45:33 Nike + Original Run / Norh American Scum

Song: 45:33 Nike + Original Run / Norh American Scum
Artist: LCD Soundsystem
Album: Sound of Silver



A couple months ago I had obtained a leaked version of LCD Soundsystem’s sophomore album “Sound of Silver” which will be released on March 20th. I have been totally enraptured by the album and honestly feel it’s going to be one of THE records of 2007.

My good friend Josh is a runner and also has a blog that he updates regularly. He really dug the LCD Soundsystem stuff I shared with him and coincidentally I got to tell him that LCD had released a single track 45+ minute song that was designed specifically for a run in conjunction with Nike. The song is available on iTunes, we both decided to get the track and do a dual review today. Check out his here.

“45:33 Nike + Original Run” was designed for a run of that length with a slow build, a middle upbeat section to get you “there,” and then a cool down section at the end. Unfortunately, I am not a runner. I don’t even work out regularly… but I’m a huge fan of his music. So, instead of trying the track out running and then embarrassing myself by not getting through the first fifteen minutes, I decided to do something else… clean the house. It came at a perfect time as last weekend my Mother came to town to visit, I had to get the place in order anyhow, why not use “45:33” to get me motivated and moving?

As promised, the song starts slow with some ambient layered keyboards that grow and grow beginning to swirl around. Piano is added just after a minute. At this point I am sorting laundry on the living room floor. Colors on the right and whites to the left to the left. My dog Clementine thinks this is a new game and grabs a sock from the thrown pile and starts running around with it. As the beat kicks in about two and a half minutes in, I already find myself distracted chasing her around. After getting the sock, which only a dog would put in its mouth, I finish sorting and have put the first load in. A voice begins to say “Shame on you,” which I repeat to the dog… who is ignoring me.

The vocals continue to talk about “taking love away from me,” “you can’t hide…” etc. Not sure what this means but I think about running and what goes through the mind of a runner as they listen to something like this. Is it a general, “let’s get moving and thinking about anything BUT the fact that we’re running.” That’s really what I would want, honestly. Although, as the song progresses I am not forgetting the fact that I put dishes in the washer but never ran it throughout the week. It is filled, will not hold anymore, so now I have to do the ones in the sink by hand AND run the full washer. As the sink fills up and I try to scrub the once non-stick frying pan which apparently shouldn’t have been put in the dishwasher like ever… I recognize “Something Great” from “Sound of Silver.” I’m already ten minutes into the “run” and the song I recognize really is pushing me to get these dishes done. It’s the closest I’ve come to a natural high… is this what all those runners are talking about?

Hearing the song in a different context I begin to think about how much a downer the lyrics are. “When something great is gone” is repeated over and over, not in this version, but in the version on “Silver” which I am hearing despite not actually being there. The cantankerous lyrics aren’t different for LCD, as lead James Murphy is sort of a grumpy aging hipster. Usually it’s pretty humorous, as in their awesome, hysterical early single “Losing My Edge.” Suddenly I realize that I have finished the dishes and am checking e-mail, which is NOT cleaning. Losing my edge in deed. So I stop, shut the laptop, and get out the Windex. I honestly can’t believe how much dust collects over a short period of time… I feel like I just recently took everything off the entertainment unit and cleaned the surface, but it’s totally filthy again. I then think back to a time when I was a kid and didn’t have to clean house or do much of anything. When something great is gone…

Suddenly, at 30 minutes in the beat kicks up and I am flying. I can’t believe how much I’m getting done… and am I enjoying it? Well no… I’m not on drugs, I’m just a slave to the beat. This gets me through the entertainment unit, but by the time I’m onto the various bookshelves and CD racks, the ambient picks up again and I begin to slow down too. Ugh, it’s the come down already. Somehow it takes me over eight minutes to clean one shelf and the song is over. I can’t believe how quick it went. More upsetting is the fact that the first load of laundry still isn’t finished let alone dry, I have two more where that came from, three more bookshelves, and… oh snap, I need to wash the futon cover as well… which the dog has basically chewed up and is being held together by safety pins. Not to mention the dishes that will need to be put away once the washer is through its cycle and cooled down, and I haven’t even started on the bathroom either.

I’m a bit depressed now and wishing this track was like four hours long, though that kind of run would probably kill someone, maybe not a professional runner but certainly an aging hipster who is actually into LCD Soundsystem. But instead of thinking about all I haven’t done I put on “Sound of Silver” and start to get into it again.

I really love this record, and think first single “North American Scum” is great. By the time the piano ballad “New York I Love You, But You’re Bringing Me Down” comes on I get a little melancholy again. Partly because of the song, which is equal parts sad and funny, but also because I still have so much more to do, though I have made a good dent in the bathroom. Thank goodness for small favors.

In the end I liked “45:33.” I’ve also been listening to it first thing when I get to work and it does get me going. Josh thinks it is okay, and I mostly just feel it’s definitely not made for cleaning house… unless you have just forty five minutes and thirty three seconds of work to do. Yeah right. Ooh… that first load of laundry is now dry, I need some folding music…

Enjoy.

Here is the video for North American Scum: