Selling out by ironically trying to not sell out: An open letter to MGMT

Dear MGMT,

Last friday night, three friends and I tried our best to dress like we hadn’t tried too hard and walked up to the Greek Theater in LA to see your show.  Now, I like your music, but I will admit that I am more of a casual fan than an aficionado: I have five of your songs on my iTunes, as well as two mash ups (my boyfriend really likes mashups.)  I didn’t really know much about your second album, as there haven’t really been any radio hits off of it (and, unfortunately, I’m totally uncool and the extent of my knowledge of new music comes from the radio or what Pandora thinks I might like). So the day of the concert I went through the whole album on iTunes and listened to the 30 second previews, because I wanted to be more familiar with your work before showing up to your concert.  Nothing really grabbed me enough to download. That was okay, though;  I could still go and see some cool, smart kids rocking out on stage, as well as hear a few favorites performed live.

The concert was fine; you played songs I knew and liked intermixed with things I didn’t know so well, that were a little harder, but worked well live (especially after I finished my extra-large beer.)  I could have used a little more audience interaction but, hey, everyone has their own style.  As expected (and anticipated), you closed with your most well known song, Kids.  This is where things took a seriously sour turn.  About a minute into the song, I noticed that there was keyboard music, but the keyboardist wasn’t play.  The others in my party were noticing the same thing: no one on stage was playing their instruments, you were all just dancing around, occasionally throwing your used water bottles (um, yuck?) to the crowd.  Basically, you were making it quite clear to anyone paying half an iota of attention that we were paying to watch you dance to your cd played over the sound system. 

I don’t even remember what happened in the encore.  The entire 2-3 songs you were out there, all I could do was not clap and try to see if you were faking those songs as well, or if you were actually playing.  I became suspicious of your whole show!  I essentially left the concert feeling like I’d wasted my $40.  Boo.

When I got home, of course, I went to the Google and tried to find out what had been going on.  What I learned when searching “MGMT doesn’t play kids” (which my browser automatically filled in for me… wow, that’s not a good sign) was that you refused to play Kids at Cochella, as well as a few other venues, saying that you had “moved on.”*

So here’s what I think happened: You guys are “artists” and are all about the music, not the money, so you wanted to distance yourself from your past work so you could move forward.  I get that: as a fellow artist, I know that looking back on my past work, it’s really difficult to see past the mistakes and not think how much better I could have done it if I could redo it now, with more skills and knowledge.  And, I mean, only sellouts play music for the money, right?  In fact, if you kept playing Kids that would just prove you were sellouts.  Whoa, dude, I totally feel you; we gotta stop playin’ Kids or we gunna loose mad respects from the ironic mustache club!!!

Unfortunately, I’m gunna guess that this didn’t go over so well with the concert promoters: If you piss off enough people on the internet, it’s gunna get out there, and that’s going to hurt ticket sales.  I can picture the scene: Y’all are chillin’, comparing Ray Bans, when an overweight, cigar-smoking promoter in a plaid jacket bursts into the room and yells at you until his tomato-ey head is about to burst. You tell him to chill, but he threatens to cancel the rest of your tour dates for the summer and storms out of the room.  You are stunned to silence; you love the music, but you also got to pay for those Ray Bans somehow.  You come up with the perfect solution: Let the audience listen to what they want (Kids) but don’t actually play it!!!  ZOMG!!!?!?! Perfect.

Wrong.  In a superb twist of irony (I assume as educated, po-mo rockers you know what that is in the non-mustachioed sense) your solution to not sell out made you into the biggest sellouts ever!  You’re playing A CD player plays Kids JUST for the money, because if you didn’t you wouldn’t sell concert tickets. And lord knows, you gotta sell them tickets.  And all this because you think you’ve outgrown what Rolling Stone called one of the top 100 songs of the decade? 

I’m not going to say fans are always right (as mentioned above, I really knew nothing about your second album and I was basically just there to here you play those old faves; music snob I am not) but your fans did make you successful.  So sure, don’t write a song because you think it’s what the masses want, but pay some respect to the people who allow you to pay for a tiny old woman to sew you into your mind-bogglingly tight pants every day.  Without them, you’d be just like the rest of us struggling artists: sitting in your small, non-ACed apartment writing blog entries to famous people who will never read them.

Appreciate what you have, MGMT, you’re the lucky ones.

Most sincerely,

Kelly Morr

*There’s also a lot of gossip out there saying that you lip synched on SNL… I’m not going to go into that here, but it doesn’t help your reputation, fellas. 

Restaurant Review: JiRaffe in Santa Monica

My Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dono were in town this weekend and were kind enough to take me and my two cousins, Kevin and Dan, out to an amazing dinner at JiRaffe, which is at 5th and Santa Monica Blvd, just off the Promenade in Santa Monica.

First Courses (shared between all at the table):

• Roasted Beet Salad (Caramelized walnuts, dried bing cherries, goat cheese cream, banyuls-ginger vinaigrette) - I don’t love beets, but this was good! It came as a pretty sort of jello-looking cylinder in the center of a well designed plate. It was topped by the goat cream cheese and the other ingredients were artfully piled around the circumference. The beets themselves were surprisingly sweet, and melted in your mouth when paired with the creamy and slightly salty goat cheese. Of the three appetizers, this was definitely the prettiest to look at.
• Roasted Pear Salad (Mixed greens, hazelnuts, fourme d’ambert cheese, roasted pears, sherry-hazelnut vinaigrette) - This salad sounded really delicious on the menu, and it was the dish that I chose. As such, when it arrived and was good overall, I was not surprised. But I was also not blown away by its innovation. The cheese was by far the best part of the dish. It was the perfect taste and texture - a little crumbly and soft (though not too soft), and just pungent enough (fourme d’ambert is a type of blue) to contrast perfectly with the sweet sweet pears. I would order this again because I like this kind of salad, but it’s nothing to blow your culinary socks off.
• Lobster Ravioli (A daily special; just what it sounds like with some sort of red sauce on top) - Again, like with the beets, I don’t really eat seafood. Like ever. I just don’t enjoy the taste. That being said, by the time the appetizers had arrived I’d already had two cocktails and a half glass of wine, so I was in a slightly more adventurous gastronomic mood than usual, so I figured I had to try at least a bite of everything. I was pleasantly surprised! The seafood taste wasn’t overwhelming, and the pasta and sauce were very good. Not sure if I would have eaten a whole serving by myself, but I actually enjoyed my ravioli! (Does ravioli refer to both the singular and plural?) If you’re even slightly more of a seafood person than I am, you will definitely like this dish!

Entrée:

• 10 oz. Prime NY Bistro Steak (Potato puree, roasted cherry tomatoes, sautéed fennel, roasted shitake mushroom, white wine veal reduction) - In the last few years I’ve started ordering steak a lot when I go out to fancy meals. I rarely cook red meat for myself, so I guess I sort of see it as a special treat on these occasions! I was not disappointed by the steak at JiRaffe! I ordered it medium and it came out perfectly - not too bloody, but still pink enough to be tender and retain the taste. It was stacked on top of the potato puree, which was to die for! So smooth and buttery. Mmm… it just melted in your mouth. The sauce was the perfect compliment - adding that nice flavor and acidity without overwhelming the natural flavors of the meat. I even ventured (now another glass of wine in) to try the tomatoes! (I don’t generally like raw tomatoes - something about the texture bothers me - and though slightly roasted, these little buggers were not as cooked as I generally like my half-fruit/half-vegetables.) They were decent - juicy and flavorful - but I didn’t finish them all because I still got that weird slimy seedy texture that icks me out. The only downside to this dish was the mound of onions they slapped on the plate. They weren’t mixed with anything and didn’t have any particular flavor. Again, personal preference, I don’t love onions. (This review makes it sound like I’m really picky. I’m totally not, onions, tomatoes, and seafood are really the only three hang ups I have and they all happened to be involved in this meal!) I tried a few with bites of my steak and potatoes, but they didn’t add anything to the flavor or meal (also, it seemed strange that they were so copious on the plate but not mentioned at all in the menu’s description!) Overall, I highly recommend this dish!
• I didn’t try any of the other entrées, but people in our party got the Caramelized Pork Chop (Long grain wild rice, smoked bacon, spiced apple chutney, aged cider sauce) and the special Seafood Risotto (A variety of seafood and shellfish mixed into a risotto!) and they all enjoyed their meals - the two people who got the pork chops were especially complementary.

Dessert (shared between all at the table):

• Warm Chocolate Truffle Cake (With vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce) - Each of the cousins picked a dessert for the table to share. This was my selection, mostly because I adore raspberries, especially when paired with chocolate. The presentation of this dish was really fun - it came with a mini chocolate replica of the Eiffel tower stuck into the ice cream, and the cake was perfectly round and delicious looking. Taste-wise, it was good (can you go wrong with chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, and raspberries?) but not great. The raspberry sauce was very mild and so didn’t add quite enough tart to the sweetness of the cake. If I make it to JiRaffe again I will probably select something else to end the night.
  
• Brownie Cappuccino Cheesecake (Cappuccino cheesecake with brownie on the bottom) - Again, good, but not the absolute best I’ve ever had. I’m a HUGE cheesecake fan, and I think this one was just a little too cappuccino-y and not enough cheesecake-y for my well developed cheesecake palate (I ate an entire cheesecake by myself at age 2. I think I know what I’m talking about.) I’m not sure I ever made it to the brownie at the bottom. It was all very very rich.
• Duo of Crème Brulee (Tahitian vanilla and manjari chocolate served with vanilla hazelnut and chocolate pecan biscotti) - If I ever get the chance to go back to JiRaffe, I think this is the dessert I will get. You get two smaller crème brulees in their own separate dishes. The chocolate one is very rich (I’ve never had chocolate crème brulee before!) and the vanilla is just amazing… the perfect combination of the crisp outer shell and soft and creamy interior. It was topped with raspberries, which added the perfect tartness when paired with a bite of the vanilla!

Drinks:

• Blood Orange Cosmopolitan - I asked the waiter for an interesting cocktail recommendation and he did not steer me wrong! Seriously, this is one of the best things I’ve ever tasted - almost no bitter alcoholly taste, but not too sweet like some fruity cocktails. Amazing Amazing Amazing.
• 2006 Stags’ Leap Petite Sirah - Kathy chose this and I quite enjoyed it. I’m still learning about wines, so I’m not sure I can give a particularly eloquent review, but I will say if I can ever afford to purchase a bottle again, I will. And a quick shout out to Jeremy’s Drync Wine App for the iPhone, without which I would never remember what I drank where, nor what I thought about the things I did get the chance to drink!

If it weren’t midnight I’d come up with a wittier way to say that this section is the conclusion:

JiRaffe is one of the top 5 places I’ve eaten in LA since I’ve moved here. There wasn’t any part of the meal that disappointed me. Now, if only I had more benevolant relatives who wanted to fly in for the weekend and treat me to meals I can’t afford on my own…!