JC writes…..
September is shaping up to be a bit of a busy month for me, with four trips away from home involving overnight stays. I’m unsure if I’ll be able to devote a huge amount of time to the blog other than keeping the ICA World Cup moving along, and so have decided to fall back on nostalgia to ensure there are daily posts.
The gimmick is that the nostalgia will look at some of the oldest ICAs, not reproducing them in full, but delving into a maximum, for the most part, of three songs
It’s a sort of expansion on something I did this time last year when there was a four-day mini-series called ‘Some Words From An Earlier ICA’. I went onto look at LCD Soundsystem (#9), Teenage Fanclub (#86), The Velvet Underground (#123) and Super Furry Animals (#18).
I’m again kicking things off with LCD Soundsystem, from ICA 9, as written up by SWC. The rest of this post are all his words…..
What made them great was the fact that they were genreless, they were DJs, they did songs, techno, dark stuff, rock stuff, pop crossover. LCD Soundsystem transcended the divide by combing dance and punk.
Daft Punk is Playing At My House
(I’ve gone for Soulwax Mix simply because of the bit where it goes ‘DOWNTOWN’)
This was LCD Soundsystem’s most successful song, earning a Grammy nod and reaching No. 29 on the UK charts. It’s not hard to see why. James Murphy always knew how to start a party, from the opening “OW! OW!” to the smashing hi-hats to cowbells and even reminding us that he had moved the furniture to the garage. A belter of a record.
Dance Yrself Clean
The one thing about LCD Soundsystem that frustrated everyone was their reluctance to write ‘hit records’. They never got played on the radio, not the shows that sell records anywhere. This track was another raised middle finger to the industry, an eight-minute raised middle finger of a single. It kind of wobbles along at half volume and includes a flute – A FLUTE – instead of a crashing beat or bass that you kind of expect and then suddenly it bursts and goes on for eight minutes. Plus, and perhaps the main reason it is here – The Muppets are in the video for it, and it is the greatest music video ever made.
All My Friends
Murphy hates this song, and yet it is clearly their greatest moment. He thinks it is too poppy and embarrassing. It is certainly the most romantic song he ever wrote. I have always thought it is widely reminiscent of ‘Ceremony’ by New Order, but the call to arms of for his friends ‘If I could see all my friends tonight’ really emphasises the quality of this band and the friendship its members have.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
Love the comparison of All My Friends and Ceremony – for me very similar feels to the tracks and just a bit different to other songs around at the time they both came out..
I somehow missed LCDSS when they were happening, which is a shame because I like everything I hear. All of these tunes included.
I still haven’t heard the first note of LCD Soundsystem! [one day…]
Sometimes I have some misgivings about LCD but I loved the early singles and Sound of Silver was much played round here when it came out. All My Friends is another level, huge, a superb piece of pop and one of the 21st century’s musical highlights. The John Cale cover is rather good too.