History Music / LCDSoundsystem

** "Bye Bye Bayou," originally by Alan Vega of Suicide, recorded for Record Store Day.

** "Losing My Edge" mentions Music/{{Can}}, Music/{{Suicide}}, Music/CaptainBeefheart, Music/DaftPunk, Paradise Garage, Larry Levan, Music/TheBeachBoys, Modern Lovers, Niagara, Yaz, This Heat, Pere Ubu (twice), Outsiders, Nation of Ulysses, Mars, Trojans, Black Dice, Todd Terry, The Germs, Section 25, Althea and Donna, Sexual Harassment, Music/{{aha}}, Music/PublicImageLtd, Music/TheHumanLeague, The Normal, [[Music/VelvetUnderground Lou]] [[Music/LouReed Reed]], Scott Walker, Monks, Music/JoyDivision, Sun Ra, 10cc, Soulsonic Force, David Axelrod, The Slits, "[[PunctuatedForEmphasis GIL! SCOTT! HERON!]]", Faust, Music/{{Swans}}, Soft Cell, and The Sonics. [[SerialEscalation That's not even the full list.]]

* DancePunk: He is pretty much the defining artist of the genre.

* PoliticallyCorrect: The record label James Murphy owns, Death from Above Records, was changed post-9/11 because it wasn't a good idea for a label based in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity to be called that. It's now just "DFA Records".

LCD Soundsystem is an [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity NYC]]-based DancePunk band formed in 2002 by James Murphy.

[[IAmTheBand Murphy plays most if not all instruments on the records]]. He writes 90% of the music himself but normally brings in "guest" musicians to play everything out during recording. Every now and then, he records on his own as well, pulling off an IAmTheBand image. He's seen on stage with his fellow colleagues as well as by himself with just his synthesizer, so whether or not those other people are considered "part of the band" still sparks debate between fans. The band is known for Murphy's distinctive voice as well as the clever wordplay and oft-sarcastic tone found in their lyrics.

The band got their start in 2002 when Murphy released a handful of singles that got decent radio airplay on underground stations, the first of which was "Losing My Edge", which would go on to become a SignatureSong. After these successes, he got a few musicians to collaborate with him and wrote what would the first LCD Soundsystem album, released in 2005 to critical acclaim and two UsefulNotes/GrammyAward nominations. "Music/DaftPunk Is Playing at My House", one of the album's two singles, is to this day the band's most commercially successful single, and netted one of the album's two nominations.

Their next release was in late 2006 -- a composition commissioned by Nike and titled "45:33" (although it's really [[EpicRocking 45:58 in length]]). In 2007, their second album, ''Sound of Silver'', was released to further acclaim. In late 2008, the first hint at the band disbanding was made by member Al Doyle; however, both him and Murphy promptly denied this, and more music started being recorded in mid-2009. The end result was their third album, ''This Is Happening''.

Murphy did publicly state several months before the album's release that it would likely be the band's final work, and while he later stated that the band would continue to record, February 2011 brought the announcement that LCD Soundsystem would be playing their final show on April 2 at Madison Square Garden. [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments The show was sold out in 15 seconds]], and, among other extravagances, ran for almost four hours, had Music/ArcadeFire singing backup vocals, and featured the highly influential 80's post-punk band Liquid Liquid as an opening act. All in all, the show was a GrandFinale rivaled by few of its time, and proved to everyone that Murphy was actually ending the project -- at least, for the foreseeable future.

At the tail end of 2015, murmurs of LCD Soundsystem reuniting in 2016 surfaced and were shut down ahead of the sudden release of their first single in five years, "Christmas Will Break Your Heart". The band's reunion was confirmed shortly after the release alongside the news that they would be a headliner for Coachella 2016, eventually going on tour and releasing their fourth album, ''American Dream'', in 2017. [[http://lcdsoundsystem.com/main/archives/793 Murphy went into more detail in this blog entry.]]

Murphy did publicly state several months before the album's release that it would likely be the band's final work, and while he later stated that the band would continue to record, February 2011 brought the announcement that LCD Soundsystem would be playing their final show on April 2 at Madison Square Garden. [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments The show was sold out in 15 seconds]], and, among other extravagances, ran for almost four hours, had Music/ArcadeFire singing backup vocals, and featured the highly influential 80's post-punk band Liquid Liquid as an opening act. All in all, the show proved to everyone that Murphy was actually ending the project -- at least, for the foreseeable future.

However, Murphy did publicly state several months before the album's release that it would likely be the band's final work. While he later stated that the band would continue to record, February 2011 brought the announcement that LCD Soundsystem would be playing their final show on April 2 at Madison Square Garden. [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments The show was sold out in 15 seconds]], and, among other extravagances, ran for almost four hours, had Music/ArcadeFire singing backup vocals, and featured the highly influential 80's post-punk band Liquid Liquid as an opening act. All in all, the show proved to everyone that Murphy was actually ending the project -- at least, for the foreseeable future.

The band got their start in 2002 when Murphy released a handful of singles that got decent radio airplay on underground stations, the first of which was "Losing My Edge", which would go on to become a SignatureSong. After these successes, he got a few musicians to collaborate with him and wrote what become the band's debut album, released in 2005 to critical acclaim and two UsefulNotes/GrammyAward nominations. "Music/DaftPunk Is Playing at My House", one of the album's two singles, is to this day the band's most commercially successful single, and netted one of the album's two nominations.

The band got their start in 2002 when Murphy released a handful of singles that got decent radio airplay on underground stations, the first of which was "Losing My Edge", which would go on to become a SignatureSong of theirs. After these successes, he got a few musicians to collaborate with him and wrote what become the band's debut album, released in 2005 to critical acclaim and two UsefulNotes/GrammyAward nominations. "Music/DaftPunk Is Playing at My House", one of the album's two singles, is to this day the band's most commercially successful single, and netted one of the album's two nominations.

[[caption-width-right:350:"and it keeps coming, till the day it stops..."]] LCD Soundsystem is an [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity NYC]]-based sort of DancePunk [[BuffySpeak band thing]] that is the project of James Murphy, [[IAmTheBand who plays most, if not all instruments on the records]]. For the sake of the sanity of this article, the project will be referred to as a band so the word "they" will be used.

They got their start in 2002 when Murphy released a handful of singles that got decent radio airplay on underground stations. After these successes he got a few musicians to collaborate with him, wrote a SelfTitledAlbum and LCD Soundsystem was born. Then, in 2007 ''Sound of Silver'' was released to critical acclaim, appearing on many year-end and decade-end album charts. Then finally Murphy announced a possible end to the project, with a "final" album titled ''This Is Happening'' being released. Once again, the critics drooled and the album found itself on more lists. Their OutWithABang final concert, which among other extravagances had the highly influential 80's Post-Punk band Liquid Liquid as an opening act and the Music/ArcadeFire singing backup vocals, proved to everyone that James Murphy was actually ending the project (at least, for the foreseeable future).

Their music is part of the movement in indie music known as "DancePunk". However, they are probably one of the bands that come closer to the "dance" side of that subgenre than with the "punk" aspect. Strangely, despite Murphy's vocals lacking the snarl of the other artists in the subgenre, it still works and qualifies.

Murphy writes ninety percent of the music himself but normally brings in "guest" musicians to play everything out during recording. Every now and then he records on his own as well, pulling off an IAmTheBand image. He's seen on stage with his fellow colleagues as well as by himself with just his synthesizer, so whether or not those other people are considered "part of the band" still sparks debate between fans.

The band is known for Murphy's distinctive voice as well as the clever wordplay involved in their lyrics ("Drunk girls know that love is an astronaut / It comes back but it's never the same," for example).

LCD Soundsystem's best-known songs are "All My Friends", "Losing My Edge", "North American Scum", "Drunk Girls", "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down", and "Music/DaftPunk Is Playing at My House".

At the tail end of 2015, LCD Soundsystem suddenly released a Christmas song, "Christmas Will Break Your Heart" to the delighted surprise of the fanbase. Before we knew it, LCD Soundsystem was announced as a headliner for Coachella 2016, with a tour and a new record, ''American Dream'', released in 2017. [[http://lcdsoundsystem.com/main/archives/793 James Murphy went into more detail in this blog entry.]]

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 4 throughout the entire career.

----

Studio Albums:

[=EPs, Live Albums, and Remix Albums=]

* PermaStubble: James Murphy, likely unintentionally.

** The Music/HarryNilsson song "Jump Into the Fire" at their final show ever at Madison Square Garden.

%%* DancingIsSeriousBusiness

%%* FollowYourHeart: "All I Want," "All My Friends."

* RockstarSong:
%%** "Watch the Tapes."
** "All My Friends" can be interpreted as a bittersweet, nostalgic variant.

%%* WordSaladLyrics: "Pow Pow"

* SingleStanzaSong: "Sound Of Silver."

* TheresNoPlaceLikeHome: "Home" is lyrically about settling down after a chaotic, yet fruitful limelight with friends, deciding to move onto the next stage in life. This is even visually represented in the music video, where after the TinCanRobot lives a loud, happy life of partying in music, finally tires out and returns home to its creator.

* TakeThat: "Time to Get Away" might sound at first like some kind of AntiLoveSong, but according to Murphy, it's actually about a previous manager which he hated for trying to exploit LCD Soundsystem just for cash.
* TinCanRobot: The "Home" video.
* TitleOnlyChorus: "Yeah", "Pow Pow"
* WordSaladLyrics: "Pow Pow"

* AlbumTitleDrop: "Sound of silver, talk to me" in the title track to ''Sound of Silver''.

* GrowingUpSucks: An often-explored topic, most prominently with tracks like "Losing My Edge" and "All My Friends". A big factor that led to the creation of the band was Murphy's discontent of having "missed" the window to be famous when he was younger (LCD Soundsystem began in his mid-30's, which by most indie rock standards makes him akin to a CoolOldGuy), and as a result, many of his lyrics are often wistful and nostalgic in tone. [[{{Irony}} Ironically]], this uniquely mature perspective is part of why the group is so widely celebrated.

* FriendsRentControl: Inverted in "North American Scum". "New York's the greatest if you get someone to pay the rent."

%%* AntiLoveSong: "Time to Get Away."

%%* CallAndResponseSong: "Watch the Tapes," "Drunk Girls," "North American Scum."

** Played straight with "All My Friends."

%%* IWantSong: "All I Want," of course.

%%* ListSong: "Losing My Edge." "Movement" kind of counts too, what with all the "it's like" comparisons.

%%* LoveNostalgiaSong: "All I Want."

%%* MotorMouth: "Pow Pow," "Losing My Edge."

%%* NonAppearingTitle: "45:33".

** "Losing My Edge" mentions Music/{{Can}}, Music/{{Suicide}}, Music/CaptainBeefheart, Music/DaftPunk, Paradise Garage, Larry Levan, Music/TheBeachBoys, Modern Lovers, Niagara, Yaz, This Heat, Pere Ubu (twice), Outsiders, Nation of Ulysses, Mars, Trojans, Black Dice, Todd Terry, The Germs, Section 25, Althea and Donna, Sexual Harassment, Music/{{aha}}, Music/PublicImageLtd, Music/TheHumanLeague, The Normal, [[Music/VelvetUnderground Lou]] [[Music/LouReed Reed]], Scott Walker, Monks, Music/JoyDivision, Sun Ra, 10cc, Soulsonic Force, David Axelrod, The Slits, [[MemeticMutation GIL! SCOTT! HERON!]], Faust, Music/{{Swans}}, Soft Cell, and The Sonics. [[SerialEscalation That's not even the full list.]]

* SomethingSomethingLeonardBernstein: Ericbandrakimindexbasicchannelsoulsonicforcejusthitme... '''''[[SuddenlyShouting GIL!]] [[PunctuatedForEmphasis SCOTT!]] [[Music/GilScottHeron HERON!]]'''''

* StockReviewerComparisons: Any indie band with dance influences will be compared to this band, if they're not compared to Music/TalkingHeads or Music/NewOrder first.
* TakeThat: "Losing My Edge" is one long {{Hipster}} diss (and if you believe James Murphy, also a bit of a TakeThatMe).
-->''"I hear everybody that you know is more relevant than everybody that I know."''

* AntiLoveSong: "Time to Get Away."

* AutoTune: Averted. Despite it being ElectronicMusic written after the year 2000, AutoTune is not used even for a single moment.

* CallAndResponseSong: "Watch the Tapes," "Drunk Girls," "North American Scum."

* CoolOldGuy: James Murphy was in his mid-30s when he started LCD Soundsystem, far older than most indie rock artists releasing their first album.
* CoverVersion: "Bye Bye Bayou," originally by Alan Vega of Suicide, recorded for Record Store Day.

* DancingIsSeriousBusiness
* {{Eagleland}}: Portrayed as both Type 1 and 2 in "North American Scum".

* FollowYourHeart: "All I Want," "All My Friends."
* FriendsRentControl: Inverted in "North American Scum": "New York's the greatest if you get someone to pay the rent."
* GrowingUpSucks: What much of Murphy's lyrics are about.

* IAmTheBand: James Murphy.

* ItsAlwaysSunnyAtFunerals: Mentioned in "Someone Great".

* IWantSong: "All I Want," of course.

* ListSong: "Losing My Edge." "Movement" kind of counts too, what with all the "it's like" comparisons.

* LoveNostalgiaSong: "All I Want."

* MotorMouth: "Pow Pow," "Losing My Edge."

* NonAppearingTitle: "45:33".

* PerishingAltRockVoice: Thankfully averted.

* PunctuatedForEmphasis: "Gil! Scott! Heron!" ("Losing My Edge")

** "Watch the Tapes."

* SarcasticTitle: "North American Scum"
* SelfTitledAlbum

* BookEnds: Both "Dance Yrself Clean" and "Home," the first and last songs on ''This Is Happening'', have the same "ah-ahh, ah-ah" vocalization.

[[caption-width-right:350:"and it keeps coming, till the day it stops..."]] LCD Soundsystem is an [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity NYC]]-based sort of DancePunk [[BuffySpeak band thing]] that is the project of James Murphy, who plays most, if not all instruments on the records. For the sake of the sanity of this article, the project will be referred to as a band so the word "they" will be used.