Let’s say, hypothetically, you’re among the freshman music majors at an eclectic Northeastern liberal arts college. As creative and artsy kids are apt to do, you collaborate with friends in your spare time, experimenting with replicating and recreating different genres, and generally having fun and being silly. You’re certainly not working in earnest; it’s all a bit tongue-in-cheek, self deprecating and playful. Somehow, this hobby develops into a real band (albeit a weird one) and you begin building steady word-of-mouth hype for the catchy electronic pop you’ve developed.

"It started out as a complete joke," confessed MGMT’s Ben Goldwasser back when the album first started making waves. “It was kind of funny seeing how other people would try and gauge their reactions by us; like, they seemed like they were trying to work out whether we took ourselves seriously or not. It left people feeling very confused. That’s something that we’ve always enjoyed doing: confusing people.”

This project becomes your senior thesis, which morphs into an EP and then a full-on album that catches the attention of Columbia Records. Suddenly, you’re opening for established artists like of Montreal, Radiohead and Beck, and drawing respectable audiences at summer music festivals. Within months, this whirlwind lands you triumphantly on the shoulders of Spin, Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Pitchfork, who shout praises and hail your group as the next "it" band. You culminate this surreal meteoric rise with a 2009 Grammy win, and two nominations in 2010.

“Hipster Poster Children” was a designation MGMT didn’t necessarily want or expect, and their response is Congratulations.

This article appears in Apr 21-27, 2010.