MGMT (Finally, A New Post)

Sorry dear readers;

I have been absent for some time now. This is for two reasons: 1) there hasn’t been anything that has wowed me recently, so I haven’t had a strong desire to write about anything and 2) I have a new writing job with one of my favourite websites, The Impersonals (you should check it out). But, I didn’t want to ignore you any longer so I thought now would be a good time to write a post.

Like I said, with the exception of Santigold and Jack White, there hasn’t been a lot of anything new I have really wanted to share. So I went back into my listening history and noticed I have been listening to MGMT quite a lot. Their debut album, Ocular Spectacular (released in 2007) is a perfect album to pair with sunshine, sandals, and shorts. More simply, it is great summertime music; specifically the song Time to Pretend.

MGMT are, for the most part, super upbeat, complex and very interesting with hooks that’ll stay in your head for weeks. Driven mostly by the keyboard, MGMT’s music comes off as light and vibrant. Kind of what it feels like to be a carefree teen on summer break: life full of friends, parties, and late nights.

So. Spend your summer with an excellent soundtrack and listen to Ocular Spectacular on repeat.

Enjoy.

Back to R&B – Frank Ocean

Surprisingly I am writing about another R&B artist, first The Weeknd and now Frank Ocean. I think I have been missing out on some good music by counting out this genre. There is something to be said about slow beats and peanut butter smooth vocals. With that said I think R&B is a relatively unexplored field in terms of experimental music. That is exactly what these new groups are doing, experimenting with R&B. If you want to know a bit more about who Frank Ocean is check out this article from complex.com. I am just going to stick to his music.

To give him a bit of context, he is part of the newest and most talked about hip hop collective, Odd Future (a.k.a. OFWGKTA). This explains why Frank is not afraid to push boundaries and redefine what his genre of choice is. Interestingly enough, I was introduced to Frank Ocean from an article about The Weeknd. The article was drawing some comparisons. However, in my opinion, the only thing comparable is that they are both new R&B acts. Frank Ocean is more upbeat and draws a lot of influences from other genres. If you were to ask him he wouldn’t even say that he was R&B – he classifies himself as bluegrass. I don’t know how serious he is about that but he definitely does look beyond his own music for influence (the song I am sharing is a great cover of The Eagles’ – ‘Hotel California’, entitled ‘American Wedding’). If you listen closely you’ll also hear Radiohead, Coldplay, and MGMT. Frank Ocean is talented and creative and a staple in my home. My wife and I can’t get enough.

Take a listen.

Enjoy.

PS. If you are so inclined, listen to another of my favourites by him – Strawberry Swing