Released November 26, 2010 Length 3:55 | Format 7"
digital download Label Columbia | |
Genre Psychedelic folk
psychedelic pop
indie rock Writer(s) Andrew VanWyngarden
Ben Goldwasser | ||
"Congratulations" is a song by the American rock band MGMT, released as the fourth and final single and the title track from their second studio album Congratulations (2010) on November 26, 2010. The single was released as a limited edition 7" vinyl record with a special 20-page illustrated booklet. On November 2, 2010, Record Store Day announced the limited edition 7" of the single as one of their Black Friday exclusives, containing the Erol Alkan rework of the song. A music video for the song was released on August 25, 2010. "Congratulations" was released to radio on September 28, 2010.
Contents
The song was featured during the credits of the 2010 Oscar award-winning documentary Inside Job.
Music video
The video for "Congratulations" features the two lead members of MGMT, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, journeying through the desert with a strange four-legged creature that some have described as a "sad-eyed Duck-dog-o-saurus". Throughout the video, the creature gradually falls apart, losing a leg and then its beak, each body part sinking into the sand. Stopping to rest, VanWyngarden attempts to comfort the creature. Nearing the end of the video, the creature loses its footing and tumbles down a large sand dune. The two pick up what is left of the creature, and as dusk settles in, they come upon a portal-like structure. Just before reaching the structure, one of the creature's eyes falls off and sinks into the sand. From the sand, a cluster of lights rises towards the sky, blending with the stars, and shimmering in sync to the music. The songs ends with the two men gazing up to the sky and applauding.
The video was filmed at Dumont Dunes in California’s Mojave Desert, and was directed by Tom Kuntz and edited by Steve Gandolfi. The creature was created by Legacy Effects. Vance Hartwell, of Legacy, said: "The puppet was made of material including foam latex and fibreglass. We had an actor inside. His legs fitted into the hind legs of the puppet and his head was at the base of the neck. With the heat of the desert and the wear and tear of the conditions there was always someone with him, both to make sure he was ok and to hold up the puppet head."
Reception
"The final track returns to the jangling '60s pop stylings of Waterloo Sunset. It's smooth and charming and sidesteps the awkward hooks of the rest of the album. 'It's Congratulations' lyrics here that are most important. As Andrew VanWyngarden sings that all he wants are your congratulations, he reveals the whole point of the album. "MGMT don't need—or necessarily want—a big selling album. They want recognition and credibility. And they deserve them." "Congratulations is an exciting step away from over-used pop tropes and a bold leap into the unknown."
"Ah, cheeky little scamps – MGMT save their most simplistic song for last, 'Congratulations' playing out like a sequel to the reckless decadence of 'Time to Pretend', the duo overlooking their success with a sneering, sarcastic eye. "Out with a whimper/It's no blaze of glory" sings Van Wyngarden over a folky, tender rhythm section. Ending with a round of (we imagine) piss-taking handclaps, it's a fitting close to an album that will test the patience of MGMT fans who were only into the 'HITS', but perhaps that's the point; in one big, imaginative sidestep, MGMT might have just leapt the hurdle of becoming a one-album wonder, carving out a career at the true heirs to Flaming Lips' throne in the process. It's not an album that will thrill on first listen – I listened about, umm, ten times before I wrote this, but it’s a record that deserves your attention nonetheless."
American hip hop recording artist Kid Cudi, sampled the song for his third album Indicud (2013), on the song "Immortal".