MGMT Inspired by Lady Gaga and Kanye West on New Album

Posted on Jan 26th 2010 5:17AM by Barnaby Smith
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Proving their firm grasp of the zeitgeist is intact, colourful pop duo MGMT have revealed that Lady Gaga and Kanye West were influences on new album 'Congratulations.'

Andrew VanWyngarden, one half of the band, told Spin.com that many new songs address the fame they attracted with the success of their 2007 debut 'Oracular Spectacular'. Fame, VanWyngarden said, made the twosome recognise themselves as "the people we were making fun of" on their debut.

"We were a group of guys in their mid-20s touring around the world and of course we are going to party," he said. "But after a while we all learned that you can't just keep doing that over and over, and the new record addresses those issues."

The new album features a song called 'Lady DaDa's Nightmare'', which VanWyngarden had claimed previously is not based on Lady GaGa.

"On some of the new songs, I found myself thinking about Lady GaGa or Kanye West and what their ultimate goal is. This sounds cheesy, but for us it's really just about the music and getting people to hear what we have to say. I'm sure it's about the music for those people, too... but fame... it's an interesting career."

VanWyngarden also explained that 'Congratulations' was also heavily influenced by his own love of surfing, saying, "I'm going to Costa Rica to surf this Sunday, I love it and it's definitely a theme on 'Congratulations'."

The new LP is expected to the released in the spring, with the duo claiming that no singles from the album will be released.