Listening 2 Daft Punk: Random Access Memories

In the song "Touch" from Daft Punk's final studio album, 2013's Random Access Memories, featured artist Paul Williams sings a line that augured the end of an impressive collaboration: "I need something more." With RAM, Daft Punk pulled out all the stops, going the opposite direction of their previous albums, to "give life back to music" and bestow hearts and souls upon their robotic doppelgängers.

RAM features almost no samples or programmed digital instruments, instead leaning into extensive collaborations with legendary studio musicians, iconic producers like Nile Rodgers, and modern mavens such as Pharrell. The making of RAM followed the blueprint of classic albums from what Daft Punk called "the golden age" of recording—Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Pink Floyd. The duo spent over a million dollars, held five years of studio sessions, and painstakingly crafted each track. The result was a record that helped usher in a retro disco-funk revival across pop music and generated a smash hit in "Get Lucky." The band had perhaps crafted their magnum opus—but did it also represent the conclusion of their epic narrative of the battle between human and machine?

Songs Discussed

Daft Punk - Give Life Back to Music

Daft Punk - Lose Yourself to Dance (feat. Pharrell Williams)

Daft Punk - Get Lucky (feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers)

Daft Punk - Giorgio by Moroder

Eagles - Hotel California

Daft Punk - Contact

The Sherbs - We Ride Tonight

Daft Punk - The Prime Time of Your Life

Daft Punk, Paul Williams - Touch (feat. Paul Williams)

Thomas Bangalter - Mythologies: X. L'Accouchement

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