Sound of Silver by LCD Soundsystem

by Lana Fleischli

My earliest LCD Soundsystem memories are well… early. My mom was obsessed (and  still is). I remember being in the car in the parking lot at the Beverly Center when I was four or five, and she was playing LCD Soundsystem. I remember being confused. It was different from anything she had ever played before. 

I always recognized LCD Soundsystem songs, but I never sat down and fully listened to them, so that’s what I did this week. I listened to Sound Of Silver in the car on my way to school in the morning.  As the short pulsing beats from “Someone Great” came on, I was driving on the freeway and could see a lot of the city. I immediately thought of Gossip Girl. At some point in that show, they use “Someone Great” as the sound over a panning view in New York City. The music consultants on Gossip Girl must have really liked LCD Soundsystem because they also used “New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down”. 

Sound Of Silver makes you want to dance initially, because of songs like “All My Friends,” and “Us V Them.” But then there’s “New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down,“ that kind of comes out of nowhere and shocks you because you are probably expecting another fun, upbeat, song joined by their signature pulsing beats and rhythms. 

The thing about LCD Soundsystem, which makes them very different from other bands, is that it’s hard to place them in a genre. It is something we are seeing a lot more now, and it's great! The idea of genre is annoying because it puts music in a place that deters people who aren’t listeners of that genre to not listen and not branch out. We all fall victim to the idea of genre. I know I do (it’s pretty easy to tell if you look at my posts). 

That’s why LCD Soundsystem is so cool. It’s like there’s a little something for everyone. I remember the first time I realized that was when they headlined Coachella a few years ago. There were people of all tastes and identities who were so excited to watch the show. Even seeing my friends and their parents that were just as excited as my mom was. It gave me an entirely different perception of LCD Soundsystem than I had before. 

Listening to and thinking about Sound Of Silver over the past couple days has made me reflect on the fact that we have biases about music based on the label we give it. It should just be about what we like and dislike, versus what we feel like we should like. Genre doesn’t matter, LCD Soundsystem has shown us that.