Song Exploder

MGMT - Time to Pretend

Jan 19, 2016
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
ANECDOTE

Dorm-Room Origins

  • Ben and Andrew wrote most of the sounds on Ben's laptop using Reason while broke college students.
  • They treated the band as a joking performance-art act where they'd dress up and act like rock stars for tiny shows.
ANECDOTE

Ironic Rock-Star Shtick

  • In college the band adopted an ironic 'rock star' shtick, performing in fake fur coats and sunglasses for small crowds.
  • The song became an ironic mission statement they both sang in unison.
INSIGHT

Small Producer Moves, Big Impact

  • Working with a producer can mean subtle changes, not a full rewrite of a song.
  • Dave Fridmann suggested tiny tempo shifts and sonic experiments that reshaped the track without redoing it.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app