09. Losing My Edge - LCD Soundsystem

From Breakdown to Breakthrough

Artwork by me: Enrique Seemann

If you haven’t read my previous newsletter, I highly encourage you to. I’m talking about songs that marked the story of LCD Soundsystem, which is kind of a series; they’re all connected.

Having said that, just after House of Jealous Lovers by The Rapture was released, things were going great for DFA and The Rapture. The song was a massive hit, DFA started making parties in New York where James Murphy would DJ. “Nobody else was playing my records; that was like my thing.” James Murphy, Meet Me in the Bathroom (2022)

And The Rapture started touring the world alongside DFA. “It was so fun, The Rapture, me, and Tim were a gang. We felt invincible.” JM

Everything was going smoothly, but there was a very big problem behind the scenes. James and Tim Goldsworthy were incredible producers, but they didn’t know much about distribution. “We had just finished Echoes, this album that we really loved. And then compound that with the feeding frenzy in New York. It was just this perfect timing. But in the beginning DFA was more about concept than an actual functioning label,” Vito Roccoforte, Meet Me in the Bathroom (2022)

DFA spent a year trying to find a distributor, but failed to do so, and the clock was ticking. “I was more scared than I’ve ever been in my entire life. It’s gonna fucking disappear, it’s going to be over.” Luke Jenner, Meet Me in the Bathroom (2022)

So The Rapture had to make a decision and decided to move to another label. “We didn’t want to leave DFA. Those were like our closest friends. But we needed to get our record out,” said Vito Roccoforte

James was crushed by The Rapture leaving. "I know they had to, but when they left, they crushed me. I cried. We were Rapture Records. That’s what DFA was. But they left.” Fun Fact, he started working with Britney Spears after that, but it just didn’t work.

Then the internet exploded, and downloading music became a widespread phenomenon. James used to play rare records; it was his thing, he was and still is a music nerd. Suddenly those rare records were not so rare anymore. Everyone could find them. “I went to this club ‘Brownies’ which I used to play at all the time. There was a kid DJ-ing playing ESG, and he plays a Liquid Liquid song. What the fuck? These records took me years to find, and now some kid just downloaded it? Wait a second... I’d really wasted 30 years of my life. And I would lock the studio sing a song about losing my edge. How humiliating is to be me… It was the first time I made music where I wasn’t trying to be another thing that I thought I was supposed to be.” JM

That’s how “Losing My Edge” was born.

“I came upstairs and played it for Tim. He said, you don’t want to put this out, man. You really don’t want people to hear this. But I lived in fear my whole life and I had nothing to lose.” JM So he released it, and surprisingly, it did great.

“Out of nowhere I got an offer from Arthur Baker, he had heard our new song and he wanted us to come play a show in London. There’s no way I can do this. I can’t do it. I don’t have a band, it’s just me and a toy boom box. I did know a thing I could do, I could call the people that I knew, Tyler the bass player in Out Hud, Pat the drummer in Les Savvy Fav, Phil Moslo the guitar player, who have done the David Holmes record, and Nancy my drinking buddy, took piano as a kid.” JM

And just like that, one of the best bands from the last 20 years was formed.

“Deciding to start a band in your thirties seemed absurd,” said Nancy Whang from LCD Soundsystem. “We only had ten days to rehearse. This was his first time as a frontman singing in front of people,” she added. “James wanted to set up very, very close together on stage, so he was totally surrounded, protected,” Nancy continued. “Those years were the Big Bang of my life. I finally found my friends. I felt safe,” James Murphy concluded.

Over the next couple of years, James worked on shaping their first album. It was nominated for the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album alongside some of his longtime heroes: Kraftwerk, Daft Punk, and the winners, Chemical Brothers. Certainly not a bad debut.

My personal thoughts & other LCD Soundsystem songs I recommend