2002’s “Losing My Edge”, LCD Soundsystem’s first and most zeitgeist nailing single is an aging hipster’s take on the fickleness of music trends. “I hear that you and your band have sold your guitars and bought turntables” croons frontman James Murphy – a sentiment intended to ridicule not foretell. But foretell he did because seven years later his NYC contemporaries did just that.
The genre hopping was spearheaded by Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ disco-popping third studio LP “It’s Blitz!” released earlier this year. Likewise “11th Dimension”, the first offering from Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas opts for dancefloor friendly electronics over his garage roots. That’s not necessarily a bad thing mind you, in fact it’s pretty damn infectious.
Taken from his debut album “Phrazes For The Young” Casablancas 2.0 sounds like a gay cruise act covering The Strokes with camp synths in place of guitars. Some things don’t change though, the cheesy synth bounce may be unashamedly 80’s but the disenchanted drawl is vintage 2001.
If you don’t vibe on the dancier incarnation as much as we do and if James Murphy is as clairvoyant
as we think he is – fret not. In the next line of “Losing My Edge” Murphy predicts they’ll sell their turntables and buy guitars. Ah the ebbs and flows.
