Pitchfork

Björk's infatuation with beatmakers has grown to encompass the lovably scruffy guys of Ratatat, as she has asked them to open for her at shows on December 12 in L.A. and December 15 in Vegas. Being sane, they of course accepted, and those are now the only tour dates on the duo's schedule.

Accepting Björk's invitation isn't, however, the only thing Ratatat have done recently. A few weeks ago, Public Radio International's "Weekend America" ran a story in its "Listening In" series about what women choose to listen to while giving birth. A listener-generated playlist consisted of songs by Neil Young, the Grateful Dead, the Ramones ("I Wanna Be Sedated", har har), and Jimmy Buffet (life is full of disappointments, son). In the story itself, though, one woman revealed that Ratatat's "Wildcat" was her song of choice.

In a follow-up piece prompted by a listener's letter asking for more info about "that song with the cat's reeaaarrrrgh in it," "Weekend America" caught up with Ratatat for an interview on the subject, which you can listen to here. They explained how they recorded the roar, apparently obtained by going outside and capturing the sound from an actual wildcat, though one of the Ratatats pointed out, "I don't think it was giving birth at the time." They also revealed their own cheeky pick for Baby's First Song: "The Happy Birthday Song". Touché, gentlemen.

Also, we're sure that tons of people have noticed this already, but still:

RataBjörk:

12-12 Los Angeles, CA - Nokia Theater
12-15 Las Vegas, NV - The Pearl Concert Theater