Thank You For Wearing A Face

On 8th February, I celebrated Guy Manuel De Homen-Cristo's birthday, whilst acknowledging that I'd ignored Thomas Bangalter's the previous month. To redress the balance, here's some Daft Punk.

Not to celebrate the fact as such and, in typically contrary fashion, I'm a day late (although I did compile the selection on the actual day), but Daft Punk decided to exit in characteristically grand style one year ago. On 22nd February 2021, their official YouTube channel published an 8-minute video, Epilogue, a wordless, visually brilliant announcement of Daft Punk's demise, with De Homen-Cristo's robot activating Bangalter's robot's self-destruct to explosive effect. The legend "1993-2021" appears on screen before a musical, well, epilogue with the vocal refrain,

"Hold on...if love is the answer, you're home"

I don't own a single Daft Punk album - and I probably need to do something about that - but I have quite a few of their singles and remixes, which inform today's selection; 10 tracks in just under an hour. A truly unique duo, hugely successful and influential and yet, to the general, global public, unrecognisable behind their robotic faces.

I visited Stroud Library in Gloucestershire on Monday. There was an A-board in the entrance, with a poster advertising an event that partially obscured the (at the time) current Covid-related guidance about wearing face coverings indoors. The slightly truncated phrase seemed perfectly aligned with a post on Daft Punk. I love that life brings these little moments of serendipity.

1) Something About Us (Adithya Remix) (2021)

2) Revolution 909 (Radio Edit) (1996)

3) Da Funk (Serge Santiago Unreleased Live Mix) (2012) 

4) Technologic (Le Knight Club Remix By Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo & Eric Chedeville) (2005)

5) Face To Face (Night Drugs Rework) (ft. Todd Edwards) (2009)

6) Human After All (Emperor Machine Version By Andy Meecham) (2005)

7) Around The World (Daft Punk Edit) (1996)

8) Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (The Neptunes Remix Edit By Pharrell Williams & Chad Hugo) (2001)

9) Get Lucky (Daft Punk Remix) (ft. Pharrell Williams & Nile Rodgers) (2013)

10) The Son Of Flynn (Moby Remix) (2011)

Thank You For Wearing A Face (56:09)

 

On a sadder note, I was completing this post when the news broke of Mark Lanegan's passing, aged 57. I did briefly considering replacing this post with an ad-hoc tribute, but I knew I wouldn't do it justice. Watch this space, but in the meantime here's John Robb remembering Mark Lanegan on Louder Than War.