LCD Soundsystem: Sound of Silver

When James Murphy turned down writing for Seinfeld to pursue music, no one could have predicted he'd create one of the most influential dance-rock albums of the 2000s. "Sound of Silver" by LCD Soundsystem, released in March 2007, forever changed the landscape of electronic music by injecting it with raw emotional depth rarely found in the genre.

In this episode, we immerse ourselves in the hypnotic world of LCD Soundsystem's sophomore masterpiece. We trace Murphy's journey from club DJ to reluctant frontman, exploring how his background shaped the band's distinctive sound – a brilliant fusion of disco beats, post-punk sensibilities, and electronic innovation. The album draws from an eclectic range of influences including the B-52s, David Bowie, and the Smiths, creating something both nostalgic and groundbreaking.

We spend considerable time unpacking the emotional core of the album. "Someone Great" stands as a haunting meditation on loss that Murphy intentionally keeps ambiguous, allowing listeners to project their own experiences. Meanwhile, "All My Friends" captures the bittersweet reality of aging and evolving relationships with its relentless piano motif and poignant lyrics. These tracks demonstrate Murphy's remarkable ability to create dance music that makes you think as much as move.

The cultural context of mid-2000s New York City looms large throughout our discussion. We explore how the album serves as both a celebration and critique of urban life, culminating in the love-hate letter "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down." We also discuss Murphy's complicated relationship with fame, which would later lead to LCD Soundsystem's dramatic (if temporary) farewell shows at Madison Square Garden.

Whether you're a longtime fan or discovering this album for the first time, our track-by-track breakdown reveals the brilliant craftsmanship and emotional depth that makes "Sound of Silver" an enduring classic. Join us as we rank our favorite non-hits and discover how an album released over 15 years ago continues to resonate with remarkable clarity today.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introducing LCD Soundsystem
• 5:27 Get Innocuous: Opening Track Breakdown
• 17:05 North American Scum: Dance-Punk Anthem
• 27:00 Someone Great: Emotional Core
• 34:23 All My Friends: Nostalgia and Relationships
• 40:35 The Dance Continues: Album's Final Tracks
• 1:07:59 Ranking Our Top Non-Hits

Transcript

Introducing LCD Soundsystem

Speaker 2 0:16

All right, thank you for listening to the Greatest Non-Hits. I'm Chris and playing the song Someone Great from LCD Sound Systems' Sound of Silver album is my co-host, tim. We want to thank you the podcast. Thanks for listening. Today we're going to listen to a great indie electronic rock dance album New York City kind of a dance rock, electronica, kind of a band and album. So it was LCD Sound Systems, sound of Silver. It was released on March 12, 2007 by DFA Records. That is the. I guess the owner or the lead person is James Murphy, who was also the front man of the group, and so this is his baby. You know, james Murphy goes way back, gen X kind of a guy and well, I mean we'll get into his background, his significance, how he came to rise, but that'll be. We're going to talk about them throughout the album, but what we're going to do today is what we do as always, which is listen to an album in its entirety and then rank our top three non-hits at the end of the show. We're going to exclude any songs that are hits Within the dance rock sphere from the 2000s. You could probably say maybe one or two of these songs could be considered like a hit or you know, of course there's some more than others, but nevertheless we'll hash it out. So again, thank you for listening. We really appreciate it. What else can I say about this song?

Speaker 2 2:26

This album came out with a lot of critical. Again, thank you for listening. We really appreciate it. What else can I say about this? This album came out with a lot of critical acclaim. They cite the B-52s, the Fall yes, david Bowie and Can as influences. Also, omd Bronski, beat the Smiths. Those were all sort of from my day. I cross over to a few of those names Love, yes, love David Bowie, the Smiths, b-52s those are all great artists for sure, and you can hear a lot of it in this album. It's got sort of like a disco beat to it. In this album it's got sort of like a disco beat to it, but with like, or you know, rock and electronic sensibilities. So I think it's yeah, the more I listen to it, the more I get into it. You know Tim has seen him, I think, once or twice, I think it's, and he can. He can give you his, his thoughts, his, his anecdotes.

Speaker 4 3:29

Would you listen?

Speaker 2 3:29

to the gibberish they've got you saying so anyway. Also, murphy attended New York University, I guess, like one thing here is he was offered a job writing for the sitcom Seinfeld. He did not expect the show to be successful and chose to continue with music instead. So, wow, yeah, and he's also the creator of DFA Records late 1980s, and he picked the name Death From Above after seeing a helicopter emblazoned with the slogan in the film Apocalypse Now. So there's a little background into DFA records, so, and I guess I mean he's considered to have gotten the band going, you know, a little bit later in life, so to speak and there was I just recently. I mean I think he and I are probably the same age, and so I think that they in life, so to speak, I just recently I think he and I are probably the same age I think that in 2012, I guess he got a little bit burnt out with the whole grind A documentary was made that was like Shut Up and Play the Hits, yeah, a documentary from 2012.

Get Innocuous: Opening Track Breakdown

Speaker 2 4:40

So it kind of just gives you the background of how I guess the end was supposed to be some shows that they did at Madison Square Garden, and it was supposed to be the end of the band and I think since then they've come back sort of. Tim described them as being somewhat elusive, so since that time period, but you know, but I feel like I missed the boat. I I can see how this would have been, these shows when it really super cool to be at, maybe in like the late 2000s, you know, in the new york, you know the new york dance scene, the club scene. It was probably incredible. You know now that you know, especially like, if you're in that, I mean cause I didn't, I wasn't, yeah, I didn't live in New York. I've never lived in New York city. It's probably. It's just kind of intense and it's its own thing and as a New Yorker you identify with a.

Speaker 2 5:41

New York way of life. It's a, it's a, it's a whole thing. But without further ado, tim is just getting everything just set up. Oh super.

Speaker 5 5:54

We're safe. Yep, we're safe. We're safe for the moment.

Speaker 2 5:57

Yeah.

Speaker 5 5:58

All right, how you doing, bud you doing good yeah, tasty waves, here Got some cool buds. Cool, cool buds, cool wow that's right yeah what

Speaker 1 6:14

can we tell you about this wow.

Speaker 2 6:17

So give me your, can you give me like a little bit of a taste of, uh, your background with with them and how you see them as a band and as an influence on you?

Speaker 5 6:28

I think he's an offbeat sort of guy that wants to make this music and doesn't want the fame about it. And he was in a grind, maybe of these Joe Jobs with an extensive collection of name tags and hairnets, maybe writing for Seinfeld. I maybe had heard he tried to be a finance guy or maybe that's wrong but he didn't like it, got a bunch of music equipment. You know one. It took them a while to get it together.

Speaker 5 7:08

One music instrument after another. Yeah, they kind of just kept finding and buying and really getting into this sort of like. You know, the Daft Punk playing at my house sort of got them going.

Speaker 1 7:24

Right.

Speaker 2 7:26

And they gave me like a cult following right, but at the end of that tour, like at the end of that show, from shut up and play the hits yeah, he's just like this, yes, he, he feels washed up even though they're sort of like at the height of popularity, and they're.

Speaker 5 7:42

He's rock and he just doesn't have the energy he's at an age where, yeah, he's probably in his mid-40s at that time and it's just grinding on him and it's not even that it's like. Is that? What is this, you know?

Speaker 5 7:54

I don't know it's, it's sort of like, uh uh, a midlife crisis of some sorts. You know, maybe he to, to, to make the band in the first place, and then you know it's like not even, that's not even what he wants. You know, it's like what he's always, constantly on this journey and it's dictated by him, which is the coolest part, because he's just a force to be reckoned with.

Speaker 2 8:17

He's a creative force which is just and then the rest of the performers, the personnel. They sort of take his direction. Yeah, I mean, they're really good musicians. They play really tight together. I mean I think that's a credit to them. I mean, even though he's the driving force behind it, the other musicians are very good. Yeah, they're very good they're performing.

Speaker 5 8:43

He's kind of directing the whole thing. They're friends.

Speaker 2 8:50

It's not like they're just random people right, it's like you know he's, they're, they're a band you know, and they the other people play a role other.

Speaker 5 8:53

They might have been friends before, you know, he even joined the band I I'm not sure, but yeah, you know the whole. I've saw the documentary and I've seen them in DC after their uh, which album was that?

Speaker 2 9:08

Um, I'd probably have to get out to discography.

Speaker 1 9:14

I'll be honest.

Speaker 2 9:14

I mean, I just know they have a debut album, the American dream album they toured. Okay.

Speaker 5 9:18

So I saw them after that and around 2000, 17, 18 in DC and they're very good. It's all black and white. The disco ball, the lights are all you know. People wear black and white sort of oh cool it's all I don't know color toned the whole show sort of like a radio head show. It's like yeah, that must have been a black and white on the shades of gray maybe I'm sorry.

Speaker 2 9:47

What year did you say this was?

Speaker 5 9:48

When I saw him. Yeah, maybe 2017, 18.

Speaker 2 9:53

Oh, okay, yeah, so this is at the Anthem right.

Speaker 5 9:55

Yeah at the Anthem DC. That's a great venue to see them in, I bet yeah and I saw the documentary in theaters actually and it was very good and he really just wanted to not be that famous, not be touring all know touring all the time and maybe, uh, just normal person, right, yeah, whatever that normal everyday person.

Speaker 2 10:20

Yeah, that doesn't get recognized and yeah new normal yeah, well, that in mind, let's, let's get, let's get into it. Man, we've got a lot to cover. We may even skip through some of these because it's kind of long, but we'll uh, we'll be judicious here. This is Get Innocuous.

Speaker 5 10:37

Yeah, innocuous, having no adverse effect. Harmless Not likely to offend or provoke to strong emotion. Harmless I had to look that up. Oh, innocuous, yeah, yes, that's the definition there.

Speaker 2 10:53

Right, yeah, that's what I've always understood it to be. But yeah, that's a good description.

Speaker 5 11:01

They added a few things For those who don't know vocab.

Speaker 2 11:03

Right, yeah, just harmless.

Speaker 5 11:04

Scream innocuous. You should know what it means, yeah.

Speaker 2 11:14

It just seems like a lot of syllables to describe what it is, but it makes you sound smart.

Speaker 5 11:22

Where does it break? Here? They do these sort of subdued. I love how they introduced the lines of percussion, almost to make a melodic rhythm, a rhythmic melody.

Speaker 2 11:42

Yeah, they're using different technologies. Yeah, or yeah, these percussions it's kind of cool, you can hear it too. Like these patterns. Yeah, Like a muffled. I like how it kind of cool, you can hear it too. Like these patterns. Yeah, Like a muffled. I like how it kind of gradually gets louder.

Speaker 5 11:58

Shout out to the runners this is a good uphill song here.

Speaker 2 12:01

This is a good call.

Speaker 5 12:04

This could be one of the best running songs Keep going.

Speaker 2 12:09

Get that VO2 max up, let's go.

Speaker 5 12:14

Get Jack some Darjeeling tea. Going Get that VO2 max up. Let's go Get jacked with some Darjeeling tea. Go on a run, get out there yeah.

Speaker 2 12:35

Very disco-y. Very disco.

Speaker 5 13:04

Oh, this is getting heavy. It makes his voice really stand out without as much other melodies, right?

Speaker 2 13:25

Nice harmony there Socky Come on.

Speaker 4 13:43

Shout out to Tony, my dear, where he's carous and inefficient. Bring you along with the pretense and pay the way for the coming release, oh, coming release here. I kind of look a little chilly.

Speaker 2 14:08

Yeah, this is a total running song. I can see myself.

Speaker 8 14:15

That's not so bad. Could be worse, yeah.

Speaker 2 14:22

It could be worse.

Speaker 3 14:23

It's tolerable.

Speaker 5 14:34

It's tolerable, it's the real life. I'm gonna make you feel alive. If you're by my side, I'm gonna make you feel alive. You will stay Until the morning comes.

Speaker 4 14:47

You can't normalize, don't admit, you can't feel alive. You can't normalize, you can't normalize. You can't normalize Normal. Okay, new normal, don't correct him.

Speaker 6 15:08

New normal. That's what it's all about normal.

Speaker 4 15:26

That's what it's all about. I kind of look a little silly and my feelings are hurt.

Speaker 2 15:39

Ah, that feels, that feels better. Pat Mahoney's rocking the drums yeah, let's get the band.

Speaker 5 15:44

Who do we got on, yeah, pat Mahoney on drums. We got Nancy Nancy Wang Side vocals, drumming. She does kind of everything.

Speaker 2 15:54

There's like Tyler Pope Right. Good lineup, good drummer, great look. I think the drumming would just be exhausting. He may be doing the same beat. Oh yes, he looks like he's just going the whole time.

Speaker 5 16:36

Well, you know, when you're drumming you don't have as many cares in the world, or his cares and ambitions when they come.

Speaker 2 16:44

All right, are we good with this one? Don't correct him. You ain't got to correct him.

Speaker 5 16:51

Yeah, I think it kind of winds out. There's another minute of this, yeah, yeah.

North American Scum: Dance-Punk Anthem

Speaker 2 16:58

There you go. All right, that was good, though, so this next one is time to get away. Yeah, all right.

Speaker 3 17:08

So what's this? The tastiest choice moment between you guys.

Speaker 5 17:13

We're getting away here. We're getting away. I'm doing the podcast grind here, that's right it's time to get away.

Speaker 8 17:23

It's time to get away from you. It's time to get away.

Speaker 3 17:31

It's time to get away. It's time to get away From you. You bought a lot of money, simple drum beat here, but me More contemporary maybe, yeah.

Speaker 2 17:49

I think so. A little raga Good drama.

Speaker 7 17:52

Great look Good drama. Great look Good drama. Sorry, Pat.

Speaker 2 18:02

They do get Raga on this Indie Raga.

Speaker 5 18:04

Yeah, it is Indie Raga.

Speaker 2 18:06

I know what you mean.

Speaker 5 18:06

James. Well, it's B-52-ish is Raga.

Speaker 8 18:08

It's time to get away. It's time to get away Like the harmony From you. I'm dying to get away. I'm dying to get away.

Speaker 3 18:21

I'll give you a little time alone here Next time we'll talk it over.

Speaker 6 18:32

If I'm here and you're here, doesn't that make it our time?

Speaker 5 18:41

Our time, our time, our time, our time.

Speaker 2 18:49

That had potential. I fell flat a little bit.

Speaker 1 19:11

Like manual. You know what the fuck is he talking about what, what, what, what, what could it ever be? So it's time to get away.

Speaker 8 19:25

It's time to get away. It's our time. I'm dying to get away If I'm here.

Speaker 5 19:38

Get away. It's our time, it's our time, let's talk about it. It's really not that complex of music I just Talk is cheap Pity you.

Speaker 1 20:10

Talk is cheap.

Speaker 7 20:13

Talk is cheap Next time we could talk about Good drama, great look.

Speaker 5 20:21

Or even start again. You know Shout out to those Fun relationship woes. You know Voice how you feel. Don't repress your emotions. If it gets a little too intense, just get away. I knew you were low man, but the truth is.

Speaker 8 20:39

I was shocked.

Speaker 5 20:41

It's sort of in that getting away part of the argument.

Speaker 1 20:44

Oh yeah.

Speaker 5 20:44

Sarcastic snappy part of it.

Speaker 2 20:47

Well, it's got yeah, we talked about that it's got that emotional depth.

Speaker 1 20:50

Yeah he gets into you.

Speaker 5 20:52

He's feisty. He's a little feisty. He's a little like he's emo. He's a loose wire. I think yeah, sort of Blood power.

Speaker 2 21:11

I was never lying.

Speaker 4 21:15

I'll get your damn kids for this, all right.

Speaker 2 21:21

Shout out to Billy Madison. All right, so this one is called this is North American Scum.

Speaker 5 21:26

There are a lot of good songs Shout out to the magazine readers in North America only Okay, okay, I mean we do have those. We've got magazines. I've got a lot. Oh, my crawl space, in my attic, little corners of the house tucked away, lots of magazines okay, yeah, wait like playboys, or what do you got Home? And Garden. Scientific American, scientific North American.

Speaker 8 22:00

Oh, okay.

Speaker 3 22:06

Yeah, but I mean nothing like worse than Penthouse.

Speaker 5 22:12

Get your mind over there I'm. Educating myself worse than like Penthouse. Get your mind out of there. We're. Yeah, you've got like I'm educating myself, come on it's beauty magazine day.

Speaker 8 22:29

I don't know, I don't know, oh, where to begin when we're North American, but in the end make the same mistakes all over again. Come on, north American.

Speaker 7 22:45

You're Arcot Ramathorne Ram and I'm Rod Farmer Rod. Yeah, this is a good super-cheaper song, car-ram-rod.

Speaker 2 22:54

Because they're sort of North American cops. They're kind of like right by the border. Okay, I get it. Yeah, shout out to the Super Trooper fans. I think this just fits Deeper and deeper the mashup of this song Way down.

Speaker 5 23:17

Kids get off your damn iPhones.

Speaker 6 23:19

Unless you're listening to us.

Speaker 5 23:26

We don't have magazines.

Speaker 3 23:27

I'll get your damn kids for this. But there's no love man. There's no love when the kids are uptight. I'll get your damn kids for this.

Speaker 8 23:37

So throw a party till the cops come in and bust it.

Speaker 7 23:41

Car Ramrod, let's go now. Car Ramrod, oh, you were planning it. I didn't mean to Car Ramrod, sorry. You're Arcot Ramathorn Ram and I'm Rod Farber Rod. Car Ram Rod.

Speaker 2 24:09

Hey, this one is.

Speaker 7 24:11

Does that mean it's well, it's one nine, isn't it? Yes, so you tell me Is this Okay, this one is. Does that mean it's Well, it's one night, isn't?

Speaker 2 24:14

it yes. So you tell me, is this In the LCD sound system world? Is this a hit?

Speaker 5 24:23

Yeah, probably, but For the indie world? Yeah, maybe. Yes, I would say it would be. I've heard it on the radio, I think I have. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes, I would say it would be. I've heard it on the radio, I think I have. Yeah, shout out to all the gun owners in America these babies can go off.

Speaker 3 24:47

Second of all, it's If you get someone to pay the rent. Wahoo North.

Speaker 5 24:53

America. It's the furthest you can live from the government. Ooh, not in DC. I saw them in DC. We're pretty close to the government there. Yeah yeah, I don't think a lot of church-going folk listen to this stuff. No well, church-going listen to this stuff. No well, the berlinners, okay, shout out. You're not that much different than us. Uh, yeah, but you're not north americans, so you're not that much different than us yeah but you're not North American, so you're not Sorry. Well, you wish you were.

Speaker 2 25:36

That's not a bad thing, you might wish you were, but I don't know, not right now. Well, we don't go there.

Speaker 5 25:42

I didn't wear deodorant today, but you know Now.

Speaker 2 25:46

I'm going to be thinking. I didn't smell anything. Is it safe?

Speaker 5 25:54

Yeah, you can smell it. It's the sage. Yeah, you can smell it, it's strawberry North American strawberries, that's right. Look at these overseas strawberries.

Speaker 2 26:03

Do they have strawberries Of?

Speaker 5 26:05

course they do. Strawberries are actually just a Native American food, is it?

Speaker 2 26:12

Nah, just the Native American food, is it?

Speaker 1 26:14

No, no, yeah, what, oh man I'm sure they've got some of that Brazil or something. What the?

Speaker 2 26:25

fuck is he talking about? I'll sit next to him and play that. I gotcha.

Speaker 5 26:29

I got you good on that, okay, oh, shout out to Canada.

Speaker 2 26:45

All right, I'm back. Okay, it's what someone great.

Speaker 6 26:49

Fucking mummy's in there. It's not so bad. Fucking mummy's in there.

Speaker 1 27:00

All right, this is trippy, can you live in that moment? I want to know how they got that sound that little high-pitched.

Speaker 5 27:46

It's like the chirping like a bird.

Speaker 2 27:54

Yeah, a little bird sound. Yeah, I think it's record scratching.

Speaker 5 27:59

That's what I think the ISO sound. That's pretty cool.

Speaker 2 28:10

It is. This is kind of. This reminds me of that movie, revenge of the Nerds. When they do like the homecoming you know they have like da da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da da.

Speaker 1 28:27

What the fuck is he talking about?

Speaker 2 28:29

Alright, I just did it myself. Well, you're looking at me like what the fuck is he talking about? All right, I just did it myself. Well, you're looking at me like I've never. You probably haven't seen it. I've never seen it. Yeah, I mean, it came out like years before I could afford it, yeah, so that was a missed opportunity. I should have gotten a couple clips.

Speaker 5 28:49

That's what are we going to do. What are you going to do? That was a missed opportunity. She got a couple clips. That's it. What are we going to do? What are you going to do? It's, I miss the way we used to argue Locked in your basement.

Speaker 2 29:07

That line sounded weird. Locked in your basement, can you live in that moment? Can you live in that moment, as it's early? And that should be a perfect warning that some things are wrong. To tell the truth, I saw it coming the way you were breathing, but nothing can prepare you for it. The voice, on the other hand, this is pretty, this is deep stuff. Not just saying that, yeah, just play a cheap sound clip. Deeper and deeper. The worst is all the lovely weather. I'm stunned it's not raining. The coffee isn't even bitter, because what's?

Speaker 7 30:25

the difference. There's all the work that needs to be done, karam Rock, and it keeps coming, and it keeps coming, and it keeps coming, and it keeps coming, and it keeps coming, till the day it stops.

Speaker 2 31:18

I wish that we could talk about it Till the day I'm past the problem when someone knew I couldn't start it Too late for beginnings. I'm trying to figure out more about this song, but it's really good.

Speaker 5 32:16

It says Murphy has intentionally avoided explaining the songs. Songs are songs and to reduce them is to waste them there. Yeah, he did a really good job. We're safe.

Speaker 2 32:30

For the moment. Yeah, he did a really good job.

Speaker 5 32:36

Author Daniel Poppock found solace in the song after a breakup relating to the line there's all the work that needs to be done as a prompt for self-reflection. Maybe we're safe in the moment, yeah Uh but then when someone great is gone, our feeling of safety is not there.

Speaker 2 33:05

Yeah, this is one of the. Do you consider this one a hit? I think so, yeah.

Speaker 5 33:10

A lot of people consider that their best song ever.

Speaker 2 33:15

I do too.

Speaker 5 33:18

And this one.

Speaker 2 33:20

The Daft Punk one from the previous album was a big one too.

Speaker 5 33:24

A big one. Yeah, maybe not LCD Sound System Head's favorite.

Speaker 2 33:32

The way this album flows. Cool, because I mean, I think it leads up to this song, but there's there's other good songs after this one, but this is. Yeah, all my friends, I don't have to run this one by Robin, let's go. Let's go ahead a little bit here.

All My Friends: Nostalgia and Relationships

Speaker 5 34:14

Riddled was. Nostalgia Song finds James recalling his crazy younger years Excitement and bad decisions. Middle age Priorities change, friendships fade.

Speaker 2 34:28

Yeah.

Speaker 5 34:32

He was 37 when the song was released and start to figure it out.

Speaker 2 34:43

And if it's crowded, all the better. Better late than never. Maybe he needed that amount of time to get the song right. It feels better. This seems like their best song on this album. We're going to call this a hit, though.

Speaker 8 35:10

I don't think any of them are hits.

Speaker 5 35:15

I think we're open to.

Speaker 2 35:18

Let's just go free rain.

Speaker 1 35:35

Yeah, we shout out to the friends listening.

Speaker 5 35:38

Thanks for listening, friends.

Speaker 2 35:41

Yeah, this is a good opportunity to thank our friends. We have a lot of mutual friends and we have good family and friends. Shout out to all of you.

Speaker 8 35:51

If the sun comes up, if the sun comes up, if the sun comes up, and I still don't want to stack my phone.

Speaker 1 36:10

Then it's the memory of our betters that are keeping us on our feet.

Speaker 5 36:15

Five years turns into ten years.

Speaker 2 36:22

Whatever the plan is, that's kind of a cool line First five years trying to get with the plan, Next five years trying to get with the plan next five years trying to get with the friends.

Speaker 2 36:52

I wonder how different it is to be Like at this stage of life Back then as it is At the same age right now. Because, like after, after high school, like you didn't have the, you didn't have the internet there was really no, there was. Iming was just starting, starting when Patrick got out of college, yeah, and so, and had everybody had it down you know to where. Now you can just like look anybody up. So I mean, do you just touch your friends like nowadays? Do you think or did the same way?

Speaker 5 37:29

yeah, internet or any kind of easy modality to reach friends doesn't mitigate the hard sort of spending time together and actually doing things together or just existing together. You have to coexist, you know and do things.

Speaker 2 38:02

But the whole online relationship didn't exist in the same way then as it does now.

Speaker 5 38:09

Which probably made friends that were true friends even more important.

Speaker 2 38:14

Yeah, or you could develop relationships at a different level when it's live or in the flesh, in person. Right, yeah, you're right. You get more context, you get body language and really knowing how a person is doing come through.

Speaker 8 38:45

Cooler when you can see it.

Speaker 5 38:53

Salesforce into the night. Yeah, oh fool, oh fool, oh fool.

Speaker 8 39:17

Oh fool. And with a face like a television child in, you can sleep on the plane or review what you said. When you're drunk and the kids look impossible to end, you think over and over hey, I'm finally dead, I let the trip and the plan Come apart. And I am, you can turn it on yourself. You're a ridiculous cop. You forgot what you meant when you read what you said. And, yeah, we knew you were tired.

The Dance Continues: Album's Final Tracks

Speaker 2 40:00

But then, where are your friends tonight? Once more into the breach. Dear friends, if I could see all my friends tonight. If I could see all my friends tonight. If I could see all my friends tonight. If I could see all my friends tonight. That's a great party song For a wedding, something like that. Yeah Right. Yeah something like that yeah Right, yeah, that was good. All right, this is Us Versus them. That's a nice contrast to that last song, ups and downs, playing pretty minimally right now.

Speaker 5 41:22

The time has come, the hour time.

Speaker 2 41:35

This is our time, podcast time. That's right, let's go playing that bass, slapping the bass. Shout out nancy wang, who's literally I don't think it's doing anything at this moment. Shout out her anyway, like in the songs.

Speaker 5 41:56

Nancy, Is that her name? Just say no.

Speaker 2 42:00

Nancy.

Speaker 6 42:12

Just say, oh yeah, Just say no.

Speaker 8 42:27

We're really building up to this. This is A little.

Speaker 5 42:48

Is it James Murphy or?

Speaker 2 42:49

James Brown here, I don't know. Yeah, it is very James Brown-ish 21st century James Brown. Pat Mahoney's crushing it.

Speaker 8 43:25

Tyler Pope.

Speaker 2 43:27

Yeah, I'm a real fan of Pat Mahoney's drumming. It's hard to just keep the time like that, just at this pace, and even if it's the same rhythm, he's also doing the rock out with that. He's doing that.

Speaker 8 43:44

People want to tell you All the middle people want to dance. It's true, love. Block out the sun Over me, over me, and spoil, spoil all the fun. Oh, that's quite fun.

Speaker 2 44:15

What's your take on the song? How do you feel about it? It's long, it's 8.29.

Speaker 5 44:23

Yeah, it's kind of repetitive. It's always very repetitive's. All all this very repetitive, yeah, but that's what electronic music is. I mean, I don't think we've covered such an electronic no, I don't think so.

Speaker 2 44:42

I I dig it. That was the 80s right, well, no, yeah, well, I mean it's. It's evolved up to this point like you've got brianno. You know those. I don't know even the who. When we did those, I guess for the 70s.

Speaker 5 44:55

Some references from the who. The way they are Sure, Like even that background noise right there Right, Sounds a little bit like the who Sure.

Speaker 2 45:10

Yeah, but at this point in time it's 2007, and a lot's been done up to this point, so they're taking from a lot.

Speaker 5 45:18

Yeah, technology has gotten better, or it has.

Speaker 2 45:22

More convenient maybe, yeah, from this time period. But I mean, what they have to work with is really cool how they're blending the cowbell with the actual bass, with all the keyboards.

Speaker 6 45:50

Could we use a little more cowbell?

Speaker 8 45:54

That's impossible. Talk to me.

Speaker 7 46:02

Could we use a little more cowbell?

Speaker 8 46:04

Your eyes, lonely and drunk On your knees.

Speaker 3 46:14

No, I can pull it back a little if you like.

Speaker 8 46:16

Not too much, though I'm telling you, fellas, you're going to want that cowbell.

Speaker 5 46:25

I'm telling you, fellas, that's James. I don't know, james, I don't know about this much. Cowbell, fellas, I can pull it back a little bit, nancy, fellas, nancy, you want to play that cowbell?

Speaker 8 46:45

Just say no Us and them Over and over again. Us and them over and over again.

Speaker 7 46:56

Us and them over and over again.

Speaker 8 47:04

Us and them over and over again. Us and them over and over again, over again, because all the good people want to rescue, all the smart people want to talk to you, and all the good people do is if we need that extra push over the cliff.

Speaker 7 47:26

You know what we do. Push over the cliff. You know what we do. Pitch out of the cliff. You know what we do.

Speaker 6 47:31

Put it up to 11 One now.

Speaker 3 47:37

Us Extra Pitch out of the cliff Over and over again.

Speaker 8 47:44

Pitch out of the cliff Reveal Over and over again. Us Pitch out of the cliff Resell over and over again.

Speaker 4 47:53

To us to resale. Ah, would you listen to the gibberish they've got you saying it's sad and alarming.

Speaker 8 48:05

Resell over and over again To us to resale To over and over again, New normal. Over and over again. All the good people want to ask you Over and over again. All the clever people want to tell you Over and over again.

Speaker 6 48:26

Over and over again. That's what it's all about, man. Over and over again, Eating, drinking fucking sucking, Come on.

Speaker 5 48:47

Over and over again.

Speaker 4 48:48

It's over and over I think we can Next.

Speaker 5 48:52

Okay, yeah, there we go. All right, I think I skipped over this song.

Speaker 2 49:03

Yeah, I feel like I want to do it right now. This is getting cool.

Speaker 5 49:06

All right, it's got us peeps here.

Speaker 3 49:18

It's called.

Speaker 5 49:19

Watch the Tapes Shout out to the Diddy Jury. Okay, watching the tapes. Yeah, hey, watch those tapes. They're alarming. Yeah, they're horrible. That's what James doesn't want.

Speaker 8 49:39

He doesn't want that Hollywood life. Yes, socking, come on. Come on, I'll get you dance kit for this. Hey, man, you can take it as long as they don't shove you out in the cold. It's not getting better. No, it's not getting better, man, it's just getting older and I will be the one to come after you. Hey, we do a rental.

Speaker 3 50:20

I will do Cold tomorrow. Looks like she's going to turn cold tomorrow.

Speaker 5 50:23

They love LCD in Fargo, oh yeah.

Speaker 8 50:29

We'll get some downloads.

Speaker 5 50:45

Shout out to oh, here we go, double time.

Speaker 8 50:48

Yeah, four to the floor. Eight to the floor. I know.

Speaker 2 51:04

I like how they're slowing it up and speeding it up. Slow it down, speeding it up.

Speaker 8 51:10

You come for the weekend and you stay for the year. Avoid all your plants, because we're making our day jobs into a steady career. We're both high, high, high, high high on lemon seals. We all go, go, go, go, climb onto sinking ships and now. Avoid all the cold sideways glances and now Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate and then turn to stone. Read all the pamphlets and watch the tapes. Read all the pamphlets and watch the tapes. Read all the pamphlets and watch the tapes. You're tall. 25 pamphlets and watch the tapes. You're 25. And now you're all out of escapes. Go, that's me.

Speaker 3 52:03

Look at all that hair.

Speaker 2 52:05

I can't believe. I thought that looked good. It must have been high. That's me.

Speaker 8 52:10

I'm afraid that you're brave to steal blackout, which makes you a star. Read all the pamphlets and watch the tapes. Read all the pamphlets and watch the tapes. All right, wow.

Speaker 1 52:41

Okay.

Speaker 2 52:41

All right, so Sound of silver Talk to me.

Speaker 3 52:51

Makes you want to feel like a teenager.

Speaker 6 52:52

I'll get your damn kids for this. Remember the feelings of a real-life, emotional teenager. Then you think again. Sound of silver talk to me Makes you want to feel like a teenager.

Speaker 4 53:08

Oh no feel-feeling in the heart Naughty feelings.

Speaker 5 53:12

Naughty feelings.

Speaker 6 53:13

A real-life emotional teenager. What the fuck is he talking about? Talk is cheap.

Speaker 4 53:22

I want your body. I kind of look a little silly and my feelings are hurt.

Speaker 6 53:41

That feels, that feels better.

Speaker 4 53:48

And my feelings are hurt. Salking, come on of silver. Talk to me makes you want to feel like a teenager. We need to make this even weirder than it is.

Speaker 3 54:16

It's not so bad, could be worse. Rock and roll, simple lines intertwining. Also you have like really big eyes.

Speaker 4 54:49

Crazy, it's just wild, weird stuff. Feels a little weird.

Speaker 5 55:19

Feels a little weird.

Speaker 2 55:20

Should we get a word from our sponsor? What are we thinking?

Speaker 4 55:22

a cocoa. Let me fix you some of this new mo' cocoa drink. All natural cocoa beans from the upper slopes of Mount Nicaragua, no artificial sweeteners.

Speaker 2 55:30

Yeah, actually that's a good sponsor for this one. You need a little coffee to get up to this.

Speaker 3 55:40

Maybe a little more than that oh.

Speaker 5 55:51

Simple lines. Intertwining Sounds of simple lines, sounds of silver.

Speaker 2 56:11

I'm liking this. Yeah, this is at a pace different than the other songs. Deeper and deeper Way down it sounds kind of tropical.

Speaker 5 56:23

It does. It sounds like tropical, yet it's like lounge jazz. Now, yeah, it's technical Drippy jazz.

Speaker 2 56:29

Yeah, drippy jazz.

Speaker 5 56:30

Drippy jazz, drippy jazz.

Speaker 6 56:33

This is some drippy jazz. Drippy jazz, just some drippy jazz. I'm a teenager, until you remember the feelings of a real-life, emotional teenager.

Speaker 2 56:47

Then you think again, makes you want to feel like a teenager. It's a really low bass yeah.

Speaker 5 57:16

Double drop D.

Speaker 6 57:26

Really faint synthesizing.

Speaker 5 57:31

Should we skip ahead like a minute here you want to? Okay, it's kind of a oh, oh, it's kind of cool. I think Don likes this. These babies can go off.

Speaker 2 58:04

This is cool. Can you live in that moment With this genre? A beat goes on and on for a prolonged period of time Versus something a little bit more commercial. It's sort of intentional for effect for a prolonged period of time versus something a little bit more commercial. Right, it's sort of intentional, it's for effect, it's for live music. Yeah, that too. Yeah, of course, just getting into a mood, something like trance.

Speaker 5 58:29

Yeah, they'll play it even longer when it's live Sure.

Speaker 1 58:34

Which is great, as best you can, with clear eyes and love in your heart.

Speaker 2 58:43

All right, yeah, good timing on that. All right, all right, it's just going to be the organ, so we'll go to the next one. Oh, this is the last song New York. I.

Speaker 3 58:53

Love you, but you're bringing me down but you're bringing me down New York. I love you, but you're bringing me down.

Speaker 2 59:06

It's like a touching ode to his hometown.

Speaker 3 59:11

Like a rat in a cage Pulling minimum wage. New York, I love you.

Speaker 5 59:24

He's embracing his Frank Sinatra here. Who loves you, baby? His Tom Jones.

Speaker 3 59:32

New York, you're safer and you're wasting my time. New York, you're safer and you're wasting my time, come on, swing baby, you were filthy but fine. Platinum, come on, but they shuttered your stores when you opened the doors. Take the high road, baby, to the cops who were bored Once they'd run out of crime. New York, you're perfect. Oh, please, don't change a thing. You're mild billionaire Mayor's now convinced he's a king. Your mild billionaire mayor Is now convinced he's a king.

Speaker 2 1:00:21

And so the boring collage.

Speaker 1 1:00:26

I will all disrespect.

Speaker 3 1:00:31

In the neighborhood bars. I'd once dreamt I would dream.

Speaker 5 1:00:35

Shout out to Pete's.

Speaker 3 1:00:39

New York, I love you. Where is Peter's?

Speaker 5 1:00:43

You ask Midtown.

Speaker 3 1:00:47

There's a ton of the twist but we're fresh out of shout Like a death in the hall that you hear through your wall.

Speaker 8 1:01:01

Oh, there you are, peter.

Speaker 3 1:01:03

New York, I love you, but you're freaking me out it's got pictures of celebrities. New York, I love you, but you're bringing me down all ethnicities Not like do the right thing, Sure.

Speaker 8 1:01:19

New York, I love you, but you're bringing me down. Yeah, like a death of the heart.

Speaker 3 1:01:29

Jesus, where do I start? But you're still the one pool where I'd happily drown. No, it's kind of.

Speaker 8 1:01:42

And I'll take me off your mailing list for kids who think it still exists.

Speaker 3 1:01:51

Yes, for those who think it still exists. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe you're right. Maybe I'm wrong and maybe you're right.

Speaker 2 1:02:02

This is sort of like a love-hate relationship that he has with the city.

Speaker 8 1:02:06

Maybe I'm wrong and maybe you're right.

Speaker 5 1:02:11

Yeah, definitely Gentrification. Wow, god damn it, I like it?

Speaker 8 1:02:17

Yeah, definitely, gentrification. Wow, oh, maybe, mother, god damn it, I like it and there'll always be somebody there for you and you'll never be alone. But maybe she's wrong, maybe I'm right, and just maybe she's wrong. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm right.

Speaker 2 1:02:36

And if so, here's the answer Guitar solo yeah, this is the closest we've gotten to some guitar, right? Yeah, I like it Touching, just like chill out. Yeah, this is the last song, right?

Speaker 3 1:03:54

Yeah, so what's this?

Speaker 2 1:03:58

Taste is choice man. Well, like this is like at the end of the shop play the hits. This is like the last song he plays. This is supposed to be like his final encore. This is the last song, yeah, the last song he'd ever play. And then the guy got back together again.

Speaker 5 1:04:14

Yeah, but Four years later, but it was still a very To be in Madison Square Garden when you played that Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, almost yeah, it must have been really kind of a cool. To go out on a high, you know, and then come back yeah.

Speaker 2 1:04:31

Alright. Well, that's good stuff, man. So do you have a top three From there? I'm thinking you know All right. That's good. It's good stuff, man, so do you have a top three from there.

Speaker 5 1:04:39

You know, I think, new York, I love you, but you're bringing me down as number three. Okay, that's good stuff so much and I think, um, it maybe doesn't say exactly what he's trying to say, but maybe that's the point, I don't know. He's always sarcastic and convoluted in his you know, is it bringing down or is it, you know, bringing him up and down at the same time? You know, I don't know.

Speaker 2 1:05:13

Right.

Speaker 5 1:05:13

Yeah, it's complex.

Speaker 2 1:05:19

It is yeah, well, the lyrics are really yeah, it is a good song and I want to, I'm gonna, I'm gonna say number three, north american scum, nice, but it's my number three because it rocked. You know, I it just I liked how it like built, built up and built up and kind of got it didn't really it didn't feel political, it got regional kind of. Yeah, I don't know, but simple, simple hands intertwining. Yeah it was good.

Speaker 5 1:05:48

So it was a good song, it was a banger.

Speaker 2 1:05:50

It was a banger. Yeah, what's your number two? Oh, it's gotta be it's hard to decide, but these are all on the table, right? Yeah, I'm going to go all my friends. Yeah.

Speaker 5 1:06:05

That's number two. Shout out to the friends you know 37 when he made this and around the same age. You know, friends come and go and old friends, you know, are like what? Stars in the sky. You don't always see them, but you know they're there.

Speaker 2 1:06:22

So yeah, cheers Just gives you that. You know, that pit in your stomach. You know kind of a thing. It's like you love your friends, call your best friend, yeah, but it's also, you know, it's kind of as you get as you grow up older, sometimes you grow apart and you know it's just, you still love them though. Yeah, my number two is someone great, nice, it's brilliant, you know it's uh, you know I have a feeling that you're going to do better, a better job of telling us why that's a great song, so I'm just going to leave it at that. You know I'm not going to get deep in it. It just I need to listen to it more.

Speaker 2 1:07:08

You know I I can't do it justice but is it your number one?

Speaker 5 1:07:11

That's my number one, yeah, it's. It's, uh, maybe a song of of loss. You know, yeah, and somebody that is your mentor. It could be, it could be any any anybody, um, somebody you looked up to family member yeah, role model um of course yeah I don't want to get personal Again, like James, we shouldn't try to dissect these songs too much, because then it takes the joy out of it. Maybe In a way You're right In his eyes.

Ranking Our Top Non-Hits

Speaker 2 1:07:46

Yeah, well, that's why it was like I think, that's why I want, I'm going number one, all my Friends, because I see it, I want to, I want to, I want to put on the, the pedestal, uh, the positive song in this case you know we should. Music should be uplifting us and not being dragged down by loss, or I mean, sometimes it can be therapeutic, you know. It can make you feel, you know, not alone when you hear a sad song, like someone great or like a nostalgic, let's put it that way.

Speaker 5 1:08:24

I think it's more nostalgic than sad. I don't know.

Speaker 2 1:08:27

Yeah, yeah, but I, I'm just, I think I'm in the mood to be like, yeah, all my friends, you know it's, you're celebrating and you're all together and that that uplifting vibe and spirit that it has, and after listening to all this, I can see how it'd be like a lot of a good thing all the time and something that you just need to get away from. Yeah, yeah, which culminates with new york. I love you, but you're bringing me down, kind of a thing, but uh just a lot of people in a small place.

Speaker 2 1:08:58

But a great album. I mean, I even like Us Versus them. There's something about that song.

Speaker 5 1:09:03

Yeah, time to Get Away. North American Scum Get Innocuous.

Speaker 2 1:09:07

There's a lot.

Speaker 5 1:09:09

They're all good, they're all much on the list of non-hits that people who don't know this band. It could be your favorite song If you like electronic music. Maybe a lot of people don't.

Speaker 2 1:09:20

Yeah, but it's just, it's concentrated in the New York scene in the 2000s. You know it has. It's a, it's a time and a place. That's what this album is, but it's it's good, it's good stuff, so we'll put a.