First of all I would like to apologize for the terrible neglicence i’ve had of IS YOUR CLAM IN A JAM? Series of things have made it hard for me to keep writing, but i’m glad to say we are back!
In the last few months i went to see two of the bands heralded for bringing psychedelia in the 21st century, one formed at Wesleyan University CT in 2005 and one in Perth, Australia in 2007: MGMT and Tame Impala.
MGMT are the first of the new wave of openly psychedelic bands to introduce a new element in the form of electronic instruments in their psychedelic odes to moons, birds and monsters. Their Album “Oracular Spectacular” was a breakthrough, with songs such as “Time to Pretend”, a deep view on the “crisis” that hits young adults and makes them become drones of modern society, accompanied by its video, a homage to Jodorowski’s “The Holy Mountain” filmed as a post-digital collage, portaying a post-apocalyptic young Utopia. Unfortunately though that song and “Kids” were spoilt into becoming mainstream monsters, what were conceived as philosophical views on youth, suddenly became songs that even the least musical person would know and love without realising or caring about the message behind it.
After the song becoming the opening anthem for Sarkozy’s speeches, MGMT felt that it was time to show everyone what they are really worth, making an album with no singles that flows all together like one long song. The musical odyssey that is “Congratulations” is what one may consider to be a psychedelic masterpiece of the modern age.
Psychedelic, a terminology used to describe music that actually makes you think and lets your brain flow and go strange places. Mozart is psychedelic, as his works certainly make you imagine things and take you in different worlds while you listen. Psychedelic is a terminology used to describe different states of mind, it is music that takes you on a trip, first pioneered in the late 60s with acid drenched bands that would see the light in a carton of LSD and then paint beautiful landscapes and dreams with their electric guitars.
The majority of the bands that made psychedelic music were connected with their third eye, and made it clear that there was nothing to pretend, the revolution is here and it’s inside my head.
That takes us to the second band, from Perth and already blogged about here previously, Tame Impala. As written in the previous post, Tame Impala are a young band that has opened a North American tour for MGMT, also psychedelic, but in a more traditional way, say if J Mascis replaced George Harrison in the Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles. By cutting one of the best albums of 2010, “Innerspeaker”, songs such as “Lucidity” and “Alter-Ego” made it clear that these were very talented, young and passionate musicians, without a care in the world except the curiosity of what it these chemicals are doing to them, how they are expanding their minds.
Having seen both bands made me realise a few things, mainly that I fear society’s fast-chewing attitude to music. The MGMT concert was packed, tons of people were there to see them, people were wearing flowers on their heads, “Great, here we go!”.
But then as the band came onstage and started playing songs from their second album there was stupor in the air, most of the people there seemed to not have listened to the record, sporadic hits from the debut sparked interest whilst most songs from the second album could barely be heard because of the chatter in the audience.
Then “Kids” came on, suddently MGMT were a boy band, running around onstage singing to a wild crowd shouting the main riff and jumping in unison, as the song finished the shouts kept going until MGMT were forced to keep it going longer. Poor MGMT, I thought, Kids may haunt them forever. Deciding to break away from that mold with the second album, which portrayed their current musical interests, had no effect once taken into a live show.
After the concert MGMT were Djing at a nearby pub/club, filled with people that were there already there for other reasons and some that hoped that seeing their Psychedelic Smirking Worm Rock Freakout meant they would hear “Kids” five times, no flower children or freaks were there. Then they started Djing, which basically consisted of them playing songs they like with no flow and no order, “Lucifer Sam” made its way in there, but the rest of the songs played were often far from what i had hoped.
Tame Impala on the other hand were playing their biggest headline show in London to date, very nervous and meticulous, always checking if the instruments were in tune delivered an excellent show that showcased their music to a crowd that knew all the songs and seemed to understand what their music was all about. Combined with a psychedelic light show, the concert was an experience for the senses, just as the ones the band had felt while composing the songs.
MGMT were the pioneers of New Psychedelia, they have now grown out of the mold they created and have become poster-boys for the movement, perhaps forgetting their roots, while Tame Impala are certainly maintaining the spirit of their predecessors, by making music for the mind and the soul; let’s just hope that they’ll age like wine.
Gio Arlotta
