Anybody else who has never understood what the fuss is about?

Same here. But right now I'm not understanding much, I don't particularly like Animal Collective either.:-)

I like some of the music well enough. I think 45:33 is easily the best thing he's done - good workout music. actually someone great is a really good track. but can't stand his voice, even though I like Jonathan Richman's and Mark E. Smith's. Ha! I'll give the new album a shot, though. Oh, and he lives down the street from me.

Seriously?

I love LCD Soundsystem; I think they're probably the best act of the last five years. Even though Murphy doesn't exactly hide his influences, his work manages to sound 'modern' in a hard-to-describe way. Also his lyrics range from witty to insightful.

I could see why someone would dislike LCD Soundsystem, as many of their songs are too long and there is usually a huge quality gap between their singles and album tracks.

I never got "Losing My Edge." I understand what he's doing, I just never found it all that funny or entertaining... and it goes on foreeeeeever. Do you need to be a music critic to like it? Are you a dummy if you don't? Probably not, but for me it doesn't click... and how the hell did it finish so high on the decade lists?

I didn't like the self-titled album that much, but I think half of Sound of Silver is brilliant. I agree Losing My Edge isn't as good as it's hyped up to be. You don't need to be a music critic to like it -- but you do need to have been surrounded by hipster culture.

As LCD Soundsystem are in my top three artists of the last 20 years (only behind Blur and Radiohead) I feel that maybe I could shed some light on why I love them.

To me, LCD is the perfect mixture of electronica and rock, a perfect example of "dance-punk", which to me is perhaps one of the most interesting hybrids out there. Combining the raw enthusiasm and energy of punk with the brilliant instrumentation and technical proficieny of dance music leads to musical brilliance (in my mind). An interesting point to consider is that no other dance punk act even comes close to LCD. Hot Chip are good, and so are The Rapture, but in terms of dance punk, LCD are truely in a league of their own.

James Murphy's lyrics are another thing all together. Sometimes the lyrical content of one song can be polar opposites with another. Take the overwhelming emotional impact of "Someone Great" or "All My Friends" and compare that to the sardonic witty lyrics of "North American Scum" or "Losing My Edge". He doesn't even need to rhyme and it sounds awesome.

No, he isn't the best singer out there, but his singing has greatly improved over time. "I Can Change" is a great example of this improvement. But in most of his songs, he makes his inability to sing great help him out. Many of his songs feature a kind of "half singing/ half talking" kind of voice, which only makes his lyrics stand out even more.

In the end, it is his ability to go from one subgenre to another that makes LCD so interesting. "Sound of Silver" and "New York I Love You..." are two songs that sound like they could be from totally different bands that are in reality right next to each other Sound of Silver. LCD covers the vast expanse of dance music in their songs, touching all bases, all the while infusing them with his punk rock attitude.

LCD Soundsystem are quite simply the band that I always wanted to hear before I ever heard them. Taking the best of both worlds in punk and electronica and leaving the worst behind.

And that's how I feel about LCD Soundsystem.