It’s that time of year again; the halls are decked, presents being wrapped, snow is falling, and holiday spirit is everywhere you look. So, I thought to myself, “What would be better than making a review of the best holiday music for the holiday edition of ECHO?”

So, I promptly made a list of approximately fifty thousand things that are better than that. I apologize, my readers, but when it comes to holiday music, you can just call me Mr. Scrooge. So, if you came here in search of a review of holiday music, you will be deeply disappointed.

This month I have been listening to a lot of Ratatat, an experimental electronic rock duo out of New York City. The two not only make their own music, but have also produced songs for popular rappers such as Pursuit of Happiness by Kid CuDi.

The duo have six full-length studio albums, including two remix albums – an album filled entirely with remixes of popular rap songs. Each one of them experiments with a different type of sounds, with the most recent album experimenting with more sounds influenced by Middle Eastern music.

I would have to say that the strongest trait of the group is that they have the ability to repeatedly blow one’s mind. Lying down in the summer night staring at the stars and listening to Loud Pipes creates a sense of euphoria. It made me appreciate our time here on earth before the end of the world (which happens to be today, by the way).

Although Ratatat is often repetitive in their music, a trait that shows even in the duo’s title (so many a’s and t’s!), the repetitiveness is almost admirable. Listening to the repeating beat for a minute or so kind of makes you stop really paying much attention. Then, when you least expect it, it changes, causing a sort of train wreck/airplane crash/car crash/explosion in your brain.

Ratatat is not something to listen to all the time every day, but they are a good choice of music when you’re just chillin’.  Try taking a bubble bath and turning on Classics, their third studio album. Or try lying out in the grass on a summer’s night and listening to LP4. Maybe chill out by the fireplace and watching the snow fall and listening to LP3. Either way, you can never go wrong listening to Ratatat to chill out.