Museum of Love discuss the inspirations behind new album ‘Life of Mammals’
Museum of Love -- aka LCD Soundsystem drummer Pat Mahoney and Dennis McNany -- are finally back with a follow-up to their underrated 2014 debut. Despite their connections to dance music, Life of Mammals is a much odder duck than their first album, owing more to the arty side of the '70s and '80s (Bill Nelson, Scott Walker, The Associates). “There's house music in there, too,” says Mahoney, “although maybe not on the surface. I felt like our first album was more in that world, but with this record, we've ended up making a weird rock LP.” James Murphy mixed the album, and you can listen to the whole thing below.
We asked Pat and Dennis to tell us about the inspirations behind Life of Mammals and while they offered up a few musical references -- Laurie Anderson, Scott Walker, Biggie, Joe Bataan -- this is one of the more unusual lists like this. As they say, Museum of Love have chosen another way. Read it below.
In other news, Museum of Love will celebrate their new album with a release party at Elsewhere Rooftop on July 23 featuring a MoL DJ set. Tickets are on sale.
MUSEUM OF LOVE - INFLUENCES BEHIND LIFE OF MAMMALS
1.The Soviet Union
Site of colossal crimes, alien space programs, promises unrealized, repository of the dreams of the world’s workers, the U S of A’s terrifying, mysterious opposite number. For a 20th century man, the minimal knowledge that there was another way, something, anything, besides the dystopian triumphalist capitalist post humanity that we live in today. When I (Pat) was a child my parents mysteriously got copies of “Soviet Life” sent to the house, and I thumbed through them, glossy and large format, like our Life (which needed no prefix, like so many other things in this culture that exclude all other modes of being) with pictures of ballet dancing, tractor producing, worker paradise having Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This alternate universe, for which I make no excuses as it was a brutal lie (much like our civilization), at least counterbalanced our weird world, in a psychic way. This is why I wish we were having a conversation. There is another way.
2. There is another way.
3. We are not talking about ourselves in marketing language. We don’t have a personal brand, we aren’t leveraging all of our personal assets, we reject categorically using corporate language to talk about ourselves.
In total darkness or in a very large room very quietly. but really, hit us up in the dms later, after all this! There is another way!
4. We are bigger and more beautiful than this. And you look amazing. But there may be a better way
5. Search for thought. intelligence works best when tested i guess and page words can be static or worse, you re-think them.
What does this mean? Miss reading books, we think best in conversation - better face to face if that's cool. call me on my future phone
6. I once read about a religious cult that held that the world ended in 1918, which of course it did. We are living in hell, clearly, as half alive, ghost like mannequins. But of course our collective death grants a great deal of freedom, from history, from gods, from ourselves. There is another way
7. Overheard NY:
“so he’s fucking me, and I’m eating the piece of chicken!”
“so she has, like, a ridiculous body”
“so are you gonna walk, or are you gonna dawdle?”
“so I’m like “CRUNCH BITSCH!”
“so THANKS FOR RUINING BROOKLYN, ASSHOLE!”
“THERE IS ANOTHER WAY”
8. Anonymity and contradictory behavior.
8.5 Unmastery.
We never trod some paths because a because. it's a tension balance where you want to be surprised but you want to be the student it’s a balance of want\in to learn/ getting yourself out of the way… Unlearning the normal ways, constantly refreshing, never tiring of the bodies or objects you come in contact with. there is another way
9.
Chet Baker
Roland Barthes
Depeche Mode
Laurie Big Science
Robert W Old Rottenhat
Yura Yura Teikoku Beautiful
Scott 4
Francis Bebey
Biggie
Joe Bataan
Husky Gurlz
Signifigant Dijitz
Fractional Ownership
HomeDecor
the Youcanthaveits
The flying Burrito Bros
There is another way (band)
10. What a weird agreed upon thing.
Thanks for the chance to chat. We hope you enjoy the record.
for any further inquiries hit up james @intheballs