Ratatat / LP3

Artist - Ratatat

Title - LP3

Hometown - NYC

Label - XL

Street Date - Out now

RILY - Music that sounds like a joke you weren't let in on, a place where ironically titled albums go to die.

The Hits - They swing and miss

Richter Magnitude Rating Scale- Moderate

Picturing the environment that best suits a record is a game I like to play often. LP3 strikes me as the kind of record people who really don't care about music might find clever and fun. The kind of people who buy music as if it was a pack of gum that they will chew through and then spit out in a few hours.

Here are the places I best imagine Ratatat's latest effort feeling right at home in... music I consider to be painful elevator metal.

*Whole Foods - subculture anthems to fill your basket with bulk green friendly products to.

*Coffee Shops - the bar of choice for the 20s to late 30s when the sun is still up

*Gaming - Don't like the music to your newest video game purchase? Slay dragons and pick up pixies with LP3

* Hair salons who ever thought or still think the faux-hawk isn't as lame as it actually is or that swear a mullet is cool if it is done right.

* Urban Outfitters or American Apparel - you know the kind of clothing joint I am talking about, the kind of place people over 30 try to shop at to stay looking young and hip but in fact end up looking like a nark stuffed in a shirt 2 sizes too small.

* Those stores that sell vintage metal tees for over a hundred dollars to people who don't actually listen to metal or know the band whose shirt they just paid big bucks for.

* The Mac Cosmetic counter - they might actually think this music is actually edgy and perfect to market their products to.

* Fashion Week - see Mac Cosmetic counter

* Reality Shows - those insipid dung heaps MTV and VH1 love shoving down TV viewers throats use crappy indie music because it is too expensive to license crappy major label music.