Debuting just before I was born, Oracular Spectacular by MGMT was the soundtrack of my childhood. I can picture the light brown leather seats of my moms green Subaru, the Green Mountains flying by as we drove. Maybe the windows were down as we enjoyed the summer heat, or maybe the heat was blasting inside the car as we endured the cold Vermont winters. Either way, MGMT was always playing.
Our favorites were “Electric Feel,” “Kids,” and “Time to Pretend.” They all have very similar sounds; energetic, electronic, kind of eclectic. They used to be nothing more than sounds and rhythms that I enjoyed. Now, I understand their lyrics. Now, I’m the one driving instead of my mom. Now, I have a newfound appreciation for the way things once were.
It’s bittersweet, getting older. You can appreciate things more, but that appreciation always comes with an aftertaste of nostalgia and a longing for the simplicities of childhood.
Ironically, the album itself is centered around getting older and the emotional whiplash that comes with it. “Time to Pretend” in particular highlights the want to move away and accomplish your dreams, but also how you know you will miss your youth and all the things that came with it. Really, the entirety of Oracular Spectacular has such a unique sound that can really only be described as the feeling of nostalgia put into music.
It’s funny how music, nothing more than a bunch of sounds mashed together, can bring up such vivid memories and feelings of the past. I wonder if in the future, I’ll listen to my current favorite songs and look back on them with the same fondness I look back on MGMT with.
I have yet to find anything that compares to Oracular Spectacular. I think everyone can relate to it especially since we are currently going through high school and planning for the future. I highly suggest giving it a listen.
