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This Is Happening

LCD Soundsystem · 2010

This is not a farewell — it’s a confession set to breakbeats and 8-bit curlicues.

Worth your time?4.5/5Yes.Hear the whole thing.What works, what does not, who it is for ↓
11:59in productionCh. 1 · Where It Was Cut/ 11:59 · ceiling 15 min
4 chapters · 11:59Ceiling 15:00

The brief is written and checked. The video joins this page when it is cut.4 chapters · 2 min read · 11:59 planned

Read the brief

This Is Happening is documented solely as a chronologically situated artifact — not as a musical work with internal qualities.

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Chapters & takeaways4
  1. 1:40
    Where It Was Cut

    Recorded in Los Angeles between summer 2009 and early 2010 — no studio details beyond location and timeline survive in the record.

  2. 2:57
    How It Begins and Ends

    ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ opens with 8-bit curlicues and a naive vocal; ‘Home’ answers it with fluttering synths and bare wistfulness.

  3. 5:38
    What It Listens To, Who It Honours

    Bronski Beat, Eurythmics, and OMD inspired it. It is dedicated to Jerry Fuchs.

  4. 7:34
    Where It Stands in the Timeline

    Their fourth album. Their first US top-ten. Released 17 May 2010 in the UK, 18 May 2010 in the US.

1 more chapterFewer chapters
Running order9
  1. 01
    Dance Yrself Clean8:56

    Heard in Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012)Blink Twice (2024)

  2. 02
    Drunk Girls3:42

    Heard in Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012)

  3. 03
    One Touch7:46

    Heard in Iron Man 3 (2013)

  4. 04
    All I Want6:41

    Heard in Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012)Song of the South (1946)Love Actually (2003)Juno (2007)

  5. 05
    I Can Change5:56

    Heard in Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012)

  6. 06
    You Wanted a Hit9:06

    Heard in Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012)

  7. 07
    Pow Pow8:23
  8. 08
    Somebody’s Calling Me6:53
  9. 09
    Home7:53

    Heard in 21 (2008)The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011)The Family (2013)White Noise (2022)

Film placements are the ones described in each film's own entry, so the list is partial rather than complete.

Worth your time?

Yes. Hear the whole thing.

4.5/ 5
What works
  • Dance Yrself Clean
  • Home
  • Drunk Girls
  • All I Want
What does not
  • reinvent
  • depart
  • expand sonically
Hear it if
  • people who want dance music that confesses, not transcends
  • people who value lyrics about love, loss, and late-night clarity
  • people who trust James Murphy’s voice as both instrument and narrator
Skip it if
  • people seeking sonic innovation
  • people seeking genre rupture
  • people seeking technical revelation
Who should hear it, and who should skipHide who it is for
The written brief2 min read

What the record is and where it came from

LCD Soundsystem’s fourth studio album. Recorded in Los Angeles between summer 2009 and early 2010. Released 17 May 2010 in the UK, 18 May 2010 in the US. Jointly issued by DFA and Virgin in the US, Parlophone elsewhere.

How it sounds, and how it was made

It opens with an 8-bit melody and a naive vocal line, then erupts into a breakbeat-driven block-rocker. Its closing track reworks that opening into a bare, wistful conclusion with fluttering and chirping synths. It was recorded at the Mansion studio in Los Angeles between summer 2009 and early 2010. No instruments, tempos, mics, rooms, or production techniques beyond location and chronology are documented.

What lands

‘Dance Yrself Clean’ lands hardest — its opening 8-bit motif and breakbeat eruption define the record’s physical impact and emotional arc. ‘Home’ lands last, softening that motif into wistfulness. ‘Drunk Girls’, ‘All I Want’, ‘I Can Change’, and ‘You Wanted a Hit’ all appear in Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012).

What does not

It does not depart from LCD Soundsystem’s established template. It does not feature guest musicians, session players, or production details beyond studio location and timeline. It does not contain new genre hybrids, instrumental innovations, or structural experiments confirmed by the source.

The ideas inside it

It treats dance music as a vehicle for storytelling and emotional confession. It is dedicated to drummer Jerry Fuchs. It draws inspiration from Bronski Beat, Eurythmics’ Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), and OMD’s Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Organisation.

Who should hear it, and who should not

People who want dance music that confesses, not transcends. People who value lyrics about love, loss, and late-night clarity. People who trust James Murphy’s voice as both instrument and narrator. Not people seeking sonic innovation, genre rupture, or technical revelation — none are documented.

Is it worth your time

Yes — if you want a record that uses dance music for emotional confession, not release. It is LCD Soundsystem’s first US top-ten album and their fourth studio release. It is not a reinvention, but it refines their template with expanded lyrical depth and physical impact.

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12:12
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9:09
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2:02
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