494 - MGMT - Oracular Spectacular - Gareth Reynolds

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EPISODE SUMMARY:

Gareth Reynolds joins The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers to dissect experimental indie band MGMT's breakout record.

Youth, sexual exploration, the banality of modern life: these are all themes that have been explored in countless art forms; so much so that one might expect that MGMT's 2007 debut album Oracular Spectacular would have little to add to the conversation.

But that expectation doesn't take into account how much that conversation might change when filtered through the brilliantly improvisational wit of Gareth Reynolds, who has made a career out of lampooning the equally minute and bizarre aspects of life through his writing on shows like Arrested Development and his own wildly successful podcast The Dollop.

Locked in a room together with nothing but synth pop and psychedelic rock to sustain them, Gareth and Josh can barely contain themselves from laughing hysterically at the inconsistencies in the album's quality, the division of labor in the band, and the irony of a song about becoming famous being the ticket to stardom for two guys who never even wanted to form a band in the first place.

SHOW NOTES:

01:15 - Intro
09:00 - Episode start
10:15 - Gareth grew up listening to the Monkees and the Devil jerking off
14:45 - Josh is the weird old guy at festivals now
17:15 - Gareth has no idea who MGMT is
18:30 - What goes through Gareth’s mind when first listening to the album?
21:00 - Synthpop in the front, full-on psychedelic rock in the back
23:00 - MGMT never wanted to be a band
25:00 - Valet parking is Gareth’s back up job
27:30 - "Who Let the Dogs Out?" changed the game
28:45 - “Weekend Wars” is a David Bowie rip off
30:45 - Josh is the spokesperson for mucus, dirt, and trash
32:15 - Josh lost his virginity in Myrtle Beach
36:00 - The second half is where it all falls apart
39:00 - The first real rock & roll moment
40:00 - The song that absolutely must go
41:45 - Facts!
44:45 - The innocence of youth vs. the security and knowledge of adulthood
46:10 - MGMT is not better than Amy Winehouse
50:00 - MGMT beat the President of France
51:15 - Did MGMT sell out as much as they think they did?
56:00 - Family support is very rock & roll
01:01:30 - Outro

ALBUM STREAM - ORACULAR SPECTACULAR:

NEW ARTIST INFLUENCED BY MGMT:

“Afterthought” by Slum Sociable