to his creative writing past, Andrew muses, “To be honest, I haven’t done much writing in a while. But I think it’s a little bit different now, because there’s another person. Usually, [for MGMT] it’s kind of combining two brains.”
And what a combination. Keeping my distance from the – œgenre’ debate, I offer my opinion that MGMT’s debut really is something different. I have observed a room full of music industry peeps, who all affirm love for markedly different music styles, getting into Andrew and Ben’s music, yet admitting they can’t put their finger on why it’s so good. My favourite recent anecdote, though, relates to my spinning of their album at a friend’s BBQ a couple of weeks ago. Within seconds of Electric Feel being played, my friend’s three-year-old came racing inside to yell in delight, “This song is SO MUCH FUN.”
This prompts a happy burst of laughter from Andrew. “I love it when kids dance, or when people are saying their children are into music. That’s good. It’s pretty crazy. It’s just a silly song about a woman with electricity in her skin.” It must be the best feeling for a musician. He chuckles confirmation, “It’s great that all sorts of people can like it.”
Australians certainly like it. No sooner did MGMT book their Australian tour, they were forced to upgrade to bigger venues in Melbourne and Sydney, to meet ticket demand. Perth-ians will be pleased. After a massive tour of the US, the UK, Europe and Japan, MGMT hit WA first, before progressing to Sydney, Brisvegas and Melbourne. Melbourne fans get two chances: the boys are hitting Festival Hall, then hitting the open road to the idyllic Meredith Music Festival.
“I’ve heard it’s pretty cool. Out in the woods, or the bush,” he corrects himself. “Pretty cool festival. It sounds like a perfect way to end our year and a half of touring.”
MGMT bring their Oracular Spectacular to Australia in December. You might’ve heard?
Saturday 6 – Belvoir Amphitheatre, Perth
Tuesday 9 – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Wednesday 10 – The Tivoli, Brisbane
Thursday 11 – Festival Hall, Melbourne
Friday 12 to Sunday 14 – Meredith Music Festival
