In April of 2011, LCD Soundsystem performed a monumental three-and-a-half hour show at Madison Square Garden that was billed as their final show ever. Fans flew from all over the globe to say dance themselves clean and say goodbye to the dance-punk outfit that made a name for themselves with self-referential lyrics and impressive electronic arrangements. A little less than a year after the band waved goodbye, in January of 2012, a documentary called Shut Up And Play The Hits premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that their final show and interspersed with sections featuring frontman James Murphy reflecting on the band with prompts from Chuck Klosterman.
A decade later, that Madison Square Garden gig turned out to be more of a “see you later” than a “goodbye.” LCD Soundsystem returned to the stage in March of 2016 before headlining Coachella that same year, and they even dropped a new record in 2017’s American Dream. Everything that has transpired in the 10 years since Shut Up And Play The Hits was released greatly affects — and perhaps completely undermines — the film’s context and one’s ability to appreciate it as a swan song. On this week’s episode of Indiecast, Steve and Ian try to come to terms with the legacy of the film, and LCD Soundsystem as a whole.
In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian is plugging Pedro The Lion’s new album Havasu, which came as a surprise earlier this week. Steve is urging people to check out Elvis Costello‘s The Boy Named If, which is the 32nd studio album from the legendary songwriter.
New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 73 on Spotify below, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts here. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at indiecastmailbag@gmail.com, and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.
