Ratatat is a small band with a great sound, just two guys who started recording on a PowerBook in 2001. Their indie rock/electro sound is unique for the way the chord choices create a musical atmosphere of whimsical fantasy, melancholic reflection, and often both.
There are a lot of reasons why anyone in particular would enjoy Ratatat. Maybe you're the sort of person who wants a little of everything in their collection. Maybe you're the type that avoids the plague of throwaway pop tracks, trying to find artists that don't receive the listenership their glorious indie sound deserves. There's even a fair chance that you'd like them just because of the whole they-sound-good thing. I'd guess they're never going to have a Timberlake-esque fanbase of girls swooning over their hotness though, as they don't really seem to be going for that in their photos:
Ratatat hasn't put out a whole lot of albums, and honestly I don't have them all so I can't say what their remix albums sound like. What I have is their album Classics, which is fairly uniform in terms of sound and quality. For some that'll be a good thing, and for some, less so. For me, it's good news because I can review an entire album with the effort it takes to tell you about a single song.
Classics
Simply put, it's a sound I like. When I listen to music, I choose the playlist based on what I want to hear. Sometimes I want to hear happy lyrics and catchy melodies, sometimes I like something that lets you forget about what's going on and just sucks you into a half-listening state of trance. When I want to get some work done and not pay too teribly much attention to what music is playing, I can put on Classics.
The effect of the uniformity of the album is that you don't notice a major change when the next song comes on. It's like listening to Dark Side of the Moon, but without such musical genius that you're sucked away from your work. Having Classics on seems to acknowledge the menial, depressing aspect of your homework, but the emotion of the music keeps you moving on because despite the melancholic overall tune, the chord progressions are full of hope and the music continues on. I like Tacobel Canon for its opening, and I just like the energy of Lex in general, so those are my favorites off Classics. Finally, here's the iTunes link. Take a look, hopefully you'll like them.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Ratatat
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1 comment:
I would just like to thanks you for giving props where they are needed. I only know maybe three other people who have even heard of Ratatat. I have every CD of theirs(yes I still use CDs because iPods break if you look at them funny). These guys actually have some real talent and originality in their music. Most songs in their genre are completely interchangeable. the only thing that makes most songs recognizable is the fact that whenever they are played, some idiot will yell, "This song is awesome!"
I wish I could disagree with you on the fact that you feel Ratatat will never get the fan base they deserve, but until everyone learns to appreciate good music when they hear it, I must concur. If you are reading this and you have never listened to Ratatat, I will recommend the song Lex from the album, "Classics". Either that or Loud Pipes. Those are my two favorite. Thank you for giving these guys the recognition they deserve.
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