Representative Albums: "LCD Soundsystem," "Sound of Silver," "Introns"
Representative Songs: "Beat Connection," "Losing My Edge," "Tired"
Biography
LCD Soundsystem debuted with Losing My Edge, a single that became one of the most talked-about indie releases of 2002. A self-effacing spoof of the outrageous pissing contests that often occur whenever music geeks cross paths ("I was there at the first Can show in Cologne," etc.) laid over a puttering electronic beat with the occasional bursts of discoid clatter, the track was also one of the first released on the DFA label. Several magazines and newspapers would eventually declare James Murphy, the man behind both LCD Soundsystem and DFA, to be one of the coolest people on the planet.
Years of obscurity and the occasional poor decision preceded this. Just before Murphy began to cut his teeth throughout the '90s, first as a member of Pony (an average post-hardcore band with heavy debts to their inspirations) and then with Speedking (a much stronger, more unique band), he passed up the opportunity to write for the popular sitcom Seinfeld. All the time spent toiling in indie rock took a toll on Murphy, but he built his own studio and became increasingly adept at engineering and producing other bands.
While working on David Holmes' Bow Down to the Exit Sign, he struck up a relationship with programmer/producer Tim Goldsworthy that developed into a partnership. By the end of 2002, there were several releases on Murphy and Goldsworthy's DFA label, most of which involved the duo in some capacity. LCD's "Losing My Edge," backed with an excellent neo-post-punk dance track called "Beat Connection," was one of them. Murphy scattered three other LCD singles through the end of 2004 and released a self-titled full-length in January 2005. At the time of its release, the DFA label was more popular than ever; Murphy and Goldsworthy had remixes for Metro Area, N.E.R.D., Le Tigre, and Junior Senior behind them, as well as failed sessions with Britney Spears that might've benefited from an interpreter. Janet Jackson was another unlikely admirer seeking the duo's assistance, but Murphy didn't bother to follow up on her request. Sound of Silver, the second LCD album, came out in March 2007. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide
LCD Soundsystem is the musical project of producer James Murphy, co-founder of dance-punk label DFA Records. The music of LCD Soundsystem is a mix of dance music and punk, along with elements of disco and other styles. LCD Soundsystem is particularly popular in Britain, with two albums reaching the top 40 of the UK Albums Chart.[1]
Tyler Pope – bass (also in !!! and the now-defunct Out Hud)
Phil Mossman – guitar, percussion
History
Early singles and self-titled album (2002–2005)
LCD Soundsystem gained attention with its first single, "Losing My Edge". Described as "an eight-minute, laugh-out-loud funny dissection of cool over a dirty electronic beat"[2] the single became an underground dance favourite. This was followed by other well received singles "Give It Up" and "Yeah".
LCD Soundsystem released a double disc set simply titled LCD Soundsystem in February 2005 to critical acclaim. The first disc contains the album and the second contains re-releases of previous singles. The opening track "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" quickly gained popularity and entered the UK Top 40 in March 2005 and was later featured on several video game soundtracks like SSX on Tour, Forza Motorsport 2, Burnout Revenge, and FIFA 06. The band toured with M.I.A..[3]
LCD Soundsystems's song "Get Innocuous" is featured on Grand Theft Auto IV and can be heard on the games in game radio station Radio Broker
On December 8, 2005 the group received nominations for two Grammy awards in the Electronica category for their self-titled album and in the Dance category for "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House"[5]. This album was also chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005[6].
45:33 and Sound of Silver (2006–2008)
In October, 2006 James Murphy released a track entitled "45:33" as part of a promotion with Nike for download from iTunes[7]. The track is, strangely, 45 minutes and 58 seconds long, and was claimed to "reward and push at good intervals of a run"[8]. However it was later revealed that this was not the case, but that Murphy merely wanted the opportunity to create a long piece of music, akin to E2-E4 by Manuel Göttsching.[9]
LCD Soundsystem's subsequent single "All My Friends" included a cover of the song by both Franz Ferdinand and former Velvet Underground member John Cale[13]. The digital download "All My Friends" EP also includes a cover of the early Joy Division song "No Love Lost". In September 2007 the "A Bunch of Stuff" EP was released[14] and the band went on tour with Arcade Fire[15]. Late in 2007 the band released "Someone Great" as the third single off of Sound of Silver and re-released 45:33 on CD and vinyl through DFA Records[16]. In December 2007 there was a release of a 12-inch record containing b-sides from European singles for the North American market entitled "Confuse the Marketplace"[17].
Time magazine named "All My Friends" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at #4. Writer Josh Tyrangiel praised the “magic” in the song, saying that the song’s “straightforward repetition of the same guitar, keyboard and bass lines, combined with lyrics about life without regret, and life with all kinds of regrets pays off with a punch about what we lose as we get older."[22][23] The album was also nominated for the 2007 Shortlist Prize, where it lost out to The Reminder by Feist[24].
After finishing touring for Sound of Silver the band recorded and released a song entitled "Big Ideas" on the soundtrack of the film 21.[25] This song was ranked number 63 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008.[26]
Third album (2009–)
On 18 November 2008 Al Doyle seemed to suggest in an interview with 6 Music that the band would soon be discontinued.[27] However the following day both Doyle and James Murphy quashed this rumour, with Murphy indicating a new LCD Soundsystem album was on the way.[28][29]
Murphy began recording in the summer of 2009 in Los Angeles. Possible song titles mentioned include "Why Do You Hate Music?" and "Love in LA".[30] For the 2009 Record Store Day the band will release a cover of Suicide member Alan Vega's song "Bye Bye Bayou".[31]
