I guess I should blog about these two new songs by LCD Soundsystem, the band that bloggers love to blog about. That's what writers are supposed to do when there are new LCD Soundsystem songs: blog. I already have the perfect idea for a lede (nobody has thought of this one before). Here it comes:
This is happening: LCD Soundsystem is back and has just dropped two songs from its first album in seven years, which is apparently coming out later this year.
The songs are titled "Call the Police" and "American Dream." Both songs are more than six minutes long, and both were performed during the band's recent string of shows at a new venue in Brooklyn. One of them is big and triumphant-sounding, and the other is slower and sadder and more reliant on vintage synth sounds. They both contain cutting and clever lyrics, like, "Find the place where you can be boring / Where you won't need to explain / That you're sick in the head and you wish you were dead," and so on. "Call the Police" is a little more political.
One of the reasons that it's so easy to blog about LCD Soundsystem is that James Murphy is always posting long, rambling statements explaining himself (like when he had to let everyone know why the band was reuniting less than five years after playing its big "last ever show"). He practically does the blogging for us!
Here is what Murphy writes about "Call the Police" and "American Dream," via Facebook:
Q. is there vinyl of this release?!?
A. no. see above. time makes that hard. also, these are album versions, so they'll be available on vinyl on the LP. i'm not doing "b-sides" for this, as this is, essentially, a "double A side" release. meaning that there isn't one song i'm like "oh this is THE song" and another song that i'm like "well, this one can go on the other side" with these. it's not a 7", nor a 10" nor a 12", in theory or format for me... these are just 2 songs that we wanted to get out to the lovely and patient (and some less patient, but one assumes equally lovely) people who want new music. there may be "singles" on vinyl of these later, if that seems to make sense and not be dumb. depends on whether there are smart things to put on a b-side. they're not necessarily things i'd want remixes of, so it's more about whatever else would go with the songs. there is a LOT of new music--much more than i usually have, so we're puzzling through all that.
Murphy also writes he is "seriously almost done with the LP," which is good news, unless you're concerned that LCD Soundsystem is going to release a pretty good album and completely soil its record of making only great albums. That's a reasonable anxiety to have, I think. Either way, Murphy says he is so busy working on the album that he doesn't have time to get lunch with a friend. Busy man!
You can listen to the new tracks below, via YouTube. You can also catch LCD Soundsystem on Saturday Night Live this weekend.
This has been a blog post about LCD Soundsystem. Thanks for reading.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Zach Schonfeld is a senior writer for Newsweek, where he covers culture for the print magazine. Previously, he was an ... Read more
