We Have Forgotten So Much Since Then

Ra Ra Riot is one of a handful of bands that dominated my music library last year, from the RAC remix of “Manner to Act” to “Dying is Fine” to the re-take “Can You Discover?” by Wes Miles side project with Rostam Batmanglij, Discovery. The band just oozed a very specific sort of mood; on the surface, a somber, lonesome record (The Rhumb Line) but, upon further listening, a loaded and layered album that deserved high ranking on year end lists.

My favorite song on the album, “Too Too Too Fast” is the perfect example of this. At first glance, this song is just a quickly thrown together song about breakups. After a few listens, however, you begin to hear each and every instrument dripping with insight into the bitterness associated with breaking it off; “I only cared about the things that you don’t” just resonates with me in a way similarly-themed tracks don’t. Check out this stripped down version, which replaces the bitter, fast-paced rhythm of the original with a more nostalgic, introspective tone, without changing a single lyric. Simply beautiful.

MP3: Ra Ra Riot – “Too Too Too Fast (Say Hi Remix)”

The band just set the release date for their second album, The Orchard, for August 24th. It’s the first time I wish Summer would hurry up and be over with.

Love,
Zack