So why is MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
There’s a striking optimism to the sound of Oracular Spectacular, along with a glossy sheen and gorgeous and meticulous production aesthetic. Which, looking back, there wasn’t much about 2007 that gave cause for “striking optimism” in the U.S.
It was the end of the George W. Bush administration, the Iraq War was still going on, and a massive housing market crisis was on the horizon.
But pop culture doesn’t necessarily have to reflect the exact mood of the time or era, does it? It can perhaps point to what’s ahead or reflect some opposing mood or emotion that provides escape or solace.
Anyway, MGMT’s use of synths, drum machines, and other electronic elements blended with rock instrumentation give the band, and Oracular Spectacular, a unique sound that somehow feels very mid-2000s in a good way.
MGMT slotted into the rising indie-electro wave of the mid-2000s, alongside acts like LCD Soundsystem and Justice, bridging Brooklyn hipster guitar rock with the glossy synth sheen of bloghouse (the neon-soaked, mp3-blog-fueled electro scene from the era) and electro-pop.
“Time to Pretend,” the best song on Oracular Spectacular, is about the ups and downs of fame, or it’s about nihilism perhaps, depending on how you interpret it. In any event, the catchy melody, opening synthesizer riff, driving beat, and soaring vocals keep the energy high throughout.
“Time to Pretend” has a really fun origin myth, via Wikipedia:
We wrote “Time to Pretend” our senior year of college, and the music was inspired by a praying mantis we had in our house. She laid eggs and it died, and we laid the egg case on this kinda model pirate ship on the mantle piece, and the eggs hatched and all these baby praying mantises were climbing up the rigging of the ship, and it was pretty crazy…uhm so the music was inspired by our praying mantis that liked to dance to The Clash {laugh} and the lyrics are just about us imagining being rock stars … and yeah, fantasy rock star life.
“Kids” sports perhaps an even more recognizable synthesizer riff – an MGMT specialty. It too is catchy, with a moody Depeche Mode-esque synth beat underlying its effervescent vocals.
“Weekend Wars” shows off MGMT’s legitimate pop chops. It’s a downright pretty little tune with a harpsichord-esque feel and a British Invasion-flavored influence.
Some stats & info about MGMT – Oracular Spectacular
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? New York Bands, Rock Music, Indie Rock, Indie Electronic, Dance Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was Oracular Spectacular released? 2007
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #530 out of 1,000
MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
This is our decision to live fast and die young. We’ve got the vision, now let’s have some fun. Yeah, it’s overwhelming, but what else can we do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.