It’s been four years since LCD Soundsystem broke up, something that seems to be weighing heavily on the mind of the captain, James Murphy. He posted this on the LCD Soundsystem Facebook page on Thursday:
it’s been 4 years to the day since the last show. so, if “post lcd” was college, we’d be graduating from “post lcd” now. assuming we didn’t get an incomplete in, say, comparative lit, and need to turn in a paper later in the year. it’s been a fun four years for everyone, all the music from New Build, Museum of Love, nancy doing stuff with The Juan MacLean, The Crystal Ark, tyler’s tropical techno nights on Berlin Community Radio. i miss everyone being in one room, of course, but it’s been a wonderful 4 years of freedom for everyone, i think. thank you guys for listening to us, and for continuing to care. it means a lot.
james
Murphy tends to post on the LCD Facebook page regularly, helping to promote Pat Mahoney’s project Museum of Love, post nostalgic TBT-like items and engage with fans directly — so this shouldn’t be taken as a harbinger for an imminent return. Murphy is living the dream now. It costs 30 bucks to listen to him spin obscure records from the 70’s. He takes on fun projects like Subway Symphony, where he turned the “beep” sound you hear when going through the NYC Subway turnstile into an aurally pleasurable experience. The success of LCD Soundsystem has created a world for Murphy where he can do whatever he wants.
If there were to be a reunion or even another album, it would have to be relatively soon, right? The end of the band seemed pretty resolute in Shut Up and Play the Hits, and the final tour was explicitly billed as just that — the end. But if LCD did come back, they’d be surefire festival headliners and could bank cash quickly without relentlessly touring.
It reminds me of another band with a fervent fan base: Phish. Phish frontman Trey Anastasio was done in 2004, flaming out in a spectacularly drugged-out mess (quite the opposite of LCD). But Phish resolutely called it quits with their extended hiatus, and they were gone for four-plus years.
Upon returning, Phish toured much less, playing maybe 25 shows a year in three-week spurts. They bring along their families, and each member has their own bus — and they do it sober. Most importantly, they returned on their own terms. LCD Soundsystem can have this.
In 2012, Murphy told SF Weekly, “Health is a big reason [to end LCD]. Life is a big reason. I didn’t live a normal life for a long time. I toured and made records and toured and made records. I didn’t want to be stuck being in a professional band and not having a life.”
The most memorable part from Shut Up and Play the Hits is his thoughts on going gray from touring, then pondering, “What’s going on inside? I don’t want to, like, die.”
The tone of this Facebook status update from Murphy exudes the feeling that he misses LCD Soundsystem. We miss you, too. Please come back on your own terms when you’re ready.
My name is Pat Mahoney, not Pat Murphy. :'(
Noted and amended. Thanks Pat. We love you too.