Daft Punk: A Review and Brief

The exact moment I fell in love with Daft Punk, and successively all music, art, fashion, and creative outlets, was December 4th, 2007, a Tuesday night. Sound Shop, the store I bought the Alive 2007 CD, is no longer there, and the store that I bought Homework from a week later -- a vintage album store that was to close just a few months after my visit -- is no longer in its place, either.

The drive between Edgewater Mall and Prime Outlets, by interstate, takes approximately twenty, twenty-five minutes. It was heavily raining, and I'd only heard of Daft Punk a week or two earlier due to the success of the Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger video of two girls filling in the lyrics via use of their bodies. I put in the CD about five minutes into the drive down Pass Rd., right near the vinyl shop I'd become familiar with later, and the opening screams of fans at Le Bercy in Paris filled the car. It takes a full minute and twenty-four seconds before anything happens -- a long intro of Huuuumannnnn, Robot, Huuuumannnn, Robot, just volleying back and forth before Robot Rock comes on. 'What the fuck is going on?' echoed through my head. I had enough and switched it to track two, Touch it/Technologic.

A robotic female voice -- later I'd find it was the sample from Swizz Beats' Busta Rhymes' track "Touch It" -- came on with the initial beat. "Okay, better," I thought. It's about forty-five seconds that a shifting bassline propels forth and the same robotic female voice is repeating "Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it, fuck it .." for at least twenty seconds. I was already starting to love it. And then the robotic female voice and beat disappear, transitioning to a much less comforting, creepy robotic child's voice (it was creepy before I saw the actual video).

I didn't know the song, Technologic, but I recognized it had some of the same lyrics from Touch It and it built slowly. At this time of my life, I had no clue what a sample was. But, after the second sixteen bars of the creepy robot voice, all instruments fade and the voice says "Technologic" -- break -- "Technologic."

At that second iteration of the robot voice saying "Technologic" the song just goes fucking crazy for the first time in the show/cd. If you're looking for a drop, look no further. I was on the interstate, then, and I danced and head-banged in my car harder than I'd ever danced and head-banged in my car (I didn't dance as hard until I heard LCD Soundsystems Dance Yrslf Clean). I'd never head-banged in my car. At that moment, I decided "Fuck everyone, fuck everything, go into the arts."

In that moment, an entire new world opened up to me. Never before were there any favorite bands or groups; I really knew nothing about music, even less about art. It was a week later, with the purchase of Homework, that I listened to the track Teachers. Names like Dr. Dre, Jazz ... were basically all I could distinguish. Bryan Wilson? Green Velvet? Paul Johnson? who were these people? I quickly found it wasn't just enough to like an artist's music, I also had to find out everything about them and equally all about their influences. Daft Punk's influences varied, so my influences varied.

This album, Random Access Memories, is about those influences and the necessity to revisit one's origins in order to figure out how to move ahead. At times I'll recognize some guitar chords that would seem at ease on a Beach Boy's record (Brian Wilson), or through a lot of the album I could swear I'd be listening to an old Motown record (Pharrell is great, but a number of these songs were made for Michael Jackson -- which the MJ edit of Get Lucky amply displays). However, what should be noted from the start is this: Random Access Memories is not a typical Daft Punk album. I'm okay in saying that no track on this CD sounds like classical Daft Punk. I had read of similarities between Discovery and RAM, which I think I can note in a few tracks, but if you're looking for that raw, hard-hitting house from Homework or the groove and melodic consistency of Discovery you'll find almost none of either here. There are dance tracks, there are head-banger tracks, and there are quite a few just down-tempo funk tracks. But, like Human After All departing harshly from the sound of Discovery, RAM departs quickly from what so many have tried to pin-down as that wonderfully approachable Daft Punk sound.

"So many." That's probably the best description to apply to fans, rumors, images, threads of forum discussion, and the general popularity that has risen around Daft Punk since their last tour. Daft Punk was big before that fateful night in the Sahara tent of Coachella 2006, but like Basquiat, they first became "famous for their work, then famous for being famous, and then famous for being infamous." So many have now heard of  Daft Punk and that legendary tour, that it grossly outweighs the actual number who were so privy to even see them on tour.

Daft Punk's infamy can be almost directly related to the growing popularity of social media and the event as spectacle or social climate -- where images are now used as a pseudo-currency to depict what you have or done in life. The videos and amazement at seeing Daft Punk's pyramid and accompanying stage design was unlike anything anyone in the 18-35 demographic, the range who were most using the internet, had ever seen. Now, one only has to go to a Wolfgang Gartner, deadmau5, or Kanye concert to see a Martin Phillips or Es Devlin stage design. It has become common practice to have a memorable stage and light design. Further, the point of departure for electronic music's now welcoming and warm reception to the general public could be noted as Kanye West's Stronger which heavily sampled Daft Punk and was released in 2007, a year after Daft Punk performed at Coachella. Guess who also performed that year, 2006, on the main stage, and is barely remembered to have played? Kanye West. Stronger remains to be West's number one selling single, with over five million digital copies sold, and Daft Punk could be seen as the link to much of Kanye's "French" fascination and the Ed Banger crew (yes, yes, Kanye we all know you called out Riccardo Tisci and Givenchy before most, but you did interrupt So-Me at the European MTV Awards and then use him for your Good Life video.)

Lastly, a personal tally of Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza forums (before every festival was incredible, another production of social media and an over-saturation of music sources) counted Daft Punk at the top of each list where the original poster (OP) asked "Who do you want to see most at this year's 'Chella/'Roo/Lolla?" So, to say that the anticipation and search for even the most minute hint of Daft Punk was met without abandon, would be an understatement.

The marketing for RAM was deftly aware of this and since January, or almost a year if you count all of Nile Rodger's dropped hints, there has been a sly marketing maneuver of endless hype to lead up to the album. For many keeping up with each individual bit, this has really only served to defer interest until the actual release date, or whenever it was finally leaked (for an actually secret, sly release for an artist today, look no further than Jai Paul). Today was finally that day.

The Internet can be a magnificently beautiful display of the social collective conscious -- do not bring Noetics into this discussion, though -- and around 2 p.m. EST, that display came to a head. The album leaked (of course it did!) and at first reception it's proved much better than HAA, which also leaked but to a very cold reception. So, without further ado or digression, let's move into the album:


Track 1: "Give Life Back to Music" 
For a lot of tracks on this album, I have a problem with the titles. They sound just as kitsch and ambiguous as the album title, cheesy, even. This opening track leads in with dazzling guitars to a down-tempo disco beat   with robotic vocals cycling through the words "Give the music back to life, give life back to music." It's almost a plea, or a statement for what this album will try to do, and the intermittent soaring guitars -- sounding straight out of an anime fight scene -- push forth a really grand feeling when getting into this album, "Like, fuck ya, let's get back to some music!"

Track 2: "The Game of Love"
.... and then you're dropped into this intensely sobering love ballad. This track is like if Veridis Quo or Voyager had been made for bad porno. I don't hate this track, but it's a very weird song, and again the title. It wouldn't be a bad Sade song, but the robotic vocals and awkward synth arpeggios hold this song back from being romantic at all.

Track 3: "Giorgio by Moroder"
Who knew of Giorgio (Hansjörg) Moroder before this album gained hype? I sure the fuck didn't. Well, this track knows that and introduces you to him and his importance to electronic music for a good bit of the opening section of the track which finally leads to him saying ".. and then I put the click on the track ... and I knew that would be the sound of the future." Well, it was, and the song delves into that click, succeeded by classic Daft Punk synths reminiscent of the Tron soundtrack and Short Circuit. It's a groovy track that gets you back after Game of Love, and feels like House music could be returning.

Track 4: "Within"
... and then you're dropped on your face by this slow piano ballad, with a deeply introspective vocoder wondering who he is. However, this song, unlike "Game of Love" is a good song. Slow and sensual, even though it's a robotic voice echoing towards you asking you to come along and help him look for someone, who can tell him who he is. So far, I enjoy the theme of this album -- aiming to get back to music, circling around its faults, and this roller-coaster ride that has been the history of dance/house music.

Track 5: "Instant Crush" ft. Julian Casablancas
Picking the tempo up again, The Strokes frontman is the first vocal feature on this album, and although restraint on the vocoder usage might have been needed the track is going to be ripe for remixes. It's more of a slow rock song than anything, but beautiful synth, vocal, and guitar passages lend itself to this song. It's a shoegazer track, but as the energy picks up towards the end you feel your feet and head tapping to the beat and really starting to feel the dance energy this record contains.

Track 6: "Lose Yourself to Dance" ft. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers
And that's a good sign, because this song is dance ready. This song is all disco, and the first time Pharrell sings "sway, sway, sway ... lose yourself to dance" you're finally ready to jump up and dance. Clocking in at nearly six minutes, it's a long dance track, but I was wanting to dance to its entirety, with each drum fill opening up the track to more dancing. If you didn't get it already, this is a dance track. Please be able to dance (those who consider pumping your fist into the air to be dancing need not apply).

Track 7: "Touch" ft. Paul Williams
Holy fuck if you thought MGMT's Siberian Breaks was an experimental track then you haven't heard anything. This track is all over the place, and the initial atmospheric synths match with a reverberating, airy voice growing increasingly more insidious saying "touch ... I remember ... I need more." Thankfully, this all turns immediately into Paul Williams singing into a confessional which evolves into a quick tempo-ed, glorious disco melody with trumpets and all, and breaks back into the atmospheric synths and vocoder now singing about holding onto whatever you have if love is the answer. It's a sentimental message to the album and other artists, that ends in a slow choral section backed by drums and those same flying synths.

Track 8: "Get Lucky" ft. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers
The track we've all heard and tempted with the past two months approximately. I hope you had your break from dancing during "Touch", because fuck you you're dancing to this song again ... no matter how many times you've heard it. Yes, the Michael Jackson edit and Daughter cover were incredible, but this song -- similar guitars to "Lose Yourself to Dance" and all -- keeps you dancing. Pharrell singing over the disco track  "We've come so far, to give up who we are, so let's raise the bar and our cups to the stars" is sure to be one of the anthems of the summer ... along with "we're up all night to get lucky" and other vocal passages. The break that finally comes with Daft Punk singing into the vocoder brings the pace up even more, and just serves to remind you're not to stop dancing.

Track 9: "Beyond"
So, you're flying through space, or at least on one of those Disney space rides, and you're exiting hyper-space -- that bright white light that comes just before you exit hyper drive is glowing brighter. This triumphant symphony is playing all around you -- the wind, strings, brass sections all cheering you on in your adventure. Then you exit hyper-drive, or because Hans Zimmer just decides to be a killjoy, and you're left in deep space, just floating around with Discovery synths putting you back at ease for the rest of the song. Beyond is a good title for this track, because for the rest of this track, and for the next few songs, you're just left in space and beyond anything you might recognize as a Daft Punk track.

Track 10: "Motherboard"
You're still floating through space, just peacefully exploring in some tranquil soundscape, but now Radiohead's 15 step starts to mix into your headphones for some strange reason. It's all a strange melange of drum patterns and synths, that is abruptly interrupted by some acidic distortion and vuvuzelas echoing over a jungle beat. The song is completely lost in a void for a moment, before coming back to the original memory of what this track was. It's a bit of a drum-and-bass track, just Daft Punk's take on it.

Track 11: "Fragments of Time" ft. Todd Edwards
I hope you're not expecting the catchy tunes and vocals of Face to Face to rise back up with Todd Edwards. Nope, that space ride you just took went back in time to some soft-70s rock. Give this song to your parents, they'll probably listen to it. Todd Edwards keeps singing more about his youth, somewhat like Bryan Adam's Summer of '69, but it ends in a spectacular Aerodynamic-guitar riddled section that picks up the drums and turns the song around for a bit. That is before Todd Edwards is determined to remind you why he belongs back in time.

Track 12: "Doin' it Right" ft. Panda Bear
This song is going to be the one everyone likes. Turn the volume up after those last three songs sank your ass back down and had you wondering what the fuck was going on like Electroma did. This song is also going to be the biggest boost the new Animal Collective album gets, as it releases a week after RAM does. Let's just face it: This song is fucking great. I ran fucking fast to this song today, and as Panda Bear sings over a partially removed drum section, the beat just builds even more as the background vocals keep echoing over and over "everybody will be dancing and be doin' it right." This is the most modern dance song on the record, and I agree with one Mixmag review saying that this is basically a huge favor to Animal Collective getting to sneak one of their songs onto one of the most awaited albums of the year. It's fucking great, and that bassline is sick.

Track 13: "Contact" ft. DJ Falcon
DJ Falcon is the shit, and has worked a lot with Thomas Bangalter on Roulé releases. This track starts off slow again, a voice-over speaking from Space, and somewhat scaring you that you'll be falling back into the slower songs of before. Fear not! It's not House-y, but it is a fucking headbanger. Distorted synths welcome you as the beat finally builds up, and in an ending that might be more easily found on a Death from Above 1979 track, the drums just keep going before tearing straight into a fantastic arrangement of everything that has made this album great. When you think the beat is about to drop, it just keeps going, higher and higher, sending you into fits. It's all reminiscent of the Prime Time/Brainwasher/Rollin' n' Scratchin' mix they did on the Alive 2007 cd, which was fucking intense and sounded like a death march.

This album ends with the same intensity that I found on the Alive 2007 live-album, even if the very end is a bit of cliffhanger and leaves much to be answered (read: answered, not desired). However, the only part of this album that is classically Daft Punk is the part that leaves you going "I have no clue what's going on or coming next." It's a very surprising album, probably their most experimental, and I've really enjoyed it. I won't listen to each track on replay, but there are definitely quite a few that I'll throw up there with the songs they've become renown for. Indo Silver Club was a sleeper on Homework, that really showcased their ability to DJ and produce great House music. Random Access Memories, I think, showcases their ability to not only be great musicians and producers over a variety of music styles, but further notes their talent in indicating not what will be but what can be.

Random Access Memories is what dance music can be, and, in typical Daft Punk fashion, exemplifies it well.