LCD Soundsystem: One Thread Is Never Enough

[corianderstem]

I don't think so - but I saw that they go on sale Friday June 8th. I've got it on my calendar at work to pop on to buy a ticket.

 

[PhilsFan]

THIS IS THE SIXTH LARGEST CITY IN THE FUCKING COUNTRY AND WE ARE NOT GETTING THlS???

 

[mobvok]

Don't take this away from Plano, Texas. It's all they have

(and Doritos)

 

[Imperor]

Speaking as someone who grew up in DFW and is seeing a couple girls from Plano who have both sang its praises, I can tell you that theater is really wonderful and gets stuff like that all the time. Same deal as the Angelika in Dallas.

Anyway, there are far more egregious places to have over Philly on that list than the absolutely massive Plano.

 

[mobvok]

well, I guess picking Bethlehem, PA instead of Philly has gotta sting a bit?

 

[Imperor]

Shut Up and Play the Hits tickets acquired.

 

[corianderstem]

Ditto. Yay!

 

[The Sad Punk]

I loved that bit of Dance Yrself Clean released.

Also:

07.18.12 Philadelphia, PA Rave University 6

Cobbler, you seen any other Australian dates?

 

[cobl04]

Me too. Beyond excited.

It's just been announced for Melbourne International Film Festival, and it just played at Sydney. No other word though.

 

[PhilsFan]

I loved that bit of Dance Yrself Clean released.

Also:

07.18.12 Philadelphia, PA Rave University 6

Cobbler, you seen any other Australian dates?

Swish.

 

[joyfulgirl]

It's actually going to play here?! POW!

 

[cobl04]

It's actually going to play here?! POW!

I don't like the bit where they actually say "pow pow".

 

[Danny Boy]

There's an interview with James Murphy on NPR's Fresh Air.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/james-murphy-brains-behind/id214089682?i=117797747

 

[joyfulgirl]

I called my local theater yesterday to see if they were selling tickets yet. They were like, huh? What? That's not until the 18th. I said yeah, but it's a tiny theater and it's selling out across the country. He laughed and said, "Uh, don't worry. You'll be fine." I guess it will be me and the same 10 people who were at the Sigur Ros screening.

 

[Danny Boy]

I went to opening night of U2 3D in Virginia Beach and there were literally like 10 people in the theater. I got there an hour early and was expecting to wait in line. Ended up chatting with the concession staff instead.

 

[iron yuppie]

You know those rare songs that are so incredibly poignant that they feel like they were written with you specifically in mind? "Someone Great" is one of those songs.

 

[cobl04]

That's how I feel about Home.

And All My Friends, even though I'm not 40 and don't have kids.

 

[LemonMelon]

I hope I never relate to Someone Great.

Then again, that would suggest I never had someone important to look up to, ever, and that would suck.

 

[The Sad Punk]

How do you read Someone Great, LeMel? I see it specifically as being about a miscarriage, but it definitely develops a whole new level when someone close to you dies. I don't know if there's a better song written about death, certainly not in the past ten years.

 

[cobl04]

I've always thought it was about the dissolution of a relationship, or the death of a lover, but that's what I love about it, it's so vague. I see where you're coming from Bonnie "you're smaller than my wife imagined / surprised you were human". I wonder if James or a friend went through a miscarriage.

It's incredible, whatever it's about. I felt like it was never quite as good live though, with the warm bass line replaced by a clanging.

Incidentally James said a few days ago they were open to the idea of writing a song or doing a cover as LCD for some movie.

 

[LemonMelon]

I always thought it was about the death of a very close friend that you confided a lot of shit in, specifically someone a bit older. Seemed like a counselor or psychiatrist to me, almost.

"I wish we could talk about it
But, see, that's the problem"

He always confided in this person about his anxieties, and now he's no longer there because he passed. This is the problem.

"You're smaller than my wife imagined
Surprised, you were human"

He had said so much to his wife about this man, but she had never had the chance to meet him while he was alive. He seemed larger than life.

The "with someone new I could have started" line confuses me if the song is about a miscarriage (to me, it just means that he could look for someone else to talk to), and the stuff about their conversations wouldn't have much relevance, but other than that, it's a sound interpretation. It's NOT about the dissolution of a romantic relationship. There's a death involved, and the only feelings that come across are those of two people who find each other intellectually fulfilling IMO.

 

[bono_212]

I didn't always think the song was about a psychiatrist, I actually thought it was about an affair (because of the lyric about his wife, and not paying the closest attention to the lyrics). Then LeMel put the psychiatrist idea into my head, and I couldn't quite deny it. Then I also came across this: I think the song is about George Kamen, a pychiatrist practicing in NY, to whom the album is dedicated to and to whom I would speculate the songwriter went to for therapy. (Via Songmeanings, so take of that what you will LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great)

 

[LemonMelon]

Then there are a bunch of posts that state it's about a miscarriage, citing an interview...

And then someone else cited an interview saying that James Murphy never wrote it about ANY specific incident, so who knows.

But, to me, the therapist angle makes most sense, and the dedication is pretty undeniable.

 

[bono_212]

It's Songmeanings

(But I hate their new layout)

 

[cobl04]

I think the whole point is it's not specific, but I don't see how you can rule out the dissolution of a relationship, or the death of a lover. Obviously it would have had to have been a very serious relationship, not just a fling, but I think it still works.

So the first two verses

I wish that we could talk about it
But there that's the problem
With someone new I couldn't start it
Too late for beginnings
The little things that made me nervous
Are gone in a moment
I miss the way we used to argue
Locked in your basement

I wake up and the phone is ringing
Surprised as it's early
And that should be the perfect warning
That something's a problem
To tell the truth I saw it coming
The way you were breathing
But nothing can prepare you for it
The voice on the other end


That's him talking to an ex-lover. Maybe receiving a phone call from a relative saying "X has just died". It's so open to interpretation, it means something different to everyone. That's part of why I love it so.

And yes, their new website fucking sucks.

 

[bono_212]

It's that "Little things that made me nervous" line that really seals it for me. But I am definitely not one to deny another their own interpretation of a song.

 

[djerdap]

Someone Great is definitely James Murphy's high point as a songwriter. The miscarriage theory seems perfect to me. That also leading to the dissolution of a relationship (so it also works as a combination of the two), since they can't talk about this trauma that happened to them.

 

[cobl04]

Someone Great is definitely James Murphy's high point as a songwriter.

Really?

LCD Soundsystem - Watch The Tapes - YouTube

 

[Jive Turkey]

Really?

Might be my favourite too. Watch the tapes is near the bottom of my Sound of Silver list

 

[iron yuppie]

...and the only feelings that come across are those of two people who find each other intellectually fulfilling IMO.

I think this is it, with the qualification that it could be an emotional fulfillment as well. I don't think that death necessarily enters the picture; it could be any kind of absence.

The song means something very specific to me, which I won't divulge here because I don't want this to become Zoo Confessionals, but it has to do with someone who is important to you but also out of your reach. Hence the line "I wish that we could talk about it; but, there, that's the problem."