You might have heard there’s a new Daft Punk album on the way.
Or maybe you’re totally immune to the steady stream of guerilla marketing that pops up on television advertisements, Coachella screens and inexplicable launch parties in a little slice of Australia. What already has transpired is enough to stir the rest of us into a vehement frenzy. It seems as though the whole world is waiting for the next chapter of Daft Punk.
There’s a certain psychology behind teasing – it quite literally breeds anxiety. The target audience wants a quick resolution, some gratification for the endless wait. There’s been so much anticipation surrounding Random Access Memories that nobody seems to be discussing the possibility of this album actually kind of sucking. It’s downright blasphemy to even propose the hypothetical to many.
It’s also some foregone conclusion Daft Punk’s 4th studio venture couldn’t possibly be anything less than all-time great status. But why? At this point there’s no better reasoning behind such an assertion than total fandom and an assortment of warm fuzzy feelings of classic Daft Punk material. So what are we being sold on exactly?
I should clarify. I, probably like you, wholeheartedly subscribe to the robot rhetoric. Some of my favorite memories occurred with Daft Punk bleeping and blooping in the background, resonating off the walls of dirty college houses stained with beer and dingy bars where my closest friends happened to be gathered. Having more material to add to that soundtrack is honestly like Christmas in May.
Speaking of Christmas, I remember the first year my parents (bless ‘em) sort of stopped trying. Christmas was so great on its own that my parents stopped perpetuating the fairytale and just celebrated. Maybe it wasn’t as enchanting as those formative years when I swore I heard reindeer on the roof, but it was still damn good – minus about 100 cc’s of total naivity. Daft Punk, much like Christmas, has the ability to slide by on reputation alone.
While I have little doubt Random Access Memories will be amazing, my morbid curiosity still has me asking, What if it’s not really good? Would the fans believe it? Daft Punk is so popular they could start wearing socks with sandals and quoting Marmaduke all the time and I doubt anyone would care.
