by LCD Soundsystem
by Paperclip People
(Planet E)
LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy has always wrestled with the idea of “hip” in his lyrics. But the concept also informs the way his label, DFA, is run. In dance music, you’re as hip as those you associate with—which acts you sign and which outsiders are tapped for remixes and, increasingly, cover versions.
LCD Soundsystem’s version of “Throw” was an exclusive iTunes freebie with the This Is Happening download—a live version of Detroit techno kingpin Carl Craig’s 1994 landmark, released under the alias Paperclip People. Craig was so flattered by the cover that he’s released it as a 12-inch on his own label, Planet E, and put the original version on the flip side. There’s no comparison: The 10-minute LCD track’s live instrumentation, aping the relentless momentum of Craig’s programmed arrangement, is thrilling to watch in concert, but as a download it’s merely a live-band-playing-techno novelty, however charming.
by Wooden Shjips
(DFA/Parlophone)
A far more successful DFA-sanctioned remake showed up on the British 7-inch B-side of LCD’s “Drunk Girls.” It’s a wonderfully reductionist take on the song by Wooden Shjips, who give it staccato black-and-white New York punk guitars and subdued organ reminiscent of a ’60s girl group.
by NDF
(DFA)
by Banjo or Freakout
The label’s latest commissioned remake is an odder animal. NDF’s original “Since We Last Met” is a drifting, 11-minute-long, half-overheard song grounded by a loping two-note bass line that comes in at the end of each bar, with some organ swirling deep in the background. On the record’s flip, Ricardo Villalobos gives it a long and undulating treatment—his specialty—and it’s the most playful work he’s done for a while. (The 12-inch Villalobos mix is 12.5 minutes; his digital version is a full 17.) Both are simultaneously absent and enormous—as Arthur Russell–like as Caribou’s Swim, but to very different effect. Londoner Banjo or Freakout (born Alessio Natalizia) cites Russell as a primary inspiration, so naturally DFA tapped him to re-create NDF’s song. BoF’s “Since We Last Met” subdues the bass and straightens and softens the rhythm, but Natalizia’s layers of handcrafted synth fog enhance everything else. It comes at a time when the stock of Arthur Russell’s sonic fingerprints could not be higher, and if Banjo or Freakout doesn’t remake one of his songs directly, it comes close enough. 