MGMT and no singles?

I feel like everyday I keep getting more excited for Coachella. I was talking to my parents about it today and it was getting me even more pumped. I’m especially excited to see MGMT on Saturday April 17th. What’s even more exciting is that this will be four days after the duo releases their sophomore album Congratulations. What’s even more interesting is that the group has said that they will not release any singles off of this album. I’m not quite how Columbia Records feels about this, but to me it seems like a really interesting experiment.

The first thing I think this might do is get people interested in their album as a whole. I’ve mentioned it before and I will say it again, album sales are not where they used to be. People pick and choose based on singles and 30 second clips on itunes and pull albums apart. By not releasing singles MGMT is giving the album more importance, and I hope it works. I also think that doing this four days before they play one of the largest music festivals in the country will lead to larger album sales. Concerts are always more fun when you know the music, and without singles the audience will be less clued into what MGMT’s set list will be. My prediction is that it will lead to more people buying the album as a whole so they will be familiar with the songs when they are played. Oh April cannot come fast enough!!!

The other issue that pops up with a lack of singles is the possible lack of music videos. As of right now MGMT has three music videos for “Kids”, “Electric Feel”, and “Time to pretend” all off their first album Oracular Spectacular. All three of these videos are sort of trippy and fun. In “Kids” they don Kiss like make up. In “Electric Feel” there’s some kind of dance party going on in the jungle (I want to go to that party!). There’s a whole tribal feeling to “Time to Pretend”, and just lots of crazy stuff in general. The point is it seems like the two of them enjoy making music videos. Without singles it seems like they have two choices. Either they make no music videos at all, or they make nine music videos for the nine tracks on the album.

Finally, I haven’t listened to the radio in a few years, but what does this mean for the radio stations? Do they just play whatever they want from the album or do they play nothing and MGMT trusts that the internet will get the album out enough to be successful? It seems to be working for mix tapes, why not work for an album?

The bottom line is that I am excited for the new album; I’m excited to see them live in California. Also this is a really cool video you should check out. It’s Chiddy Bang, they’ve sampled MGMT’s “Kids” and made it into their own “Opposite of Adults.” I love clever sampling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McRgkE_vgjU&feature=player_embedded#