Ratatat's new music video for "Party With Children" is one of the most important music videos ever created in the post-internet music era, where music videos exist for the sake of 'generating blog buzz and conversation.' Everything must be controversial. Everything must be a meme. Bands can't just make good music, they have to create either 'visually stunning' videos, or they have to just do something shocking involving violence and nudity. Seems like your music video can't be 'worth shit' if it costs less than $10,000 to make.

In Ratatat's video for "Party With Children", we are introduced to a bird bro, who I will call RattyTat. RattyTat isn't asked to do much, they basically tell him 'Do your bird thang.' There are no trippy visuals, and no ginger genocides. There is no over the top violence, and no sexuality. There are no free spirited, alt-looking kids roaming around a relevant part of town getting in to trouble + making out with one another.

It is just RattyTat, being a bird. Existing. Not understanding technology. Just wanting to survive, live life like an animal who isn't even a part of a collective. It seems like bands are in a tough place these days when they make music videos, like they have to try to make it seem like they are 'aware of the modern world' or something. Sorta just want music videos that aren't meant to get the attention of mainstreamers who are 'just passin by' on the internet.

Just want to be a bird
Being free
without a computer
not understanding what music is
sounds are just sounds
no music
no internet
no 'labels' assigned 2 sounds, 'good' or 'bad' don't exist
just eating bird seed
pooping
flying around

For a while, I was kinda 'pissed' at Ratatat, because their new song sounded the same as their old song, but now maybe I 'get' it. They are trying to use animals to represent the animalistic existence of buzzbands. All buzzbands are in some sort of alternate ecosystem where they are fighting against natural selection to 'stay relevant.' Their previous song WILDCAT represented the beast inside of them, clawing for survival in an everchanging world.

Now their evolution to house-pet bird serves as a metaphor for the insulated life of an accepted band with a brand. We expect great things from buzzbands, but ultimately, they are just 'being gawked at' while they are inside of a cage, being asked to repeat the same sounds over and over again.

Sorta feel like all buzzbands are 'prisoners' / 'domesticated animals'. Some sort of relationship has formed where we feed them, and they 'do whatever we ask of them.' Seems like there is a lot of pressure on them, or else they won't metaphorically get fed with album sales/youtube views/concert tickets/etc. Wonder if buzzbands who have evolved beyond their first album get pissed about consumer expectations, and how commerce can hold back ur art.

Does n e 1 know what kind of bird is in the Ratatat music video? I sorta want to say he is a parrot, but maybe that is because I only have 'mainstream knowledge' of birds. I did some google image searches, and feel like it might be a cockatoo.

Is it the tanimbar cockatoo?

Maybe it is the Little Corella (aka the Little Cockatoo)?

I feel like this cockatoo is 'too alt' to be featured in a video, since his crown of feathers is sorta a 'look-at-me' type of bird meme

What kind of bird is RattyTat?

Should I get a 'mascot' for my blog, to sorta represent how we are all fighting for survival?
Are 'birds' the new 'bears'?

Is RattyTat the Bird one of the most important alternative celebrities of 2k10?
Will Ratatat bring their cockatoo on tour with them?
Will it fly around the venue, interacting with Ratatat fans in order to strengthen their brand?
Are music videos still 'relevant' / 'artistic', or are they just marketed bullshit?
Should Ratatat change their name to R@@@ in order to fit in with the post-twitter world?

In a world where we don't watch music videos on TV any more, we are presented with the question, "what makes a music video worth watching on a lil screen?" Overall, I'm just looking for authenticity kinda like every other aspect of my life. I don't like it when videos are 'too viral' because that means they will go mainstream.
Videos must be a little bit of everything:

• conceptual
• earnest
• meaningful
• arty
• artsy
• artistic
• have a direct relation to my alternative lifestyle
• retro
• modern
• postmodern
• campy
• serious
• not designed to 'go viral.

Which artist has the most authentic music video aesthetic?

Is it M83 with their 80s video camera music videos?

M83 - "Graveyard Girl"

Or maybe it's Thieves Like Us with their earnest music videos that remind us what it of what it meant to be young & authentically care about things/relationships.

Thieves Like Us - Desire

It's DEFINITELY NOT Ratatat with their College Video Art Project Aesthetic. (If I wuz their professor, I would give them a pity "B-.")

Ratatat - "Schempi"

Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" utilizes a Photoshop Smoke Effect. Do yall know how to use photoshop to make ur youtube videos look like children's boox?

Coldtug - "Viva La Vida, Yall"

I feel like at this point, it might be Frankmusik. In this video he utilizes the post-pop Tom Hanks in the movie BIG dancing on neon piano keys aesthetic.

Frankmusik - "Three Little Words"

Should I Blog more about Thomas Hanks / dancing on supersized piano keys?

Which post-bloghaus/indierock/meaningfulcore band has the most authentic video aesthetic?
What do yall look for in quality videos?
Should pitchfork.tv merge with youtube or vimeo?
Should vimeo merge with youtube or xtube or porn0t00b?
What makes a music video meaningful 2 u?

Hey yall.
Thought I might take some time to look at some recent personal branding decisions deployed by some of our favourite musical artists. It's usually more important to know what an artist/band represents, moreso than how their music sounds like.

Is Ladyhawke destined 2 become a lonely 'cat lady'?

[Image by ohhcrapp.net]

Has Empire of the Sun been watching sillie movies about boys who can ride flying dogs named "Falcor"?

Do u think they contracted one of those artists who works on the side of a busy street and makes 'interplanetary art' with miscellaneous planets, galaxies, and rays of modern light?

Will Barry Obammy change his Presidential campaign 2 be less about healthcare reform/nuking Iraq, and start focusing on creating instrumental partie music?

Are t-shirts about to go through some sort of 'innovative transitional phase' where t-shirt makers no long print text & designs into shirts. Instead, designers will cut out their desired designs. [WARNING: StrongAlt pictured below]

[Photo by facehunter]

Is M.I.A.'s new clothing line trying to appeal to authenticallyAlt 12 year olds? Is this promotional image supposed to be going head-to-head with a traditional Target/Jc Penny's ad? Should M.I.A. have launched her clothing-line in the heart of back2schoolShopping season?

Are the Jonas Brothers going to record a Christian album? Will 60% of their songs be about 'raising up' to 'Him' and/or 'songs that sound like love songs, but are actually about loving G-d/Jesus/Mary/Pontius Pilate.'

Seen n e personal brands that u r willing 2 gimmick urself in2 lately?
Plz send me ur personal branding questions if u need help aligning ur brand with today's modern society.

[Photo by Easy Fashion]
I like this keaut AZN boi wearing a shirt that crossbrands the Ghostbusters franchise with neon colors and sneakers. His zany glasses frames, understated man bangs, and ripped jeans also do well to establish his personal brand.

I am very interested in COLOR OUTS. You might remember the time Ratatat used COLOR OUTS for their press kits back in the year 2k8.6.

Does n e 1 even use the traditional BLACKOUT any more?
Even Crystal Castles doesn't use blackouts n e more. How do they make their faces invisible? Is that a photoshop plugin or something?

s0 rand0m/meaningfully quirky.

I enjoy blggng about 'new-ish' music videos in a recap-mega-post format because most 'made for youtube' era music videos are not newsworthy enough to blog abt by themselves, unless your music video is about coloured kids terrorizing a city.

Van She - "Changes"

Another video in the genre of 'tour diary where we showcase that our band is a group of sillie friends who are going through a meaningful experience on the road together' video. Other notable videos in this genre are the Strokes "Some Day", Phantom Planet's "California" and the 2008 summer anthem "Faith" by Limp Bizkit. All of these videos make me wish that I was able to experience fame, yet still maintain an appreciation for 'the small, trivial stuff' that makes us human.

RATATAT - "Flynn"

Here is a perfect video in the 'crappy/underwhelming college video art that your friend in art school who wants you to appreciate, but you know he did all of the work for it in the final 3 hours before deadline while under the unnecessary influence of adderal+marijuana' genre. Gotta love concepts that are 'appreciated' because they piggyback off a previous piece of media that most Americans can identify. <3

Paul Simon - "You Can Call Me Al"
This video reminds me of the first generation of Cool/Free Spirited BabyBoomer parents who tried to get their 7 year old kid to appreciate the social value of music by playing this 'masterfully crafted pop song' which is also about 'ending apartheid.' U CAN CALL ME AL was an overrated song, and I'd consider the video something that 'would have GONE VIRAL' if they had the internet back then. So since there wasn't the internet, we have to remember it forever when we should only remember it as 'the gimmicky video that Chevy Chase was in.' Did yall like The Graduate soundtrack? Was Chevy Chase's only good movie "National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation"? When will Chevy Chase have a Bill-Murray-like 'deep, indie' phase of his career?

Feist - "1-2-3-4" (Elmo Vs. Cookie Monster: Big Bird is a closet-homo REMIX)

In an effort to match Feist's royalty fees from her iPod nano commercial, the Sesame Street Workshop gave Leslie Feist the rights to 10% of Muppet creator Jim Henson's estate. BUT SRSLY...is educational entertainment 'important'/'justifiable' enough to turn your song into a pile of crappiness? Is this a secret advertisement for 'moms who have to watch Sesame Street with their kids and are considering buying some new CDs at Target + getting a fresh, new haircut with bangs"?

Plus... don't kids watch stuff like Yo Gabba Gabba/Dora The Lil Alt Explorer/other conceptual+homoerotic shows like the Teletubbies now because their cool parents want them to fit in?

Also, why isn't THE COUNT in this video? It would be kind of like making a Weezer video without including __________(easily identifiable gimmick).

Leslie Feist really has the energy in this 1-2-3-4 remix video to make every altbro wish that she was his free-spirited mom who drove a Volvo station wagon and made 'tasty yet healthy' dinners every night (note: she also packed the best smart snacks).

BUT SRSLY... is it okay to change the lyrics of your song for the sake of 'education,' but it's not okay to change your lyrics if U want 2 go outback 2nite?

Of Montreal - "Let's Go Outback Tonight"

This music video is way better than any deep Radiohead music video.

XX BONUS THOUGHT ON THE STATE OF MODERN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING XX

Participating in educational shows/shows for kids that are pyramid schemes to get kids to buy apparel-that-features-creatures does not make u a public servant.

Yo Gabba Gabba is a pyramid scheme to unite alt-parents and kids under one lifestyle brand with the ultimate goal of 'buying crap with creatures on it.'

YO GABBA GABBA/Kid robot crap: so quirkily alt that kids & parents can wear it!

Burning questions:
If you are an alt-kid whose free-spirited parents make over $100K/year, does ur hair automatically turn curly?
Should there be a law against lifestyle brands that target kids under the age of 5?

Ratatat is rlly good at taking a simple aesthetic, authentically gimmickifying it, then changing the course of myspace user pics for the next decade. Look at how this simple photo integrates perfectly with their new album's cover art.

Their brand manager deserves a bonus! (It is probably one of the bros in the band who made an A+ in a digital media graduate level course).

Let's take some time to admire previous Ratatat album covers/press photos

Yall are dreamie. Good 2 see some understated, attractive bearded alt-men.

Did Ratatat invent the press photo in front of Delorean/Ferrari/Mazda/AZN Honda Civic?

So simple, yet so memorable!

I will never forget the ball in front of the guitaRatater's head. I want to live where they live. It looks urban and cool.

Ratatat: they look like a couple of bearded altbros from your local community who are decent dudes, and possibly have a long term girlfriend who they will not dump any time soon.

What do yall think of the new album?
Ratatat LP3
[Embedded album may not be viewable in your RSS reader]

Do u prefer their remixes more?
Are the names of tracks not memorably quirky enough? Have you 'grown out of' this type of music?
Will Ratatat always have your alternative repsect forever?

Ratatat on Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/ratatatmusic

MC Steinberg works at a Dollar Store, but that hasn't stopped him from chasing his dreams of becoming a rapper, and interviewing most of the most blogged about bands in the world. He's usually featured on The Best Show on WFMU and New York Noise.

Check out MC Steinberg's interview with the Knife. A lot of people are creaming their pants over the terrible Sigur Ros interview, but MC Steinberg has interviews that are truly worth blogging about. In this Knife interview, he confronts them about how their gimmicky masks detract from their music, and asks them to differentiate their marketing strategies from those of the Insane Clown Posse. All of this happens in a shower.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcLHOzwUsxo]

If you liked his opening question of "WHY ARE YOU SO WEIRD?", then you should check out his opening question with Girl Talk.

You should visit his YouTube account to see more interviews. You can see MC Steinberg PLUS Au Revoir Simone in a trash can, LA Riots, Ted Leo, and Art Brut.

[MP3]
The Knife We Share Our Mother's Health (Ratatat Remix)

Buy The Knife at Amazon.

MC Steinberg's Youtube Account
http://www.youtube.com/user/MCSteinberg

MC Steinberg's Myspace
http://www.myspace.com/mcsteinberg

MP3: Crystal Castles vs. Health - Crimewave (REMIX)
MP3: Lo-Fi-Fnk - What's On Your Mind
MP3: Ratatat - Wildcat

Buy Ratatat at Amazon

Ratatat is so good that any one can like them.
Don't get me wrong, I'm all about Ratatat. 'Those dudes can wail!'

If some one ever asks you what you listen to and you want to sound like you are "in"/"know what you're talking about", Ratatat is usually a choice that no one will attack.
If they do attack, you can just say, "Yeah, I mainly only listen to the remixes, semi-ironically."

Great Cover Art!

Is 1st Ratatat album better than Classics?
Is Vol I remixes better than Vol 2?

MP3: Ratatat Remix - Glock Nines (Beanie Sigel & Jay-Z)
MP3: Ratatat - Bustelo

Buy Ratatat at Amazon.