This Is Happening

This Is Happening is the third studio album by American rock band LCD Soundsystem. It was released first on May 17, 2010, jointly through DFA and Virgin Records in the United States and Parlophone elsewhere. It was recorded over the course of 2009 and early 2010 in the Mansion recording studio in Los Angeles. The first single, "Drunk Girls", was released in April 2010, with a music video directed by Spike Jonze. The album is dedicated to Jerry Fuchs (1974–2009), who performed drums live with the band on occasion, as well as having a big part in associated DFA acts.

This article is about the LCD Soundsystem album. For the 2015 indie film, see This Is Happening (film).

This Is Happening
Studio album by LCD Soundsystem
Released	May 17, 2010 (2010-05-17)
Recorded	April 1, 2009 – February 24, 2010
Studio	The Mansion (Los Angeles, California) DFA (Manhattan, New York)
Genre	Dance-punk[1][2] electronica[3][4] art rock[5][6]
Length	65:17
Label	DFA Virgin Parlophone
Producer	James Murphy
LCD Soundsystem chronology
45:33 Remixes (2009) This Is Happening (2010) London Sessions (2010)
LCD Soundsystem studio albums chronology
Sound of Silver (2007) This Is Happening (2010) American Dream (2017)
Singles from This Is Happening
"Pow Pow" Released: April 17, 2010 "Drunk Girls" Released: May 3, 2010 "I Can Change" Released: July 26, 2010 "Throw (Deluxe edition)" Released: 2010[7]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.7/10[8]
Metacritic	84/100[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
The A.V. Club	A[11]
Entertainment Weekly	A[12]
The Guardian	[13]
Los Angeles Times	[14]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)	A−[15]
NME	8/10[16]
Pitchfork	9.2/10[17]
Rolling Stone	[18]
Spin	8/10[19]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, This Is Happening received an average score of 84, based on 38 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[9] It also achieved an ADM Rating of 7.7/10 on another review aggregator, AnyDecentMusic?.[8]

Guardian reviewer Alexis Petridis observed that the album did not contain Sound of Silver's "startling sense of mapping out new territories", instead sticking to a template that worked "incredibly well."[13] In his review for AllMusic, Tim Sendra had a similar opinion, stating that while This Is Happening "doesn't quite reach the monumental heights" of the band's previous album, it still provided proof that LCD Soundsystem was "one of the most exciting and interesting bands around in the 2000s." Sendra also commended Murphy's expansion as a lyricist and songwriter, and said that his production on the album "reveal[s] him at the top of his game",[10] while Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone said that it contained some of Murphy's "most earnest, lovelorn songs."[18] Pitchfork's Ryan Dombal awarded the album a Best New Music accolade, describing it as "pretty perfect".[17]

Accolades

This Is Happening placed third in Exclaim! magazine's annual Electronic rankings. In writing about the rumor that this may be the last LCD Soundsystem album, Cam Lindsay of Exclaim! wrote "If it's the 'end of an era,' at least he left us with his best."[20] This Is Happening was named the second best album of 2010 by Pitchfork.[21] This album was number 10 on Rolling Stone's list of the 30 Best Albums of 2010.[22]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Dance Yrself Clean"	Murphy	8:56
2.	"Drunk Girls"	Murphy Pat Mahoney Gavin Russom	3:42
3.	"One Touch"	Murphy Nancy Whang Russom	7:45
4.	"All I Want"	Murphy	6:41
5.	"I Can Change"	Murphy Mahoney	5:52
6.	"You Wanted a Hit"	Murphy Al Doyle	9:06
7.	"Pow Pow"	Murphy Mahoney Tyler Pope Whang	8:23
8.	"Somebody's Calling Me"	Murphy	6:53
9.	"Home"	Murphy	7:53
Total length:			65:17

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Throw" (Paperclip People cover)	Carl Craig	10:01
11.	"Oh You (Christmas Blues)"	Murphy	3:51
Total length:			79:09

Personnel

All personnel and credits adapted from album liner notes.[23]

LCD Soundsystem James Murphy – vocals (tracks 1-5, 7-9), guitar (tracks 2-4, 6, 7, 9), claps (tracks 2-4, 6, 7, 9), drums (tracks 2-4, 6, 9), bass (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8, 9), acoustic piano (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8), EMS VCS3 Putney (tracks 4, 6, 8), Korg Poly Ensemble (tracks 5, 6, 8), EMS PolySynthi (tracks 2, 6), EMS Synthi A (tracks 2, 6), Yamaha CS-60 (tracks 3, 5), Casio MT-68 (tracks 3, 8), percussion (tracks 3, 9), Simmons (tracks 5, 7), cowbell (tracks 5, 7), Roland System 100 (tracks 5, 8), Synare (tracks 6, 7), Wurlitzer electric piano (track 2), tambourine (track 2), Roland TR-606 (track 3), noise (track 3), glockenspiel (track 3), EML 101 (track 3), Casio CT-410V (track 3), Fun Machine (track 4), Roland TR-808 (track 5), Roland SH-101 (track 5), blocks (track 5), scraper (track 5), clapper (track 5), Moog Rogue (track 6), Moog CDX (track 6), Omnichord (track 7), vocoder (track 7), congas (track 7), snaps (track 8), Wurlitzer SideMan (track 8), Sequential Circuits Prophet-600 (track 9), Casio MT-400 (track 9), EMS VCS3 Putney programming (track 9) Pat Mahoney – vocals (track 2), drums (track 7) Nancy Whang – yells (track 3), vocals (track 7) Tyler Pope – bass (track 7) Phillip Mossman[lower-alpha 1] Additional musicians Gavin Russom – EMS PolySynthi (track 2), vocals (track 2), whispers (track 3) Morgan Wiley – acoustic piano (track 2) Al Doyle – guitar (track 6), Yamaha CS-60 (track 6) Jayson Green – vocals (track 7) Jason Disu – trombone (track 8) Matt Thornley – snaps (track 8) Matthew Cash – EMS VCS3 Putney (track 9)

Production James Murphy – production, mixing (tracks 3, 4, 7, 9) Dave Sardy – mixing (tracks 2, 5, 6, 8) Bob Weston – mastering Matthew Thornley – engineering assistance Gunnar Bjerk – engineering assistance Alec Gomez – engineering assistance Andy Brohard – mix assistance Alec Gomez – mix assistance Cameron Barton – mix assistance Release Keith Wood – management Michael Vadino – art direction Brett Tabolt – design Ruvan Wijesooriya – cover photos Craig E. Averill – legal Matthew Cash – human

Charts

The album debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 in its first week on sale, selling approximately 31,000 copies.[24] It also topped Billboard's Dance/Electronic Albums chart the same week of its debut, which dethroned Lady Gaga's The Fame from its five-month reign on the chart for one week.[25] As of January 2016, the album has sold about 211,000 copies in United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. About 86,800 of those are physical copies, and about 124,500 of those are digital copies.[26]

Chart (2010)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[27]	11
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[28]	67
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[29]	37
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[30]	51
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[31]	21
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[32]	47
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[33]	41
French Albums (SNEP)[34]	37
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[35]	53
Greek Albums (IFPI)[36]	6
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[37]	14
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[38]	28
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[39]	17
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[40]	49
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[41]	32
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42]	37
UK Albums (OCC)[43]	7
US Billboard 200[44]	10
US Top Dance/Electronic Albums (Billboard)[45]	1

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[46]	Silver	60,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Notes and references

Notes

1. Mossman is credited as a member of the band during recording, but is not attributed to any contributions.

References

1. Lombardi, Anthony (May 16, 2010). "LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening". PopMatters. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
2. Wallace, Wyndham (April 26, 2010). "LCD Soundsystem - This Is Happening". The Quietus. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
3. Jones, Abby (January 19, 2020). "22 Albums Turning 10 This Year". Popdust. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
4. "Favourite Electronic Albums". Exclaim!. January 31, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
5. "LCD Soundsystem: A Beginner's Guide". read.tidal.com.
6. "LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening Album Review - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com.
7. Breihan, Tom (November 4, 2010). "LCD Soundsystem Preps Live-in-Studio Album". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
8. "This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
9. "Reviews for This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem". Metacritic. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
10. Sendra, Tim. "This Is Happening – LCD Soundsystem". AllMusic. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
11. O'Neal, Sean (May 18, 2010). "LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
12. Adams, Jason (May 12, 2010). "This is Happening". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
13. Petridis, Alexis (May 13, 2010). "LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
14. Brown, August (May 17, 2010). "Album review: LCD Soundsystem's 'This Is Happening'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
15. Christgau, Robert (July 2010). "Consumer Guide". MSN Music. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
16. Doran, John (May 13, 2010). "Album Review: LCD Soundsystem – 'This Is Happening'". NME. Archived from the original on May 22, 2010. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
17. Dombal, Ryan (May 17, 2010). "LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on May 20, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
18. Rosen, Jody (May 17, 2010). "This Is Happening". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
19. Beta, Andy (May 4, 2010). "LCD Soundsystem, 'This Is Happening' (DFA/Virgin)". Spin. Archived from the original on May 16, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
20. Lindsay, Cam. "LCD Soundsystem This Is Happening (Electronic: Year in Review 2010)". Exclaim!. p. 3. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
21. Sherburne, Philip (2010-12-16). "02. LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening". The Top 50 Albums of 2010. Pitchforkmedia. p. 5.
22. ""10 | LCD Soundsystem, 'This Is Happening'". The 30 Best Albums of 2010. Rolling Stone. 2010-12-25. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
23. This Is Happening (album liner notes). LCD Soundsystem. DFA Records. 2010.CS1 maint: others (link)
24. Wete, Brad (2010-05-26). "Glee dances past the Rolling Stones to No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart". EW.com.
25. "Dance/Electronic Albums: Week of June 05, 2010". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
26. Molanphy, Chris (January 22, 2016). "Can LCD Soundsystem Finally Fulfill James Murphy's Dream of a Number One Album?". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
27. "Australiancharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
28. "Austriancharts.at – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
29. "Ultratop.be – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
30. "Ultratop.be – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
31. "Danishcharts.dk – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
32. "Dutchcharts.nl – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
33. "LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
34. "Lescharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
35. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
36. "Greekcharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
37. "Charts.nz – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
38. "Norwegiancharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
39. "Portuguesecharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
40. "Spanishcharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
41. "Swedishcharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
42. "Swisscharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
43. "LCD Soundsystem | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
44. "LCD Soundsystem Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
45. "LCD Soundsystem Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
46. "British album certifications – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 16, 2017. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type This Is Happening in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

External links

• This Is Happening at Metacritic