"Little Dark Age" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by MGMT | ||||
from the album Little Dark Age | ||||
Released | October 17, 2017 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:59 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Composer(s) | ||||
Lyricist(s) | Andrew VanWyngarden | |||
Producer(s) | ||||
MGMT singles chronology | ||||
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"Little Dark Age" is a song by American rock band MGMT. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Little Dark Age , on October 17, 2017, through Columbia Records. In an interview with Newsweek , Andrew VanWyngarden, the lead vocalist, guitar player and songwriter for the band stated that 1980s Soviet synth-pop was influential to the song. [3]
Leading up to the song's release, the band made several posts on their social media hyping up the album and then upcoming single. On October 12, 2017, the band posted a video clip of the beginning instrumental of the song to their social media with the caption "#LittleDarkAge". "Little Dark Age" was released as a digital single on October 17 through Columbia Records. The song was released with an accompanying music video. [2] [4]
The cover art for the single is taken directly from a work of Japanese manga artist Suehiro Maruo. [5] In the text-bubble, the character states the following: "Oh, OK. It's bad to ask for something without offering something in return. So I will show you some magic. No tricks here. I call this 'Discovery of Africa.'" [6]
"Little Dark Age" received generally positive reviews from critics. Writing for Spin , Jeremy Gordon called the song "grim and playful". He said the song and video were "dark, but only a little, and the vibe feels appropriate for where they are now—older, and without office jobs, but recognizant of what's still gone wrong." [4]
The music video for "Little Dark Age", directed by David MacNutt and Nathaniel Axel, premiered on October 17, 2017. [7] The video was considered out of character and surprisingly gothic for the band. Jeremy Gordon of Spin called the video "Dada-esque". [4] As of August 2022, the video has been viewed over 100 million times through the band's official Vevo account on YouTube. [8]
In late 2020, it experienced a resurgence in popularity due to a viral TikTok trend where hundreds of thousands utilized the song. [9] A report published in August 2021 by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue found that "Little Dark Age" was "by far the most popular Sound among extremist creators on TikTok" and was central to videos promoting "Hyperborea and a wider trend of esoteric Nazism." [10] [11] The song has also been used to soundtrack clips of anime, superhero movies, video games, Renaissance art as well as a wide range of social issues, including transgender rights, the Black Lives Matter movement and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [9]
In 2024, Alexis Petridis of The Guardian wrote: "Certainly its adoption doesn't say much for your average neo-Nazi's ability to understand English. Little Dark Age's lyrics are, fairly obviously, an excoriation of Trump-era America and racist police violence." [12]
Chart (2017) | Peak position |
---|---|
Mexico Ingles Airplay ( Billboard ) [13] | 37 |
US Alternative Digital Songs ( Billboard ) [14] | 23 |
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ( Billboard ) [15] | 32 |
Chart (2021) | Peak position |
---|---|
Lithuania (AGATA) [16] | 85 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
France (SNEP) [17] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
Mexico (AMPROFON) [18] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
Poland (ZPAV) [19] | Platinum | 50,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [20] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [21] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
In the entertainment industry, sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game, or other entertainment product that was unpromising on release but became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have little promotion or lack a successful launch but gradually develops a fandom following media attention, which in turn increases its public exposure and public interest in the product. As Variety puts it, "A 'sleeper hit' can be defined as the kind of show that catches us by surprise—programs whose popularity grows over time and can ultimately outshine the preordained hits." A sleeper hit often lacks star performers or high production values, but prevails, at times against its own makers' expectations, on the strength of such qualities as narrative, approach, or novelty, as well as market accidents. Sleeper hit films benefit theater owners because the owners keep a larger percentage of money from ticket sales.
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