Daft Punk - Random Access Memories: My review and semi-obsession

Is anyone else really stoked that Daft Punk just came out with a new album?! 

Their new album Random Access Memories debuts today, May 21. From what I've seen and heard so far, I'm pretty excited. Since it was just released today, it's on iTunes. Here's the link to it that has minute and a half samples of each song if you'd like to listen to them for yourself!

Isn't that about the coolest album cover?

As far as my Daft Punk fanaticism goes, I was first introduced to them when I heard a couple of their songs played at dances. I never knew who the artist was, but I always liked the music. I never really researched them until their song "Harder, Better Faster, Stronger" was sampled in Kanye West's "Stronger". (On a side note, it always really bothered me that he never credited them for his sampling of their music. Not even a "ft. Daft Punk" next to the title. What's with that, Kanye?) This song was a huge hit during my senior year of high school and therefore was played quite a bit. I really liked the techno sound of the sample, so I felt the artist he took the sample from deserved my attention and I looked them up. When I heard the original song I really enjoyed it and eventually found out who they were and bought their album Discovery.   

Daft Punk must've been cool with Kanye because they made a surprise appearance with him (pictured here) during Kanye's performance of "Stronger" at the 2009 Grammy Awards. You can watch the video here, it's pretty amazing. They appear about 2:48.

From there launched my being a fan of Daft Punk. I enjoy most of their stuff, especially when I want to listen to music that doesn't have a lot of words. But I think what's the most captivating is their use of aesthetics in collaboration with their music is done very well. But I enjoy their music and have seriously thought of making my own Daft Punk helmet after reading the blog of this guy.

I've seriously considered buying a raw casting from this guy and building my own helmet. But... the price tag is $300 just for whats pictured here though. Not quite in my budget yet. :(

I understand some of you have probably heard only a few of Daft Punk's songs, if any. Some of their bigger hits include: "One More Time", "Around the World", "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger", "Technologic" and "Derezzed".  If you're wondering what the big hooplah is all about this album coming out, it's really the first album they've released since 2007. Although, they did do the soundtrack for the movie Tron: Legacy and even had a brief cameo in the movie as robot dj's:

The other thing that makes this album so different is their heavy collaboration with other artists. Honestly, I didn't know who Pharell Williams or Nile Rodgers were until I looked them up on Wikipedia. For those of you who are in the same boat as me and might need some reference, Pharell Williams sang "Drop it like it's hot" with Snoop Dogg (or Lion, take your pick :P). Also, Nile Rodgers is a famous bass guitarist who got his big break with the band Chic and their single "Le Freak" and has performed with many different bands since.

From what I've heard of the album so far, I really enjoy the music of the new album. It's funky and can get your feet tapping. To me, some of the songs are "meh" and didn't really strike me as really amazing when first listening to them. However, I really like the rhythm and thought that was put into this album in trying to recreate or revive the kind of funky music that inspired the Daft Punk duo into the genre that they perform in today. My personal favorite is the guitar solo in "Give Life Back to Music".

So here's my one criticism so far, are you ready for it? Although I really enjoy the music of the main single of the album: "Get Lucky", I really don't enjoy the message. In an interview Pharell Williams said the song is talking about not just sleeping with people but "meeting somewhere for the first time and it just clicking". Even still, I don't like the way the song makes me feel while hearing the words sung. I'm really conflicted with this because it's really cool music, but I really don't care for the message it sends.  

Other than that, I am really excited to see and hear that Daft Punk is back in action and still haven't lost their touch in delivering some solid tunes to enjoy. Pretty awesome for 2 robots. 

But what do you guys think? Tell me in the comments below of what you think of Daft Punk as an artist, their new album, or anything at all! 

Playing in the desert. That's cool.