Happy new year, y'all. I hope people had a nice, celebratory weekend. I just kinda laid around, as was my prerogative. I saw The Life Aquatic again, and while I connected with it much better the second time around, my initial reaction (scroll down) wasn't too far off. I rang in 2005 with some Mpls peeps, a low-key affair that was highlighted by a fine feast prepared by my pal Rachel. Bravo & kudos to her! She is truly a first class hostess.

I'm still saddled with a bunch of work, so it's likely to be another slow week on the blog. However, I have been listening to a lot of LCD Soundsystem...


James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem & the DFA, in a photo I poorly ape below.

MP3 LCD Soundsystem - "Beat Connection"
While I've listened to "Yeah" plenty of times this year, I didn't really get turned onto James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem until I picked up DFA's essential 3CD Compilation #2 the day after the November election. Since then, I've been hunting down LCD tracks in my free time & looking forward to the self-titled debut LP, due out February 15 (according to Pitchfork).

My curiosity spurred me on to read up on Murphy, notably several entries from Eppy at clap clap blog. As per usual, Eppy is writing way over my head, though he's got some interesting stuff to say. Me just not smart enuf (head hurt). Eppy also pointed me toward an unedited interview transcript for the January 2005 issue of The Wire in which Murphy (IMO) comes off like kind of a dick, albeit an intelligent & opinionated dick who seems to know what he's talking about and is quite passionate about his work.

Anyway, "Beat Connection" was the b-side to LCD's 2002 12" single for "Losing My Edge", a song that I've had since I picked up DFA's Compilation #1 almost exactly a year ago in NYC, but had barely listened to until recently. And now I keep coming back to those two tracks. Clearly, I showed up way way late to the LCD Soundsystem party, but then what's new? That's me, always a few steps (or years) behind the rest of the pack.

"Beat Connection" may be James Murphy's semi-ironic take on the mopey state of the "indie scene" (circa three years ago), but my current fascination with the song is a bit more direct, I suppose. I've been a real funk of late, actually I've been in a somewhat of sh**ty mood for about four years. Now as one year bleeds into the next, my fear of "fun" and lack of "play" are unfortunate realities. In a way, last Friday was sort of "the saddest nite out in the USA" for my general timeline. And yet I keep listening to this track, searching for the will to shrug off my fatalist idealism & let go, find that climactic breaking point that makes me lose my sh** & push on. Several LCD Soundsystem tracks have similar moments of explosive release, and perhaps that's why I've been listening to them so much of late. Of course, it helps that this song is the hotness. And yes, I know I need to relax.

Joe over at working for the clampdown noted that his “side one, track one for 2005” (© Fluxblog) would be "Daft Punk is Playing at My House", the leadoff track from LCD's forthcoming album that I would have posted today if The New Black hadn't beaten me to the punch over the weekend. Start your year off right & swing on by to give it a listen while it's still piping hot. If you haven't already, check out the video for the new disc's lead single:

MOV LCD Soundsystem - "Movement" video (19.2mb)

ETA (1/5/05): You'll find a Soulwax remix of "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" at 20 Jazz Funk Greats. Go forth, download & move yo damn ass!


Don't I have anything better to do with my time? Like shave? Apparently not.

Holy re-design, Batman! Head on over to the new Scenestars. Snazzy.

FYI: Be advised, I'll be taking the tracks from Mix '04 down shortly. You can easily access the whole mix through the December archive. Bon voyage.

ETA: Brooklyn Vegan has a fantastic profile of NYC's best shows of 2004, with related mp3's & pretty pictures. Holy crap, do I miss that city. Oy.

This entry was posted by mr gilbert at 1/03/2005 05:00:00 AM.