pee is stored in the balls

i'm legitimately dismayed that daft punk retired. they probably planned it in advance to hit that numerology thing of 02/22/21 - couldn't they have waited a year later, or better yet, the invention of a 22nd month.

it sucks cause "alive 2007" was my jam during last year's lockdown. daft punk's concert tour was credit as having changed live performances of electronic music with intricate stage designs and ornate light shows that went along with the music. i was hoping they'd tour again. with the money i had saved for a stable future, i'd spend it for the ticket, flight and visa to whichever nearby country they'll perform in. i think that's a fair tradeoff cause you couldn't get any decent footage of daft punk's one and only concert. it was all fan-uploaded videos using digital cameras - yes, back when phones and cameras needed to be two separate things.

by the time our mobile phones have gone smart and pro, then daft punk only performed live for the rich and famous in a couple of grammy awards nights. still though, they were good musicians whether in the recording studio or on stage. you could clearly see it in their 2014 grammy performance (yes, i'm doing hyperlinks now) where they brought back elements that made their "alive 2007" tour memorable with innovative stage design and live remixes.

upon the release of "random access memories", daft punk were clear from the beginning  they won't be doing a live tour because they wanted people to appreciate the tracks that have been expertly crafted in recording studios with actual instruments instead of the bedroom-produced synthesizer and machine-driven music they've been known for - so to really drive that point, the stage set for the performance of get lucky during the 2014 grammys was patterned after a recording studio, with the daft punk being in a mock mixing booth with a mid-song reveal similar to their performance with kanye west during the 2008 grammys.

the songs daft punk performed in "alive 2007" were mashups of 14 years worth of their music, they took songs with separate sonic signatures and still manage to blend beats harmoniously - so in their 2014 grammy performance, their music mixing mastery was on display with extra help from stevie wonder and nile rodgers which allowed them to perform a medley of daft punk's "get lucky", chic's "le freak" and stevie wonder's "another star". a sprinkling of samples from "harder, better, faster, stronger" and "around the world" during the performance were nice touches. it really was a culmination of decades worth of musical virtuosity tighlty packed in a five-minute performance.

but i understand they had to retire. they started out as a failed rock band with phoenix's drummer making daft punky trash - proof that they have the capacity of churning out crap. but with the right guidance and support, they're able to come up with the best music possible.

their successful debut album "homework" had one track called "teachers" where they enumerated 40+ djs they learned from. they needed many mentors to make critically-acclaimed music. yeah sure, their lyrics were dumb, but that's the case for most electronic music - in one of their more famous songs, all they kept on singing was "around the world around the world", so lyrics listing their teachers that led them to success is as profound as you can get.

we can see another example of daft punk making musical brilliance with the invaluable help of collaborators on their last album "random access memories". they tapped the services of esteemed session musicians (i.e. the unheralded people who play the instruments on the songs of your favorite pop performers) to bring an organic feel to their songs. that album won the most awards and accolades. it took the human touch of musicians on actual guitars and drums to bring a robot dj duo to the height of fame.

but they had to retire. cause where do you really go there after that. there's a well of creativity with artists, some deeper than others. they already ventured into movie soundtrack with "tron: legacy" to double down on their robot gimmick. they already produced behind the scenes for our modern day michael jackson in form of the weeknd to double down on their return to funk direction. they tried making music after their commercial success with "discovery", and they got panned with "human after all". an artist can only really go so far. even damon albarn needed to collaborate with small-time rappers and legendary musicians to keep making gorillaz tracks. there has to be a time when you have to shut down. no explanations necessary.

despite their robot gimmick, thomas bangalter and guy-man de homem-christo are still human after all. they have families to go home to, after having worked their whole lives to help the world discover a love for french house music. they may have left, but the memories of the songs we loved will stay with us. besides, we can easily revisit them, it's as accessible as pressing play.

for public figures, they've always been mysterious. since no one really knows daft punk's reason for retirement, i'm speculating it was because their hearts had more love to give elsewhere.

and if love is the answer, they're home.