June 7, 2005 | Posted by mark at 2:02 PM

The Past Three Weeks

The Shout Out LoudsShout Out Louds - The Comeback Big Slippa Ratatat Remix.

I've been sitting on this Shout Oud Louds disc for months now, long enough for them to get exposure on M2 and Fuse and all that. Long enough for people to probably grow a distaste for them, and to poke fun at the poor kids from Sweden. I planned on hating the record. It's more wintery rock on a major label that's been done a million times better by a million other bands. But something about it keeps me coming back. It'll find its way into my cd player before I've realized it, and I'll be singing along. Maybe it's a guilty pleasure (if I believed in such things), but maybe the truth is I like it.

So there. I'm not feeling that single on the radio that much, but this Comeback track is solid. And the Ratatat remix is the jam. I had almost forgotten about our two friends in Ratatat... almost forgot about their daft-punkian riffage and clicky beats. They're great band, and the bend this song over their dirty hipster couch and give it the stuffing it sorely needs. That's not to say this is some dancefloor pounder. It actually reminds me of some of the Gorillaz recent work, which is a good thing. The chorus is especially good -- just happy, poppy stuff. I think this is a great collaboration, and I want to see more. Ratatat needs more work. Their site was last updated in 2004. What gives?

Anyway, you can pick up the Shout Out Louds album from friends at Parasol. You can find the Ratatat album over at Insound.

Comments

After seeing the Shout Out Louds in concert three months back, I'm unable generate any feelings of aversion towards them. True that Howl Howl Gaff Gaff isn't the greatest album of it's kind but beyond that simple fact, it's a fun album. On days when it's 85ยบ and you're suck in the mother of all traffic, in a car void of air conditioning, it's a good thing to have such a musically happy sounding album at your disposal to make the wait less mind-numbing.

Guilty pleasures are saved for bands like, The Darkness or Kelly Clarkson

Posted by: Mel at June 7, 2005 3:36 PM

Great great lineup. Loved the NYT piece on you guys. Keep it going.

Posted by: LA Underground at June 7, 2005 4:41 PM

ratatat don't pull themselves out there enough to be remember. their stuff is great and they should do another remix mix tape like last summer, but maybe just rock tunes.

i think the shout out louds are a band that you'll pull out their album like five months after the first time through and you'll be stoked on it, but then once again, hide it for another 6 or 7 months.

Posted by: Douglas Reinhardt at June 7, 2005 8:29 PM

I've seen the Shout Out Louds live three times. They get worse every time. Not "Modest Mouse" worse, but "I can't stay awake" worse.

Posted by: G3K at June 7, 2005 8:43 PM

Thank you for this much-needed Ratatat fix

Posted by: at June 8, 2005 12:17 AM

this ratatat remix is spectacular, if only the album was all ratatat remixes.

Posted by: Haldan at June 8, 2005 11:41 AM

I bet the reason they seem to get worse every show is because they are so bored with the material. Think about it: "Howl howl gaff gaff" just came out in the US, but the record is already two years old. That's a long ass time to be playing the same damn songs. Poor guys.

Posted by: Avi at June 8, 2005 11:53 AM

I feel bad for other swedes like Ceasars (Palace) - That fucking ipod song of theirs, as fun as it is, was already starting to bug me when I was living living in Copenhagen in early 2003. Painful, he Sounds too. One scandinvavian band that needs that same thing to happen to them is the danes, Kashmir. They deserve distro over here in the states. Y'all should post their song "Surfing the warm industry" or "melpomene".

I bet Ratatat hasnt been busy because one of the two guys in the group tours with Dashboard Confessional. - I wouldnt be surprised if he was busy making money as a studio musician...

Posted by: Haldan at June 8, 2005 6:54 PM

mike no longer tours with dashboard.
hasn't in a really long time
he was with ben kweller like 3 years ago

Posted by: at June 8, 2005 11:09 PM

i've done mixes to many of the ratatat songs. you can download the tracks here for free...
www.myspace.com/makestapes
www.soundclick.com/djmozell

ratatat vs. the dungeon family
ratatat vs. slim thug
ratatat vs. nas
ratatat vs. mobb deep

Posted by: makestapes at March 27, 2006 4:06 PM
Post a comment









Human verification is easy! Type u in this box to prevent your comment from being rejected:


Remember personal info?

Human verification:

To help us fight the good fight against comment spam, you must enter your anti-spam key as indicated on the left. Don't forget to do this! Your comment may end up in the junk bin if you dont...