This is happening again
- this is something i wrote when James Murphy said he was getting LCD Soundsystem back together. I sent it around to a few sites, but no one bit, so here it is -
Oh shit you guys – LCD Soundsystem is back. No, seriously. They are; I’m not kidding, fucking check it right now James Murphy did a whole post on the DFA Records site about it and how him and a bunch of other band mates decided it and have been working on a brand new record (omg) and they’re headlining Coachella (what) and did you hear that Christmas song they put out!?!
But, wait – what about that huge show they played? Madison Square Garden? What about that 5 LP box set live record of that show that they are still selling on the DFA Store for $139.00 (plus shipping)? I was at that show dude, no lie; I cried, I cried so hard staring at James wobble around in his silly tuxedo get up and dude when they played New York I couldn’t even handle it. And now they’re back? Like, fuck that, right? You left, James, you took your guitars and your turntables and you left, you even made a movie about it. You’re being John Farnham right now James, don’t be John Farnham unless you want to be playing the Grand Final in a few years and while that would be undoubtedly sick it would also kind of sad and probably wouldn’t be a good look for you.
It’s like, if I was you, and I made three really solid bordering on masterpiece dance/punk/electronic records, and everyone loved me and my band and I became a kind of icon of independent music, and then I produced a Arcade Fire album and worked with David Bowie I reckon I’d be satisfied to just sort of dissolve back into the collective myth of independent music so then people could name drop me and talk about how solid and complete my discography is; but then again, I’m just a music pundit who doesn’t really know what it’s like to balance on the trifecta tightrope that is music, commerce and coolness in the way that you’ve been doing for the past ten years.
I suppose something that gets lost in this entire thing is that human desire to create things and have a good time with your friends. I think that if Pitchfork reported on every single thing that I did then music society would probably get pretty fed up with my daily routines or basic interests as well – “oh, it’s Sunday, look at him, he’s going to the market again, fucking unoriginal hack” – and I can see how people having a internet wide discussion about how you’ve decided to meet up with mates again and record music because it’s literally what you’ve based your entire life on would probably be an uncomfortable way to exist at times.
But fuck this guy right? I paid money – I paid cold hard AUD to USD converted CASH to buy that box set of great live tunes and see a really incredible band play for WHAT I BELIEVED WOULD BE THE LAST TIME because I CARE about MUSIC and EXPERIENCES – BUT THEY INSTANTLY LOSE VALUE IF THE CONTEXT SURROUNDING THEM UNPREDICTABLY SHIFTS FOUR YEARS LATER.
So fuck you James, fuck your great band and all the effort and care that you put into your records, which I love, by the way. I can’t believe that in a fight between your need to return to a project that dominated ten years of your life and turned you into the successful person you are today won out in a fight against me being unable to accept that sometimes people change their minds. I’ve never changed my mind, not even once.
