Dean Martin is playing at their house, apparently. LCD Soundsystem has announced an imminent streaming special, “The LCD Soundsystem Holiday Special,” that will open with a ’90s-style-sitcom spoof, featuring actors portraying members of the band and their team, followed by a concert special, presumably featuring the real group. Produced by Amazon Music, it airs both on Prime Video and on Amazon Music’s Twitch channel Dec. 22 at 9 p.m. ET/6 PT.
Musicians starring in their own arch/retro Christmas sitcoms is not a completely fresh wrinkle — see “The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show,” which premiered on Prime Video two years ago — but there’s certainly some novelty in one that has avatars for the ostensible stars in the form of recognizable actors. “All My Friends,” the sitcom-within-a-special, is named after a 2007 single of LCD Soundsystem’s and even has a TV-ized instrumental version of the song as its theme song (see opening credits, above).
Eric Wareheim of “Tim & Eric” renown directed the special and also stars in the sitcom portion as LCD Soundsystem leader James Murphy. Other cast members include playing Macaulay Culkin as drummer Pat Mahoney, Christine Ko as keyboard player Nancy Whang, Tony Cavalero as synth player Nick Millhiser, Cory Loykasek as guitarist Al Doyle, Aparna Nancherla as synth player Abby Echiverri, Jon Daly as bassist Tyler Pope, Rex Lee as band manager Brian Graf and Luenell as the band’s tour manager. Synth player Korey Rickey is portrayed by a puppet in the show.
Popular on Variety
The special will start with the faux sitcom, followed by a “career-spanning set” topped off by the first-ever live performance of the band’s 2015 single “Christmas Will Break Your Heart.”
“I am similarly stunned that someone let us do this,” Murphy said in a statement. “At least we finally get to use our Korey puppet.”
“I can’t believe Amazon Music is letting us do this,” Wareheim said in a similarly astonished mode. “I’ve already conquered film, James has conquered music, but we have yet to conquer the sitcom — the highest form of art. We’ve been working on this project for 15 years, and for this show we’re unveiling a uniquely emotional perspective of the sitcom universe for the holidays — provided by one of the greatest bands of all time and my dear friends, LCD Soundsystem.”
LCD Soundsystem is a more than midway a 20-night residency at Brooklyn Steel, which wraps up Dec. 21, representing the first shows in three years for the group, which officially broke up in 2011 but reunited a few years later. The group’s last new studio album, “American Dream,” came out in 2017.
The concert footage for the new holiday show comes from a custom performance filmed and arranged for the special.
The group will be on view in 2022, likely on the festival circuit, as LCD Soundsytem was just announced as one of the headliners (along with the Strokes) for an inaugural “This AIn’t No Picnic” festival outside the Rose Bowl in California on Aug. 27-28.