"L.S.F." (or "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)") is the second single released by the British rock group

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karlof ...

. 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 Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. The song was originally released in October 2003 in the video game ''

FIFA Football 2004 ''FIFA Football 2004'', also known as ''FIFA Soccer 2004'' in North America, is a Association football, football Simulation video game, simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in October 2003 ...

'', but the single was released in August 2004. In May 2007, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' magazine placed "LSF" at number 37 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. 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 Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

, 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.'" 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." About this song, guitarist Serge Pizzorno said,

Reception

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

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."

Track listing

Maxi CD

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

Mini CD

*PARADISE13 # L.S.F. – 3:19 # L.S.F. (Jagz Kooner Mix Edit) – 3:14

Japan CD

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

10" vinyl

*PARADISE15 # L.S.F. (Album version) – 3:14 # Club Foot (Live @ Cabinet War Rooms) – 4:14 # 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 Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbi ...

covered L.S.F. on his

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' Version'' featuring

themselves. * The industrial band

Goteki Goteki () are a British electro band. They are the musical brainchild of composer Ross Tregenza. They were heavily involved in the development of UK electronic body music (EBM) and cybergoth genres in the early 2000s. Goteki split up in 2006, ...

covered ''L.S.F.'' on its ''Stolen Thunder One'' EP.

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2004 singles 2004 songs Columbia Records singles Kasabian songs Mark Ronson songs Song recordings produced by Jim Abbiss Songs written by Christopher Karloff Songs written by Sergio Pizzorno