‘SNL’: LCD Soundsystem’s Performances Leave Viewers Groaning

LCD Soundsystem are living legends and have put out some of the greatest albums of the 2000s. However, their latest Saturday Night Live performance left non-fans groaning and complaining online. The Brooklyn-based electronic/rock band was seemingly a perfect choice for the show’s first broadcast of 2022, which John Mulaney hosted. After all, they’re New York favorites and their 2017 performance was great. So, what happened?

Well, in the absence of new music, the band could have opted for some of their more accessible back catalog tracks — such as earworms like “Daft Punk Is Playing in My House” and “I Can Change” or ballads like “All My Friends” or “New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down.” However, LCD Soundsystem went back to two of their jammier cuts from their 2005 self-titled album. They started with “Thrills,” a song that features pounding distortion, noisy percussion and muffled vocals from frontman James Murphy. Based on Twitter reactions that poured in live, this display — which was wasn’t helped by SNL’s less than stellar sound mixing — soured newcomers’ impressions of the band. By the time they performed the still-jammy-but-catchier “Yr City’s a Sucker” at the end of the show, many had either turned off their TVs or had no interest.

The SNL misfire won’t negatively impact the band, who are preparing for a pair of high-profile residencies. Their devoted fans watching aren’t phased by the performance, with many praising the group playing deep cuts on such a huge platform. However, the casual SNL watchers weren’t so appreciative. Scroll through to see some of the reactions to performances.

Slide 1

“I honestly have never heard of the SNL musical guest tonight, but endure because Weekend Update is next. But what the exact living hell was that?” one viewer wrote.

Slide 2

“LCD Soundsystem seems like a band you put on in the car to embarrass your kids in front of their friends,” a second person wrote. A third tweeted, “LCD Soundsystem sounds like when a six year old takes your phone and uses the GarageBand app for the first time.”

Slide 3

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“Is LCD Soundsystem ironic? Like they just play noise with musical instruments?” a fourth viewer said. 

Slide 4

“i know music is subjective and everything but that lcd soundsystem snl performance was dog s—,” another person wrote. Yet another viewer tweeted, “for anyone watching SNL I promise you that almost every LCD Soundsystem song in existence is better than the one they performed.”

Slide 5

“LCD Sound System (if that’s the right name), the #SNL musical guest, is simply TERRIBLE,” yet another SNL fan tweeted. “Hard to believe even kids like it.”

Slide 6

“James Murphy is officially the goat for going in front of a national audience and doing two of LCD Soundsystem’s oldest and least accessible songs for America,” an LCD Soundsystem fan wrote. “Thrills is like maybe their worst song too (live version slapped though) which just makes it even funnier. Love them so much.”