So why is LCD Soundsystem on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
“Tribulations” is one of my favorite songs from the 2000s.
I discovered it in the midst of delving into an electronic music and EDM and electro house phase, and I’ll quote myself from the entry for Sound of Silver (#915 of best 1,000 albums ever) to describe how LCD Soundsystem hits at its best:
It’s electronic and lounge-y and rock and dance-y and then it’s an ethereal kind of something else.
With “Tribulations,” add in a pulsing disco beat that meshes with the electronica vibe better than any song that I can think of ever has.
It’s the summer of 2023 in Seattle while I’m writing this piece, and listening to LCD Soundsystem takes me back to when I was living in Pasadena, just outside of Los Angeles, during the mid-2000s. It would often be hot (see: SoCal), and I recall going to what my wife and I would refer to as the “old gym,” often late at night when it was ever so slightly cooler out.
The “old gym” was a 24 Fitness, so the open 24 hours part was good, but “old” referred to the part where the gym was old and falling apart and even a bit grungy. It was also located in a basement space, so it would get really steamy and kind of musty in there easily. But on the plus side: open all night and convenient!
So I recall being at the gym, and one of my favorite exercises was to use the Stair Master* with the “continuous steps,” where the stairs move continuously so as you’re forced to keep pace. It’s really challenging but great aerobic exercise, and it would even give me a close to euphoric feeling when I really got going (and sweating!).
* Bonus that these machines were typically available on the late night scene.
I’d listen to super intense music, like ska punk in addition to EDM and electronica. “Tribulations” gives me the feeling of being back at that time in my life, my head near the ceiling of that craptronic old gym on the east side of Pasadena, bobbing up and down while I attacked those continuous stairs for all my trials and tribulations.
Side note that I had never seen the music video for “Tribulations” until I wrote this piece; it’s really good: intriguing and strange and impressionistic.
“Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” brings a harder funk and even punk sensibility in a way that is super fun and exciting. And the name of the song sets a high bar of expectation that is easily met.
“Disco Infiltrator” is silly and disco-y and fun, with a little bit of a “Groove Is in the Heart” vibe sprinkled to the operation.
Some stats & info about LCD Soundsystem
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Electronic Music, Dance Music, Alternative Dance, Indie Electronic, Indie Rock, Rock Music
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was LCD Soundsystem released? 2005
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #404 out of 1,000
LCD Soundsystem on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from LCD Soundsystem that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Everybody makes mistakes, but I feel all right when I come undone.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.