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SOSUS

During the cold war, the United States military created the Sound Surveillance System (SOSUS), comprised of a series of underwater microphones, to listen for Soviet submarine activity. Now, SOSUS is a blog related to an indie radio show at WJHU (Johns Hopkins Radio), organized by Samuel Messing. This blog displays information related to each week's broadcast, as well as reviews of artists (contemporary and not so contemporary) by the DJ.

 

Ratatat - Classics


Ratatat's new album, Classics [XL; 2006] is a widely varied texture of genres. Sometimes hip hop, sometimes prog-rock, the album is largely atmospheric, consisting of repetitive hooks which beg for some sort of visual companion. In some ways the album is very "soundtrack-esque", but I mean this in a very good way. While not the most fascinating of albums, Ratatat has produced something worth picking up.

As the albums cover suggests, one of the most talked about songs on Classics is the song Wildcat, which features panther-growling sample, amidst a heavy bass line and a funky one-note guitar riff. Wildcat, as with the entire album, show off Evan Mast and Mike Stroud's ability to produce highly-energized instrumental music. What the album lacks in depth it makes up for in action: every song suggests body movement, and listeners can't stop tapping their feet.

Ratatat's ability to create incredibly inviting hooks is in some ways the cause of their limitations. The songs often take a long time to progress, and don't really live up to expectations. However, as most reviewers have seen this as a negative, I think its not as negative as it sounds. The limitations in Ratatat's song construction really speaks to the number of members in the band: two. I have a feeling that the members have made a commitment only to create music which they can easily recreate on stage. Where most bands add additional guitar and synth tracks which get lost in live translation (read: watching Led Zeppelin concert videos never did it for me), Ratatat has made a decision to keep things simple.

I have not been able to see Ratatat live yet, but something tells me they will extremely entertaining. While staying within the realm of simple guitar and synth loops, Ratatat's music will make you want to move, and is quite lovely for early morning wake ups. Ratatat doesn't offer its listener a strong, "moving" experience which people often attribute to their favorite music, but it does give you something to move to, a wonderful panacea for a bad mood.

http://www.ratatatmusic.com/

P.S. If you are in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area, be sure to check out Ratatat's upcoming show, on October 4th, at the Black Cat in D.C.

By Red Dragon & Zephyr
On Thursday, September 07, 2006
At 12:42 PM
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