LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends

LCD Soundsystem - 05 - All My Friends (07-37)

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It starts off with a piano beating that wouldn't feel out of place on a Roxy Music record from the 70's, but then steadily reveals itself as more of a sped up half relative of the piano on that Velvet Underground track I'm Waiting for My Man. And at the end of it all, I can't decide if All My Friends is reminiscient of either The Chemical Brothers or U2. It's a very anthemic song, you see. And then he mentions something about "Setting The Controls to the Heart of the Sun" and you're like, fuck, Pink Floyd? And of course, it all makes sense, cause James Murphy, record nerd extraordinaire, probably bragged about having those artists albums in his song Losing My Edge. 

But does it even fucking matter? This song is good, undeniably, but I can't decide on whether to hate it or not. It's one of those thoughful songs that will perhaps find its lyrics tattooed on backs and biceps, quoted in yearbooks and when played in bars will lull drinkers to call for one more shot, one more can of Pabst Beer. And it's bound to irritate the fuck out of someone who gets reminded of all they could have been, or that dumb thing they just did, or maybe it's the last few lines of the song that get someone to remember that they have no friends. But it's a credit to the song that it's able to irritate along those lines, because it's remarkably sensible without being sappy, intelligently written and produced so that it's appealing to a wider audience that usual, I would think. And it's a credit to Mr. Murphy himself that he's was able to transfer the nervous aging angst he first showed in Losing My Edge, and go from rattling off lists of bands to something transcendental and touching like this.

Oh, and you can dance to it.

Congratulations, Mr. Murphy. There's a whole world of difference between this track and your very first solo records. You win, motherfucker.

So if you haven't heard, his new album Sound of Silver is a fucking monster. He's never as sublime anywhere else, but the record is one of the best of the year so y'all should buy it. There isn't a downer among the bunch. I think it's better than his first album, myself.