Ratatat

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

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• spacey
• Nintendo
• blow someone's mind
• spread one's wings

• classical
• synthesizer
• workout
• pump up

• comfort zone
• kick-ass

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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These days, unless you’re listening to the classical station, you aren’t likely to hear a lot of music without words on the radio. Nonetheless, the duo Ratatat creates rich, complex songs that manage to express a lot of meaning and emotion even though they don’t have any lyrics.

The band is made up of just two guys, one who plays guitar and one who plays a synthesizer. But fans of the band have called its music “orchestral” because it sounds like there could be a whole orchestra of instruments contributing to their songs.

Listen to Mason get creative to describe the band’s music to Ella.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Ella

Mason

Ella:  Oh man, Ratatat was just in town. I’m a pretty big fan. They’re great workout music, you know? They pump you up.

Mason:  They’re great kick-ass music in general.

Ella:  Totally.

Mason:  It’s just this duo, but they produce so much sound. This electronic, really orchestral sort of thing.

Ella:  Yeah, well the production on it is just classic. I mean, you can listen to it at any time you want. You don’t have to memorize words, you just kind of go to the beat.

Mason:  It’s funny though, I got their new album, LP3, and it’s really more avant-garde and spacey, it doesn’t have that kind of driving, bombastic feel.

Ella:  Not as much bass as it usually does…

Mason:  Seriously. ‘Cause like, I remember when I heard their first album and I was like, “If the French Revolution had a soundtrack from the Nintendo, this is what it would sound like.”

Ella:  That first album is amazing. It just blows your mind, like, I didn’t know you could produce that kind of music, or the kind of sounds that come in…That’s sad about the third album. I don’t know, should I check it out?

Mason:  It’s worth seeing if you’re really a fan of the band, right? Because it shows that they’re trying to experiment and spread their wings a bit and like go beyond their comfort zone, which you gotta respect.

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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