L.S.F. (song)

"L.S.F."
Single by Kasabian
from the album Kasabian
B-side
  • "Lab Twat"
  • "Doctor Zapp"
Released9 August 2004 (2004-08-09)[1]
Genre
Length3:19
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Kasabian singles chronology
"Club Foot"
(2004) 		"L.S.F."
(2004) 		"Processed Beats"
(2004)

"L.S.F." (or "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)") is the second single released by the British rock group Kasabian. It was the band's first UK Top 10 hit, peaking at No. 10 and staying in the Top 75 for five weeks. The song also charted in the United States, peaking at No. 32 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.

The song was originally released in October 2003 in the video game FIFA Football 2004, but the single was released in August 2004.

In May 2007, NME magazine placed "LSF" at number 37 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever.[2]

The drums on this track are played by Daniel Ralph Martin, who also played drums on "Cutt Off", as permanent drummer Ian Matthews did not join until midway through the album's recording sessions. Lead guitarist Christopher Karloff fills in as the drummer in the UK music video. The US music video features all five members at the time and is their only video to do so besides "Processed Beats".

Background

According to The Telegraph, the song is "articulating a mood of fear and paranoia surrounding terrorism and the Iraq war, with its chorus couplet of 'We got our backs to the wall / Watch out, they're gonna kill us all.'"[3]

In 2006, bassist Chris Edwards said, "The first LP had military imagery because we were writing it as shit was happening abroad with the army. You’d go down the shops and see ‘THE TROOPS ARE ON FIRE’ in the paper and Serge wrote the lyrics and took influence from this. We weren’t for it or against. We just wrote about what was going on."[4]

About this song, guitarist Serge Pizzorno said,

The message is to enjoy your life while you've got it. The world is insane and music's maybe the last pure thing we've got, the one thing that can bring people together. When we play that song in the set you can hear that chant coming from the crowd and it's louder than us. It's hands in the air and it's like we're all in it together. It doesn't matter if you're the President of the United States or Jim from Sunderland, we're all at risk, so while you're here, sing a song.[3]

Reception

The Austin Chronicle said, "Both 'L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)' and the sweeping 'U Boat' feel stadium-ready, with massive backswells of low-end punch overlaid with Tom Meighan's monotonic snarl and Sergio Pizzorno's swirling guitars and electronics."[5]

Track listing

Maxi CD

  • PARADISE14
  1. L.S.F. – 3:19
  2. Lab Twat – 3:17
  3. Doctor Zapp – 3:32
  4. L.S.F. (Jagz Kooner Mix Edit) — 3:14
  5. CD-Rom with L.S.F video

Mini CD

  • PARADISE13
  1. L.S.F. – 3:19
  2. L.S.F. (Jagz Kooner Mix Edit) – 3:14

Japan CD

  • BVCP-29045
  1. L.S.F. – 3:21
  2. Lab Twat – 3:20
  3. Doctor Zapp – 3:34
  4. L.S.F. (Jagz Kooner Mix Edit) — 3:13
  5. Club Foot (Live in Tokyo at Summer Sonic Festival, 8 August 2004) – 4:12
  6. CD-Rom with L.S.F video

10" vinyl

  • PARADISE15
  1. L.S.F. (Album version) – 3:14
  2. Club Foot (Live @ Cabinet War Rooms) – 4:14
  3. L.S.F. (Jagz Kooner Mix - Full Version) – 7:06

Personnel

  • Tom Meighan – lead vocals
  • Sergio Pizzorno – backing vocals, guitar, synths
  • Christopher Karloff – lead guitar, synths, omnichord
  • Chris Edwards – bass guitar
  • Daniel Ralph Martin – drums
  • Damian Taylor – programming

Covers

  • Mark Ronson covered L.S.F. on his album Version featuring Kasabian themselves.
  • The industrial band Goteki covered L.S.F. on its Stolen Thunder One EP.[6]

Charts

Chart (2004–2005) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[7] 10
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[8] 32

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] Gold 400,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. 7 August 2004. p. 31.
  2. ^ "The Greatest Indie Anthems Ever – countdown continues". May 2007.
  3. ^ a b McCormick, Neil (6 January 2005). "We're Going to Blow People Away". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Kasabian: Our new record is a classic from one to eleven". Clash. 2 September 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  5. ^ Savlov, Marc (18 March 2005). "Kasabian: Kasabian Album Review". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Stolen Thunder One".
  7. ^ "Kasabian. 'Club Foot'". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 11 November 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  8. ^ "Kasabian Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  9. ^ "British single certifications – Kasabian – LSF". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 October 2022.