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?
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