PSB vs Daft Punk

[Gabby]

With the news that Daft Punk are hanging up their helmets after 28 years, I wondered what everyone thinks about that and how they match up to our Boys (obvs longevity PSB win hands down).

Personally, I've never been much of a fan of Daft Punk. RAM had a couple of decent tracks but didn't live up to the hype IMHO. I can't help but feel that they have been idolized as trailblazers of electronic music as an artform, when PSB have been doing that successfully for considerably longer with much less acclaim. Maybe it's just a generational thing (at risk of sounding like an old codger), but I never got a sense of anything particularly smart/clever/original from Daft Punk.

Needless to say, they've called it a day but that's not to say they couldn't do more again in the future, so I take the "We're retiring" bit with a grain of salt. I'd feel the same way about Neil and Chris if they ever said they were going their separate ways - I'm a bit of a cynic that way.

I think (as PSB owe a lot to bands that came before them), Daft Punk owe much to the electronic bands of the 70's and 80's. On the "Olympic" podium of electronic/synth bands, I wouldn't rate them Gold, Silver or Bronze medalists.

[tottenhammattspurs]

Massive gap of silence in the mid to late 00s, and bugger all since 2015. Not exactly prolific. Their debut was superb and they've spent the following 20 years trying to emulate it and falling short...

[PopKid78]

I’ve always quite liked them, but I’ve never got how they went from pretty much being down the dumper, with Human After all, to all of a sudden having worldwide acclaim, just because of some light show.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Synthrobot]

I love them, so pretty disappointed actually. I did wonder why they'd done bugger all for years.

Here's Epilogue, the video that 'announces' their split. What great way to say goodbye. It is genius.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuDX6wNfjqc

Their Tron Legacy soundtrack is an absolute classic!

[Gabby]

I’ve always quite liked them, but I’ve never got how they went from pretty much being down the dumper, with Human After all, to all of a sudden having worldwide acclaim, just because of some light show.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jean Michel Jarre was doing huge light shows well before Daft Punk. I was at one of the Docklands shows in 1988, and even at that point it was almost passé.

If you want to talk about a conceptual artist from another musical duo, what about Dieter Meier of Yello?

I'm not trying to make this a Daft Punk bashing session, but I think what irks me is this idea that everyone has that they were somehow doing something new/innovative/groundbreaking. Again, maybe it's because I'm of a certain age, and still have some long term memory!

[PopKid78]

Agreed, for me it’s not about bashing Daft Punk, I own all their albums, 3 bought on the first day of release. I just don’t see anything that makes them stand out from their contemporaries. I think with the light show, Kanye sampling Harder Better Faster Stronger, and the rise in popularity of EDM music in the US, it all came to together at exactly the right time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Spittingcat]

Their debut was superb and they've spent the following 20 years trying to emulate it and falling short...

They never tried to emulate their past… each album was its own thing… often shedding loads of fans and listeners along the way. Every album was greeted with howls of “we want proper Daft Punk back”… while picking up new listeners because of their new sound and approach. In many ways they share that with PSB. I found it quiet amusing that Axis was released, probably as close to earlier Daft Punk that PSB have ever got… not just the sound… I mean look at that video… just as Daft Punk shifted to a ‘real’ band with real instruments throughout… and real full songs. A lovely switch around. And I enjoyed the freshness of both.

Anyway, Daft Punk were over long ago. They’ve only just admitted it.

[leesmapman]

I think it was stated in the last Annually that Kobalt thought Monkey Business was the PSB's Daft Punk track.

[OakeyDokey]

I loved Discovery when it came out but I agree that the Kanye sampling of HBFT propelled them into dizzying heights and as throw-away as Get Lucky is, it was massive and enough for the parent album to almost win a Grammy despite being fairly second-rate. They were hardly prolific either.

[Spittingcat]

I think it was stated in the last Annually that Kobalt thought Monkey Business was the PSB's Daft Punk track.

Yes, but Random Access Memories period Daft Punk, not something earlier. When Axis came out, it reminded me Discovery era Daft Punk… just before Daft Punk come out with that new RAM sound.

[PSBForTheMasses]

In my book they are good but they are far below the quality of PSB, even worse than DM or New Order,
But, at the moment at least their three albums are top five albums all around the world, and top twenty at worst- I don't know if it is due to the public announcement or if it has always been like that but I am still astounded about their popularity.

But I think (no it must be) there is something wrong with me. Get Lucky may be one of the most so-so and run-of-the mill songs ever for me. In Alternative alone, there are far superior songs. But so many people cannot be wrong.

[Greendrake]

Is this thread related to PSB at all?

[PopKid78]

It’s got to be said, their whole image has worked wonders for them over the years. So they’ve got to be given credit for that. Wearing the helmets, has definitely helped them stay relevant over the years. If they had decided to go without the helmets for the Random Access Memories album campaign, I don’t think Radio 1 would’ve played any singles by two guys who were nearly 40. Get Lucky would’ve been stuck on the Radio 2 playlist, with Vocal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Drico One]

I've enjoyed Daft Punk over the years - from Da Funk and Around the World to Get Lucky and their collabs with the Weeknd. Their best stuff always had that element of excitement. Their Tron soundtrack was great, too. Their image was massively contrived though, fairly unoriginal, and pandered to the rockist idea that all electronic music was robotic and, by implication, soulless. To me, as much as I have liked some of their work, they were the electronic pop duo for people who hated electronic pop music.

The "helmets" look, unveiled in 2001, years after they had already broken through, was pretty cynical. If it was a one album gimmick, you'd say fair enough, but as they maintained that "look" from there on in, it lacked coherence in an artistic sense. It clearly helped them avoid a situation where they grew old overnight in full public view. Clever, but cynical.

Drico.

[jasonjohn]

Liked them when they were skinny French guys who were camera shy but clearly obsessed

Find much of Discovery a bit of a chore to sit through, too gimmicky and icey. But I LOVE "Verdis Quo". Amazing.

Electric is a far denser experience than Daft Punk could produce. But I think the Daft Punk package is simpler for people to consume.

PSB could easily of been many bands; Electric/Disco/Relentless/etc hint of an opportunity to write under a pseudonym.