The 11 Best Songs By LCD Soundsystem

As I walked around Border’s this weekend, picking leftover books off their shelves during their going-out-of-business sale, a chilling thought crossed my mind…where am I going to buy books?  I rarely went to book stores with specific titles in mind.  I only went with a general idea of something I wanted.  I wanted to enjoy browsing all the different titles and coming home with something new and unique.  But even if I wanted something specific…where will I get it?  Amazon?  Sure…but what if I want it today and not in 3 days?  That’s doable…but not efficient.  Target?  Target carries less book titles than CDs.  Last time I was there, they dedicated an entire shelf to Sarah Palin and another shelf to Snooki’s new book.  That left one shelf to the rest of their titles.  That’s just sad.  I could use a kindle and download it…but like I said…most of the stuff I bought did not come from knowing exactly what I wanted.  It came from reading a book jacket…looking at the cover…reading some pages here and there.  That experience is now gone.  Completely.

We also say goodbye to LCD Soundsystem this week.  Though equating their loss to the loss of the book industry isn’t really fair.  But there are some similarities.  It is time to say goodbye to an artist that was totally uncompromising in their musical expression.  They had no label to tell them what to do…because James Murphy, who basically is the whole band, also owns his band’s record label.  They had complete freedom to do what they want and had no one to tell them what AV equipment to use or what to say and what to do.  Very few bands if any will have that freedom to do what they want.  Like the freedom we had walking around in a book store, freedom to express yourself musically is disappearing fast.

Here are the 11 Best Songs By LCD Soundsystem:

1. Tribulations (LCD Soundsystem)

2. Someone Great (Sound of Silver)

3. All My Friends (Sound of Silver)

4. Daft Punk Is Playing in My House (LCD Soundsystem)
5. All I Want (This Is Happening)
6. I Can Change (This Is Happening)
7. Great Release (LCD Soundsystem)
8. North America Scum (Sound of Silver)
9. Losing My Edge (Non-Album Single)10. You Wanted A Hit (This Is Happening)
11. 45:33 (45:33)


Buy LCD Soundsystem’s London Sessions now!

The 11 Best Songs of the Year (so far):

I’m a sucker for a request.  And I’m a sucker for making lists.  Had no intention of doing this…but if the fans want it…then…

 Here are the 11 Best Songs of the Year (so far):

 1.  I Was A Teenage Anarchist Against Me! (White Crosses)

2.  25 To Life – Eminem (Recovery)

3.  Odessa – Caribou (Swim)

4.  Soft In The Center – The Hold Steady (Heaven Is Whenever)

5.  You Wanted A Hit – LCD Soundsystem (This Is Happening)

6.  Giving Up The Gun – Vampire Weekend (Contra)

7.  Valleys of Neptune – Jimi Hendrix (Valleys of Neptune)

8.  End Love – OKGo (Of The Blue Colour of The Sky)

 9.  Can’t Hear My Eyes – Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti (Before Today)

10.  Flash Delirium – MGMT (Congratulations)

11.  The Fourth Night of Drinking – The Drive-By Truckers (The Big To-Do)

 Buy any of the great releases from 2010 and more!

The 11 Best Albums of the Year (so far)

 Over halfway through the year and I am unimpressed.  Eminem’s new album is pretty good and definitely a return to form.  But the best of the year?  It’s not even the best Em album.  Maybe 3rd best.  And Massive Attack, Morcheeba, and MGMT have all made nice albums…but these are far from their best material.  So what gives?  Last year at this time, the Animal Collective, the xx, Grizzly Bear, and Phoenix had all released albums.  I’ve listened to Sleigh Bells (a reincarnation of Atari Teenage Riot), Best Coast (the new Raveonettes), Surfer Blood (a watered-down Pavement), Beach House (a more moody Joan As Police Woman), & Local Natives (a less innovative Elbow) and have been underwhelmed by all of them. Where’s the good music people?!

 This decade is really starting off with a whimper.

 Here are the 11 Best Albums of 2010 (so far):

 1.  Eminem – Recovery

2.  LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening

3.  Massive Attack – Heliogoland

4.  Morcheeba – Blood Like Lemonade

5.  Jonsi – Go

6.  MGMT – Congratulations

7.  Tokyo Police Club – Champ

8.  Against Me! – White Crosses

9.  Free Energy – Stuck on Nothin’

10. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Mojo

11. Caribou – Swim

 Buy these great 2010 albums and others now!

The 11 Best Songs By LCD Soundsystem

 

 

I bought myself a new record player this weekend.  I had one which fizzed out a few years ago…and never bothered to replace it.  Didn’t think I needed to.  But after spending most of the day listening to my vinyl collection, I’m once again hooked.  It is true that a brand new vinyl played on by a brand new stylus is better quality than a CD.  And it’s true that 90% of the people who listen to both won’t hear the difference.  I try to describe it to people like the difference between pan&scan and letterbox…but even more slight.

There is something undeniable that vinyl has that CDs and digital are missing.  It’s called dedication.  Listening to a record requires attention.  Listening to a CD or digital…you can skip around…listen to part of a song…you barely ever absorb an artist’s intention to make an album.  With a record, you can’t escape it.  A record creates a connection between an artist and a listener that doesn’t exist with any other medium.  I miss records.  And I’m glad to be back in the game.

Here is the 11 Best Songs By LCD Soundsystem:

1.  Someone Great (Sound of Silver)

2.  Tribulations (LCD Soundsystem)

3.  Losing My Edge (Non-Album Single)

4.  Daft Punk Is Playing in My House (LCD Soundsystem)

5.  All My Friends (Sound of Silver)

6.  Time To Get Away (Sound of Silver)

7.  Great Release (LCD Soundsystem)

8.  North America Scum (Sound of Silver)

9.  45:33 (45:33)

10.  Disco Infiltrator (LCD Soundsystem)

11.  Jump Into The Fire (B-Side)

 Buy LCD Soundsystem’s new album, This Is Happening.