LCD Soundsystem just had a four hour final concert in New York at Madison Square Garden. I learned about this from twitter,
@davemcclure Relive every second of it: LCD Soundsystem's last show in all its glory: http://bit.ly/glh7qs. It's a 4 hour youtube video!—
Steve Weller (@SteveWeller) April 03, 2011
but saw immediately following it in my stream,
A friend rightly points out that last night's Lcd show was a generation's youth coming to an end.—
Gabriel Sherman (@gabrielsherman) April 03, 2011
“last night’s Lcd show was a generation’s youth coming to an end.” That sounds melodramatic, but also piqued my curiosity. Why would someone say that? Pitchfork has a “The Complete LCD Soundsystem” article, chronicling the trajectory of James Murphy as LCD. And here comes a continuing theme of lost youth:
And one of the primary things he’s projected from the start is that he cares, deeply, about what he does, the decisions he makes, and the reasons for them.
“When I was 30 I promised myself that I’d be out by 40 and I’m 40 now. Any more than this and I’d start feeling like a professional,”
… and basically the whole intro section and the text under his first song “Losing My Edge” is the story of a man who said years ago
“I’m fully aware that it’s my life. I don’t have parents– they’re gone. I don’t get another life. I’m 34 years old and this is it. My entire youth is gone and dedicated to this, so I care enormously. I meet lots of people who don’t realize that this is their only life.”
Gets some questions right out into your face:
- What is your youth gone and dedicated to?
- Do you realize that this is your only life?
- What do you care enormously about?
I think what floored me is how innocuous (GET IT LOL) the music itself seemed; it’s just happy indie dance music, right? And maybe focusing on the existential ramblings of a musician is just the rumination of a sentimental mind recalling the fun of hearing “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House” for the first time and lamenting the last show of a decent band. (How many defunct bands actually see it coming and have a proper last show instead of just fading away, anyway?)
But something about the “You are 30 and whatever move you make next will define the next decade of your life and the last of your youth” mentality that I wasn’t even aware of is resonating with me. “last night’s Lcd show was a generation’s youth coming to an end.” – there have been many moments where a generation’s youth come to an end, but few word it so obviously, without hindsight. Despite the more acute sense of loss, being present for and aware of a loss of youth feels like the difference between regret and a call to arms.
I’m not sure how many more gongs are going to fire off in my face, but hopefully one of them strikes the tone that will set all straight.
EDIT 2011-04-06: just so happens friend Josh Koenig has some words on “Losing My Edge” unrelated to the last show but related to edge-losing and Black Swan:
Pushing it out without a second edit: Black Swan / I'm Losing My Edge http://www.outlandishjosh.com/blogs/black-swan-im-losing-my-edge—
Josh Koenig (@outlandishjosh) April 04, 2011
go read his words!
