Daft Punk changed my life. Here’s why.

Ten years ago, I was just about to enter high school. I wore glasses, had a swooped Bieber haircut, and loved Minecraft. What else would you expect from a nerd like me circa 2013? My best friend and I maintained a private Minecraft server—nothing fancy, just a place for us to mess around and build our blocky masterpieces. So, there we were, sitting on my parent’s couch with printed—and laminated, of course—name badges declaring us “Admins” of the Minecraft server when a song came on in the background. The song was very popular at the time, so I had most certainly heard it. But, at that moment I felt something I had never felt before when listening to a song. I felt a tingle in my brain with every note and every word. I felt like I should dance. I felt like I had found something—something that had been waiting for me all along. I felt pure harmonious happiness.

Daft Punk after release of Random Access Memories (cropped), Sony Music Entertainment (license)

I asked my friend what the song was and she told me: “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk. Wow, I thought to myself. I had heard of them, but only in passing. What incredible music genius. The groovy rhythm of Nile Rodgers’ guitar. The silk in Pharrell William’s ethereal voice. The subtle harmonies from the piano and synthesizer. The poetic lyrics. All of it just captivated me—and the world for that matter. My dad told me that the song was sexual in nature—something he felt the need to reveal to me given my obsession with the song. I suppose with a main chorus of “We’re up all night to get lucky,” he is right. But the song is about so much more than the hope for sex. It’s about human desire. It’s about feeling the moment. It’s about having fun. It’s about love.

We’ve come too far to give up we are, so let’s raise the bar and our cups to the stars. No, that last line is not mine, but it is my absolute favorite lyric of all time, a lyric that I live by, and a lyric that comes from no other song but—you guessed it—“Get Lucky” by the sensational Daft Punk.

I have listened to Random Access Memories many times in the ten years since it first graced the ears of humankind. The layers of “Motherboard” allowed for deep concentration while studying for AP Calculus in high school. “Giorgio by Moroder” inspired me to take to the keyboard myself equipped with the advice that once you free your mind about a concept of harmony and of music being correct, you can do whatever you want. “Give Life Back to Music” filled the cool air of early summer evenings in the car as I reflected on a day’s work, anticipating an upcoming weekend. “The Game of Love” opened my mind to the depth of emotion an artist can express in a song. “Within” spoke of thoughts I had pondered for years, only said with the eloquence of Daft Punk: There are so many things that I don’t understand; There’s a world within me that I cannot explain. “Instant Crush”, like “Get Lucky”, tickled my brain with its unforgettable chord progression and guitar solo. “Lose Yourself to Dance” introduced me to what it feels like to truly lose yourself to dance, especially when it came on at the club. “Beyond” gave me hope in times of confusion or turbulence, reminding me to remember love’s our only mission and this is a journey of the soul. “Motherboard” provided a bubbly meditation on the genius of blending orchestral and synthetic music engineering. “Fragments of Time” was a back-track to my reflection on the passage of time as the experiences of the last ten years turned into memories that I’ll just keep playing back. “Fragments of Time” also contains one of the most epic dopamine-inducing climaxes to a song ever written, one that I must always—at the very least—bop my head to. “Doin’ It Right” gave a promise that if you lose your way tonight, that’s how you know the magic’s right. “Contact”, in all of its grandiose chords, impeccable drum kit riffs, and unending crescendo, gave me the energy I needed to do everything I did in the last ten years (high school, summer jobs/internships, undergrad, graduate school). And finally, “Touch” reached down into the core of my soul, vibrating the chords of my being with a message so wise it sends tears rolling down my face: If love is the answer, you’re home. Hold on.

Album cover for the 10th Anniversary Edition of Random Access Memories, Sony Music Entertainment Sweden AB, (license)

Last month, Daft Punk released the 10th-anniversary edition of Random Access Memories. You can only imagine how excited I was to hear more content from the maestros themselves (especially since they split in 2021). While I am sad that another full studio album from the duo is highly unlikely, Random Access Memories and their prior albums are timeless—and quality is always preferable to quantity. The 10th-anniversary edition has some wonderful additional tracks, including “Horizon Ouverture” and “Horizon (Japan CD)”, a pair of songs showcasing Daft Punk’s expertise in both orchestral and synthesizer domains. “GLBTM (Studio Outtakes)” is so groovy! “The Writing of Fragments of Time” gives us a glimpse into what it was like to craft a song with Daft Punk. “Infinity Repeating” is an instant classic with that Daft-Punk-signature catchy melody. In “Touch (2021 Epilogue)”, Daft Punk once again leaves us with their eternal message, deepened with the nostalgia of an album with so much meaning, forever in my heart and soul, speaking of an unequivocal truth in this complex thing we call existence: If love is the answer, you’re home. With Daft Punk, I am always home ❤️