Andrew VanWyngarden
Encyclopedia
Andrew VanWyngarden is the lead vocalist, guitar player and songwriter for the band MGMT
, praised for (according to Interview Magazine) "an uncanny knack for producing pop music that sounds as if it were filtered through a kaleidoscope". One of his (and MGMT cofounder Ben Goldwasser's) songs "Kids" (from the Oracular Spectacular
album) received a Grammy 2010 nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group, while the duo was nominated in the Best New Artist category.
, and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee
, where he attended Lausanne Collegiate School
and White Station High School
. His father Bruce VanWyngarden is the editor of the alternative newspaper Memphis Flyer
. Andrew fondly remembered his childhood years in Memphis, especially fishing and camping with his dad. "I've always really liked nature and the ocean. My friends and I would go out with nets and make little aquariums with the creatures we'd find," he said.
The first musical influences he had involved going through his sister's records and listening to his dad play an electric guitar when he was 4 years old.
While in high school, VanWyngarden was in a band called Accidental Mersh with future MGMT guitarist Hank Sullivant. He also had a side project called Glitter Penis with friend Dan Treharne. They created and recorded parody songs but did not perform live. In college, he wrote and performed a song called "Super Volcano" for a class.
VanWyngarden attended and graduated from Wesleyan University
, where he met fellow band member Ben Goldwasser. He said he planned to study natural sciences of astronomy, but meeting Goldwasser changed his whole life course. It was Andrew who initiated the formation of the group: “[Ben] wasn’t really into it. I remember him saying he wanted to do some sort of social work, something noble for a good course. I was like: C’mon, man! Where’s your selfish ambition?” he remembered. Andrew (according to Q) remembered his University years as something "almost sickeningly idyllic: lots of doing mushrooms in the woods, not a hard graft in the library".
He has said in interviews that "Kids
" was one of the first songs they produced together, the song is included in the band's early EP We (Don't) Care
(release under the name The Management).
VanWyngarden was on NME Cool List 2008 in number 3, just below Jay Z and Alice Glass.
Andrew came up with the title of MGMT's 2010 album Congratulations while making Oracular Spectacular. He writes a lot of the lyrics for MGMT, he has described the process, "I'd sit down for a few hours and try to do them. Usually, the ideas for the lyrics have been in my head for a while, and that's how I go over them again and again." His favorite song of the new album is Siberian Breaks
. In a recent interview, speaking of fame and its effects on him, Andrew conceded that to some extent he's turned into a kind of character he was poking fun at in the debut album. "I didn't realize it until now, but it's kind of funny, because the first song on our first album was 'Time to Pretend', which was about the imagined rock star scenario. So, [the song] 'It's Working' is like, "Yeah, we went out there and we did a lot of drugs, and it's not that great," he told Spin Magazine.
from Of Montreal
called Blikk Fang. He appeared in "The Heart is a Drum Machine," a documentary film about the nature of contemporary music. VanWyngarden mentions Werner Herzog
, David Lynch
, and Federico Fellini
as his favourite directors.
MGMT
MGMT is an American alternative rock band founded by Benjamin Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden. After the release of their first album, the members of their live band, Matthew Asti, James Richardson and Will Berman, joined the core band in the studio...
, praised for (according to Interview Magazine) "an uncanny knack for producing pop music that sounds as if it were filtered through a kaleidoscope". One of his (and MGMT cofounder Ben Goldwasser's) songs "Kids" (from the Oracular Spectacular
Oracular Spectacular
Oracular Spectacular is the first major label studio album by American psychedelic rock band MGMT, released digitally October 2, 2007 on Columbia Records, available in CD & LP formats from January 22, 2008 by Red Ink Records. The album, which has sold over 1 million copies worldwide, was nominated...
album) received a Grammy 2010 nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group, while the duo was nominated in the Best New Artist category.
Biography
Andrew VanWyngarden was born in Columbia, MissouriColumbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
, and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, where he attended Lausanne Collegiate School
Lausanne Collegiate School
Lausanne Collegiate School, originally known as Lausanne School for Girls, is an independent, coeducational, nonsectarian school in Memphis, Tennessee, for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade...
and White Station High School
White Station High School
White Station High School is a public high school in Memphis, Tennessee, United States .White Station High is a member of the Memphis City Schools system. White Station is recognized as one of the best high schools in Memphis, as well as in all of Tennessee...
. His father Bruce VanWyngarden is the editor of the alternative newspaper Memphis Flyer
Memphis Flyer
The Memphis Flyer is a free weekly alternative newspaper serving the greater Memphis, Tennessee area. Liberal in its politics, the Flyer covers local politics, as well as music and entertainment, regional sports, and human interest stories. Circulation: 55,000The Flyer was founded in 1989 by...
. Andrew fondly remembered his childhood years in Memphis, especially fishing and camping with his dad. "I've always really liked nature and the ocean. My friends and I would go out with nets and make little aquariums with the creatures we'd find," he said.
The first musical influences he had involved going through his sister's records and listening to his dad play an electric guitar when he was 4 years old.
While in high school, VanWyngarden was in a band called Accidental Mersh with future MGMT guitarist Hank Sullivant. He also had a side project called Glitter Penis with friend Dan Treharne. They created and recorded parody songs but did not perform live. In college, he wrote and performed a song called "Super Volcano" for a class.
VanWyngarden attended and graduated from Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
, where he met fellow band member Ben Goldwasser. He said he planned to study natural sciences of astronomy, but meeting Goldwasser changed his whole life course. It was Andrew who initiated the formation of the group: “[Ben] wasn’t really into it. I remember him saying he wanted to do some sort of social work, something noble for a good course. I was like: C’mon, man! Where’s your selfish ambition?” he remembered. Andrew (according to Q) remembered his University years as something "almost sickeningly idyllic: lots of doing mushrooms in the woods, not a hard graft in the library".
He has said in interviews that "Kids
Kids (MGMT song)
"Kids" is the third single from MGMT's album Oracular Spectacular. It was released as a single on October 13, 2008.The song was the center of a legal dispute with the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, over the "insulting" compensation he offered for his illegal use of the song during a party...
" was one of the first songs they produced together, the song is included in the band's early EP We (Don't) Care
We (Don't) Care
We Care was the first release by the rock band MGMT . Newer versions of the tracks "Love Always Remains" and "Kids" were later released on MGMT's Cantora Records release Time to Pretend EP and additional versions of "Kids" appear on both their major-label debut Oracular Spectacular and their...
(release under the name The Management).
VanWyngarden was on NME Cool List 2008 in number 3, just below Jay Z and Alice Glass.
Andrew came up with the title of MGMT's 2010 album Congratulations while making Oracular Spectacular. He writes a lot of the lyrics for MGMT, he has described the process, "I'd sit down for a few hours and try to do them. Usually, the ideas for the lyrics have been in my head for a while, and that's how I go over them again and again." His favorite song of the new album is Siberian Breaks
Siberian Breaks
"Siberian Breaks" is a song released by psychedelic rock band MGMT on their second studio album, Congratulations. It is the longest track on the album and MGMT's second longest song to date, clocking in a minute and a half behind "Metanoia." Andrew VanWyngarden has said that Siberian Breaks is his...
. In a recent interview, speaking of fame and its effects on him, Andrew conceded that to some extent he's turned into a kind of character he was poking fun at in the debut album. "I didn't realize it until now, but it's kind of funny, because the first song on our first album was 'Time to Pretend', which was about the imagined rock star scenario. So, [the song] 'It's Working' is like, "Yeah, we went out there and we did a lot of drugs, and it's not that great," he told Spin Magazine.
Side projects
Andrew VanWyngarden is in a project with Kevin BarnesKevin Barnes
Kevin L. Barnes is the singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter for the indie rock group Of Montreal, part of the Elephant 6 Collective. Barnes started the band on his own and, although providing several stories as to the origin of the name, is said to have named it after a failed romance...
from Of Montreal
Of Montreal
Of Montreal is an American rock band from Athens, Georgia. It was founded by frontman Kevin Barnes in 1996, named after a failed romance with a woman "of Montreal." The band is one of the bands of the Elephant 6 collective...
called Blikk Fang. He appeared in "The Heart is a Drum Machine," a documentary film about the nature of contemporary music. VanWyngarden mentions Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
, David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
, and Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
as his favourite directors.