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somesongsconsidered:

“The Rat” – The Walkmen
(Words/music: The Walkmen, available on Bows + Arrows, Record Collection 2004)

“The Rat” represents an interesting personal phenomenon – this is a song that I enjoy yet rarely find myself in the mood to listen to it. It’s not exclusive to this song – I often skip through slower songs when I want to hear something louder or faster in the car. Instead, this provides the exact opposite – a fast, loud song that gets skipped for other fast and loud songs. I end up going past “The Rat” and stop on songs that, at least on the surface, sound the same.

It might be the nervous energy that this song thrives on that makes me skip it. When I think of songs fueled by nerves, I think of the tightly wound punk rock that pushes the tempo a few beats faster. In other words, these songs thrive on the nerves we get when we’re excited about something. “The Rat,” however, draws on the anxious side of nervousness. Musically, the song feels pent up; while it maintains a steady tempo, it constantly feels on the verge of erupting. Lyrically, the song focuses on the feelings leading up to a confrontation. Maybe it’s my personal aversion to confrontation sneaking out, but “The Rat” pulls on the same strings that make me loathe confronting someone. Ironically, this is the same energy that makes the song exciting and drew me to it in the first place. I guess it just found the right – or in this case, the wrong – place and dug in, making me subconsciously skip a song I used to play on repeat without any specific uncomfortable associated memories.

More on The Walkmen: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm

I freaking love this song!

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