System of a Sound

DISCO TECH: "Every time I fall into indie-guy-gets-a-laptop, Tim [Goldsworthy] smacks me in the face."

LCD's James Murphy on making embarrassing hipster-baiting electro-anthems for fashion shows.

by A.D. Amorosi

For the fifth anniversary of Dave Pianka's Making Time party — the DJ/promoter who previously booked tops-in-pops Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes and The Futureheads — brings in the "raddest" (his words) of acts, LCD Soundsystem. Sturdy, influential and witty, James Murphy's death-disco laid the groundwork for the facile new waviness of Bloc Party and Franz. The best of that spawned sound — like the newly released Less than Human from Making Time opener The Juan Maclean — came from Murphy's money and mentoring, produced by him and Brit Tim Goldsworthy for their DFA label. Still, Murphy, a self-deprecating ex-hardcore kid formerly with Speedking and Pony who loves making light of hipster doofishness in conversation and song (see his 2002 hit "Losing My Edge"), saved the most exciting sounds for LCD Soundsystem's eponymous debut.

City Paper: Two dumb questions I have to get out of the way: How much of the "writing for Seinfeld" rumor is true and what does it mean when you record with Britney Spears and those sessions never see the light of day?
James Murphy: Seinfeld: It is true. It was just a weird situation of being in the weird place at the weird time. I was writing a lot then and a friend wound up accidentally introducing me to Jerry's manager, and there were some scripts sent to me and a lunch meeting. It never happened because I didn't get around to getting back to them. Because I started Pony and got busy and stupid. And, because I thought it was The Gary Shandling Show. I got it mixed up, I never did anything about it, and the potential opportunity passed me by. Britney: We spent a day doing some stupid shit and then never really got back to them about it, so we never wanted it to really see the light of day. It's fine, really.

CP: Am I correct in assuming, what with all the anemic bass and handclaps that you use, that you eschew the British dance rock of the '90s?
JM: Maybe. But listening to the Happy Mondays, etc. now — it doesn't do too much for me.

CP: What's the balance of power between you and Tim production-wise; like what you just did for Juan Maclean?
JM: It's a relationship built to defend the other from our own weaknesses. Every time I fall into indie-guy-gets-a-laptop, Tim smacks me in the face. Any time Tim gets involved in any programmer-gets-a-guitar, I knock the drink out of his hand.

CP: What are the most notable changes in your music-making techniques between hardcore-Pony/Speedking-era James and LCD-era James?
JM: The computer's a big one. There's a lot more freedom now. And I can hear a lot better. But there's the same desire to be really loud. Also, no matter how wrong some of the music we did in those bands was, I still feel the same stupid desire to self-destruct. There was always the same anti-scene frustrations in songs that I wrote, at least, and there was always the same need for it to feel really good live. Both bands then, I must say, sounded really good live. We had wonderful, shockingly powerful amps and really good sounds. And bad songs.

CP: The anti-scene thing carries on then, in songs like "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" and "Losing My Edge" as they're as much about chiding insiders as they are about making a space for the outsider. So moral of you! Do you see yourself as some righter of wrongs?
JM: I definitely feel good about trying to make space for outsiders. And, retarded or not, maybe it is moral. I do think in terms of being ethical, often. It's a requirement for me, because I run a label and because of how much certain things mean to me: the people I work with, the importance of music to kids the way it was important to me when I was young. Any lack of ethics is very cheaply bought. It's the result of self-indulgent laziness and unexamined opportunism. That's disgusting to me. But so is pedantic moralizing. So I wind up, through some hilarious twist of circumstances, dealing with platonic polemics by making embarrassing hipster-baiting electro-anthems for fashion shows.

LCD Soundsystem plays Making Time's Five Year Anniversary Freakout, Sat., June 11, 9 p.m.-3:30 a.m., $12 before the band, $8 after, with The Juan Maclean and DJs Dave P, Dave Pak, Mike Z, Nez, Joel, Hodges, Russ Alexander, Julian S. Process, Adam Sparkles and JDH, Transit, 600 Spring Garden St., www.igetrvng.com