Brian Eno
by MGMT

Album: Congratulations (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This ode to legendary producer Brian Eno is one of several tracks recorded in MGMT's Andrew VanWyngarden's Brooklyn apartment. He told Spin Magazine: "It started with just us messing around; we never took it seriously as a song. Then on the second day we had the home studio working. At 1:30 A.M. we did a live take and that's what ended up being the foundation for the song. With the home studio we're going to get better and better at recording, and our goal is to eventually record other bands. I don't want to toot our own horns, but I don't think people think of us as producers."
  • Brian Eno is well known for using a set of Oblique Strategies cards that contain cryptic "instructions" to help with the recording of the albums he produces. In this song Eno is being chased by VanWyngarden, using his cards. VanWyngarden explained to Spinner UK: "It's a master/apprentice story. Brian Eno is more of a sorcerer and I'm the student. Eventually, he turns on the student. As for his Oblique Strategies cards, we did have a deck in the studio but I don't know if we used them correctly. I'm not sure there is a correct way to use them, actually! We eventually started writing our own to use in notebooks, but I think they're pretty horrible."
  • VanWyngarden told The Sun April 9, 2010 about the song: "That came from wanting to have a song called Brian Eno as the variety, light-hearted track on the album. It wasn't to knock him as we also love so much of the stuff he's done. It's just our humor."
    His MGMT colleague Ben Goldwasser added: "It's more a reaction to him being seen as this person who can do no wrong, but hang on, what about the last U2 and Coldplay albums he produced. It's saying that no one should be taken that seriously. I don't care who he is if he's Brian Eno or the president."
  • Co-producer Sonic Boom told Mojo May 2010 he thought this track was inspired by the MGMT duo being turned down by the English producer. He said: "They apparently asked Eno to do some track with them a while back. He was too busy, or said he'd never heard of them. Then Coldplay heard the song. I'm not sure if they played it to him, or told him about it. Last I heard, he was all interested in working with them suddenly. Thinking about it, I suspect he hasn't actually heard it, but I hope he has a sense of humor."
  • Eno told Mojo magazine he "really liked" this song. He explained: "Of course it's very flattering, but they're very clever lyrics as well. It could have been a bit uncomfortable, but in the end the whole thing was so over the top that it was clearly a joke. And I appreciated the way they managed to make the song both fond and tongue in cheek at the same time."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman Jack

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman JackSong Writing

The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.

Terry Jacks ("Seasons in the Sun")

Terry Jacks ("Seasons in the Sun")Songwriter Interviews

Inspired by his dear friend, "Seasons in the Sun" paid for Terry's boat, which led him away from music and into a battle with Canadian paper mills.

Gary Lewis

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.