There's something strangely melancholic about Ratatat's sophomore record, Classics. Something that rests behind the dancey drum machine beats and the quirky synths, or even the alternating guitars. Outwardly it's a fun album, triumphant and full of majestic refrains and riffs -- you could play it for your indie rock friends if you wanted to get them to dance a little and were too afraid to play Daft Punk or Juan Atkins -- but there's still something in it, introspection gracenoted between the intricate (but never too ornate or over-complicated or even lush) instrument layers and classical arpeggios, contemplation sitting in bittersweet descents and acoustic guitar chords, French cinema- and IDM-induced reflection, that makes it somehow all very sad. It's music for the soundtrack of a film in which even though the sky is clear -- there is sun, an open road perhaps -- the characters have difficulty smiling. Even the more "upbeat" songs, "Lex," "Tropicana," or "Wildcat," for example, never completely shed their pensive skins, rub off the dirt that smudges their bellies and faces. Classics is a record that demands a bit of attention, something to assure it that you hear each phrase, each contradiction, each sound as it enters and leaves. Something to assure it that you know the spaces in which little happens are as important as those that are full. There are no solos here: just the comings and goings of thoughts and feelings and sounds, and though there is a circularity to the album, it's not boring; rather it just allows time for everything that Ratatat are trying to convey to manifest itself fully. Through its subtlety, Classics celebrates the nature and resilience of the human spirit while simultaneously acknowledging its defects, everything and anything you could ever ask an album to be, and nothing more, which is just enough.
This song - Lex by Ratatat (a electronica-ish band/duo) was shown to me by a good friend, Eva. It is AWESOME. It has no lyrics but for some reason.. always attracts me, I listen to it a lot. Then there's another one on the same album released last year called Wildcat. I LOVE them, so if you're looking for some good electronica - RATATAT ALL THE WAY!!! Some other good Ratatat songs are Spanish A...
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Ok, so I'm tagging with the same basic thing as my last post, but man, I can't help it!And now, my personal faves of 2006!Artist (Longest Lasting thru the year): RatatatOk, ok, obsessive....yes. But still. It speaks to me or something.Nah, to me it's more about the musicianship. The more I listen, the more I find to love. The influences that I can find in their music (probably 1/2 of them are ...
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I've been listening to a lot more radio this past month. This is a good thing. For a long while I felt like I needed to play catch up with my music collection. From the MOG-O-MATIC perspec, I've been MIA, but really I've been here all along. Baton Rouge has a fine student run radio station at Louisiana State University (KLSU) and I'm feeling nostalgic for the days of dj spaceling and the "Ampli...
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To be released 08/22/06 on XL RecordingsRatatat has perfected an art which every electronic band has tried in the past: live sounds over sampled beats. Where Mike Stroud and Evan Mast have excelled is channeling happening shreds into normal instruments. While other bands rely on circuit bending and mashed children's toys, Ratatat bring the head-bopping with just guitar and bass over Evan's trip...
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This song - Lex by Ratatat (a electronica-ish band/duo) was shown to me by a good friend, Eva. It is AWESOME. It has no lyrics but for some reason.. always attracts me, I listen to it a lot. Then there's another one on the same album released last year called Wildcat. I LOVE them, so if you're looking for some good electronica - RATATAT ALL THE WAY!!! Some other good Ratatat songs are Spanish A...
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Ratatat - ClassicsI'm still mired in a post-travel hangover.....but thought I'd post about these guys. Very original, innovative music. You can have it on in the background, or you can crank it.....if you're not into the instrumental thing, check out their Remixes album, where they composed the beats and backgrounds to a whole bunch of rap songs from artists like Missy Elliott and the Wu Tang...
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Hello!Ratatat, crazy electronic music, insane distortion on guitar and bass, will be releasing? (August 22?) Classics, their second CD.While their first CD had only one danceable hard beat song, Classics is a bit of a change. Some of their music sounds harder on the second CD, akin to Seventeen Years on their self-titled debut. Typically when I play Ratatat (the CD) for my friends, they love ...
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This song is SO GOOD I can't wipe the smile off my face. Finally, something that rocks. I have been listening to country, cajun folk, and Japanese women singing spanish love ballads and literally DYING for something good to come out in the rock realm.God bless ratatat. I really didn't want to end the summer in such a lull.
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Ok, so I'm tagging with the same basic thing as my last post, but man, I can't help it!And now, my personal faves of 2006!Artist (Longest Lasting thru the year): RatatatOk, ok, obsessive....yes. But still. It speaks to me or something.Nah, to me it's more about the musicianship. The more I listen, the more I find to love. The influences that I can find in their music (probably 1/2 of them are ...
More >
Holy fucking shit! This show was AWESOME. My second time seeing Ratatat live, and they never cease to amaze me. I think that their Berbatis' show was a little stronger, plus the fact that ANY band feels better in a smaller venue. The only downside is that during the entirety of the set there were 2 short lesbians making out on my back....literally. They were using me like a drunk couple uses an...
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Recently I can't stop listening to this song. While walking to work this morning I found myself bobbing my head to it, much to the amusement of the guy standing next to me on the corner. What can I say? This song kicks ass.
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Montanita |
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| 2 Lex |
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| 3 Gettysburg |
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| 4 Wildcat |
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| 5 Tropicana |
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| 6 Loud Pipes |
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| 7 Kennedy |
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| 8 Swisha |
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| 9 Nostrand |
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| 10 Tacobel Canon |
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 "Classics")
