http://pitchfork.com/news/61847-lcd-sou ... s-reunion/
This is the best day ever!
LCD Soundsystem reuniting, new album in works
Re: LCD Soundsystem reuniting, new album in works
Cannot wait.
Re: LCD Soundsystem reuniting, new album in works
I have mixed feelings about this, and I even have mixed feelings about me having mixed feelings.
To put it lightly, LCD Soundsystem are one of my all time favorite acts. Describing how I feel about them invites a whole host of superlatives, but here's the rundown. "Sound of Silver" is, in my mind, the single best album released since "OK Computer", and all three LCD Soundsystem studio albums rank among my favorite albums of all time. "All My Friends" is my all time favorite song, and it's not even a close contest. And finally, when I saw LCD Soundsystem live a couple months after the release of "This is Happening" it was one of the best shows I've ever had the pleasure of attending. To put it lightly, I'm something of a super-fan.
So why the mixed feelings? Well it's a bit complicated. I suppose that after years of watching bands/artists go through the whole "I'm going into retirement forever" type deal, I was getting pretty jaded about them actually being serious about it. Every time an artist would announce retirement, I would roll my eyes, mouth "yeah, right...", and lo and behold, a couple years later they'd return with a (usually underwhelming) comeback (looking at you, Jay-Z and Eminem).
But when LCD Soundsystem announced their retirement, I really did believe them. How could I not? With James Murphy and the rest of the band publicly announcing the end of LCD Soundsystem, with them making such a huge deal about their "last concert ever" at Madison Square Garden (more on this in a bit), with them releasing a documentary about said concert full of footage of Murphy explaining his reasoning behind the breakup, with them releasing a 3 LP live album of said concert entitled "The Long Goodbye", it was all too easy to believe that this was the real deal. So I guess that meant that I ended up having a whole lot of emotions wrapped up in the dissolution of LCD Soundsystem. At the time they'd broken up they'd been one of my favorite acts for a number of years, I'd seen them live, and I had turned numerous friends onto them. I had a really deep, personal connection with their music, and I suppose by proxy, with them (or as much as one can feel a sort of "kinship" with one's musical idols).
So when they announced just four years after all this fanfare that they really weren't retiring for good, I should've felt overjoyed, but instead I felt a little...betrayed? Maybe that's not the right word. But it's close enough. I felt a little betrayed, and even though James Murphy and the rest of LCD owe me absolutely nothing, I can't help but feel that this whole "nah, we aren't really breaking up" tactic only cheapens all the feelings that I had about their breakup to begin with. Instead of feeling relief, like having a friend come back from the dead, I feel lied to, like having a friend fake their own death. And this is just me, a guy who lived close enough to see LCD without spending an exorbitant amount of money. Can you imagine how a fan of theirs must feel who traveled hundreds, if not thousands of miles to see them live, paid an outrageous amount of money for tickets and a hotel and travel just for a chance to catch them at their supposed "last concert ever" at Madison Square Garden, even shelled out for one of those "last concert ever" t-shirts they were selling there, only to be told that all their trials and tribulations were essentially for naught? Oh sure, maybe not "naught", after all they had an unforgettable concert experience. But can't you understand how that fan may feel swindled, even just a little?
But maybe this is just me being selfish. As I said before, James Murphy and the rest of LCD owe me nothing. Maybe all these feelings are just a result of me seeing LCD a couple years prior. Maybe I'd be singing a different tune if this reunion was my first chance at seeing them live. Maybe I'm not taking the feelings of all the other fans who just want to hear some new music, and maybe catch them at one of their upcoming shows, into account. But this is where the irrationality of emotion comes into play. I know that there's not a sole rational reason for me to feel betrayal at a man who owes me nothing. And I know that the feelings of all the other fans who are just excited to hear some new music vastly outweigh my own. But what I know and what I feel are often two irreconcilable things.
Anyway, I'll wrap this whole spiel up with me expressing how much I hope and pray that the next LCD Soundsystem album is as great as the last. If they're coming back from the dead, then I can accept that. But it would be infinitely harder for me to accept that they came back from the dead only to make a work of music that can't stand up to their previous three albums. Because while lackluster albums from artists I don't care about are a dime a dozen and have zero effect on me, lackluster albums from artists that I care immensely about are letdowns on multiple levels.
If the new LCD Soundsystem album comes out and blows everyone away, becomes my album of the year, and spawns a whole host of songs that I can share with my friends, then I'll be eating these words. Until then, I remain cautiously optimistic.
To put it lightly, LCD Soundsystem are one of my all time favorite acts. Describing how I feel about them invites a whole host of superlatives, but here's the rundown. "Sound of Silver" is, in my mind, the single best album released since "OK Computer", and all three LCD Soundsystem studio albums rank among my favorite albums of all time. "All My Friends" is my all time favorite song, and it's not even a close contest. And finally, when I saw LCD Soundsystem live a couple months after the release of "This is Happening" it was one of the best shows I've ever had the pleasure of attending. To put it lightly, I'm something of a super-fan.
So why the mixed feelings? Well it's a bit complicated. I suppose that after years of watching bands/artists go through the whole "I'm going into retirement forever" type deal, I was getting pretty jaded about them actually being serious about it. Every time an artist would announce retirement, I would roll my eyes, mouth "yeah, right...", and lo and behold, a couple years later they'd return with a (usually underwhelming) comeback (looking at you, Jay-Z and Eminem).
But when LCD Soundsystem announced their retirement, I really did believe them. How could I not? With James Murphy and the rest of the band publicly announcing the end of LCD Soundsystem, with them making such a huge deal about their "last concert ever" at Madison Square Garden (more on this in a bit), with them releasing a documentary about said concert full of footage of Murphy explaining his reasoning behind the breakup, with them releasing a 3 LP live album of said concert entitled "The Long Goodbye", it was all too easy to believe that this was the real deal. So I guess that meant that I ended up having a whole lot of emotions wrapped up in the dissolution of LCD Soundsystem. At the time they'd broken up they'd been one of my favorite acts for a number of years, I'd seen them live, and I had turned numerous friends onto them. I had a really deep, personal connection with their music, and I suppose by proxy, with them (or as much as one can feel a sort of "kinship" with one's musical idols).
So when they announced just four years after all this fanfare that they really weren't retiring for good, I should've felt overjoyed, but instead I felt a little...betrayed? Maybe that's not the right word. But it's close enough. I felt a little betrayed, and even though James Murphy and the rest of LCD owe me absolutely nothing, I can't help but feel that this whole "nah, we aren't really breaking up" tactic only cheapens all the feelings that I had about their breakup to begin with. Instead of feeling relief, like having a friend come back from the dead, I feel lied to, like having a friend fake their own death. And this is just me, a guy who lived close enough to see LCD without spending an exorbitant amount of money. Can you imagine how a fan of theirs must feel who traveled hundreds, if not thousands of miles to see them live, paid an outrageous amount of money for tickets and a hotel and travel just for a chance to catch them at their supposed "last concert ever" at Madison Square Garden, even shelled out for one of those "last concert ever" t-shirts they were selling there, only to be told that all their trials and tribulations were essentially for naught? Oh sure, maybe not "naught", after all they had an unforgettable concert experience. But can't you understand how that fan may feel swindled, even just a little?
But maybe this is just me being selfish. As I said before, James Murphy and the rest of LCD owe me nothing. Maybe all these feelings are just a result of me seeing LCD a couple years prior. Maybe I'd be singing a different tune if this reunion was my first chance at seeing them live. Maybe I'm not taking the feelings of all the other fans who just want to hear some new music, and maybe catch them at one of their upcoming shows, into account. But this is where the irrationality of emotion comes into play. I know that there's not a sole rational reason for me to feel betrayal at a man who owes me nothing. And I know that the feelings of all the other fans who are just excited to hear some new music vastly outweigh my own. But what I know and what I feel are often two irreconcilable things.
Anyway, I'll wrap this whole spiel up with me expressing how much I hope and pray that the next LCD Soundsystem album is as great as the last. If they're coming back from the dead, then I can accept that. But it would be infinitely harder for me to accept that they came back from the dead only to make a work of music that can't stand up to their previous three albums. Because while lackluster albums from artists I don't care about are a dime a dozen and have zero effect on me, lackluster albums from artists that I care immensely about are letdowns on multiple levels.
If the new LCD Soundsystem album comes out and blows everyone away, becomes my album of the year, and spawns a whole host of songs that I can share with my friends, then I'll be eating these words. Until then, I remain cautiously optimistic.
Re: LCD Soundsystem reuniting, new album in works
James Murphy actually tackled those points in his note
In the meantime, here's me when I read the news :
Looks like while he's not anti-capitalism (the cost for organising a concert is apparently incredibly high), he is anti-capitalising.James Murphy wrote:there are people who don’t hate us at all, in fact who feel very attached to the band, and have put a lot of themselves into their care of us, who feel betrayed by us coming back and playing. who had traveled for or tried to go to the MSG show, and who found it to be an important moment for them, which now to them feels cheapened. i just hadn’t considered that. i know—ridiculous on my part. i saw some comments online a few days ago from people who felt that way, and it blindsided me, and made me incredibly sad. i saw some other people replying with stuff like “if that’s what you cared about, and you don’t want them to play anymore, maybe you liked the band for pretty weird reasons”, and it made me think. the truth is, while i get what the replier is saying, i kind of side with the original complaint: if you cared a lot about our band, and you put a lot of yourself into that moment (or anything about us you chose), and you feel betrayed now, then i completely understand that. it’s your right to define what you love about a band, and it’s your right to decry their actions and words as you see fit, because it’s you, frankly, who have done much of the work to sustain that relationship, not the band. i was so clearly expecting the cynical cries of foul, that i hadn’t seen the heartfelt complaint coming. we’ve always talked about how we’d never betray anyone who cares about us, but here we are now.
In the meantime, here's me when I read the news :
Re: LCD Soundsystem reuniting, new album in works
I've read that DFA records (Murphy's record label) has been struggling since LCD stopped releasing albums. I wonder if that influenced the decision at all. His insistence that the reunion is about recording a new album rather than a "lame reunion tour" offers some credence to the idea since, speaking in comparative terms, music sales tend to benefit the label more while touring tends to benefit the musicians more.
Not wanting to sound too cynical as I like LCD and welcome new music from them.
Not wanting to sound too cynical as I like LCD and welcome new music from them.
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VanillaFire1000
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Re: LCD Soundsystem reuniting, new album in works
I do hope they tour, but I bet getting tickets will be impossible.
Re: LCD Soundsystem reuniting, new album in works
This is a great post. Reading this news, my first emotion was actually surprise. I can completely understand your perspective - Sound of Silver was a life-changing album for me as well, and there is no rationale behind the emotions we feel toward the music we love and the musicians we admire.Nick wrote:I have mixed feelings about this, and I even have mixed feelings about me having mixed feelings.
To put it lightly, LCD Soundsystem are one of my all time favorite acts. Describing how I feel about them invites a whole host of superlatives, but here's the rundown. "Sound of Silver" is, in my mind, the single best album released since "OK Computer", and all three LCD Soundsystem studio albums rank among my favorite albums of all time. "All My Friends" is my all time favorite song, and it's not even a close contest. And finally, when I saw LCD Soundsystem live a couple months after the release of "This is Happening" it was one of the best shows I've ever had the pleasure of attending. To put it lightly, I'm something of a super-fan.
So why the mixed feelings? Well it's a bit complicated. I suppose that after years of watching bands/artists go through the whole "I'm going into retirement forever" type deal, I was getting pretty jaded about them actually being serious about it. Every time an artist would announce retirement, I would roll my eyes, mouth "yeah, right...", and lo and behold, a couple years later they'd return with a (usually underwhelming) comeback (looking at you, Jay-Z and Eminem).
But when LCD Soundsystem announced their retirement, I really did believe them. How could I not? With James Murphy and the rest of the band publicly announcing the end of LCD Soundsystem, with them making such a huge deal about their "last concert ever" at Madison Square Garden (more on this in a bit), with them releasing a documentary about said concert full of footage of Murphy explaining his reasoning behind the breakup, with them releasing a 3 LP live album of said concert entitled "The Long Goodbye", it was all too easy to believe that this was the real deal. So I guess that meant that I ended up having a whole lot of emotions wrapped up in the dissolution of LCD Soundsystem. At the time they'd broken up they'd been one of my favorite acts for a number of years, I'd seen them live, and I had turned numerous friends onto them. I had a really deep, personal connection with their music, and I suppose by proxy, with them (or as much as one can feel a sort of "kinship" with one's musical idols).
So when they announced just four years after all this fanfare that they really weren't retiring for good, I should've felt overjoyed, but instead I felt a little...betrayed? Maybe that's not the right word. But it's close enough. I felt a little betrayed, and even though James Murphy and the rest of LCD owe me absolutely nothing, I can't help but feel that this whole "nah, we aren't really breaking up" tactic only cheapens all the feelings that I had about their breakup to begin with. Instead of feeling relief, like having a friend come back from the dead, I feel lied to, like having a friend fake their own death. And this is just me, a guy who lived close enough to see LCD without spending an exorbitant amount of money. Can you imagine how a fan of theirs must feel who traveled hundreds, if not thousands of miles to see them live, paid an outrageous amount of money for tickets and a hotel and travel just for a chance to catch them at their supposed "last concert ever" at Madison Square Garden, even shelled out for one of those "last concert ever" t-shirts they were selling there, only to be told that all their trials and tribulations were essentially for naught? Oh sure, maybe not "naught", after all they had an unforgettable concert experience. But can't you understand how that fan may feel swindled, even just a little?
But maybe this is just me being selfish. As I said before, James Murphy and the rest of LCD owe me nothing. Maybe all these feelings are just a result of me seeing LCD a couple years prior. Maybe I'd be singing a different tune if this reunion was my first chance at seeing them live. Maybe I'm not taking the feelings of all the other fans who just want to hear some new music, and maybe catch them at one of their upcoming shows, into account. But this is where the irrationality of emotion comes into play. I know that there's not a sole rational reason for me to feel betrayal at a man who owes me nothing. And I know that the feelings of all the other fans who are just excited to hear some new music vastly outweigh my own. But what I know and what I feel are often two irreconcilable things.
Anyway, I'll wrap this whole spiel up with me expressing how much I hope and pray that the next LCD Soundsystem album is as great as the last. If they're coming back from the dead, then I can accept that. But it would be infinitely harder for me to accept that they came back from the dead only to make a work of music that can't stand up to their previous three albums. Because while lackluster albums from artists I don't care about are a dime a dozen and have zero effect on me, lackluster albums from artists that I care immensely about are letdowns on multiple levels.
If the new LCD Soundsystem album comes out and blows everyone away, becomes my album of the year, and spawns a whole host of songs that I can share with my friends, then I'll be eating these words. Until then, I remain cautiously optimistic.
Re: LCD Soundsystem reuniting, new album in works
Most reactions to this news seem optimistic but I can't shake the feeling that we're about to get another 'Indie Cindy' or 'The Weirdness'. Hope I'm wrong because I'd love to see LCD Soundsystem continue their winning streak into four studio albums.
Re: LCD Soundsystem reuniting, new album in works
Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy Happy happy joy joy
Re: LCD Soundsystem reuniting, new album in works
It hasn't been that long since they broke up!Matski wrote:Most reactions to this news seem optimistic but I can't shake the feeling that we're about to get another 'Indie Cindy' or 'The Weirdness'.
I'm excited cause it really did seem like they were on the up when they called it quits; as a cohesive album, This Is Happening trumps both their debut and Sound of Silver. The Christmas song didn't blow me away but I think they can rekindle the magic. I just hope they'll tour the UK too, do some festivals over here.