Day 1: The Ting Tings – We Started Nothing
[Days 1 & 2 were originally posted on my personal blog, "The Unimportant Superstar".]
I make no promises, but here’s a quick and dirty review of The Ting Ting’s “We Started Nothing”.
If you watch TV, you may have heard of The Ting Tings and not even know it. Their song “Shut Up And Let Me Go” (off this very album) was featured on a recent iPod commercial. The first time I listened through the album, I thought it lost a lot of steam towards the end. That was only a first impression, though. On my second tear through I realized that it doesn’t do that at all.
If I had to describe the album as a whole, I’d use the phrase “infectious pop-dance with a side of indie-rock”. The most danceable track of the bunch is easily the lead single “Shut Up And Let Me Go”. It’s also the most catchy. It’s also a song that I’ll only be able to listen to about another 2-3 more times before I’m sick of it. The rest of the album doesn’t really have that problem with me. “That’s Not My Name” has a real “Hey Mickey!” vibe to it (in a good way), and “Fruit Machine” is a fun, almost punkish reminder that women can definitely be a gamble (even if you’re on a “winning streak”). “We Walk” is the track on the first listen through that I thought seemed out of place… every listen since, it’s grown on me, and I think it may be among my favorites. Plus, the bridge “If nothing makes you feel good/then nothing makes you feel good” reminded me of the ol’ “Ghostbusters” line “Busting makes you feel good”, and I chuckled at few times at that. My least favorite track of the bunch has to be the second-to-last song “Impacilla Carpisung”… mostly because of the multi-layered vocal tracks causing entirely too much confusion, and making much of the song sound like incoherent babble.
Overall, I really got more than I expected with “We Started Nothing”. I definitely recommend it, especially if you’re looking for something pretty upbeat and catchy. If you’re a fan of Tegan & Sara, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs or CSS, you’d definitely do well to pick this one up.
Listen to “Shut Up And Let Me Go”, “That’s Not My Name” and “Fruit Machine” for free by clicking here. Thank you Seeqpod!
12/05/2008 at 8:10 pm
that was a waste of my life. im sad i read that… doesn’t everyone know punk is dead, and a complete waste of time? They did start nothing…
12/05/2008 at 8:17 pm
Sad to hear that I wasted your time.
Also, I’d be interested in why you think The Ting Tings have anything to do with punk? Yeah, I did describe one of the tracks as “almost punkish” – but it was just that. Have you actually listened to the album, or were you just trying to end your comment with a (not very) witty remark?