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Editorial Reviews
2010 release, the third album proper from James Murphy's LCD Soundsystem, follows 2007's warmly received 'Sounds Of Silver'. Musically inspired by late 1970's David Bowie, This Is Happening also has artwork that directly references Bowie's classic 1979 album Lodger. The record retains Murphy's idiosyncratic sense of humour and includes the single 'Drunk Girls'. EMI.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
.. but great artists steal, or so they say.
And LCD are certainly mining the past on their third effort, the deliberately dense "This is Happening." James Murphy, the frontman and only solid emelent of an otherwise revolving lineup, has never been shy about proclaiming his influences and touting his musical heroes, but previous lp's always seemed more a mis-mash of otherwise incoherent styles, rather than the clear homages that mark this, the newest LCD album.
Not that I'm complaining; far from it. But let there be a warning to those who don't find late 70's Bowie or Iggy to their taste: a full three songs on the sprawling nine track lp are, beyond a reasonable doubt, directly inspired by Bowie & Co.
Drunk Girls, for example, copies "Lodger's" Boys Keep Swinging, while Somebody's Calling Me borrows nearly note for note the backing blips and piano of "The Idiot's" Nightclubbing. All I Want, too, reaches back to Bowie's "Heroes" for its Eno-itized riffing and vocal delivery.
The video for All My Friends clued us all in that Bowie's Berlin Tryptich served as a muse for Murphy and his band, but never before has it been more clear that the Bowie/Iggy partnership circa '76-'79 really ground LCD in the canon of Rock 'n' Roll rather than more modern dance music.
Which isn't to say the dance/electro that marked the beginning of LCD's career isn't still there. It's just much more subtle and nuanced when it is. Songs like One Hit and Dance Yrself Clean both feature the requisite kickdrums and basslines, but the melodies and lyrics are much more at the forefront. The days of Daft Punk is Playing at My House are over. If LCD's going to make a dance song now, they earn it with emotional impact and complex dynamic shifts.
So yes, LCD Soundsystem has matured. The humorous breaks don't dominate the record this time around, they just pepper delicate and honest confessional pieces. Think Someone Great and All My Friends for most of the record. Even the on-its-surface crass Drunk Girls proclaims during its bridge, "I believe in waking up together," a romantic assertion if ever I heard one.
So Murphy's grown up, in a nutshell. And if growing up lyrically means trading in the dirty indietronic rave-ups for '70s alt-rock inspired anthems, more power to him.
Just beware: most songs break the six minute mark.
And LCD are certainly mining the past on their third effort, the deliberately dense "This is Happening." James Murphy, the frontman and only solid emelent of an otherwise revolving lineup, has never been shy about proclaiming his influences and touting his musical heroes, but previous lp's always seemed more a mis-mash of otherwise incoherent styles, rather than the clear homages that mark this, the newest LCD album.
Not that I'm complaining; far from it. But let there be a warning to those who don't find late 70's Bowie or Iggy to their taste: a full three songs on the sprawling nine track lp are, beyond a reasonable doubt, directly inspired by Bowie & Co.
Drunk Girls, for example, copies "Lodger's" Boys Keep Swinging, while Somebody's Calling Me borrows nearly note for note the backing blips and piano of "The Idiot's" Nightclubbing. All I Want, too, reaches back to Bowie's "Heroes" for its Eno-itized riffing and vocal delivery.
The video for All My Friends clued us all in that Bowie's Berlin Tryptich served as a muse for Murphy and his band, but never before has it been more clear that the Bowie/Iggy partnership circa '76-'79 really ground LCD in the canon of Rock 'n' Roll rather than more modern dance music.
Which isn't to say the dance/electro that marked the beginning of LCD's career isn't still there. It's just much more subtle and nuanced when it is. Songs like One Hit and Dance Yrself Clean both feature the requisite kickdrums and basslines, but the melodies and lyrics are much more at the forefront. The days of Daft Punk is Playing at My House are over. If LCD's going to make a dance song now, they earn it with emotional impact and complex dynamic shifts.
So yes, LCD Soundsystem has matured. The humorous breaks don't dominate the record this time around, they just pepper delicate and honest confessional pieces. Think Someone Great and All My Friends for most of the record. Even the on-its-surface crass Drunk Girls proclaims during its bridge, "I believe in waking up together," a romantic assertion if ever I heard one.
So Murphy's grown up, in a nutshell. And if growing up lyrically means trading in the dirty indietronic rave-ups for '70s alt-rock inspired anthems, more power to him.
Just beware: most songs break the six minute mark.
27 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By J. B. Bell
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Going through my first listen now. Was dubious about buying this one due to the writings of the musical literates who listed all the influences that this album draws from and claimed it was a bad thing. There's nothing LCD Soundsystem has produced in the past that I didn't appreciate and enjoy. This album is no different.
Rock and roll is just cleaned up blues. Everything's been done and nothing's original. Shakespeare stole, so did Dylan, so did the Stones and the Beatles, as does Scorsese, Tarantino, and even (gasp) David Bowie.
The point is to make the thing you're doing so fun and awesome that no one will have time to complain.
This album is flat out beautiful. Very different mood than the prior releases. Murphy seems to have taken off his armor for this one, trading in irony, humor and up tempo catchphrase tunes for sincerity and haunting melodies.
Oscar Wilde said thst the only reason for a work of art to exist is to be beautiful, and that beauty was useless, in the pragmatic, workaday sense.
This is a useless, beautiful album.
It feels like New York city at night, fat with promise and heartache.
Buy it.
Rock and roll is just cleaned up blues. Everything's been done and nothing's original. Shakespeare stole, so did Dylan, so did the Stones and the Beatles, as does Scorsese, Tarantino, and even (gasp) David Bowie.
The point is to make the thing you're doing so fun and awesome that no one will have time to complain.
This album is flat out beautiful. Very different mood than the prior releases. Murphy seems to have taken off his armor for this one, trading in irony, humor and up tempo catchphrase tunes for sincerity and haunting melodies.
Oscar Wilde said thst the only reason for a work of art to exist is to be beautiful, and that beauty was useless, in the pragmatic, workaday sense.
This is a useless, beautiful album.
It feels like New York city at night, fat with promise and heartache.
Buy it.
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I don't know that anyone makes better use of Cowbell than LCD Soundsystem. I don't know if its even possible. But seriously, they make good use of every instrument on every album. It's clearly a mission to take Old School Analog gear and percussion from old school dance and electronica and reinvent them in a fresh way.
Somehow they find ways to keep the music rich while appearing simple and highly accessible. This is True on all the LCD Sound System Albums, but especially on "This Is Happening". Ironically, on the track "you wanted a hit" he talks about how they don't set out to "make hits", but i truly believe LCD succeeds by staying true to its heart and making music that they as a band believe in.
This definitely an album to check out if you're looking for anything with cool grooves and a touch of rock here and there. its a nicely balanced palate of funk, dance, rock, with "indie" flavor and tongue in cheek sprinklings of humor.
My stand out tracks are (in order of appearance): DANCE YOURSELF CLEAN; DRUNK GIRLS; ONE TOUCH; I CAN CHANGE; YOU WANTED A HIT; POW POW; and HOME.
If you haven't heard the other albums, make sure to pick up Sound of Silver and the LCD Soundsystem albums.
Five stars for this one.
Somehow they find ways to keep the music rich while appearing simple and highly accessible. This is True on all the LCD Sound System Albums, but especially on "This Is Happening". Ironically, on the track "you wanted a hit" he talks about how they don't set out to "make hits", but i truly believe LCD succeeds by staying true to its heart and making music that they as a band believe in.
This definitely an album to check out if you're looking for anything with cool grooves and a touch of rock here and there. its a nicely balanced palate of funk, dance, rock, with "indie" flavor and tongue in cheek sprinklings of humor.
My stand out tracks are (in order of appearance): DANCE YOURSELF CLEAN; DRUNK GIRLS; ONE TOUCH; I CAN CHANGE; YOU WANTED A HIT; POW POW; and HOME.
If you haven't heard the other albums, make sure to pick up Sound of Silver and the LCD Soundsystem albums.
Five stars for this one.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
gteat dance music
Great dance music have enjoyed more and more when listening to it Never heard of this group until heard in NPR
Published 1 month ago by Michael Carpenter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must have
Some of these somgs are true works of art. The only problem is that the album needs more tracks as nobody ever wants it to end.
Published 3 months ago by John M. Neveu
5.0 out of 5 stars
So Much Love!
LCD Soundsystem never disappoints, but their last (but hopefully, not least) album delivered on some seriously amazing tunes. Read more
Published 4 months ago by amy
5.0 out of 5 stars
I was there.... and I love LCD!!
I've been a huge fan of Talking Heads since 1980 (I was a teenager then) and I've listened to their albumus hundreds (if not thousands) of times, enjoying them immensely every... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Marite
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great album by a great band
I got turned on to their music from reviews on Pitchfork.com. The first album I purchased was Sound of Silver after Pitchfork selected it their second best album of 2007 and "All... Read more
Published 11 months ago by VeniceBeach
1.0 out of 5 stars
This is a joke, right?
This was being done 20 years ago by Bowie, Depeche Mode, and a whole bunch of other bands with 1000 times more talent. Read more
Published 13 months ago by A. Najarian
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Perfect Farewell
Maybe it will take multiple listens. Or a somehow altered state of mind. Or, really, really listening. More than likely, it will happen the first time through. Read more
Published 17 months ago by STEPHEN
4.0 out of 5 stars
This album has grown on me and I love it now.
This album has grown on me and i listen to it quite often. Its a bit sad that this will be LCD's last album and they won't be doing anymore shows, because Id buy a ticket for every... Read more
Published on April 19, 2011 by ButcherChop
5.0 out of 5 stars
Their masterpiece.
I think this is their best album and the closest thing to a masterpiece IMO and sadly, maybe.. their last one. But, at least they went out with a bang. Read more
Published on April 3, 2011 by Kalsan
4.0 out of 5 stars
good cd
We liked the music alot. My husband and I are in our late 60's and wanted a change from rb and soft jazz. This, for us, was a fun experience, and we enjoy the music . Read more
Published on March 29, 2011 by v.o. michigan
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