494 - MGMT - Oracular Spectacular - Gareth Reynolds

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. The 500 is a production of Native Creative Podcasts. For show notes, guest playlists, documentaries and audiobooks about the music, go to The500Podcast.com. New Song / Artist influenced by MGMT:

• "Afterthought" by Slum Sociable (YouTube) & (Spotify)

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