Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Electric Relaxation: More on LCD Soundsystem



Okay I couldn't talk about LCD Soundsystem for just one blog. I wrote all of this at one same time and decided to break it up so that way I could gush over "All My Friends" in one post and then the band in another. Here's the rest of the story.

My friend who sent me that song also sent me links to hear "Someone Great" from the same album (Sound of Silver - currently on my buying list) and a newer song "Dance Yrself Clean". It helped me realize that they are modern masters of epic songs that can overpower you yet bring you in at the same time. Someone said it best on youtube: Their songs are experiences. 

I went back and listened to "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" - the OG version didn't hit me that well but when I saw a video of them performing it live on Letterman, they gave it a funky twist by speeding it up and playing it in a major chords. I swore this could be my exit music anytime I left the house.



What I liked about them was unlike Arcade Fire who sounded like a bunch of noise and fury, they had a sound that was fairly easy to relate to if you have any experience with indie music. They look ordinary but they sound like a hip, electronic outfit with no sense of being pretentious. That's something I hate about a lot of indie bands because even if the music is good, they sound too cool for school. Not so with LCD.

Back to "Dance Yrself Clean" - I listened to that song plenty near the end of 2010 when I was looking up songs to end the year on. That's another example of a great crescendo but with a balance between minimalism and power. It's just 3 minutes of a minimal drum beat, two back and forth notes and electronic sounds before it bursts into a dance party jam. 

Once again I could picture a video to this. Walking on a street alone after a fight with someone and hating every bit of what that person did to you. Then at the breakdown, you start dancing. Finding that rhythm to be free and kiss that person off. Dancing yourself clean of that person and the negative energy while finding a way to tell them how the fighting makes you feel.



This song's actually a mix of a crescendo to a decrescendo to a rise and then back to a fall. Almost like the emotions after a fight. But it's almost 8 minutes of a great experience and that live video I just posted shows exactly why. It goes from calm and mellow to an upbeat dance party.

Safe to say they're my new favorite band along with the Black Keys and as soon as I can, I'll be buying Sound of Silver and This is Happening. But it's a shame that I got into them too late. Anybody wanna hook me up with tickets to Madison Square Garden in April??

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