Daft Punk defied odds to become one of the most recognizable music groups in the world. These "odds" included an unconventional heritage (French — not many Francophones get big in the US), an initially awkward name following failure, repetitive loops, and facelessness (which worked to their advantage, as we'll see).
The collapsed Stateside electronica "revolution" happened in the late 90s, and I remember first hearing about Daft Punk in 1997 when their debut album, Homework, was released following some singles.
Here's what they've done right:
1. Catchy tunes
When a lot of folks were making a fuss about electronic music being so different than rock music (it isn't — most of it is image and packaging), Daft Punk kept a focus on hummable riffs people can relate to. In an era of soundbites and Internet shorthand, this ain't surprising. It didn't hurt that the growly TB-303 of "Da Funk" sounds more like a heavy metal guitar line than the farty acid noises 303s are usually used for.
And it tremendously helped that the wicked hooks of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" and Kraftwerk-descended "Technologic" made catchy jingles to accompany Internet phenom Daft Hands and Apple ads. Key thing to get right: even if your drums loop over and over, have something memorable to sing atop it all. It eases friends sharing you. 
And another bonus point for use of Bach-y chord progressions, such as the breakdown section of "Around the World" and "Veridis Quo" (which borrows heavily from Italo synth-disco).
2. Being uniquely un-anonymous
The robot masks hid the human identities, but are more recognizable than Monsieurs Bangalter and de Homem-Christo's actual faces. They even got parodied (always a distinct barometer of popularity) in other media, and if any other act wears robot masks now, they'll be compared to Daft Punk. Even in a virtual world.
Photo by Chou Skinstad
Of course, Space did it before, but that only goes to show the temporal value of…
3. Selecting smashing samples
Not necessarily the most obscure, but definitely the cheekiest, cleverest choices. Although I object to Daft Punk having added not much else to Breakwater's "Release the Beast", most people won't know that, and won't care.
Other elaborations have shone so brightly: "Digital Love" takes a Supertramp-tone and samples George Duke's "I Love You More". Playing off that backbone, the duo adds in a wicked guitar-sounding keyboard solo at the perfect time, then proceeds to pound on layers of chord progressions and a conventional song structure which seems shocking, given what just happened.
By sampling so skillfully and giving the clips a second life, Daft Punk also helped raise awareness of what sampling is, and this particular "origins of" video got over 2 million YouTube views, alongside others:
4. Music videos
What's the best way (almost) to get music out to a mass audience? While MTV is said to not play as much music as they once did, they're still influential, and Daft Punk really milked the MTV-cow by getting not just Spike Jonze, but Michel Gondry to help with "Da Funk" and "Around the World" (the making of is insightful), respectively — 2 of the most creative directors. (If the Punks had scored Chris Cunningham, that would've made a brilliant hat trick!)
I remember staying up to watch MTV Amp before it went downhill to catch Daft Punk on the telly.
5. Cross-promotion with anime culture
Interstella 5555 is still unique almost 5 years later: advertised as a "House Musical", there's just no other film with a giant guitar spaceship set to… Daft Punk's whole album, Discovery. In that respect, it's advertising. And even with the colorful visuals featuring those blue-skinned aliens vs. the madman maestro, it's a fitting story. Not among my all-time fave animated films, but I watched it through, and I do think it's amazing how well the soundtrack worked — despite not being initially conceived as such.
This all happened during a time when the anime market was growing through prominent pushes in the US. What better way to celebrate than introduce this Franco-Japanese collaboration to wide-eyed youth? And what do a lot of anime/manga fans already like? Robots, of course.
6. Cross-pollination with other styles
Too many techno boffins are stuck in their own DJ booths (or bedrooms), nodding away but avoiding other vital elements, writ large. Or they waste time & energy debating about dividing styles instead of making tunes. Shame on them. Daft Punk may've fully embraced the seductive thump of the TR-909 drum machine and commented on cracking down rave culture, but they've also reached out to soul, disco, and good old rock 'n' roll.
Not to mention catching the ears of Kanye West (an innovative producer in his own light) and joining him onstage for a live performance.
7. Performing live
A lot of electronic acts have always chickened out of this. Or they can't do it, period. Daft Punk got their samplers & sequencers, and with few other peers like the Chemical Brothers, put a rocking show on the road. More recently, they've flexed their e-virtuosity with Ableton Live, which is fantastic for taking bits of various songs and matching key and tempo to sound as one — this comes naturally to Daft Punk.
(I love how they bring in arpeggiation effects alongside the familiar ditty of "Around the World" + the "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" vocals!)
Human after all…
Now, I don't have all praise for these punks: past the strength of singles, their 1st album is good, their second — Discovery — is sublime, containing some of my fave Daft trax like the breakbeat-bolstered electricity of "Aerodynamic". Unfortunately, their 3rd (Human After All) is rushed and boring, lacking the diversity of the 2nd and the novelty of the 1st.
But their first second live recording, Alive 2007, is one of the few electronic music concert records which I'd say is fairly earnest about capturing the enthusiasm of the actual experience. It also took the boredom-choredom of Human After All and warped it into arrangements with punch and power — proving it's not just what you play, it's how you play it.
And if we can learn that from a couple of rocking robots, what does that say about us?
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September 29th, 2008 at 8:17 AM PDT
Minor note, but Alive 2007 was their second live album. The first was 2001's Alive 1997. Both are fabulous!
September 29th, 2008 at 11:25 AM PDT
@Alex: You're absolutely right, and worse, it had slipped my mind. I'll correct that. THANKS.
September 29th, 2008 at 4:24 PM PDT
Yay, my helmet is on Torley's site
September 29th, 2008 at 10:54 PM PDT
2 Big thumbs up for honoring one of my most favorite music acts. Noting that Daft Punk is a french act is quite essential since I think that the french deep house scene is one of the most beautiful (like st.germain and dimitri from paris only to name two of them). The music has a certain something that many electronica acts are lacking.
For those who dig deep house and especially the french scene should visit the dogglounge club in SL. It started out as a pure Webradio but evolved into SL now combining both worlds … definitive must visit
September 30th, 2008 at 2:17 PM PDT
I agree Tenchi. I think some of the most unique and avant garde electronic acts have come out of France… but I don't think Germany and Sweden do too badly either. I have a theory that their languages gel better with electronic music than English. The words sometimes seem more like they emerged from a Moog than a mortal.
Check out The Knife, Stereo Total, and Slagsmålsklubben if you haven't already. I've got a feeling Torley would love "His Morning Promenade" by the latter. Very 8-bit. Look it up at YouTube.
Always great to read about Daft Punk. ^_^
September 30th, 2008 at 6:02 PM PDT
@Roguered1: OMG! I found out after the fact you made it! Good stuff!
@Tenchi: It's also funny to note who SEEMS to be from France, but isn't — like Les Rhythmes Digitales, who got into the French house craze, but is actually an English dude. Hope to check out Dogglounge soon, thx for the tip!
@Walker: Germany spawned Kraftwerk! That's gotta count for a LOT. I like The Knife's Karin's voice — sort of Bjorkish but unique all her own. "What Else Is There?" with Royksopp was SO beautifulistic.
Not familiar with "His Morning Promeade" YET but will check it out! Woo.
October 1st, 2008 at 11:15 AM PDT
@Torley I said something similar about Karin's voice on Twitter a few weeks ago. It almost seems to be fighting a duel with the synthesizer in Heartbeats… like they're in conflict and harmony at the same time. It's difficult to explain.
I haven't heard "What Else Is There?" by Royksopp. Where have I been? I'll look it up at Last.fm. Thanks!
October 2nd, 2008 at 5:25 PM PDT
You really know you've made it as an artist when other people are writing songs about you
Cue one of my all time favourite music videos, LCD Soundsystem's 'Daft Punk is Playing at My House':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbaOFkC8tQE
Watching it again, the stop motion techniques and stuff used there could work really effectively in Machinima. Combine that with some beat matching and recreating that video in SL could be a really fun project
October 3rd, 2008 at 9:02 AM PDT
Hey, and if you're going to talk about "Daft Punk is Playing at My House", don't forget Soulwax's remix of the LCD Soundsystem song, as they take the song and fill it with samples of Daft Punk songs!
Check it out (I'm sure it's on Youtube somewhere
)
October 4th, 2008 at 8:16 AM PDT
@Walker: The "What Else Is There?" video is so haunting. I <3 the Les Rhythmes Digitales remix, it's emotionally moving yet suited for the dancefloor.
@Aimee: That's a fantastic example! I actually had LCD Soundystem in the back of my mind but neglected to mention them here.
@PacifistDalek: Never seen a peaceful Dalek before!
I like mashups like Soulwax, Girl Talk, etc. do — sounds like a VERY creative way to combine those songs, and I'll hunt it down.
October 13th, 2008 at 2:25 PM PDT
Here is Dimitris George's latest bangin' mix, Dimitris George versus Daft Punk Mix Download. Its got all your Daft Punk favorites plus exclusive remixes and goodies … So don’t sleep… http://www.zshare.net/audio/2045115961fb1967/