This Is Happening
Studio album by
LCD Soundsystem
ReleasedMay 17, 2010 (2010-05-17)
RecordedApril 1, 2009 – February 24, 2010
Studio
Genre
Length65:17
Label
ProducerJames 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
  1. "Pow Pow"
    Released: April 17, 2010
  2. "Drunk Girls"
    Released: May 3, 2010
  3. "I Can Change"
    Released: July 26, 2010
  4. "Throw (Deluxe edition)"
    Released: 2010[7]

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.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.7/10[8]
Metacritic84/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
The A.V. ClubA[11]
Entertainment WeeklyA[12]
The Guardian[13]
Los Angeles Times[14]
MSN Music (Consumer Guide)A−[15]
NME8/10[16]
Pitchfork9.2/10[17]
Rolling Stone[18]
Spin8/10[19]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized 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 has appeared on multiple year-end and decade-end lists. According to Metacritic, This Is Happening was the third-highest ranked 2010 album overall on year-end critics lists.[20] This Is Happening was voted the second best album of 2010 on The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 2010 with 1634 points, nearly half the points of the top album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.[21][22] Pitchfork ranked the songs "All I Want" and "I Can Change" at number eleven and number three respectively as the best tracks of 2010.[23]

Select rankings for This Is Happening
Publication List Year Rank Ref.
The AV Club "The Best Music of 2010" 2010 4 [24]
Billboard "Critics' Picks: Billboard's Top 10 Albums of 2010" 2010 6 [25]
"The 100 Greatest Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks" 2019 39 [26]
Clash "Top 40 Albums Of 2010" 2010 9 [27]
The Guardian "The 40 Best Albums of 2010" 2010 21 [28]
NME "50 Best Albums Of 2010" 2010 4 [29]
"The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" 2013 322 [30]
"The Best Albums of The Decade: The 2010s" 2019 34 [31]
Paste Magazine "The 50 Best Albums of 2010" 2010 1 [32]
"The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s" 2019 3 [33]
Pitchfork "The Top 50 Albums of 2010" 2010 2 [34]
"The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010-2014)" 2014 11 [35]
"The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s" 2019 52 [36]
Q "Q Hall of Fame: Best of 2010" 2010 23 [37]
Resident Advisor "RA Poll: Top 20 Albums of 2010" 2010 11 [38]
Rolling Stone "30 Best Albums of 2010" 2010 10 [39]
"The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s" 2019 10 [40]
Spin "40 Best Albums of 2010" 2010 4 [41]
"The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)" 2015 184 [42]
Time "Top 10 Albums" 2010 3 [43]
Uncut "The Wild Mercury Sound 100 Of 2010" 2010 38 [44]
The Village Voice "Pazz & Jop 2010" 2010 2 [45]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dance Yrself Clean"Murphy8:56
2."Drunk Girls"
3:42
3."One Touch"
7:45
4."All I Want"Murphy6:41
5."I Can Change"
  • Murphy
  • Mahoney
5:52
6."You Wanted a Hit"
9:06
7."Pow Pow"
8:23
8."Somebody's Calling Me"Murphy6:53
9."Home"Murphy7:53
Total length:65:17
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Throw" (Paperclip People cover)Carl Craig10:01
11."Oh You (Christmas Blues)"Murphy3:51
Total length:79:09

Personnel

All personnel and credits adapted from album liner notes.[46]

Charts

The album debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 in its first week on sale, selling approximately 31,000 copies.[47] 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.[48] 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.[49]

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[71] Silver 60,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming 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. ^ a b "This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Reviews for This Is Happening by LCD Soundsystem". Metacritic. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
  10. ^ a b 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b Dombal, Ryan (May 17, 2010). "LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on May 20, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
  18. ^ a b 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. ^ Dietz, Jason (January 7, 2011). "2010 Music Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on February 7, 2011. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  21. ^ "Pazz & Jop 2010". Village Voice. December 17, 2010. Archived from the original on February 20, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  22. ^ Vozick-Levinson, Simon (January 19, 2011). "Kanye West, Cee Lo Green top 2010 Pazz and Jop critics' poll". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  23. ^ "The Top 100 Tracks of 2010". Pitchfork. December 12, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  24. ^ Rabin, Nathan; Ryan, Kyle; Martins, Chris; Heller, Jason; Modell, Josh; Hyden, Steven; O'Neal, Sean; Phipps, Keith; Williams, Chrisitan; Murray, Noel; Kornhaber, Spencer; Matos, Michaelangelo; Koski, Genevieve (December 8, 2010). "The best music of 2010". The AV Club. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  25. ^ "Critics' Picks: Billboard's Top 10 Albums of 2010". Billboard. December 14, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  26. ^ "The 100 Greatest Albums of the 2010s: Staff Picks". Billboard. November 19, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  27. ^ "Top 40 Albums Of 2010". Clash. December 6, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  28. ^ "The 40 best albums of 2010". The Guardian. December 11, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  29. ^ "50 Best Albums Of 2010". NME. December 1, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  30. ^ Barker, Emily (October 23, 2013). "The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time: 400-301". NME. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  31. ^ "The Best Albums of The Decade: The 2010s". NME. November 29, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  32. ^ Jackson, Josh (December 1, 2010). "The 50 Best Albums of 2010". Paste. p. 5. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  33. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s". Paste. October 9, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  34. ^ Sherburne, Philip (December 16, 2010). "The Top 50 Albums of 2010". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  35. ^ "The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far (2010-2014)". Pitchfork. August 18, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  36. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 2010s". Pitchfork. October 8, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  37. ^ "Q Hall of Fame: Best of 2010". Q. 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  38. ^ "RA Poll: Top 20 Albums of 2010". Resident Advisor. December 15, 2010. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  39. ^ "30 Best Albums of 2010". Rolling Stone. December 25, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  40. ^ Hermes, Will (December 3, 2019). "The 100 Best Albums of the 2010s". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  41. ^ "Spin's 40 Best Albums of 2010". Spin. December 6, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  42. ^ "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)". Spin. May 11, 2015. p. 2. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  43. ^ Suddath, Claire (December 9, 2010). "The Top 10 Everything of 2010 - 3. LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening". Time. Archived from the original on January 28, 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  44. ^ Mulvey, John (December 21, 2010). "The Wild Mercury Sound 100 Of 2010". Uncut. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  45. ^ "Pazz & Jop 2010". Village Voice. December 17, 2010. Archived from the original on February 20, 2011. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  46. ^ This Is Happening (album liner notes). LCD Soundsystem. DFA Records. 2010.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  47. ^ Wete, Brad (May 26, 2010). "Glee dances past the Rolling Stones to No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart". EW.com.
  48. ^ "Dance/Electronic Albums: Week of June 05, 2010". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  49. ^ Molanphy, Chris (January 22, 2016). "Can LCD Soundsystem Finally Fulfill James Murphy's Dream of a Number One Album?". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
  50. ^ "Australiancharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  51. ^ "Austriancharts.at – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  52. ^ "Ultratop.be – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  53. ^ "Ultratop.be – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  54. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  55. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  56. ^ "LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  57. ^ "Lescharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  58. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  59. ^ "Greekcharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  60. ^ "Charts.nz – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  61. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  62. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  63. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  64. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  65. ^ "Swisscharts.com – LCD Soundsystem – This Is Happening". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  66. ^ "LCD Soundsystem | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  67. ^ "LCD Soundsystem Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  68. ^ "LCD Soundsystem Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 28, 2015.
  69. ^ "Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2010". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  70. ^ "Top Dance/Electronic Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  71. ^ "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

LCD Soundsystem
Authority control databases
Categories