LCD Soundsystem’s “Tonite” Lyrics Meaning

Before delving into the relatively complex lyrics of “Tonite”, it is best we resort to LCD Soundsystem frontman’s James Murphy’s explanation of its premise. And according to Murphy this is, in layman’s terms, a diss against the mainstream music industry, i.e. the types of songs you’re likely to hear on a New York City radio station for instance. 

And it is not only a jab against the perceived redundancy of these tunes but also the messages contained therein.

More specifically, this is sort of a scathing critique against the YOLO philosophy, as manifested by pop musicians. The way they see it, since life is finite and we do in fact only live once, we should capitalize on the opportunity by partying to the fullest. 

But the vocalist perceives espousing such a philosophy, i.e. spending your last ‘night’ in a club chillin’ or what have you, as borderline foolishness. And early on, the lyrics serve as an exposition of that conclusion.

Death

For starters, under his estimation the whole concept of ‘tonight may be your last night’ – again somewhat of a common theme in pop music – is actually indicative with the artists being preoccupied with death. 

Yet in reality, the implication as presented in this song is that “we all” die “the same” way. In other words, in trying to encapsulate this sentiment, let’s say most of us die in bed in some sort of state when we have become progressively week over a period of time. And it’s like even the YOLO artists and everyone on their videos are likely going out this way also. 

So for starters what they’re putting isn’t even realistic, this sort of dying-in-a-nightclub type of philosophy, is not grounded in real-life experience.

Instead, the way the vocalist classifies it all is as a “market psychology”, like something being sold to us. And considering that the songs being played are intrinsically commercial – so to speak – then that means the airwaves themselves are more corporate tools than genuine transmitters of musical artistry and variety.

Lyrics of “Tonite” get more Complex

And as we delve deeper into “Tonite”, the ideas being presented get even more complex. Or let’s they get metaphorical in their presentation. 

But in the fifth verse, it seems Murphy is saying that the idea of “everybody feeling the same stuff” is also unrealistic. And he doesn’t mean the music having a repetitive sound but rather the monotony of what is being put forth. 

And at this point, it should be noted that James Murphy, who was born in 1970, was already a ripe middle-ager by the time this track was dropped. So unlike the singers we tend to hear mostly on the airwaves, he actually knows how it feels to age. 

And with that in mind, what he’s putting forth in the next verse once again requires a bit of creative interpretation. But on our end, what he appears to be saying is that growing up is cool so long as you don’t feen yourself to death earlier in life. 

And to conclude the fifth verse, he is also relaying an idea like whether you party hard or not, aging is still inevitable. So it’s sort of evident, reading between the lines, that Murphy equates YOLOism to the fear of growing old, or something like that.

The Philosophical Section

And the fifth seven is even more philosophical. But what LCD Soundsystem seems to be supporting is a notion akin to people being able to party hard while simultaneously growing old. And along the way there’ll be haters. But so long as your friends have your back, you’ll be okay. And we can presume that these are conclusions he has some to via experience.

Commercialism in the Music Landscape

In the following verse, the vocalist once again tackles this topic of commercialism in music. Additionally, this time around he alludes to it being akin to some type of intentional brainwashing. 

But he feels that the public at large is too “smart” to fall for such ploys. Furthermore, people are growing offended by the fact that the industry is trying to sell things to them through music.

The Prophecy

In the ninth verse, the vocalist presents himself somewhat of a prophet in the game, ‘a late-era middle-aged rambler’ yet one with a message. However, he doesn’t seem to explicitly reveal what said message is. Instead the subject seemingly changes, this time to him criticizing the ubiquity of sexual themes in popular music.

The Advice

In the next passage, James really comes to grip with how much he’s aged, noting how now he even ‘sounds like his mom’ in terms of the advice he’s giving. But this time, that advice – “luck is always better than skill at things” – is more explicitly stated. However, what is not evident is how exactly that philosophy relates to the rest of the song.

The Final Verse of “Tonite”

The last verse is actually the lengthiest. And whereas it does start off poetically, luckily by the time it ends the LCD Soundsystem brings home a number of theories presented throughout. For instance, here, it is more obvious that Murphy is in fact speaking out against something. And that said thing is the notion of, most simply put, your young years being your best years, like as a youth you always have to party or something. 

And again, in a roundabout way he attributes the fact that said idea is so pervasive to unscrupulous business execs, who think they’re wiser than they actually are. 

Furthermore, on a more fantastical note, he envisions a world where the internet is no more and accordingly, the likes of pop musicians lose their influence and indeed the entire system of internet-based conformity comes crumbling down.

What is “Tonite” really all about?

Needless to say, there’s a whole lot going on in “Tonite”. But what it fundamentally boils down to is this. The vocalist, being a tenured musician in the game, is not impressed with the current state of the industry. 

The way he sees it, now it’s more about marketing than distributing quality music. And what is attributing to the degradation of quality is not only the monotony of themes but also the fact that the premises they’re based on is intrinsically false – destructive even. 

And where they are especially destructive is in how they influence listeners in terms of ideological perceptions of aging. Furthermore, once again going back to the marketing aspect, what people are rather encouraged to do is spend money on products and activities.

To the narrator, this is inherently wrong. And why? Because these things are depicted as life-giving but in reality don’t really edify the overall experience from a long-term perspective.

Summary

The lyrics of “Tonite” attack the music industry. They basically accuse it of ageism in the name of marketing.

“Tonite” Facts

Artist(s): LCD Soundsystem
Album/EP: “American Dream” 

Was “Tonite” a single release?

Yes. It was the 2nd single released from “American Dream”, their 4th studio album. August 16th, 2017 was when LCD Soundsystem made this song officially commercially available.

Credits

Murphy and Al Doyle wrote “Tonite”. Murphy also produced it.

Genre(s)

“Tonite” belongs to a number of music genres, most notably the following:

• Synth-pop
• Electro-disco
• Dance-punk
• Acid house

Awards/Honors

The award for “Best Dance Recording” was given to the song at the Annual Grammy Awards in 2018. The following nominations completed the category:

• Bonobo and Innov Gnawa‘s “Bambro Koyo Ganda”
• CamelPhat and Elderbrook’s “Cola”
• Gorillaz and DRAM’s “Andromeda”
• Odesza and WYNNE and Mansionair’s “Line of Sight”

Other Facts:

The song got LCD Soundsystem their first Grammy Award after being nominated five times before “Tonite”’s win.