Throwback Thursday Presents: The Rat - The Walkmen

Part of what's left of the famed Jonathan Fire* Eater, The Walkmen are able to distance themselves from Jonathan Fire* Eater incorporating and marking themselves with a post-punk revival style, and their breakout banger, "The Rat" is more than telling of that. Listed by Pitchfork as the sixth best single of 2004 (if that means anything to you), "The Rat" is singer Hamilton Leithauser explicating his disappointments in a frustrating anthem of loneliness and loss in a bravado that expresses a hope to feel wanted or at least noticed.

After Jonathan Fire* Eater had fizzled out and The Strokes, Interpol and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had taken over. The shift in New York City went from the nuanced and gothic stylings in downtown Manhattan to a post-punk and indie rock flavor that focused on the raw basics of rocks rather than trying to break the mold. It was music that reflected the irritation of the indie rockers in New York having to accept an out-dated U2 and Coldplay as modern rock. These kids wanted their sex and drugs to be in an anthem; an authentic approached rather than a polished and smoothed sound that had nothing to do with their culture. Once these New York City rockers got the ground rumbling, The Walkmen were able to come in and continue this ruckus with their debut album Everyone Who Pretended To Like Me Is Gone, but it wasn't until "The Rat" that The Walkmen were able to really stand out and throw a fiery punch into modern rock.

What made "The Rat" such a powerful single upon its release is how unapologetic it is. Music lovers can smell bullshit from the first five seconds of the song, and the first five seconds of "The Rat" is guitarist Paul Maroon setting the stage of the song with a noisy, chaotic and emotional chord progression foreshadowing the frustrations in Leithauser's vocals. There is so much going on in this song replicating its theme of disappointment, loneliness and loss and the lack of coalescence that these three feelings have upon a person. Maroon's emotional plucking, the ominously looming bass line, the melancholic keys, exasperated vocals, and extremely fast drum pattern is a mixed bag of a jam session that evokes a feeling of cognitive dissonance and an empathetic feeling of sorrow. However, in this instrumentation it needs to be mentioned that Matt Barrick's displays one of the most impressive collections of percussion that I have ever heard.

It's not just fast-paced, it extremely precise and becomes an entity of its own as it is impossible to ignore. It never fades into the background, and is like a pissed off neighbor pounding on your door until you answer it (if your neighbor had rhythm and a quick fist). It acts as a perfect reflector of Leithauser's anger and the rage that ensues during this period of crises. I would love to hear it by itself just to really have my jaw drop even further through the floor.

When I first heard "The Rat" I think I played it about eight times before having to stop so I could go to bed. It is such a great and powerful song, and most addicting, its melody hidden beneath the descending and ascending chord progressions is simple enough to nod your head side-to-side to. The simplicity is not a detriment to the song as the theme suggests a simple feeling which is often hidden in the associations and further emotions that we tend to have of those feelings.

I realize my affinity for 2000's New York City rock is quite apparent but can you blame me? The songs and bands were so fucking good and the culture of the city during this time in New York makes me so jealous having not experienced the same debauchery. Also, Lizzy Goodman's Meet Me in the Bathroom, a must-read if you too are in love with this music, depicts this time period in a way that is so fucking cool and badass that you can't help but feel envious for not having being a part of it. Maybe we can look to this era as an influence to start our own fiery scene. Just a thought.