What’s the best possible way to end a band? Is there ever a ‘good’ way to end a project, musical or otherwise? These are themes that snake through the centre of Will Lovelace’s film Shut up and Play the Hits, a portrait of James Murphy and his band LCD Soundsystem as they perform their last ever concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Far from the usual infighting, drug overdoses and ubiquitous ‘musical differences’, theirs was a very planned departure from the music world, there was an announcement, a final album, a world tour and finally this – a farewell concert with a party atmosphere at the biggest stage in their home town. Then again, LCD Soundsystem were never an act to tow the lines of musical cliché. After 10 years and three landmark albums, the inventive New Yorkers depart leaving the lines between dance and rock, elctronica and punk distinctly blurred.
Seeped in sepia, Lovelace and co-director Dylan Soithern’s film flitters between footage of the concert, taking in the fervent and enthusiastic crowds, and Murphy’s life outside the band framed by a one on one interview with journalist Chuck Klosterman. It’s these candid moments that capture Murphy as a considered, thoughtful and far friendlier character than any one of his hipster imitators clogging up the swamped Brooklyn scene. Despite the incessant interruptions and exhaustive length of questions coming his way, Murphy talks eloquently about his hopes for his bands legacy (a refreshingly laid-back and inclusive approach), his take on pretension “being a pretentious child allowed me to learn a lot of cool stuff” and why he decided to call it quits – a subject he’s had to openly muse upon in every post-announcement interview on chat show sofa’s around the globe.
Heightening the focus on endings as a whole, we see Murphy in post LCD Soundsytem mode, solitarily roaming rooms and offices accompanied only by his faithful pug and coming in stark contrast to the packed, lively scenes backstage at Madison Square Garden that they come up against. What is his role now? Is he happy to turn his back on that life in favour of this new, infinitely slower paced one? Somewhat intriguingly these answers don’t come in the form of black and white answers from the horses mouth but are instead hinted upon with Murphy admitting that touring was never part of the plan anyway. Comprised of members used to a life on the road, his band came to fruition relatively late with the intention purely to make records and playing gigs very much an afterthought.
It’s to our benefit that that afterthought turned into a lived-out reality as the concert footage shows a band in full swing, top of their game and with new poignancy added to their lyrics (particularly in the epic All My Friends). The complete four hour party comes on the second and third discs of this bumper DVD package which also includes the interview in full and James Murphy trying his hand as sound recordist, turning the questions on his former manager. The overall effect is one that leaves us too wondering why this band couldn’t just keep it going for another tour, now how about a reunion?
Matthew Walsh
Rating:15
Directed By: Will Lovelace, Dylan Southern
Cast: James Murphy, Chuck Klosterman ,Gunnar Bjerk
Buy:Shut Up And Play The Hits DVD
/Blu-ray