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Call the Police (LCD Soundsystem song)

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"Call the Police"
Double A-side single cover art
Single by LCD Soundsystem
from the album American Dream
B-side"American Dream" (double A-side)
ReleasedMay 5, 2017 (2017-05-05)
Genre
Length7:01
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)James Murphy
LCD Soundsystem singles chronology
"Christmas Will Break Your Heart"
(2015) 		"Call the Police"
(2017) 		"Tonite"
(2017)

"Call the Police" is a song by American rock band LCD Soundsystem. It was released together with "American Dream" as a digital double A-side single on May 5, 2017, through DFA Records and Columbia Records,[2] as the lead single from their fourth studio album, American Dream (2017). The song peaked at number 78 in Scotland and number 26 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart.

Background and composition

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Prior to the official release of the song, "Call the Police" was first performed live during one of the band's sets at the then-recently opened Brooklyn Steel venue in Brooklyn, New York. It was performed during the first encore of their April 6 show, where it was known as "Call Police" on the setlist. The band had made a plea to those in attendance at the show, asking them not to film their performance so they could officially release the track the way they wish to do so.[3]

"Call the Police" was mixed by Dave Sardy at his studio in Los Angeles and mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service.[4] The track has been noted as a post-punk song by some music critics.[5][6] Eric Shorey of Nylon felt as though the song didn't deviate too far away from the band's general style of music, noting that "it's not hard to imagine the new jam entering the canon of dance-punk classics."[7] The track drew comparisons to the work of David Bowie; James Murphy's vocals were compared to Bowie's,[8] the guitars were noted as similar to those of his song "'Heroes'",[9][10] and Rhian Daly of NME wrote that the song "shares the galactic explorer feel of some of Bowie‘s finest work," using his "Moonage Daydream" track as an example.[11] Comparisons were also drawn to U2,[12] Brian Eno, and New Order, particularly their song "Procession", the melody of which Pitchfork noted "Call the Police" "borrow[ed] liberally from".[13]

Release

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"Call the Police" was released alongside "American Dream" as a double A-side single digitally on May 5, 2017;[14][15] they were made available once midnight was reached in one's time zone.[16] The release acts as the band's first non-Christmas single in seven years (if "Christmas Will Break Your Heart" is not counted).[17] The single release was accompanied by a post on the band's official Facebook page, which also included an update regarding the progress of their upcoming studio album.[16] The band later performed "Call the Police" during the May 6 episode of Saturday Night Live's 42nd season.[18]

Track listing

[edit]
Digital release[19]
No.TitleLength
1."Call the Police"7:01
2."American Dream"6:13
Total length:13:14
Promotional CD single[20]
No.TitleLength
1."Call the Police" (radio edit)4:11
2."Call the Police"7:01
Total length:11:12

Personnel

[edit]

All personnel adapted from American Dream liner notes.[21]

Charts

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Chart (2017) Peak
position
Scotland (OCC)[22] 78
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[23] 91
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[24] 26
US Hot Singles Sales (Billboard)[25] 5

References

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  1. ^ Rolling Stone Staff (November 29, 2017). "50 Best Songs of 2017". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 6, 2022. Seven minutes of strangely liberating synth-funk paranoia from the masters of dancing through the bad vibes.
  2. ^ "call the police / american dream : LCD Soundsystem". Qobuz. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  3. ^ Trendell, Andrew (April 7, 2017). "LCD Soundsystem debut new songs at first gig of 2017". NME. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  4. ^ Kaufman, Gil (May 4, 2017). "LCD Soundsystem Will Drop Two New Singles at Midnight, Perform Them on 'Saturday Night Live'". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  5. ^ Miller, Matt (September 1, 2017). "LCD Soundsystem Is Back. But This Is Not the Same LCD Soundsystem". Esquire. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  6. ^ Carter, Geoff (August 31, 2017). "LCD Soundsystem's 'American Dream' delivers the sonic punch to drown out the chaos around us". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  7. ^ Shorey, Eric (May 4, 2017). ""Call the Police:" LCD Soundsystem Dropped A New Song". Nylon. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  8. ^ McDermott, Maeve (May 5, 2017). "LCD Soundsystem skirts politics on songs 'Call the Police,' 'American Dream'". USA Today. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  9. ^ Russell, Scott (May 5, 2017). "LCD Soundsystem Is Back With Two New Songs, "American Dream" and "Call the Police"". Paste. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  10. ^ Ryan, Seán (May 5, 2017). "Special: Listen to two new tracks from LCD Soundsystem". State. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  11. ^ Daly, Rhian (May 4, 2017). "LCD Soundsystem hint at career best album with new songs 'Call The Police' and 'American Dream'". NME. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  12. ^ Cook-Wilson, Winston (May 5, 2017). "On "Call the Police," LCD Soundsystem Are Just as Confused as the Rest of Us". Spin. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  13. ^ Sherburne, Philip (May 5, 2017). ""Call the Police"/"American Dream"". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 2, 2024.
  14. ^ Sherburne, Philip (May 5, 2017). ""Call the Police"/"American Dream" by LCD Soundsystem Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  15. ^ "call the police / american dream - Single by LCD Soundsystem". Apple Music U.S. May 5, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  16. ^ a b Gerardi, Matt (May 4, 2017). "LCD Soundsystem to release 2 new songs tonight at midnight". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 5, 2017.
  17. ^ Hart, Otis (7 May 2017). "LCD Soundsystem Brought Its New Songs To 'Saturday Night Live'". NPR. NPR (published May 7, 2017). Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  18. ^ Tarnoff, Brooke (May 7, 2017). "Watch LCD Soundsystem Perform 'American Dream' and 'Call the Police' on 'SNL'". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2017.
  19. ^ "LCD Soundsystem – Call The Police / American Dream". Discogs. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  20. ^ "Images for LCD Soundsystem - Call the Police". Discogs. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  21. ^ American Dream (album liner notes). LCD Soundsystem. DFA Records; Columbia Records. 2017.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  22. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  23. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  24. ^ "LCD Soundsystem Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  25. ^ "Billboard.biz Only Songs search". billboard.com. Retrieved May 16, 2017.[permanent dead link]
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