MGMT Is Too Cool To Play Their Hits

MGMT is pissing me off more and more with this avant-garde hipster bullshit attitude - they refuse to play Kids in live sets, despite the fact the song is what made them famous, and their new shit isn't that great (they even say sarcastically they're not even sure if they would listen to it).

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/09/mgmt-too-cool-play-hit-song-live/69304/

Go home, MGMT - your time has passed.

dont they have other hits though?

how often does Radiohead still play Creep, btw?

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Update: A sleuthy reader notes that after dropping the song from their setlist in the spring and early summer, the band seems to have begun performing it again in recent weeks, according to setlist.fm. Guess we'll see if that lasts.

Anyway, I'm sure people are so thrilled to hear the brilliance of Your Life is a Lie that they don't care about Kids.

  On 9/12/2013 at 4:56 PM, cult fiction said:

 

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Update: A sleuthy reader notes that after dropping the song from their setlist in the spring and early summer, the band seems to have begun performing it again in recent weeks, according to setlist.fm. Guess we'll see if that lasts.

 

Anyway, I'm sure people are so thrilled to hear the brilliance of Your Life is a Lie that they don't care about Kids.

 

I personally don't care for "Your Life is a Lie" - and the album in general has been getting very mixed reviews.

They had hits? Lol

LOL! oh dear

TOO COOL 2 PLAY OWN HITS - POOR GUYS GIVE THEM A SWEATER OR SOMETHIGN GHYPOTHERMIA IS NO LAUFGHONG MATTAR

COME ON U CUNTS LETS HAVE SOME MGMT PSYCHE-POP!!

I really don't understand why they are getting flak for this; almost every major artist I can think of has at least had a period where they refused to play songs from other albums.

Can't quite get to grips with this band, not really sure what the deal is with them, and to be quite honest I'm not sure I really care. Ho hum.

how dare they not play that song, we only heard it millions of times and it's so brilliant omg

fuck everyone who experiments with music, bunch of avant-garde hipster bullshit hippies

I remember a mate of mine who's into Radiohead, who went to see them live. He told me they were complete and utter shit because they played no songs he recognised.

What a cock.

I know who they are... but I've never heard a lick of their music.

  On 9/12/2013 at 9:24 PM, beerwolf said:

Can't quite get to grips with this band, not really sure what the deal is with them, and to be quite honest I'm not sure I really care. Ho hum.

great post

kids wasn't their only hit, and i feel this is fairly common practice. i personally like that they're trying to alienate the teen fanbase they have. congratulations was a cool album, kind of a nice overview of disparate 70s influences. what i've heard of the new one is pretty weird. i'm excited when a band takes a left turn like this, they could have easily made two more oracular spectaculars. pretty weird to criticize them for this on a board devoted to relatively experimental music.

Yes left turns are always good, even if they don't turn out as classics it at least shows guts.

FYI,

When I saw them at FYF a few weeks ago, they totally played "Kids"

Setlist:

1. Alien Days
2. Time to Pretend
3. Introspection
   (Faine Jade cover)
4. Weekend Wars
5. Your Life Is a Lie
   (Joined by Henry Winkler on cowbell)
6. Electric Feel
7. Mystery Disease
8. Siberian Breaks
9. Kids

I LOVE "Your Life Is A Lie". I hadn't seen the video for it until after seeing them play it live w/ the fonz.

I believe you posted that video, didn't you, Joyrex?

That video is amazing. Such an infectious riff. It gets stuck in my head like crazy.

  On 9/12/2013 at 4:41 PM, Joyrex said:

MGMT is pissing me off more and more with this avant-garde hipster bullshit attitude - they refuse to play Kids in live sets, despite the fact the song is what made them famous, and their new shit isn't that great (they even say sarcastically they're not even sure if they would listen to it).

 

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/09/mgmt-too-cool-play-hit-song-live/69304/

 

Go home, MGMT - your time has passed.

Sorry, Papa :(

I didn't know you liked Kids THAT much.

I do know you are a fan and still have a lot of love for them deep down. I can tell.

I also know you'll be grabbing that new joint as soon as it drops, no matter what (I know I will).

Don't front.

I personally thought Congratulations was the bees knees.

edit

The article also says at the end...

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Update: A sleuthy reader notes that after dropping the song from their setlist in the spring and early summer, the band seems to have begun performing it again in recent weeks, according to setlist.fm. Guess we'll see if that lasts.

Looks like you don't have to burn your MGMT underoos after all!

  On 9/12/2013 at 6:53 PM, wabby said:

COME ON U CUNTS LETS HAVE SOME MGMT PSYCHE-POP!!

:emotawesomepm9:

Do they refuse to play "Kids" because they are tired of it...sorta like Lou Reed and "Walk On The Wild Side" or Radiohead and "Creep" as mentioned in the article.*

If I was them I'd probably remix and/or re-arrange it and play that live as a compromise. Live expectations for "hit songs" are funny things - personally I wouldn't want it to sound "exactly the same" at all, at least for a song that slick and produced sounding. I want live songs to sound live.

* while good imo, they are neither Lou Reed nor Radiohead by any means

  On 9/12/2013 at 7:39 PM, SR4 said:

I really don't understand why they are getting flak for this; almost every major artist I can think of has at least had a period where they refused to play songs from other albums.

Oh, they're just getting flak because not only is their new album another departure from the Oracular Spectacular formula, but it's getting mixed reviews to boot. I can't really blame them for not wanting to play Kids, but if the fans want to hear it (and they are performing for the fans), they should at least give the fans what they want since it's a paid performance.

  On 9/12/2013 at 9:37 PM, zaphod said:

 

  On 9/12/2013 at 9:24 PM, beerwolf said:

Can't quite get to grips with this band, not really sure what the deal is with them, and to be quite honest I'm not sure I really care. Ho hum.

 

great post

 

kids wasn't their only hit, and i feel this is fairly common practice. i personally like that they're trying to alienate the teen fanbase they have. congratulations was a cool album, kind of a nice overview of disparate 70s influences. what i've heard of the new one is pretty weird. i'm excited when a band takes a left turn like this, they could have easily made two more oracular spectaculars. pretty weird to criticize them for this on a board devoted to relatively experimental music.

 

Yeah, I've heard them being described as "selling out in reverse" - have hits, then get more and more obscure and commercially irrelevant as time goes on.

I criticize any artist whom I feel has departed from a signature sound that made them great to begin with - and had Congratulations and the new album been good, they probably wouldn't be criticized by their fans for not wanting to play the hits at concerts.

  On 9/12/2013 at 10:04 PM, joshuatx said:

Do they refuse to play "Kids" because they are tired of it...sorta like Lou Reed and "Walk On The Wild Side" or Radiohead and "Creep" as mentioned in the article.*

 

If I was them I'd probably remix and/or re-arrange it and play that live as a compromise. Live expectations for "hit songs" are funny things - personally I wouldn't want it to sound "exactly the same" at all, at least for a song that slick and produced sounding. I want live songs to sound live.

 

* while good imo, they are neither Lou Reed nor Radiohead by any means

See, I get the "we're being avant-garde and hipster for the sake of it" vibe from all this, which pisses me off - when Squarepusher does something out of left field, I may or may not like it, but I can at least respect him for trying something different, however unsuccessful it may be compared to his earlier work (See Just a Souvenir). These guys are about as commercial as they come, and they're trying to ply their fans into buying all this hipster attitude crap.

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I criticize any artist whom I feel has departed from a signature sound that made them great to begin with

This actually deeply offends me, more than I expected for something posted on an internet forum

Congratulations is a good album and a nice change of direction, IMO, but I can't help but crack up when anyone starts calling it avant garde and alienating, even if those terms are qualified with "hipster."

  On 9/12/2013 at 10:57 PM, modey said:

 

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I criticize any artist whom I feel has departed from a signature sound that made them great to begin with

This actually deeply offends me, more than I expected for something posted on an internet forum

Did Our Lord not DJ with some fucking sandpaper? Chill out.

  On 9/12/2013 at 10:42 PM, Joyrex said:

 

  On 9/12/2013 at 7:39 PM, SR4 said:

I really don't understand why they are getting flak for this; almost every major artist I can think of has at least had a period where they refused to play songs from other albums.

Oh, they're just getting flak because not only is their new album another departure from the Oracular Spectacular formula, but it's getting mixed reviews to boot. I can't really blame them for not wanting to play Kids, but if the fans want to hear it (and they are performing for the fans), they should at least give the fans what they want since it's a paid performance.

 

  On 9/12/2013 at 9:37 PM, zaphod said:

 

  On 9/12/2013 at 9:24 PM, beerwolf said:

Can't quite get to grips with this band, not really sure what the deal is with them, and to be quite honest I'm not sure I really care. Ho hum.

 

great post

 

kids wasn't their only hit, and i feel this is fairly common practice. i personally like that they're trying to alienate the teen fanbase they have. congratulations was a cool album, kind of a nice overview of disparate 70s influences. what i've heard of the new one is pretty weird. i'm excited when a band takes a left turn like this, they could have easily made two more oracular spectaculars. pretty weird to criticize them for this on a board devoted to relatively experimental music.

 

Yeah, I've heard them being described as "selling out in reverse" - have hits, then get more and more obscure and commercially irrelevant as time goes on.

 

I criticize any artist whom I feel has departed from a signature sound that made them great to begin with - and had Congratulations and the new album been good, they probably wouldn't be criticized by their fans for not wanting to play the hits at concerts.

 

  On 9/12/2013 at 10:04 PM, joshuatx said:

Do they refuse to play "Kids" because they are tired of it...sorta like Lou Reed and "Walk On The Wild Side" or Radiohead and "Creep" as mentioned in the article.*

 

If I was them I'd probably remix and/or re-arrange it and play that live as a compromise. Live expectations for "hit songs" are funny things - personally I wouldn't want it to sound "exactly the same" at all, at least for a song that slick and produced sounding. I want live songs to sound live.

 

* while good imo, they are neither Lou Reed nor Radiohead by any means

See, I get the "we're being avant-garde and hipster for the sake of it" vibe from all this, which pisses me off - when Squarepusher does something out of left field, I may or may not like it, but I can at least respect him for trying something different, however unsuccessful it may be compared to his earlier work (See Just a Souvenir). These guys are about as commercial as they come, and they're trying to ply their fans into buying all this hipster attitude crap.

 

wow, really? an artist can't depart from their "signature sound" ie. the sound the first album happened to have, without criticism? i get that you don't think congratulations was good, but a lot of people actually liked it. imagine if every artist had to stick to their first album's sound.

and i don't really see what's "hipster" about mgmt. unless you're just tossing that word out as a pejorative like everyone does, like "this bothers me therefore: hipsters". is there anything "hip" about writing a song about the lead singer of the television personalities, a reference i'm pretty sure none of their teen fans would get or care about? and they seemed like weirdos to begin with, this just seems like a more natural progression for them.

i don't even like this band that much, but some of these statements are absurd.

This is like Richard not playing Come to Daddy on every one of his sets.

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By the way OP's attitude is the reason why bands like the beach boys died, people demanding "play the hits" "sing about beaches". Experimentation gave us stuff Pet Sounds, Revolver, etc. Bands need to evolve, if you want the hits go watch a cover band.

  On 9/12/2013 at 11:56 PM, Deer said:

 

By the way OP's attitude is the reason why bands like the beach boys died, people demanding "play the hits" "sing about beaches". Experimentation gave us stuff Pet Sounds, Revolver, etc. Bands need to evolve, if you want the hits go watch a cover band.

Also:

- Radiohead (though I stopped listening to them after ok computer)

- David Bowie (made an industry on disappointing fans)

- Bob Dylan (personally not a big fan of his, either)

- The Beastie Boys

... That's a handful of obscure names that switched up their approach and effectively insured their legacy by doing so.