Little Dark Age (song)

"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.

"Little Dark Age"
Single by MGMT
from the album Little Dark Age
ReleasedOctober 17, 2017
Genre
Length4:59
LabelColumbia
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Andrew VanWyngarden
Producer(s)
MGMT singles chronology
"Your Life Is a Lie"
(2013)		 "Little Dark Age"
(2017)		 "When You Die"
(2017)

Release

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][3]

Composition

The song is composed in the key of F-sharp minor, in a sixteenth note pattern.[4][5]

Artwork

The cover art for the single is taken directly from a work of Japanese manga artist Suehiro Maruo.[6] 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.'"[7]

Critical reception

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."[3] In late 2020, it experienced a resurgence in popularity due to a viral TikTok trend where hundreds of thousands utilized the song.[8][9]

Music video

The music video for "Little Dark Age", directed by David MacNutt and Nathaniel Axel, premiered on October 17, 2017.[10] The video was considered out of character and surprisingly gothic for the band. Jeremy Gordon of Spin called the video "Dada-esque".[3] The video has been viewed over 30 million times through the band's official Vevo account on YouTube.[11]

Charts
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[12] 37
US Alternative Digital Songs (Billboard)[13] 23
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[14] 32

References
  1. Witmer, Phil (October 17, 2017). "MGMT Return as True Goths for Spooky Synth-Banger "Little Dark Age"". Noisey. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  2. Lozano, Kevin (October 17, 2017). "MGMT - "Little Dark Age"". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  3. Gordon, Jeremy (October 17, 2017). "MGMT's Comeback Single Little Dark Age" Is Grim And Playful". Spin. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  4. "MGMT - Little Dark Age Chords - Chordify". chordify.net. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  5. Lemons, Devg (2020-10-27), Let’s talk about "Little Dark Age" by MGMT! (video), retrieved 2020-11-01
  6. "LDA Artwork Source • r/mgmt". Reddit.
  7. https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/2017-10/24/5/asset/buzzfeed-prod-fastlane-03/sub-buzz-8384-1508838211-1.png
  8. Gnewikow, Tara (2020-10-30). "REVIEW: 10 Songs for your Halloween playlist that aren't 'Monster Mash'". The State Hornet. Retrieved 2020-11-01.
  9. little dark age by MGMT | Popular songs on TikTok, 2020-09-02, retrieved 2020-11-01
  10. Blais-Billie, Braudie (October 17, 2017). "Watch MGMT's Video for New Song "Little Dark Age"". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  11. "MGMT - Little Dark Age (Video)". Youtube. MGMTMusic. 2017-10-17. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  12. "MGMT Chart History (Mexico Ingles Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  13. "MGMT Chart History (Alternative Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  14. "MGMT Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
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