hand me down tuesdaY: LCD Soundsystem vs. Franz Ferdinand

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In this edition of hand me down tuesdaY worlds are colliding.  Ok, not really but, they could be. During an awkward part of my teens, between my hip hop centered universe and my jam band hippie love-ins, I glowsticked my way into the previously uncharted territory of electronic music. For a short period of time I drank Mountain Dew, ate large quantities of Doritos, and listened to nothing but The Chemical Brothers Exit Planet Dust. My arteries are happy that’s over!  If I were to write The Life and Times of Avanhizzle today, the chapter titled “Bip, bop, biggity: Doritos, Mountain Dew, and two English Beat Makers” would be shorter than most but that’s only because there had been, IMO, less quality and quantity being produced on that front.  Until a couple of years ago anyway. My appreciation for this genre continues to grow as new beats  and ways to create and record music arise on the regular.  Read this site regularly and check out all of our deliciously free mixtapes if you’re unsure.  Get your feet wet.

Today I bring you “All My Friends” by the amazing James Murphy/LCD Soundsystem and also by Franz Ferdinand.  Enjoy!

I posted elsewhere that I have reached a time in my life where I put lyrics second to music.  Obviously the music builds the structure and foundation, while the lyrics furnish it.  In my world a sturdy foundation is far more important than nice furniture.  For example, if a song doesn’t sound good, the lyrics could glorify my existence and proclaim me king of the world, but I’d still hate it.  The lyrics could be great and the music shite, but I would’ve turned it off too early to tell.  On the other side of the coin, I can have seisures to great music.  And sometimes the music is great and the lyrics a perfect fit.  One of the first times I realized this was with LCD Soundstystem’s “All My Friends.”

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to this song.  I share many memories with it as  I was mildly obssesed and drunk with it for a while.  My favorite memory is I used to put Sound of Silver on, turn the bass and volume all the way up and point the speakers at the ceiling so that my rude neighbors would know that my music was far better and way louder than theirs.  Their speakers would go silent and the voice of Bradley Nowell (r.i.p) would thankfully but temporarily be hushed.

I really dig how the piano at the front as it’s a perfect threshold to the dance mania that ensues.  The keys, mildly frantic but friendly, act like greeters that say “if you’re apprehensive, chill out! we’ll loop around until you get comfortable.”  That shits like a vacuum! Whip! And small shakes, different key taps, and the embossed invitation in the form of beats that crawl out of the floor hold your hand as you enter.  Your head starts to bob and the beat bounces off the walls as you start to get giddy.

You get in and who’s there to greet you? James Murphy; the everyman that speaks to us, at us, and for us.  The first ten or so listens may not reveal the complexity and nostalgia built into the music but after you come down from the sonic high, listen as he unravels an inevitable tale that takes you from adolescence to complacence.  Follow along on the way to adulthood; where conversations grind away and morals kick in.  Grab some friends or some headphones and figure it out!!!

MP3: LCD Soundsystem-All My Friends

Franz Ferdinand give the song a go and do a semi decent job.  Since its hard to capture the energy and bombast of the original they deconstruct it and make the track somewhat their own.  The whole reworking seems to be a reading of the meaning behind Murphy’s lyrics of confusion and getting on in life. This reading has to be sufficient in order to justify the recording.  The fuzzy guitar work at the front, the decent backbeat, vocal phrasing, and explosion of sound in the middle that render the lyrics inaudible give the song some early Velvets appeal and also add mucho pulp to my interpretation.  Download the free tracks, giv’em a listen and fill us in on what you think.

MP3: Franz Ferdinand: All My Friends