Media

LCD Soundsystem: Big Ideas (Track Review)

6:06 a.m. · February 27, 2008 · by Jeff Klingman

With all due respect Thom Yorke, he cannot tell James Murphy what to do. Despite our lazy-eyed British hero's recent assertion to the contrary LCD Soundsystem's "Big Ideas" are most definitely happening. This new song, destined for the soundtrack of future Kevin Spacey card-counting caper 21, is just effortlessly awesome. Now I'm sure that there was some intense knob-twiddling behind the scenes but the breezy, self-assured way its groove just seamlessly develops is really something to admire. For the first two minutes it seems that they might be content to just keep adding little cosmic synth hits and ragged guitar lines to the beat, phoning in a better than decent instrumental that would subtract a few ounces of punchability from a montage of Spacey smirks. But then a huge, cascading, sustained "ahhh" floats in announcing that even on a cash-in, this band does not mess around.

In a strange white funk career trajectory coincidence, a correlation to Beck is kind of freaking me out right now. We've had the killer novelty song career starter  ("Loser" v "Losing My Edge"), the respected leap forward album (Odelay v. Sound of Silver), and now the in-stride soundtrack song ("Deadweight" v. "Big Ideas") that's probably the best part of the film it's connected to. I mean 21 could be superior to A Life Less Ordinary but, you know, Spacey's in it. Anyone want to bet against a full-blown Prince homage album next for LCD? Anyone else want to bet that their Midnite Vultures equivalent wouldn't be terrific?