MGMT on SNL

I love MGMT! I'm so glad they were on SNL this week, because there wasn't really anything else interesting on SNL this week (though I was glad to see someone else who likes to put their Thin Mints in the freezer). Next week Betty White is hosting. Go internet.

Here's MGMT performing "Brian Eno":

Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards Ceremony is tonight and I have to go to a party for it, even though I don't really want to. I like my friends, but I don't like watching the Grammy Awards live, I usually just tape it so I can fast-forward past the 85% of the show that I don't care about. I don't want to see Taylor Swift perform live with Neil Young (or something like that). Ugh, plus, apparently Michael Jackson's children are going to be put on display. Yuck.

Since I can't avoid it, however, there are a few categories that I guess I won't mind seeing. Here they are (I've put in bold the ones I wouldn't mind seeing get a win):

Best New Artist:

Zac Brown Band (winner)

Keri Hilson

MGMT

Silverson Pickups

The Ting Tings

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals:

"I Gotta Feeling" - The Black Eyed Peas (winner)

"We Weren't Born to Follow" - Bon Jovi

"Never Say Never" - The Fray

"Sara Smile" - Hall & Oates

"Kids" - MGMT

Best Alternative Music Album

Everything That Happens Will Happen Today - David Byrne & Brian Eno

The Open Door - Death Cab For Cutie

Sounds of the Universe - Depeche Mode

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix - Phoenix (winner)

It's Blitz - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

"Ego" - Beyonce & Kanye West

"Knock You Down" - Keri Hilson, Kanye West, & Ne-Yo

"Run This Town" - Jay-Z, Rhianna, & Kanye West (winner)

"I'm On a Boat" - The Lonely Island & T-Pain

"Dead and Gone" T.I. & Justin Timberlake

Best Comedy Album

"Back From The Dead" - Spinal Tap

"A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift Of All!" - Stephen Colbert (winner)

"Internet Leaks" - "Weird Al" Yankovic

"My Weakness Is Strong" - Patton Oswalt

"Suckin’ It For The Holidays" - Kathy Griffin

"Tall, Dark & Chicano" - George Lopez

Depeche Mode is also nominated in the Best Short Form Music Video category for "Wrong." That video is scary. It's about, like, a guy with a mask who is tied up and driving backwards. Wrong is right.

My friends like country music and Lady Gaga. Gah.

Coachella 2010

So today was the big day, they announced the line-up for the 2010 Caochella Valley Music and Arts Festival. You can check out the site here.

Last year was the best Coachella ever! This year a lot of great bands are playing, but there doesn't seem to be any really big act or a surprise or anything. I would go if MGMT and Phoenix were playing on the same night, but they are not. Also, I hear Jay-Z is amazing live, but I'm not really into the other acts on Friday night. Them Crooked Vultures has Dave Grohl, but I don't even know what LCD Soundsystem is. Tiesto? Pavement?? By the way, why are there so many question marks after Thom Yorke???? Does that mean it might be Radiohead? If so, will they play BEFORE Pavement?

Can you go? Do you want to? What night would you choose? I think I would pick Saturday. Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Update: I just learned that Pavement is reuniting for this. I didn't know they had split up because I don't know who they are. Um... maybe they were famous in 2002-2005 when I was living in Japan?

Update 1/20/10: Here is an article about the question marks behing Thom Yorke's name.

Pandora

I have cable and there is a section of music stations on my TV. I used to put it on a lot (before I got a radio for my living room) while I was cleaning the house or at parties, etc. Today I discovered that they have replaced the musicals station with something called "Stage and Screen." When I went there it was playing Jessica Simpsons' "These Boots are Made for Walking" from the soundtrack of The Dukes of Hazzard. Not exactly what I was looking for. So I changed to a station called "Retro Rock" thinking it was going to be music from the 50's and 60's. It plays music from 1991.

And so, I went to Pandora. If you don't already know about Pandora, it is an online radio station made just for you. You create stations based on bands, songs, or genres you enjoy and it plays just that music and music like it! You can even set it to "Quickmix" and it will play random selections from all of your stations.

Pandora also has a free iPhone app! I wrote about it a few months ago (here). It's a must-have.

Here is a list of songs that played on my Quickmix this afternoon:

1) HooDoo: Muse

2) Beware of Darkness: George Harrison

3) Rain: The Beatles

4) A Must to Avoid: Herman's Hermits

5) Eleanor Rigby (Live): Paul McCartney

6) Drive: Incubus

7) Come Together: The Beatles

8) Never Let You Go: Third Eye Blind

• I don't actually like this song, but OK.

9) Get it On: T. Rex

• Ditto this one. Still better than Jessica Simpson.

10) Yellow (Live): Coldplay

• "If you stand up we'll buy you all ice cream."

11) I Want You Back: The Kooks

• I've never heard this before, part of the fun of Pandora radio.

12) Revolution (Love Version): The Beatles

• "ALL RIGHT!"

13) Can't Explain (Live at Leeds): The Who

14) Float On: Modest Mouse

• So THAT is what this song is called...

15) Superhero (Live): Stephen Lynch

16) I'm On a Boat: The Lonely Island

17) The Wind Cries Mary (Live): Jimi Hendrix

18) Trouble: Coldplay

• Why so much Coldplay today? I don't even have a Coldplay station.

19) The Song that Goes Like This: Spamalot

• I don't care about Spamalot, but I do think this song is cute.

20) Loro: Pinback

• I've also never heard this before. It came up on my MGMT station.

To be honest, I did use all six of my skips. :)

A couple of my friends have a beef with Pandora that it almost never plays female artists unless you are on a female artist themed station. They have a point - except for half of "The Song that Goes Like This" none of those songs were sung by women. The twenty-first song was "Over and Over" by Rachel Yamagata care of my "This Never Happened Before" station, though. (It's my only station inspired by a song instead of a band). That is a pretty good song, too. I think I'll add a Rachel Yamagata station. Go women!

Fated to Love MGMT

I just want to say that I love MGMT and I will love them until I choke on my vomit.

I realize that sounds gross. Sorry.

MGMT

As I mentioned in this post, I'm trying to like Phoenix (I have their appearance on Conan Tivo'd). Meanwhile, I still love MGMT.

Oracular Spectacular is an amazing record. (Yes, I listen to records). I recently ordered Phoenix's Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix LP because of MGMT. I love the MGMT record so much and it makes me love MGMT so much, that having the vinyl Phoenix must win me over!

I've liked MGMT for a while, ever since I first heard "Time to Pretend" on the radio. It was not like anything on the radio. It was not like any other song I had ever heard. And I don't mean that in the way that "Fireflies" by Owl City or "Handlebars" by the Flobots are unlike any song on the radio - I mean it in a good way. How could you not like the frank tune about guys who just can't help becoming rock stars, marrying models, divorcing models, finding other models to marry, and dying in a pool of their own vomit? (What else can they do? Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute)?

After hearing "TtP" on the radio I turned to YouTube for more info. and ending up loving another MGMT song, "Kids." About a month after that, "Kids" started playing on the radio, and it still hasn't stopped. I must admit that I like "Kids" sightly less after hearing it every day on the radio for the past several months, but there is no quashing my love for MGMT in general.

Their record is excellent. Put a little something in your coffee and have a listening party in your own home at night! Dance around and sing along to "Electric Feel." After all, you're in the prime of your life!

When I discovered that Paul McCartney likes MGMT and that they would open for him on a few tour dates and that he was interested in working with them in some kind of Fireman capacity - I was thrilled! Go MGMT!