Unbest

Alicia Johnson on LCD Soundsystem
(iTunes, Rdio, Spotify) 

schwamommy:

so i know everyone was already privy to the amazingness of LCD SOUNDSYSTEM (and james murphy) prior to 2011. and technically, i accidentally fell madly in love with them in a single night of late fall 2010. for years, i knew who they were, had heard the name, seen many written pieces, recognized their inclusion in numerous year end lists, probably even danced to their music. it wasn’t until taking an old friend to see SLEIGH BELLS open for them at the tabernacle that i was blown away. yes, i purchased those tickets for the sole purpose of seeing the opening band, then promptly exiting in order to beat the herd home. not to mention, it was quickly discovered that my ex was present, whom i was still madly in love with. so SB was great and i was ready to split. said friend convinced me to stay and hear one or two of the headliner’s songs, declaring she just KNEW i would like them.

i read later (ex’s twitter feed) something to do with how james murphy came onstage like he was walking into a monday morning office meeting. he was right. i swear i remember him appearing w/a coffee mug in hand, which may or may not be actual. at that moment, i certainly didn’t expect to be swept up in music i didn’t know, jumping up and down with abandon to music i had never heard before. i didn’t even know the words. or the people around me. but i was taken away. i just can’t think of a better way to say it: I WAS COMPLETELY SWEPT UP. within three minutes. this just doesn’t happen. not to me, anyway.

i spent the next few months, into 2011, devouring everything i could listen to or read. i fell in love with murphy’s wit and precision, his absolute control freak perfectionism of the music he created. and the lyrics. oh man, the words. this was music that became as amazing and meaningful to me as all things jack white. and if you knew me, you would know what a statement that is.

in 2011, i was beyond obsessed. still reeling in heartbreak and what i had been through, i particularly related to I CAN CHANGE. i would listen to that song as loud as possible on repeat in my car, belting out the lyrics with tears rolling down my face. i know. insane. that song can still bring me to tears. love is a murderer! love is a curse shoved in a hearse! SOMEONE GREAT has a similar effect. DANCE YRSLEF CLEAN? i couldn’t hear that song without jumping up and down with all my heart at 3:06. and that was just the surface. i went on to discover, sequentially backwards through the discography, how clever (lyrics) and extraordinary (music) murphy’s magic was.

then came LCD’s announcement that they were calling it quits. there would be one last show in NYC. i had to go. i just had to be there. i’m sure everyone is aware of the ticket debacle for the madison square garden show and the subsequent string of shows added leading up to that final show. i managed to secure two tickets to the first of those shows. seeing that show was hands down one of the highlights of my 2011. the events that took place the prior few days, including but not limited to my partner in crime spending LCD EVE in the ER (that’s a whole other story worth writing), were some of the most stressful. we made it, though, with her in a wheelchair. it was 3.5 hours of any and all LCD you can imagine. i was sore and exhausted for days after from dancing so hard.

so yeah, i will always remember 2011 as the year of LCD SOUNDSYSTEM. admittedly late and i love them just as passionately now at the onset of 2012, but last year was my year of truly discovering them. i read somewhere once that LCD SOUNDSYSTEM was music for people who like dance music with meaningful lyrics. or something like that. i couldn’t agree more, even if it’s not an accurate recollection of the quote.

Alicia Johnson is an Atlanta-based graphic designer and total word nerd that under-capitalizes, over-punctuates, and employees half phrases.