MGMT - CD Cover

MGMT – Congratulations

Image

Mise en Scene

Colour – The use of colours like purple, blue and green all work well together which suggests that the band themselves work together. Also the colours are very bright and will draw people’s attention to the CD when it is on the shelf. The bright colours also make a statement and this links in well with the genre. However the inlay contrasts completely as we see the band and the dominant colour is brown. This has connotations of warmth which suggests that the band are friendly, laid back and warm which will appeal to the audience.

Positioning – The central image appears to be a cartoon surfing the sea. This use of a cartoon as the central image indicates that the band themselves are laid back, fun and don’t take themselves too seriously. This will appeal to people, as they will seem likable. The inlay has the band positioned casually in the room, which again anchors the idea that they don’t take themselves too seriously. Also there are dogs in the room with them and this again suggests that the band do not value themselves higher than anyone including animals.

Copy

Font – The font is plain and simple, this is important because the band obviously doesn’t want to over complicate their covers. Perhaps because its already bright and colourful and they still want to enforce that they are an indie band and that they maintain this lack of care for fame and fortune and glamour.

Colour – The colour of the font is black for the entire font used. In some places its bolder to emphasise particular words. The significance of this is that the black stands out from the white background which makes it clear and simple and at the same time could represent that the band want to stand out from the crowd and make a statement – which links in with the indie genre.

Genre

The elements communicate the genre but this cover has used a different approach. This cover maintains a use of bright colours to represent this standing out from the crowd idea and the to enforce that the bands music is indie and will not be typical chart pop music. Yet at the same time it uses a white background with black text which reinforces the simple idea and the fact that the band don’t want to conform to one colour and become routine, instead they want to embrace the genre of indie as it is a broad genre with many opportunities for artists.

Target Audience

The target audience seems to be younger people mainly anchored by the fact that the band has used cartoons as their front cover. Also indie tends to appeal to young people who are still ‘finding themselves’ and feel like they don’t want to follow trends all the time. Therefore music is often a way of expressing individuality.

Mode of Address

The front cover uses the colour and quirky, loud image to grab the audience’s attention and address them directly in this way. Then inside the image of the band where some of them are looking at the audience means that its personal because the audience are directly addressed yet its not in your face or forced because they all aren’t just staring out at you. This makes the mood and tone of the image much more laid back which suggests that that is also the attitude of the band members.

Tagline/Title/Name

The name of the band is “MGMT” which doesn’t seem to have any specific meaning or significance to people, which creates an air of mystery. It also makes them quirky fitting in well with the genre of indie.

The name of the album is “Congratulations” which is a word associated with achievement, success and celebration suggests that the band have positive attitudes and outlooks. Also they may feel that their album is a huge achievement to them indicating how important their music is to them over the fame and fortune. This makes the band seem more real and knowable.

Blurb/Inlay

The inlay is simplistic and just plain white then all of the lyrics are written in a black simple font for each song. The significance of this is to place more emphasis on the bands music without drawing attention away from it. It shows their passion for their music as they are not willing to draw attention from it by putting silly cartoons around it. When it comes to their music it means a lot to them and the band feel like the music itself is enough to fill the page and that images and special fonts are of little importance.

Representation

Gender – The band is all male. The fact that a cartoon was used on the front cover perhaps represents the stereotypical view of males being into technology and electronic gadgets and video games. The costumes that the band is wearing are posh and smart which suggest an air of dominance to them, which anchors the idea of the patriarchal society that we live in.

Enigma

The enigma comes mainly from the front cover as it is just an image, it doesn’t have the band name or name of the album on it so people are more likely to pick it up to find out who the artist is. Especially since it is so bright and eye catching its hard to ignore on the shelf.

How are these ingredients common within the specific genre/subgenre?

The quirky style of the cover is very common within the indie genre. Also the idea of the band being very laid back and nonchalant in their approach to music is very typical. The emphasis on the music and the importance that it has is central to many indie artists as they focus more on the passion and enjoyment for music rather than the aspiration for fame and fortune.