Shut Up and Play the Hits (M)

“The wonderful LCD Soundsystem documentary/concert film Shut Up and Play the Hits chronicles for posterity the revered dance band’s final concert in front of a sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden… The film documents an artist intent on going out on top, even if it means leaving an army of devoted fans salivating for more – especially if it leaves an army of devoted fans salivating for more… As if to justify its title, Shut Up and Play the Hits begins with purposefully mundane glimpses of James Murphy, the 40-something dog-walker and coffee lover. Then our hero – who also produced the film – ducks into his metaphorical phone booth and emerges the wildly charismatic lead singer and front-man of one of the most electrifying rock bands in the world… Murphy and his band perform before a sold-out audience in the grips of ecstasy, both chemically and naturally-induced. Shut Up and Play the Hits offers audiences a sustained natural high: Murphy’s genius lies in creating cerebral, self-conscious dance music that nevertheless affects listeners on a profoundly visceral level. At its ecstatic, delirious best, Shut Up and Play the Hits is a profoundly spiritual and emotional experience, a once-in-a- lifetime coming together of 18,000 people and a score of musicians under the spell of a man intent on giving himself and his audience the best goddamned going away party ever.” — Nathan Rabin, AV Club “Shut Up and Play the Hits’ central dialog comes from an interview journalist Chuck Klosterman conducted with Murphy. The questions are fantastic, yielding fantastic answers.” — Beth Carter, Wired