Send "LCD Soundsystem " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Pitchfork |
 While discussing the burden of influence in 2005, James Murphy told us, "The Strokes are swimming up some incredibly serious stuff: Velvet Underground. Television. It's kinda soul-crushing in a way to listen to 'Perfect Day' and say, 'I'm gonna go write a song like that,' and it'll be fucking horrible by comparison." At that point, the Strokes had yet to squander their leather-clad, LES cool, and LCD Soundsystem were still, mostly, a Williamsburg blip. But over the past five years, things changed. Drastically. In 2010, early aughts trendsetters like the Interpol and the Strokes are NYC relics, outpaced by a gang of stridently preppy, chart-topping Columbia grads and a 40-year-old Brian Eno obsessive. On This Is Happening, Murphy once again shows off his encyclopedic knowledge of all things post-punk and zip-tight. But he's also swimming up some serious stuff himself, including Eno and David Bowie's sacrosanct Berlin trilogy. And against his own prediction, it's far from horrible; it's actually pretty perfect."I spent my whole life wanting to be cool... but I've come to realize that coolness doesn't exist the way I once assumed," said Murphy in a recent Guardian feature. This realization probably has something to do with his rising cultural cache. After all, Murphy has done what all other music fiends only dream about-- he's flipped the system and become the embodiment of coolness. This is a phenomenal coup. And he's quick to rationalize his current status to the New Yorker: "I understand that if someone's going to make me his idea of cool I can't control that."...full text |
| Culturebully |
| In 2007 James Murphy followed up his widely praised 2005 debut and the 2006 maxi-track 45:33 with Sound of Silver. Utterly demolishing expectation—which isn’t to say that anticipation for the record hadn’t gathered considerable momentum—the album was immediately met with a glowing response; many eventually acknowledging it as being one of the best of the decade. So how does Murphy follow up his distinguished series of LCD Soundsystem releases? By introducing a new album with a single that wades in tight crunch-funk verses about drunk girls (and boys) before making the personal plea “Just ’cause I’m shallow doesn’t mean that I’m heartless/Just ’cause I’m heartless doesn’t mean that I’m mean.” But even though “Drunk Girls” is not the most obvious attempt at picking up where Silver left off, the single alludes to the general direction that This Is Happening takes: One that’s strikingly familiar despite still reflecting a sense of immediacy. It’s like 2007 all over again. “Dance Yrself Clean” opens the record with a mellow, thuddish synth that teeters between a basic key line and Murphy’s creamy vocals before exploding into a boisterous electronic break. Murphy later jumps in with his familiar howl that blares intermittently until the nine minute track fades into the record’s aforementioned teaser, “Drunk Girls.” “One Touch” follows with a series of erratic industrial squeals which twist into a spiraling electronic bubble before developing a fluttering loop that looms below Murphy’s weighty vocals. The first significant shift in the record comes with “All I Want.” The near-seven minute song finds its stride early on with Murphy quietly crooning over a bass, guitar, and drums. Keys are eventually added to the mix, but the collection of sounds becomes a mounting force which overpowers Murphy’s vocals. This wouldn’t seem like such an issue had Sound of Silver not been so lyrically focused, but with the exception of “Drunk Girls” the album has relied greatly on its musical merit to this point....full text |
| Likehotcakes |
| It’s a bit dangerous writing a review right slap bang in the middle of this album’s hype period. But here goes. What James Murphy’s done here is prove that songs don’t have to be cut down to size to become catchy. That’s what these guys excel at. Look at examples like ‘All My Friends’ and ‘Someone Great’. They exceed 7 minutes, but they are neither ridiculously repetitive nor are they frustratingly slow building. I don’t understand how they consistently do that. Apart from first single ‘Drunk Girls’, the shortest song on this new album is just under 7 minutes as well. But not a single song is boring, not a single one leaves you feeling that they are trying to drag it out. When they do shorten it, they show they can still party fast-paced with the best. ‘Drunk Girls’ is the young one on the album. Think of ‘This Is Happening’ as a family reunion. All the kids are grown up. Everyone is having a cultured, mature good old knees up. Then the first grandchild bursts in the room with his action figures and lego and makes all the adults laugh. That grandchild is ‘Drunk Girls’. You can’t have a family reunion without one. You can’t have an LCD Soundsystem album without one....full text |
LCD Soundsystem lyrics
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