They are dead. There won’t be a reunion. James Murphy seems to spend his time being a talking head in documentaries these days. You were probably wondering who that guy was in the Foo Fighter’s “Sonic Highways” on HBO.
You didn’t find LCD Soundsystem by accident. It was like a speakeasy. You had to have a guy that knew a guy that knew the first guy to buy the album. “Daft Punk is Playing at My House” changed what a rock song could be. It empowered hipsters, which was bad, but also enlightened the center a little. The Prodigy was on this path, musically, in the 90’s, but not this slick. Their grind was not this accessible and groovy.
Released in 2005…Daft Punk was playing at everyone’s house from that point on.
“Dance Yrself Clean” is arguably their best song. Put it on for someone. You can watch the boredom in their eyes swell, before it turning into elation. Beat clap. Beat Clap. The vocals are humbly spoken and then…well, if you haven’t heard it, play it. Then play it for someone who has never heard it and watch their face light up when it hits. I’ve been in pool halls where people have been playing Rolling Stones and AC/DC all night and watched their bulb go on when this song hits full stride.
Then, right when LCD Soundsystem were so close to breaking out of being an underground phenomenon, Murphy called it quits. He played some shows at Madison Square Garden and that was that. There was a Sundance film documenting the final performance that eventually it found its way to Netflix. Seek it out if you haven’t seen it.
Take this playlist and enjoy, what I think, are the ten best songs and the honorable mention below. Then share it.
