LCD Soundsystem | ||
| Allmusic Biography : LCD Soundsystem debuted with "Losing My Edge," a single that became one of the most talked-about indie releases of 2002. A self-effacing spoof of the outrageous pissing contests that often occur whenever music geeks cross paths ("I was at the first Can show in Cologne," etc.) laid over a puttering electronic beat with the occasional bursts of discoid clatter, the track was also one of the first released on the DFA label. Several magazines and newspapers would eventually declare James Murphy, the man behind both LCD Soundsystem and DFA, to be one of the coolest people on the planet. Years of obscurity and the occasional poor decision preceded this. Just before Murphy began to cut his teeth in the 90s, first as a member of Pony (an average post-hardcore band with heavy debts to its inspirations) and then with Speedking (a much stronger, more unique band), he passed up the opportunity to write for the popular sitcom Seinfeld. All the time spent toiling in indie rock took a toll on Murphy, but he built his own studio and became increasingly adept at engineering and producing other bands. While working on David Holmes Bow Down to the Exit Sign, he struck up a relationship with programmer/producer Tim Goldsworthy that developed into a partnership. By the end of 2002, there were several releases on Murphy and Goldsworthys DFA label, most of which involved the duo in some capacity. LCDs "Losing My Edge," backed with an excellent neo-post-punk dance track called "Beat Connection," was one of them. Murphy eventually scattered three other LCD singles through the end of 2004 and released the full-length LCD Soundsystem in January 2005. At the time of its release, the DFA label was more popular than ever; Murphy and Goldsworthy had remixes for Metro Area, N.E.R.D., Le Tigre, and Junior Senior behind them, as well as failed sessions with Britney Spears that might have benefited from an interpreter. Janet Jackson was another unlikely admirer seeking the duos assistance, but Murphy didnt bother to follow up on her request. Murphy did respond to Nike, who commissioned him to record a lengthy piece of music as part of a promotion. 45:33, released in October 2006, was aimed at joggers, but Murphy later confessed that he didnt jog himself -- mixed martial arts were more his thing, he claimed -- and was driven by the opportunity to make something in the vein of Manuel Göttschings early-80s electronic landmark E2-E4. (DFA would later issue 45:33 on CD, breaking the track into six parts and adding three additional cuts.) The second proper LCD Soundsystem album, Sound of Silver, was released in March 2007. It contained Murphys most affecting songwriting and peaked within the Top 50 of the Billboard 200. Led by the single "Drunk Girls" and an accompanying Spike Jonze-directed video, LCD Soundsystems third studio album, This Is Happening, was released three years later. Riding high on the acclaim the album garnered, the band toured the world with fellow dance-pop group Hot Chip for much of 2010. While in London on June 29 of that year, the group recorded a full-band session at Miloco Studio. The freewheeling recording of the show was released by DFA as London Sessions in January of 2011. Right around this time, Murphy announced that he was retiring the LCD Soundsystem name. The band played a farewell show at a sold-out Madison Square Garden in New York on April 2, 2011 and released the set the following year as The Long Goodbye: LCD Soundsystem Live at Madison Square Garden. In the years following, Murphy kept very busy with a variety of projects. He produced Arcade Fires Reflektor, remixed a David Bowie track, designed special 11-foot tall speakers for DJs, created his own brand of coffee, opened a wine bar, and did the score for Noah Baumbachs film When We Were Young. In late 2015, rumors began circulating that LCD was re-forming, but these were quickly shot down by the bands label, DFA. These denials proved to be a smoke screen and the group issued a new single, "Christmas Will Break Your Heart," before the years end. Soon after, they announced plans to headline Coachella, play a series of live dates, and release a new album in 2016. While the effort did not materialize that year, LCD did deliver a pair of songs in May 2017, "Call the Police" and "American Dream." They proved to be the first singles from American Dream, the bands fourth proper album. Featuring Murphy playing most of the instruments, with help from live bandmembers multi-instrumentalist Al Doyle, vocalist Nancy Whang, keyboardist Gavin Russom, bassist Tyler Pope, and drummer Pat Mahoney, the record was released in September of 2017 by the bands new label home Columbia. It was their first album to reach the top of the Billboard Charts and the song "Tonite" won a 2018 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. While the band was out touring the world behind the album, they stopped at Electric Lady Studios in New York to record part of their live set (along with covers of Heaven 17s "(We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" and the Human Leagues "Seconds") for posterity under the title Electric Lady Sessions. The LP was released in early 2019 by DFA. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 16 Title: LCD Soundsystem Released: 2005-01-19 Tracks: 10 Duration: 56:27 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Daft Punk Is Playing at My House (05:16) 2 Too Much Love (05:42) 3 Tribulations (04:59) 4 Movement (03:04) 5 Never as Tired as When I’m Waking Up (04:49) 6 On Repeat (08:01) 7 Thrills (03:42) 8 Disco Infiltrator (04:56) 9 Great Release (06:35) 10 Yr Citys a Sucker (09:19) |
| LCD Soundsystem : Allmusic album Review : If a music-nerd version of Animal House set in 2005 is ever made, "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" -- the boisterous opener of LCD Soundsystem -- would make an ideal theme song for the fraternity on which it is based. The self-conscious, awkward music obsessives pledging into this fraternity would have to pass a complex trivia test, own a compulsory list of records, and, as a hazing ritual, ask to dance with someone in public. If LCD Soundsystems James Murphy were the least bit open to the concept, he could be the fraternitys advisor. Judging from a handful of singles and this album, hed be more than qualified. His first A-side, 2002s "Losing My Edge," laid all his cards on the table, name-checking nearly everything that has been branded indispensable by a record store clerk during the past 20 years. This is someone who clearly owns tons of records and cannot escape them when making his own music. Acid house, post-punk, garage rock, psychedelic pop, and at least a dozen other things factor into his songs, and hes not afraid to be obvious. On occasion, he doesnt even allow fellow nerds to play guessing games. This is the case with "Never As Tired As When Im Waking Up" -- drowsy/dazed John Lennon vibes through and through -- as well as the drifting/uplifting "The Great Release" -- an alternate closer to either of Brian Enos first two solo records. Otherwise, Murphys songs cough up references from his subconscious or are put together as if hes thinking more like a DJ, finding ways to combine elements from disparate sources. "Movement" careens into high-energy guitar squall after a pounding beat and cranky synths; "On Repeat" happily replicates the scratches and jabs of guitar heard from A Certain Ratio, PiL, and Gang of Four, but its mechanical pulse and curveball synth effects couldnt be any more distanced from those three groups. Nothing here exceeds the brilliance of "Beat Connection" or "Yeah." Like just about everybody else these days, Murphys more skilled at creating isolated tracks than making full-lengths, even though this particular full-length has few weak spots and unfolds smoothly as you listen to it from beginning to end. The bonus disc, containing all the stray single tracks, adds a great deal of value. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 16 Title: Introns Released: 2006-03-13 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:04:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Yr Citys a Sucker (05:28) 2 Daft Punk Is Playing at My House (Soulwax Shibuya mix) (06:33) 3 Disco Infiltrator (FKs Infiltrated vocal) (07:46) 4 Disco Infiltrator (FKs Infiltrated dub) (07:18) 5 Slowdive (XFM session) (04:10) 6 Tribulations (Tigas Out of the Trance Closet mix) (06:03) 7 Tribulations (Lindstrøm mix) (07:56) 8 On Repeat (XFM session) (06:48) 9 Thrills (XFM session) (03:32) 10 Too Much Love (Rub n Tug mix) (08:30) |
 | Album: 3 of 16 Title: 45:33 Released: 2006-10-17 Tracks: 9 Duration: 1:11:51 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 45:33 (part 1) (02:51) 2 45:33 (part 2) (06:30) 3 45:33 (part 3) (08:29) 4 45:33 (part 4) (10:42) 5 45:33 (part 5) (09:17) 6 45:33 (part 6) (08:13) 7 Freak Out / Starry Eyes (12:21) 8 North American Scum (Onanistic dub) (08:57) 9 Hippie Priest Bum-Out (04:28) |
 | Album: 4 of 16 Title: Sound of Silver Released: 2007-03-07 Tracks: 9 Duration: 55:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Get Innocuous! (07:11) 2 Time to Get Away (04:11) 3 North American Scum (05:25) 4 Someone Great (06:25) 5 All My Friends (07:37) 6 Us v Them (08:29) 7 Watch the Tapes (03:55) 8 Sound of Silver (07:07) 9 New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down (05:35) |
| Sound of Silver : Allmusic album Review : Compared to the first LCD Soundsystem album, Sound of Silver is less silly, funnier, less messy, sleeker, less rowdy, more fun, less distanced, more touching. It is just as linked to James Murphys record collection, with traces of post-punk, disco, Krautrock, and singer/songwriter schlubs, but the references are evidently harder to pin down; the number of names dropped in the reviews published before its release must triple the amount mentioned throughout "Losing My Edge." Theres even some confusion as to which version of David Bowie is lurking around. One clearly evident aspect of the album is that Murphy has streamlined his sound. All the jagged frays have been removed, replaced by a slightly tidier approach that is more direct and packs more punch. Murphy comes across as a fully naturalized producer of dance music -- especially on "Get Innocuous!" -- as opposed to a product of 90s indie rock who has made a convincing switch-up. And yet, the albums best song is sad, should not be played in any club, and it at least matches the work of any active songwriter who has been praised. "Someone Great," a bittersweet pop song built on swelling synthesizers and a dual vocal-and-glockenspiel melody, could definitely be about a devastating breakup ("To tell the truth I saw it coming/The way you were breathing"), at least until "Youre smaller than my wife imagined/Surprised you were human," which could mean the song either took a turn for the absurd or is about the death (and funeral) of a loved one. Either way, it is the most moving song Murphy has made, and it only helps further the notion that he should be considered a great songwriter, not simply a skilled musician with a few studio tricks and the occasional clever quip. The closer, "New York, I Love You But Youre Bringing Me Down," seals it: "New York, youre perfect, oh please dont change a thing/Your mild billionaire mayors now convinced hes a king/And so the boring collect -- I mean all disrespect/In the neighborhood bars Id once dreamt I would drink." If he keeps it up, hell be writing songs for Pixar by 2020. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 16 Title: A Bunch of Stuff Released: 2007-09-18 Tracks: 6 Duration: 50:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 All My Friends (05:47) 2 Get Innocuous! (Soulwax remix) (10:01) 3 Sound of Silver (Carl Craig C2 remix rev.3) (09:21) 4 Us v Them (Any Color U Like remix by Windsurf) (10:52) 5 Time to Get Away (Gucci Soundsystem remix) (06:49) 6 Us v Them (07:54) |
 | Album: 6 of 16 Title: Someone Great Released: 2007-10-19 Tracks: 6 Duration: 51:28 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify AlbumCover | 1 Someone Great (06:30) 2 Get Innocuous! (Soulwax remix) (10:01) 3 Sound of Silver (C2 remix rev.3) (09:21) 4 Us v Them (Any Color U Like remix by Windsurf) (10:52) 5 Time to Get Away (Gucci Soundsystem remix) (06:50) 6 Us v Them (07:54) |
 | Album: 7 of 16 Title: Confuse The Marketplace Released: 2007-12-11 Tracks: 3 Duration: 22:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Freakout / Starry Eyes (09:06) 2 North American Scum (Onanistic Dub) (08:49) 3 Hippie Priest Bum-Out (04:23) |
 | Album: 8 of 16 Title: 45:33 Remixes Released: 2009-09-14 Tracks: 8 Duration: 1:09:41 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 45:33 (Runaway remix) (07:23) 2 45:33 (Prince Language remix) (07:47) 3 45:33 (Prins Thomas Diskomiks) (13:16) 4 45:33 (Theo Parrishs Space Cadet remix) (10:02) 5 45:33 (TrusMe remix) (07:23) 6 45:33 (Padded Cell remix) (07:54) 7 45:33 (Pilooski remix) (06:49) 8 45:33 (Riley Reinhold remix) (09:04) |
 | Album: 9 of 16 Title: Live at Alexandra Palace: 10-11-2010 Released: 2010 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:19:21 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Dance Yrself Clean (11:08) 2 Drunk Girls (04:28) 3 I Can Change (06:51) 4 Daft Punk Is Playing at My House (05:14) 5 All My Friends (08:11) 6 You Wanted a Hit (07:42) 7 Tribulations (05:03) 8 Movement (04:19) 9 Yeah (11:22) 10 Someone Great (07:42) 11 Home (07:21) |
 | Album: 10 of 16 Title: This Is Happening Released: 2010-05-12 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:18:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dance Yrself Clean (08:56) 2 Drunk Girls (03:42) 3 One Touch (07:45) 4 All I Want (06:41) 5 I Can Change (05:55) 6 You Wanted a Hit (09:06) 7 Pow Pow (08:23) 8 Somebody’s Calling Me (06:53) 9 Home (07:53) 10 No Love Lost (03:30) 11 Throw (10:00) |
| This Is Happening : Allmusic album Review : Following up Sound of Silver was never going to be easy for LCD Soundsystem. There was so much positive reaction from music fans, the press, from everywhere, really, that almost any move James Murphy made was bound to be seen as inferior, or at the very least, flawed in some way. To his credit, he doesn’t try to do anything dramatically different on This Is Happening. There are no attempts to hit the top of the charts (a point made crystal clear in the song “You Wanted a Hit”); conversely, there are no attempts to dirty up the sound or make it more challenging. There are no radically new elements added to the LCD sound, nothing subtracted either. Murphy is definitely a savvy enough musician to know when things have gotten stale and need to be changed up; he at some point must have decided (correctly) that the time for a reboot hadn’t arrived yet for LCD. Another record of long, dancefloor friendly disco-fied jams mixed with punchy rockers and paced with a couple introspective midtempo ballads is still perfectly acceptable, especially when it’s as tightly arranged, energetically played, and thoughtfully constructed as Happening is. Murphy’s highly skilled production is all over the record, from the squelchy layers of synths, the dry punch of the drums, and the tricks and surprises that bring the songs to life, to the way he makes it sound like a live band when it’s just him (though there are the occasional people helping out, most notably Nancy Whang on backing vocals). And while there isn’t a song as staggeringly emotional as Silver’s “All My Friends,” or as simply and heartfelt as its N.Y.C. tribute “New York, I Love You But Youre Bringing Me Down,” Murphy continues to expand as a songwriter and lyricist. He’s still the master of deadly zingers ("Eat it Michael Musto/You’re no Bruce Vilanch") and hilarious streams of lyrical gems (all of “Drunk Girls”), but songs like the nakedly emotional "I Can Change" (which includes the sweetly romantic plea for someone to “bore me and hold me and cling to my arm”) and the insistently melancholy “Somebody’s Calling Me” show continued growth and impressive range. Of course, if you aren’t all that interested in lyrics, artistic growth, and feelings, you can just crank up songs like "One Touch," "Pow Wow," or "Home" real loud and dance. At heart, Murphy remains a dance music producer and these tracks reveal him at the top of his game. This Is Happening doesn’t quite reach the monumental heights of Sound of Silver, but it serves as an almost-there companion and further proof that LCD Soundsystem is one of the most exciting and interesting bands around in the 2000s. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 16 Title: Throw Released: 2010-10 Tracks: 2 Duration: 00:00 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Throw (?) 2 Throw (?) |
 | Album: 12 of 16 Title: London Sessions Released: 2010-11-05 Tracks: 9 Duration: 58:25 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Us v Them (08:02) 2 All I Want (06:29) 3 Drunk Girls (03:41) 4 Get Innocuous! (06:52) 5 Daft Punk Is Playing at My House (05:03) 1 All My Friends (07:31) 2 Pow Pow (08:10) 3 I Can Change (06:48) 4 Yr City Is a Sucker (05:49) |
 | Album: 13 of 16 Title: The Long Goodbye: LCD Soundsystem Live At Madison Square Garden Released: 2011-04-02 Tracks: 28 Duration: 3:07:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Dance Yrself Clean (09:49) 2 Drunk Girls (03:40) 3 I Can Change (06:23) 4 Time to Get Away (04:08) 5 Get Innocuous! (06:53) 6 Daft Punk Is Playing at My House (05:15) 7 Too Much Love (04:42) 8 All My Friends (07:20) 9 Tired/Heart of the Sunrise (excerpt) (02:58) 10 45:33 (intro) (01:50) 11 You Cant Hide (Shame on You) (04:58) 12 Sound of Silver (04:58) 13 Out in Space (10:25) 14 Ships Talking (09:22) 15 Freak Out / Starry Eyes (10:25) 16 Us V Them (09:21) 17 North American Scum (05:20) 18 Bye Bye Bayou (04:42) 19 You Wanted a Hit (07:47) 20 Tribulations (04:51) 21 Movement (04:16) 22 Yeah (12:35) 23 Someone Great (06:32) 24 Losing My Edge (08:48) 25 Home (07:07) 26 All I Want (05:54) 27 Jump Into the Fire (07:16) 28 New York, I Love You but Youre Bringing Me Down (09:55) |
 | Album: 14 of 16 Title: American Dream Released: 2017-09-01 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:08:39 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Oh Baby (05:49) 2 Other Voices (06:43) 3 I Used To (05:32) 4 Change Yr Mind (04:57) 5 How Do You Sleep? (09:12) 1 Tonite (05:47) 2 Call the Police (06:58) 3 American Dream (06:06) 4 Emotional Haircut (05:29) 5 Black Screen (12:05) |
| American Dream : Allmusic album Review : Even though James Murphy shuttered LCD Soundsystem in grand fashion with a sold-out Madison Square Garden show in 2011, it felt unlikely that the band was truly done. Certainly the individual members stayed busy making music, and in Murphys case DJing and producing. It seemed like a natural step to get back together and make music again, despite any possible embarrassment that may arise from having bowed out so grandly. American Dream is an emotionally charged and tightly wound return, balancing bursts of dance-punk energy with post-punk moodiness and synth pop abstraction, powered by insistent beats and Murphys distinctive vocals. Its an album made equally for the feet, the brain, and the heart, with moments of melancholy and release, sadness and joy, all delivered with an unsentimental, unpretentious eye and ear. As on past recordings, Murphy handles the bulk of the instruments himself, though Al Doyle is on hand to provide guitars and keys on many songs and everyone else has some input along the way. There is more focus on the less raucous dancefloor fillers this time out, though there are still plenty of wall-rattling tracks that sound like they are made out of sweat and smoke, namely the bubbling Talking Heads-inspired "other voices" and the hooky, immediate "tonite." The balance is tipped a little in favor of songs that show restraint and graceful sadness. Album opener "oh baby" sets the tone somewhere close to despair with its funereal tempo, thick slabs of synth bass, and glimmering melody. Other examples of the bands darker side are the moody synth goth ballad "i used to," the darkly insistent "how do you sleep?" (which features almost full band participation), and "black screen," Murphys heartbreaking tribute to David Bowie thats also an indictment of his own failure to connect. (Theres also a sweet tribute to another fallen hero, Alan Vega, on the title track, an appropriately doo wop-inspired rocker.) Theres also more 80s post-punk in the mix this time, as "call the police" sounds like a violent Psychedelic Furs and "emotional haircut" aims for the jugular and hits it dead-on. Its a thrilling, rampaging rocker with fiery guitars, furious drumming, and a sound that leaps out of the speakers like an angry version of "Drunk Girls." No matter the style or mood of the songs, Murphys vocals are the main attraction, delivering snaky asides, heartfelt emotion, and insistent chatter in his trademark fashion. The years off havent quite mellowed him or made him a crooner; he still mixes the tart with the bittersweet like a master chef. The years havent made LCD Soundsystem any less relevant or important, either. The times still require a great rock band (with synths) that can tap into the anxieties of modern life while also dancing the night away. American Dream isnt just a triumphant comeback, its another great album by a great band. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 16 Title: Some Remixes Released: 2018-08-10 Tracks: 3 Duration: 23:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 I Used To (Dixon Retouch) (07:00) 2 Oh Baby (Lovefingers remix) (08:18) 3 Oh Baby (Lovefingers dub) (07:56) |
 | Album: 16 of 16 Title: Electric Lady Sessions Released: 2019-02-08 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:08:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Seconds (05:09) 2 American Dream (06:03) 3 You Wanted a Hit (07:54) 4 Get Innocuous (06:17) 5 Call the Police (06:40) 6 I Used To (04:39) 7 Tonite (05:44) 8 Home (06:03) 9 I Want Your Love (04:16) 10 Emotional Haircut (05:15) 11 Oh Baby (06:10) 12 (We Dont Need This) Fascist Groove Thang (04:05) |