There Shouldn’t Be This Radio Silence

LCD Soundsystem “Someone Great” – Honestly, I didn’t really care for that thing James Murphy made for Nike. It was pretty good fodder for think-piece riffing, but as an actual composition, it’s just kinda alright, and the only part of it that was totally astonishing was essentially an instrumental trailer for this song. And this song…well, wow, if you want to hear the difference between “good” and “mind-meltingly awesome,” just play it immediately following that Nike mix.

Granted, the instrumental track for “Someone Great” is distinct, gorgeous, and emotionally complex, but it is stuck in middle of an otherwise uninspiring longform composition, and it’s lacking the added dimension of Murphy’s shell-shocked vocal performance. He sounds utterly lost within himself and unsure of his every feeling as he attempts to process a major emotional trauma. The lyrics are tricky with tense agreements and never allow us to understand exactly how much time has passed — sometimes it seems as though the horrible event is far behind him, and at others, the hindsight seems like an artificial perspective and a coping mechanism. The melancholy tone of the song is ultimately a by-product of the way Murphy so expertly simulates the sensation of hollow, confused grief. “Someone Great” is not about sadness; it’s about having absolutely no idea of how to deal with loss, and trying desperately to respond with maturity and grace when you can’t even understand how you feel about this sudden void in your life. (Click here to buy it from Insound.)

Macy Gray “Treat Me Like Your Money” – As much as I appreciate Will.I.Am’s track for this song — it’s very well composed and flatters Macy Gray’s nice very nicely — I just want to punch him in the face for jumping in for an exceptionally hacky rapped cameo towards the end. It’s not enough to wreck the song, but following Gray’s own somewhat puzzling quotation of Dead Or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record),” it nearly derails an otherwise fantastic tune. When the chorus comes back around it’s good enough to forgive their momentary lapse of good taste, but every time I hear the song again, that bit seems like a new betrayal. (Click here to pre-order it from Amazon.)

Elsewhere: My new Hit Refresh column is up on the ASAP site with mp3s from Blonde Redhead, the Victorian English Gentlemens’ Club, and Joan As Police Woman.