• 2002-

  Andrew VanWyngardenVocals, guitar, keyboard2002-

  Benjamin Goldwasser Vocals, guitar, keyboard2002-

  Will BermanDrums, percussion2008-

  James RichardsonLead guitar, keyboards2008-

  Matt AstiBass2008-
• Andrew VanWyngarden grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and Benjamin Goldwasser is from Westport, New York, but they met at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where they graduated in 2005. "A lot of people really hated us," said VanWyngarden. "We were not popular."
  
  Many songs on their debut album, Oracular Spectacular, were worked up at Wesleyan, but they spent a few years refining them after they graduated, finally releasing the album in 2007.
• MGMT were originally called The Management. They found out that the name was already being used by another group, so they shortened it to MGMT.
• MGMT singer Andrew VanWyngarden says he originally brushed Lady Gaga off as crap but now respects what the pop star is doing. VanWyngarden told Spin that her videos are "getting more creative" and that he likes that she is "getting more and more bizarre and spreading that to the mainstream."
• While recording MGMT's second album, Congratulations, in Malibu, frontman Andrew VanWyngarden took up surfing. He surfed for a year straight and kept it a part of his daily routine whenever possible. He even went to Costa Rica just to surf, and wrote the song "Siberian Breaks" about the possibility of surfing in the Arctic Circle near Russia.
• In September 2010, MGMT drummer Will Berman was hit with beer during a show in Manchester, England. Berman walked off the stage and the band played their final song, "Congratulations," without him.
• After its completion, MGMT were certain that their label Columbia would reject their sophomore album, Congratulations. The band gave the finished version of the disc to record executives over the Christmas Break in 2009 and planned a meeting two weeks later. Singer Andrew VanWyngarden thought for sure that the suits would tell the band to "go record more songs." However, the meeting ended up going well and the executives loved kooky tracks like "Siberian Breaks" and "Brian Eno."
• In the early days, MGMT used to do some very odd things onstage to keep the audience interested. For instance, the band once played an hour-long version of the Ghostbusters theme using Digitech Whammy pedals and drum loops.
  
  Another time, MGMT cut open a durian - widely known as the smelliest fruit in the world - and passed it around the audience to eat. Although a few people left because of the smell, the people that stayed had a great time.
• Before MGMT began recording their sophomore album, Congratulations, singer Andrew VanWyngarden believes he saw something strange in the sky in New Mexico. While the frontman doesn't believe in aliens with laser guns flying around in UFOs, he says he definitely had some weird dreams after seeing the phenomenon.
• Producer Brian Eno, who is the subject of MGMT's song "Brian Eno," says the reference is "very flattering." Eno adds that he "appreciates how the song is both tongue in cheek and fond at the same time."

Comments: 1

• NadiaI'm not all that well versed on MGMT but i am on fruits!! Im pretty sure its spelt Durian, not Dorian! [Fixed! Thank you. -editor]

More Songfacts:

Cult of PersonalityLiving Colour

"Cult of Personality" by Living Colour incorporates speeches by John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

We Belong TogetherMariah Carey

Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" was the best-selling song of the 2000s in the US.

Whatta ManSalt-N-Pepa

Salt's "mighty good man" in the Salt-N-Pepa "Whatta Man" video is played by Tupac Shakur.

Pink CadillacBruce Springsteen

"Pink Cadillac" was a B-side for Bruce Springsteen in 1984, but after Aretha Franklin sang about pink Cadillacs on "Freeway Of Love" the following year, Natalie Cole covered the song and had a hit with it in 1988.

Down UnderMen at Work

Often heard as a patriotic song celebrating their homeland of Australia, "Down Under" by Men At Work is really about the selling of that country, and it makes a strong political statement.

ToxicBritney Spears

"Toxic" was the most-searched song on Google in 2004 and helped Spears become the most-searched artist that year, a title she held from 1999-2001.

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Jules Shear - "All Through The Night"They're Playing My Song

Shears does very little promotion, which has kept him secluded from the spotlight. What changed when Cyndi Lauper had a hit with his song? Not much, really.

Female Singers Of The 90sMusic Quiz

The ladies who ruled the '90s in this quiz.