Daft Punk

[Bosco]

I have not been keeping up with the Thomas Bangalter activity, but obviously this caught my eye when I came across it...

https://x.com/Daft_Wub/status/2071249559444189657

[JeffChrist]

I love Daft Punk, I really do. But the way they're spoken of in holy whispers by the general public confuses me. The Chemical Brothers, while definitely receiving their roses from fans, don't get the same level of adulation that Daft Punk does. 

I've never seen them live, so I gotta ask - is there anything they did that blows Chemical Brothers' live shows out the water? I gotta be missing something here. And I say all this as someone who genuinely appreciates Daft Punk. 

[Bosco]

I've never seen them live, so I gotta ask - is there anything they did that blows Chemical Brothers' live shows out the water? I gotta be missing something here. And I say all this as someone who genuinely appreciates Daft Punk.

There are all sort of caveats about Daft Punk's career, so it's nearly impossible to answer in short form of why Daft Punk is outright idolized by so many. But in regards to the the legend of Daft Punk's live shows (2006-07), it is very much tied to the zeitgeist of that era. It was a phenomenal success, and is worthy of being covered in a documentary spanning technology, social media, and festivals, from that exact time. Even though we know the Chemical Brothers were essentially providing a similar LIVE experience (it not better!), it was Daft Punk that broke through the ceiling and revolutionized LIVE electronic dance music. And it all started at Coachella 2006.

To answer your question, I've seen them twice... and In my opinion, NO, Daft Punk are not better (or worse) than your average Chemical Brothers show. Subjectively, I think Chemical Brothers shows are more captivating. The only notable difference was the crowd anticipation for Daft Punk was infinitely more infectious. It felt like being at most important music event of the year and more often than not it was certain concertgoers first experience with LIVE electronic music, so that made it extra special.

Anyways... If you meet me, this is one of my favorite subjects when we have forum meetups. I love to take Daft Punk down a peg.   Just wait until I corner you about my theory of how 'Discovery' was ghost written...

[Csar]

I love Daft Punk, I really do. But the way they're spoken of in holy whispers by the general public confuses me. The Chemical Brothers, while definitely receiving their roses from fans, don't get the same level of adulation that Daft Punk does.

I've never seen them live, so I gotta ask - is there anything they did that blows Chemical Brothers' live shows out the water? I gotta be missing something here. And I say all this as someone who genuinely appreciates Daft Punk.

Let me say this: HELMETS! Plus, they probably got more heavily featured in the pop cultural sphere with their tunes than the Chems, think Around the World and One More Time which was impossible to escape. That's it. That's the whole formula. They were always under this "mysterious" disguise that apparently feels so attractive to people and of course media outlets. If you're just two dudes, it's like "yeah, whatever" but if you can prop up your profile by wearing fancy clothes and helmets, that's gonna sell (see also Deadmouse et. al).

I haven't seen them live myself but am familiar with their 2006/07 shows and they were indeed good. Better than they're studio albums by far, as the shows were more "Alive" and energetic due to their wild & interesting mixing - something the Brothers have done their whole career. Yes, the LED-Pyramid setup was unique, which added to the whole otherworldliness of their "helmet-game". It's just this mysteriousness, that carefully crafted aura/ marketing that surrounded DP since their commercially successful second album which got folks so excited to see them, imo. I don't think they had been playing live shows that many times before that tour and had this hard-to-get vibe going. So people were in high anticipation and it paid off. Another factor certainly was the advent of Youtube which helped propel these shows as people started recording and sharing their clips online since it was so visually pleasing to watch.

However, personally, I wouldn't say they re-invented live electronic music. Maybe they got more US folks interested in the sound but other than that, musically, the Chems did all that since their inception and had been a staple here in Europe already, imo.

Anyways... If you meet me, this is one of my favorite subjects when we have forum meetups. I love to take Daft Punk down a peg.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Daft Punk, I do like some of their tunes and the live shows were top notch, no question. But to see them being idolized like that over a couple of tunes and fancy outfits was never that appealing to me.

[WhiteNoise]

It's in the Kayne connection - the Harder Better Faster Stronger sample came just as Kanye began to peak in pop and indie circles, and Thomas working on Yeezus extended that. Plus the Busta Rhymes sample before that. It put Daft Punk on the map for a country totally in love with hip hop.

It's in the Tron connection, which had its moment in pop culture just as EDM was exploding across America. Even though it was a completely different style of music, they managed to ride the same wave as Avicii, Skrillex, Sweedish House Mafia, etc back in the 2010s. And a it's Disney property.

The Discovery film and connection with Toonami helped them gain credibility among anime enthusiasts early on before it started to hit the mainstream, which also helped.

Alive 2007 being this huge moment without any followup tour.

The Weeknd and Pharrell collabs expanded that reach to global pop star status after all that.

And what Csar said. Before the EDM explosion, most people in America wouldn't understand a live act that didn't have a visible instrument being played in front of them. Dress up like robots, and then, well, of course. They make repetitive bleeps and bloops and use vocoders, they're robots. There ya go. Who needs to see a guitar or a keyboard, they're robots. Refusing to be photographed just added to the mystique.

So it's a combination of managing to work on a lot of projects that appealed to people outside of the world of electronic music, and creating really accessible brand image that anyone can latch on to. (And enough musical talent to pull it all off, but don't tell Bosco .

The Chems on the other hand aren't really a brand, they're just two dudes - it's still hard to explain to the layman what they're doing on stage - and even though Galvanize, Block Rockin Beats, and Go have gotten out there, none of their collabs have had the same notoriety or reach as Daft Punk's. I mean One More Time gets played at weddings and sports events on the regular now. The Chems just don't have the same branding or singular impact and they've never tried to have it either.

[ThePumisher]

Let me say this: HELMETS!

But us got Frank the Boss and Studio Cat 

[Csar]

But us got Frank the Boss and Studio Cat 

You mean they should put Yam and Frank on their heads?