Take for example this remix.
Normally, I absolutely can not tolerate Missy Elliot. I just don’t like her style. And her 2004 single I’m Really Hot was a completely egotistical crapfest which couldn’t manage to display the slightest bit of talent or even a minisculey appealing hook.
So it is a bit of a minor miracle that Ratatat manages to not only make the song listenable, but the duo actually creates something awesome from it.
Have a listen:
All hail Ratatat. Truly musical gods.
Sound-dust was Stereolab’s first release since Cobra and Phases… the record that really exposed me to their music. It came out as I was slowly digesting the groop’s extensive back catalog. The previous records had built expectations and I was trepidatious toward the possibility that it might not meet them.
I was a fan, but I just didn’t know what to expect.
On the first couple listens I found it wasn’t a disappointment. Sound-dust had a cleaner, straight-forward sound to it that’s easy to breath. Space moth and Captain Easychord were both instant classics, the latter of which I have a pleasant memory of: sitting in traffic in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, windows rolled down in my ’93 Hyundai Sonata, blasting it as loud as I could.
Beyond those hits, though, the rest of the album lingered, failing to really catch on. And that’s how it deceived me.
For all its simple exterior, this album gets under your skin. The cleaner compositions hide within an engaging complexity, becoming more appreciated over time until suddenly you step back and realize almost every song has a five-star rating in your library.
In retrospect, I come to the realization that this one might be Stereolab’s best record ever.
on iTunes
Spacemoth (remastered version from Serene Velocity)
…And I can’t get El Pico out of my head.
Here’s a clip of the song taken with my phone
I just got home from Ratatat’s performance at The Earl in East Atlanta. Awesome awesome stuff. This band is phenomenal, from concept to execution, and they kick it ten ways live. I can now add Ratatat to the list of bands I’ve seen more than once. Hoorah.
I would have liked to record the show, but my dinky Maxell voice recorder for iPod was overwhelmed the sheer amount of volume as was themodernista. I got nothing but noise and static from it.
Boo.
Hopefully, I got some decent pics from my cell phone (i doubt they’re that good though), but it’s late now and I’m off to bed.
The show was fronted by Panther and The Envelopes.
* coined by themodernista at the show.
Please allow me to recommend Crunching Numbers, by The Polish Ambassador, everyone’s favorite electrogroovin emissary from a far-away land, who will save you from internet electrocution by harnessing the incredible powers of space.
I. am. being. slowly. driven. insane. emphasis on the slowly driven.
Seriously, if you wish to maintain your sanity, do not drive in Atlanta, ever. But especially avoid the interstates. and the access roads. and the side streets. and all intersections.
If you give those places a wide berth, you will find yourself infinitely less frustrated with your life.
But if you cannot manage that, make sure you roll down your windows and crank up the Ratatat. You’ll be humming “germany to germany” by the time you walk in the door.
::
UPDATE: I had been planning on writing how a shortened work-day was another great way to maintain your precious sanity. But when traffic at 2-fucking-p.m. is as bad, nay, worse than it was at 8:30 am, well, no amount of creature comforts can make up for that. Not Ratatat’s crispy beats or their wailing guitars. It’s simply impossible.
No, not even kim deal has the power to save you.
This is exactly what a sophomore album should be. It has everything that made the debut so fresh and engaging, while adding nuance and complexity that show a clear maturation of sound, yet is not so over-indulgent so as to become foreign and off-putting.
I refer, of course to Ratatat’s recently released second album: Classics.
One might argue that it takes a particularly confident or arrogant band to name an album “Classics,” especially so early in their career. But I think the boys know that they’re onto something genuinely inspired and magnificent. The band not only manages to live up to the album’s title, but they exceed all expectations.
For evidence, download yourself some free mp3s of their singles: Lex and Wildcat.