Marcel Winatschek

The Ting Tings

A tip came through about The Ting Tings playing in Strasbourg on Arte.tv—one of those moments where you find out right before it happens or just after, and either way it doesn’t matter much. They were on a festival bill with Patrice and Miss Kittin & The Hacker, which alone made it worth paying attention.

I’ve always liked them more than seems cool. That electronic pop from the mid-2000s, with the vocals never quite centered in the mix, the beat jittery and precise at once. That’s Not My Name is a genuinely good song. Most people moved on to something else, but there was something right about what they were doing.

Whether I caught the stream or just the idea of the show happening, I couldn’t tell you now. Live music doesn’t always land the way you think it will. But The Ting Tings always seemed like the kind of act where you’d want to be in the room, watching them push the energy around. That’s the sort of show you file away as something you would’ve wanted to see.