Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Ratatat-Bob Gandhi



It's hard writing about music without words. I'm no doctor, and unless it's one of my all-time favorites (like this one or that one), writing about a song without words is what I would imagine writing a book review on only one-half of a book would be like. Would the end of the book make it better? Would adding lyrics make the song better? Some songs don't need words, most do. Ratatat, the New York based duo, get too funky for words on their tracks. The pair met in college, and since then have been making dope electronic music, with a heavy hiphop influence (check out their two remix albums). 

On "Bob Ghandi" (off of their most recent album LP4), Ratatat weave different sounds and influences together while pushing their genre higher than Yao Ming's top hat. Like a classical music piece, the track progresses in movements, alternating between the in-your-face blaring of their trademark whiny electric guitar, melodic string solos, and peaceful piano playing, all over Taiko drums. "Bob Gandhi" waxes and wanes, gradually building up to a powerful crescendo at 3:04. With heavy Indian undertones reflecting the tongue-in-cheek title of the jam, Ratatat show why electronic music is becoming such a force on the music scene. Unlike tinkly techno jams of the past, electronic music has become layered, complex, musical. "Bob Ghandi" is a great example. 

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