Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
You’ve probably heard at least one song off the pop duo MGMT’s debut album, Oracular Spectacular. The band has gotten lots of positive attention from music critics and its song “Time to Pretend” is so popular that even the President of France, Nikolas Sarkozy, is a fan. But do you know how to pronounce the band’s name?
If not, don’t worry. It’s pretty confusing. “Mgmt” is often short for “management.” But the band members say that’s not how you should pronounce their name. They want you to pronounce the individual letters, like this: “Em-Gee-Em-Tee.”
Now that you know what the band is called, find out what Mason and Marni think about MGMT’s sound.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
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Mason: You know what the song of 2008 was? It was that “doo doo da doo doo…”
Marni: Oh, MGMT?
Mason: That’s right. That’s what they are. So here’s…case in point about the song of like 2008, and it’s kind of spilling over into 2009, but Nikolas Sarkozy used their song at a rally.
Marni: Illegally, apparently. They were not happy with that.
Mason: Right! Which I mean…but a lot of politicians use music. I guess they just license it.
Marni: Apparently. But they’re so catchy. I mean I can see why anyone would want to use it. Because it is…I don’t know, they’ve just kind of blown up with this funky, noisy…It’s really great dance music. I mean whenever I see a dance mix lately it’s got MGMT on it.
Mason: Well what’s the rest of their stuff like? ‘Cause that one song, it’s just got that great hook.
Marni: It’s got a great hook. They’ve got some really, really catchy songs. I think that they’re a great band to listen to recorded and great to listen to…like if you wanna dance. But I can’t imagine what they would look like live. They’re just a duo doing synthesized music.
Mason: I tell you what. I’d be curious enough to check it out.
Marni: As would I.
Grammar Point
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Discussion
Mason thinks that the MGMT song “Time to Pretend” was the song of 2008 because it was such a big hit. He and Marni agree that it’s a really catchy song that’s fun to dance to. They’re also curious to see the band live.
Mason also says that the French president, Nikolas Sarkozy, used “Time to Pretend” at a political rally. It’s not uncommon for politicians to use popular songs to gain support and improve their image. Sometimes musicians even publicly support their favorite political candidates. But Sarkozy used MGMT’s song without permission.
If you were running for political office, what song would you play at your rallies?
Comments
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China |
thanks for the vocabulary |
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Brazil |
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Brazil |
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Aruba |
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Brazil |
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Saudi Arabia |
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Brazil |
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Brazil |
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Moldova, Republic Of |
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Moldova, Republic Of |
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Moldova, Republic Of |
If I am a pollitician I would use at a rally the following song – Axwell & Bob Sinclar Feat. Ron Carroll – What A Wonderful World. There are such fantastic positive words there and cool music. Does somebody support my choise? |
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Germany |
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Mexico |
i shall listen some songs , and later will come back to let my opinion. |
i havent heard these dou , but according from the commnets they are cool. |
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China |
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Philippines |
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Qatar |
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