MGMT was formed by Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden in 2001. The song “Time to Pretend” was one they wrote early in their career. It first came out on their debut: the Time to Pretend EP in 2005. And three years after that, they put out a new version of the song, on their first full-length album, Oracular Spectactular, which was named album of the year by NME and was one of Rolling Stone’s top 20 albums of the decade. It went on to sell over a million copies worldwide. In this episode, Ben and Andrew trace how the song “Time to Pretend” was made, from its dorm room origins, to its first recording, to re-envisioning it with Grammy-winning producer Dave Fridmann. They also uncover the hidden sounds and easter eggs within the recording.

MGMT is giving away an exclusive white label pressing of the Time to Pretend EP on vinyl, signed by the band. If you’d like to enter to win the record, all you have to do is share a link to this episode, and tag MGMT and Song Exploder in your post. On Twitter and Instagram, their handle is @whoismgmt, and Song Exploder is just @songexploder. A winner will be announced on January 31 on Song Exploder’s Twitter.

You can buy “Time to Pretend,” from Oracular Spectacular on iTunes. You can also get the EP version of the song.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
The Flaming Lips – Fight Test
ABBA – Dancing Queen
The Thingamagoop

Courtney Barnett released her debut album in March 2015. By the end of the year, she had been nominated for a Grammy for Best New Artist, Spin named her the Songwriter of the Year, and she won four ARIA Music Awards in her native Australia. In this episode, Courtney Barnett breaks down the song “Depreston,” which began with a visit to an open house, on a househunting trip she took in the town of Preston.

You can buy “Depreston,” from Courtney Barnett’s album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, on iTunes.

Watch Courtney Barnett’s live performance of “Depreston” on The Ellen Degeneres Show:

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

footnotes
Courtney’s guitar part was influenced by The Go-Betweens – Streets of Your Town.

In January 2015, Björk released Vulnicura. She described it as “a complete heartbreak album.” And in November, she released Vulnicura Strings, a companion album that stripped away the electronics. In this episode, Björk breaks down the making of both the original version of the song “Stonemilker,” as well as the strings version. She traces her writing and recording process for the track, her collaboration with the electronic producer Arca, and why she wanted to make a second version.

You can find Björk’s podcast, Sonic Symbolism, here.

Watch the music video for Stonemilker:

You can buy Vulnicura and Vulnicura Strings from Björk’s webstore, or on iTunes.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.