Benjamin Goldwasser

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Benjamin Goldwasser
Goldwasser performing at Red Rocks in 2010.jpg
Goldwasser performing in 2010
Background information
Birth nameBenjamin Nicholas Hunter Goldwasser
Born (1982-12-17) December 17, 1982 (age 41)
Mishawaka, Indiana, U.S.
Origin Westport, New York, U.S.
Genres Neo-psychedelia, new wave, synth-pop, art rock, alternative rock
Occupation(s)Singer, musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, keyboards, sampling, guitar, percussion
Years active2002–present
Labels Columbia, Red Ink (an imprint of Columbia Records), Cantora

Benjamin Nicholas Hunter Goldwasser [1] (born December 17, 1982) is an American songwriter and musician in the psychedelic rock band MGMT, for which he primarily plays keyboards and sings. In 2009, his song "Electric Feel" (co-written with bandmate Andrew VanWyngarden), remixed by Justice, won a Grammy Award in the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical category. [2] In 2010, his band was nominated for a Grammy as Best New Artist and Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. [3]

Contents

Life and career

Goldwasser was born in Mishawaka, Indiana, [4] the son of Rachel Hunter and David Goldwasser. [5] [6] He was raised in Westport, New York. [2] [7] Goldwasser is Jewish on his father's side. [8] When he was age 11, he saw Adrian Belew live in concert and met guitarist Rob Fetters backstage. [7] He began piano lessons with his grandmother and mother, played in his high school's jazz band, and attended a "rock and roll camp" in Montpelier, Vermont. [7] One of his musical influences in high school was the electronic protopunk band Suicide. [9]

Goldwasser (left) in 2008 with bandmate Andrew VanWyngarden MGMT.jpg
Goldwasser (left) in 2008 with bandmate Andrew VanWyngarden

MGMT: 2004–present

Goldwasser met Andrew VanWyngarden, the other half of MGMT, in his freshman year at Wesleyan University. [10] Goldwasser was studying music at the time. [11] While in college, he was a member of the Eclectic Society. [12] He helped run the society's music venue (a room in the house). Goldwasser, already a keyboardist, took experimental music classes from composer Ron Kuivila with VanWyngarden which exposed them to progressive musical ideas. [13] They made their debut as MGMT at a party in a college dormitory (playing the theme to the movie Ghostbusters over and over for hours). [14] The duo would email one another and sign the emails "The MGMT" as a way of satirizing corporate culture. [10] [15] They chose this email signature line as the name of their new band. [15]

After graduating from college in 2005, [4] Goldwasser and VanWyngarden moved to New York City, experimenting with music and building a band. [13] They immediately went on tour, opening for Of Montreal. [4] But no record deal came, and the band was on hiatus by 2006. [16] Goldwasser began working on a farm and was intending to move to California when the duo was signed by Columbia Records. [15] The band's 2008 release for the label Oracular Spectacular was a major success. [17] However, the band's sudden success, Goldwasser says, put a serious strain on his friendship with VanWyngarden for a time. [18] The band released its album Congratulations in April 2010 to generally positive reviews. [19] Additionally, in 2013, they released their third studio album, self-titled MGMT. In 2014, Ben, along with psychedelic band Foxygen was featured on The Flaming Lips cover album With a Little Help from My Fwends on track 12. In 2021, Goldwasser and Karen O composed the music for the animated film Where Is Anne Frank .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MGMT</span> American rock band

MGMT is an American rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by singers and multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser.

<i>Oracular Spectacular</i> 2007 studio album by MGMT

Oracular Spectacular is the debut studio album by the American band MGMT, released on October 2, 2007, by RED Ink and physically on January 22, 2008, by Columbia. It was produced by Dave Fridmann and is the band's first release of new content, being recorded from March to April 2007. Promotion for the album started as early as June 2007, when the song "Weekend Wars" was given away in summer issues of free monthly magazine Nöjesguiden in Stockholm, Sweden. Matching CDs could be picked up for free in all stores in three different shopping malls around Stockholm from June 26 to July 31. The album was also promoted with three singles: "Time to Pretend", "Electric Feel" and "Kids". Both "Time to Pretend" and "Kids" were re-recorded for the album; they were originally included on the band's previous release Time to Pretend (2005), with the opening track serving as a "mission statement" and the theme continuing through the album's subsequent tracks.

<i>Time to Pretend</i> (EP) 2005 EP by The Management

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric Feel</span> 2008 single by MGMT

"Electric Feel" is a song by the American rock band MGMT, released as the second single from their debut studio album Oracular Spectacular (2007) on June 23, 2008. The single was released as a 7" and CD single, and later on 12" vinyl. "Electric Feel" was released to radio on July 29, 2008. The song's second video features The Rock-afire Explosion. The song is primarily in 6
4 time, with an instrumental bridge in 4
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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kids (MGMT song)</span> 2008 single by MGMT

"Kids" is a song by American rock band MGMT. It was released as the third and final single from their debut studio album Oracular Spectacular (2007) on October 13, 2008. The version of the song that appears on Oracular Spectacular is updated from earlier versions that appear on the band's EPs Time to Pretend (2005) and We (Don't) Care (2004). A track entitled "Kids " appears on the album Climbing to New Lows (2005). At the 52nd Grammy Awards, it was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The song was created to mock how effortlessly pop-music can be made, and first played, by then students, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser, at Wesleyan University event in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew VanWyngarden</span> American musician (born 1983)

Andrew Wells VanWyngarden is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitar player and songwriter for the band MGMT, praised for "an uncanny knack for producing pop music that sounds as if it were filtered through a kaleidoscope." One of his songs, "Kids", received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, while the duo was nominated in the Best New Artist category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MGMT discography</span>

The discography of indie rock band MGMT consists of five studio albums, one compilation album, one demo album, four extended plays, eleven singles and fourteen music videos. Originally known under the name The Management, the group was founded in 2002 by Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser during their freshman year as art students at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. After graduating and changing the band's name to MGMT, they released an EP titled Time to Pretend in 2005 through the independent record label Cantora Records; music videos were recorded for two of the EP's songs, "Boogie Down" and "Destrokk". The critical success of the EP and extensive touring brought the group to the attention of Columbia Records, which signed them in 2006.

<i>Congratulations</i> (album) 2010 studio album by MGMT

Congratulations is the second studio album by American rock band MGMT. It was initially made available for free streaming through the band's website on March 20, 2010, prior to its official release on April 13 through Columbia Records. The album marks a departure from the synth-pop style that brought MGMT acclaim on their debut, Oracular Spectacular, released three years prior, and features a more psychedelic, progressive and guitar-driven sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flash Delirium</span> 2010 single by MGMT

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congratulations (MGMT song)</span> 2010 single by MGMT

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References

  1. ↑ "Songs by Writer". SESAC. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "What's News." Burlington Free Press. February 10, 2009.
  3. ↑ Sisario, Ben. "Grammys' Weight Is Now Measured In Face Time." New York Times. January 29, 2010; Peerless, Beth. "Neo-Psychedelic/Alternative Pop Band MGMT Plays Santa Cruz on May 29." Monterey County Herald. April 22, 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Couch, Rachel. "MGMT Brings the Quirks on 'Oracular'." Daily Cavalier. January 31, 2008.
  5. ↑ Yannelis, Eleni (May 26, 2009). "Paternal spectacular: MGMT's Uni connection". Online Gargoyle. Archived from the original on February 27, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  6. ↑ Reiner, Alvin (January 6, 2008). "Local musician to appear on Letterman". Press-Republican . Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 Pollak, Sally. "A Spectacular Show." Burlington Free Press. April 12, 2008.
  8. ↑ Lester, Paul (March 20, 2008). "The hippies whp are hip". The Jewish Chronicle . Retrieved May 2, 2012.
  9. ↑ Davis, Hays. "On Time With MGMT." Richmond Times Dispatch. July 26, 2008.
  10. 1 2 Perry, Jonathan. "Year of the Brats." Boston Globe. February 8, 2008.
  11. ↑ Powell, Austin. "MGMT, Yeasayer." Houston Press. January 17, 2008.
  12. ↑ Black, Cristina (August 4, 2009). "The Wesleyan Mafia: MGMT, Boy Crisis, Amazing Baby". Village Voice. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011.
  13. 1 2 Lanham, Tom. "MGMT Gets Down to Business at Bottom of the Hill." Inside Bay Area. January 25, 2008.
  14. ↑ Danton, Eric R. "Ambitious, Ambiguous Duo." Hartford Courant. January 3, 2008.
  15. 1 2 3 Donahue, Michael. "Messin' With People's Heads." The Commercial Appeal. January 11, 2008.
  16. ↑ Gottlieb, Jed. "MGMT Training." Boston Herald. February 7, 2008.
  17. ↑ Caballero, Martin. "MGMT's Free Online Offer Worthy of 'Congratulations'." Boston Herald. March 25, 2010.
  18. ↑ Evan Haga (August 12, 2010). "MGMT summons the '60s". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 24, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Congratulations Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
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