“This is Happening” by LCD Soundsystem
2010s Week kicks off with a biting, knowing dance-rock masterclass.
Programming note: It’s 2010s week! I'm spotlighting some of my favorite records released between 2010 and 2019. Like previous decade-themed newsletter posts, I've selected albums that cover multiple genres and deliberately avoided the well-worn titles that top all "best of" lists for this decade. In other words, no blonde, To Pimp a Butterfly, and so on.
Hope you enjoy it!
Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!
Today’s 2010s music pick is LCD Soundsystem’s third and best album, a biting, knowing dance-rock masterclass.
Genre: Alternative, New Wave, Pop
Label: DFA
Release Date: May 18, 2010
Vibe: 🪩🕺
Prior to This is Happening, LCD Soundsystem’s music used irony and nostalgia as defense mechanisms. Tracks like “Losing My Edge” feature James Murphy being self-deprecating to the point where it prevents us from getting anywhere close to him. On Happening, he explodes out of that comfort zone, tempering the sarcastic brattiness with introspection and longing, crafting an album as emotionally raw as it is danceable.
His central thesis—that genuinely living in the present means forging honest connections with those around you—is fleshed out with stark relatability. He sums it up succinctly on “Home:” “If you're afraid of what you need/Look around you, you're surrounded/It won't get any better.” The confessional nature of Murphy’s writing, often beset by angst and confusion, is not only the best of his career but some of the best of the decade. He has a gift for keeping it real with his pop hooks, finding his way to emotional clarity through misdirection. On the glittering David Bowie ode “Pow Pow,” he sings: “What you want from now is someone to feel you.” In an increasingly isolating, divisive, and plugged-in world, his songwriting has aged gracefully.
The alt-dance floor-fillers, no small part of the group’s reputation, are top-notch on Happening. The opener, “Dance Yrself Clean,” is extraordinary, starting as a slinky, melancholic monologue before exploding with one of the greatest beat drops of all time. The gear shift gives way to Murphy’s frustrated shriek: "Don't you want me to wake up/Then give me just a bit of your time.” Oddball cuts like “Drunk Girls” and “You Wanted a Hit” serve up ample snark, the latter a particularly pointed shot-taker at the music industry’s outsized expectations for Murphy. All that said, the strongest moments on this record are still its most bittersweet. “All I Want” sounds like it’s literally reaching out for someone to love, while the glorious “I Can Change” buries festering desperation and longing underneath bouncy 80s synths.
As a sum of its parts, this LP represents the most refined, mature, and perhaps deconstructed version of LCD Soundsystem. “I spent my whole life wanting to be cool,” Murphy told the Guardian in 2010. “[But] I've come to realize that coolness doesn't exist the way I once assumed.”
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈