By now you've seen the commercials, and probably seen the billboards. Daft Punk has a new album, Random Access Memory. Great name for an album from a band that bills themselves as robots, and who did the soundtrack to Tron: Legacy.
I'm going to put this out here right now: I love Daft Punk. "Da Funk" is one of the best dance songs released in the last 20 years. Never fails to cheer me up. "Around the World" is a bit weird, but it still isn't bad. And I will forgive them for inspiring Skrillex to become a DJ instead of lead singer for an emo band and inflicting us with his tired music. (Heck, how many bands say they were influenced by Zeppelin or Sabbath that stunk? A lot, that's how many.)
Anyways, the hype for this release is huge, and the first song off it has a lot of things I like in a single. 1) Live musicians. Always go for the real thing over the fake. If you can get a good group, like Booker T and the MGs, you've got the makings of a fantastic song. 2) A wicked beat. This is a pure disco beat updated for the 21st century. Sometimes you have to take it back to go forward, you know? Show your influences, but don't be overwhelmed by them. And finally, 3) Pharrell Williams. I'm a huge fan of NERD, and I think Pharrell is a pretty decent addition to any song. ("Beautiful" by Snoop Dogg, I mean Lion, and his own hit "Frontin" are pretty decent examples, you know.) Small fact: NERD was one of the groups that LEL and I agreed on when we first started dating. She actually saw them in concert, and had Minnie Driver standing in front of her during the show. LEL hates Minnie Driver now.
This song is all about bringing it back to basics. Some are saying it's a disco album, which it does have that element to it. However this song is more than that. It's the thrill you get on the weekends when you're young and about to go out for the night. You don't know what's going to happen, and you just want to have a good time. Guys out on the prowl, girls out with their friends, and everyone just going crazy. Reminds me a lot of the Sports Bar in Haymarket during the early 2000s. Me and my friends out having a good time, and returning way later than we should have.
I actually had a chance to see them in 2007 when they went on their huge tour with the pyramid that most people who saw it talk about it in hushed tones. Like when someone saw The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East. However, we decided to leave the festival early and beat the traffic. Sad, I Know.
Listen, I don't know if anyone actually reads these things, but go listen to the song. It'll be one of those that you keep listening to until you figure it out. I think it'll take a while for it to get old for me.
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