THE BEAT BOX: The question is: Were you singing it? Or were you just singing along?

Thursday, December 30, 2010

The question is: Were you singing it? Or were you just singing along?

LCD Soundsystem

Mental image. Blue, green, yellow lights flashing, fog rolling over fists, hands held over heads, an enthralled audience jumps up, down to the beat, hair whipping around heads, eyes closed, bodies covered in sweat, shouts, vocal callouts (Don't it make you feel alive?), calves burning.

Entering the LCD Soundsystem concert at Orpheum was like incorporating into a Urban Outfitters human soup, rich with floating melodic beats, sonorous voices, and entrancing rhythms. As LCD was by far one of the top 5 best concerts I attended in 2010, I figured they would be a good band to feature to kick off 2011.

Mainly characterized as Electronica, LCD Soundsystem is a "musical project," lead by James Murphy (also co-founder of DFA Records). When performing live, other band members include: Nancy Whang (vocals, keyboards, synths), Pat Mahoney (drums, percussion, drum machine, claps, synths, vocals), Tyler Pope (bass, guitar, synths, claps, drum machine), and others. LCD has released three albums, LCD Sounsystem, Sound of Silver, and This is Happening. Their first self-entitled album was nominated for two Grammy awards in the Electronica Category. At the time of its release in 2007, Sound of Silver received massive universal acclaim and a 9.2 rating on Pitchfork, went on to be Grammy-nominated for best Electronica/Dance album of 2007, and was rated best album of 2007 in multiple review publications, such as The Guardian and Uncut.

A song about living life without apology or regret, All My Friends, was ranked #4 in top 10 best songs of 2007 in Time magazine, and was ranked second best song of the 2000s by (the often quite critical) Pitchfork Media.

LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends by e.armstrong.2

And some other new and old biscuits:

love this. thanks kurt