Please ride the hype train with me AKA Vampire Weekend

[Moonlit_Angel]

What a strange video for "Holiday". Kinda funny, though.

I have no problem with their image-looking at their "Cousins" video and judging the way I hear them talk in interviews, I imagine they don't take themselves too seriously. Maybe they're slyly poking fun at some of the "hipster" stuff with the way they act and dress and whatnot, too. I just have an affinity for nerdy people, though, so eh .

That was a weird mix of "California English" there. Kinda cool, though-I liked the echoy synthy whatevermajig things going on throughout. The word "English" is missing the "g" in the video, though .

Got Contra a while back and like it. I hope they put out "White Sky" as a single, I love that song. May be my favorite song from them thus far, would be fun to see what they could do video-wise for it.

Angela

 

[LyricalDrug]

...and judging the way I hear them talk in interviews, I imagine they don't take themselves too seriously. Maybe they're slyly poking fun at some of the "hipster" stuff with the way they act and dress and whatnot, too. I just have an affinity for nerdy people, though, so eh .

That was a weird mix of "California English" there. Kinda cool, though-I liked the echoy synthy whatevermajig things going on throughout. The word "English" is missing the "g" in the video, though .

Got Contra a while back and like it. I hope they put out "White Sky" as a single, I love that song. May be my favorite song from them thus far, would be fun to see what they could do video-wise for it.

Angela

"White Sky" is a fantastic track. They've been using it as the opener for most of their shows on the current tour, too.

...California English Pt. 2 is technically a different song, not a remix, and it's the B-side to the "Cousins" 7-inch vinyl single. Yeah, I noticed the missing "G" in that homemade fan video... kind of ironic, given the song title. Or maybe not, since we Californians speak a dumbed-up version of the language, lol... California English - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

...VW gives great interviews, agreed. They definitely take exception to all the crap they take from the proverbial haters, but the insults ("ivy league preppies!") are so weak to begin with that they're easy to rebut. Check out this Canadian-radio interview with the band:

YouTube - Vampire Weekend on Q TV

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

"White Sky" is a fantastic track. They've been using it as the opener for most of their shows on the current tour, too.

Cool. Yeah, that's a great song. It's so...happy-sounding and bouncy and...flitty, if that's a word. And I love the way they go into the chorus-the whole "You've waited since lunch, it all comes at once" bit. I don't know why, it just sounds nice.

...California English Pt. 2 is technically a different song, not a remix, and it's the B-side to the "Cousins" 7-inch vinyl single.

Ah, okay. Thanks for the clarification.

Yeah, I noticed the missing "G" in that homemade fan video... kind of ironic, given the song title. Or maybe not, since we Californians speak a dumbed-up version of the language, lol... California English - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Haha, yeah, and given the band's literate mindset, too, yes, that's exactly what I was thinking .

Thanks for that link about "California English"-pretty fascinating. I don't know if I'd considered it "dumbed-up". I'd call it unique. So if I want to hear people who speak like me, San Fransisco's the place to be, it seems .

...VW gives great interviews, agreed. They definitely take exception to all the crap they take from the proverbial haters, but the insults ("ivy league preppies!") are so weak to begin with that they're easy to rebut. Check out this Canadian-radio interview with the band:

YouTube - Vampire Weekend on Q TV

Eh, yeah, I imagine it can get irritating if people misunderstand what you're all about. But that happens. I like that interview, particularly the discussions about race and music. I can't believe some people get so bothered by that stuff. I don't care who you are, where you're from, or what kind of music you're influenced by. All I care about is that the music you make is good to my ears. They can listen to whatever the hell they want (no kidding they like Talking Heads-I think that's pretty apparent. But that's okay, 'cause I like Talking Heads, too). They seem like pretty nice, intelligent guys, thanks for sharing that.

Also, Rostam has one of the coolest names ever.

Angela

 

[LyricalDrug]

Also, Rostam has one of the coolest names ever.

Angela

Hard to beat a last name that starts with the letters "batman" lol

...so check this out, I was tweeting with Ezra Koenig (lead singer) of VW this morning about U2! Pretty cool.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Hard to beat a last name that starts with the letters "batman" lol

...this is true .

...so check this out, I was tweeting with Ezra Koenig (lead singer) of VW this morning about U2! Pretty cool.

Ooooh, really? That IS cool. Very cool. What all'd you guys talk about in regards to them?

Angela

 

[LMP]

I still dig this album a great deal. It's like if Paul Simon decided to record an album with the guys from Haircut 100, all while wearing collar-popped Lacoste shirts!

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Haircut 100! Haha, yes...they DO sound a bit like them. I think the lead singers both even have sorta similar hairstyles .

Angela

 

[LMP]

They only wish that they had their sex appeal.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

...no kidding. Those are some HOT pants those guys on the ends are wearing . And the sweaters! Sex-ay!

Thank god I was but a young child in the '80s...

Angela

 

[LMP]

Let's not turn this into the Muse thread.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Okay.

Angela

 

[u2popmofo]

Let's not turn this into the Muse thread.

lolz X 59498485993336661

 

[LyricalDrug]

Ooooh, really? That IS cool. Very cool. What all'd you guys talk about in regards to them?

Yeah I pretty much signed up for Twitter last week just to be able to read their tweets, lol. Here was Ezra's series of comments:

arzE: watched Michael Moore's Capitalism movie on the plane yesterday. that and the MIA thing got me thinking:

arzE: can you think of anyone who got rich off of making art that in some way or another railed against our fucked-up, unequal world, BUT THEN

arzE: was like i'm gonna live comfortably (but really basically) and give away 95% of my riches?

arzE: like "i'm averaging $4 mil a year, keeping 200k for me & the fam (120 after taxes), gonna post up in Secaucus, the rest goes to the CAUSE"

arzE: gonna spend $20 a day on food TOPS, take vacations at local State Parks, and NEVER take money from corporations"

arzE: John Lennon had the ill UWS apt, Bob Dylan had a yacht - don't think Gandhi used his book royalties to splash out much, hmmmmmmm

To which I replied:

DC_to_Berkeley: @arzE i can't, but U2 splits their (big) profits equally among the 4, and then set aside a very large pie piece for targeted charities also

And then he wrote:

arzE: @DC_to_Berkeley true, Coldplay makes big donations too AND YET, they still all live like ballers. hard to judge, just playing devil's advoca

--------

...kinda interesting to watch a young, morally-conscious band try to grapple with the trappings of impending superstardom in the modern era.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Indeed. Interesting observations. I personally have no problem with people who (honestly) make money buying nice things, so long as they don't hoard all the money for themselves. If the guys in the band want to splurge a little, it's cool. Just always remember to share.

I'm not on Twitter. Would be fun, though, just to see what else these guys babble on about.

Angela

 

[LyricalDrug]

New VW track, "Jonathon Low" from the new Twilight soundtrack, dropped this weekend. It's pretty tight:

Vampire Weekend – Jonathon Low | TheHipHopEffect

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Oooh...is it just me, or do the guitars have a bit of an early U2 sound going on? Very '80s, new wave-y, not bad. Thanks for sharing it.

What the hell is it with bands I like and 'Twilight'? Weird.

Angela

 

[LyricalDrug]

Yeah, I definitely hear heavy U2 influences, and it sounds great. Similar to "I Will Follow."

 

[nielsgov]

What the hell is it with bands I like and 'Twilight'? Weird.

Angela

I've got the same problem. I really don't understand why so many bands let their music be used by such a bad movie.

 

[u2popmofo]

YouTube - Conan O'Brien and Vampire Weekend - NYC show 6/1/2010 @Radio City Music Hall

 

[LyricalDrug]

^ Ha! So random to see Conan playing along ... very cool.

Nice article in SPIN re: this weekend's 3-day Sasquatch Music Festival at The Gorge amphitheater in Washington state, where they say Vampire Weekend were the "victors":

The 10 Best Moments of Sasquatch Festival | Spin Magazine Online

Here's the key excerpt:

BEHOLD THE VICTORS: VAMPIRE WEEKEND

"At the sold-out Sasquatch, bands holding down the headliner spots haven't necessarily turned out to be the biggest draws. Sure, My Morning Jacket played to a mostly packed house on Saturday, and Massive Attack was overwhelmingly solid on Sunday despite a not-so-full amphitheater floor, but the band drawing the most populous, most stoked, most deserved gathering was unquestionably Vampire Weekend.

And why should anyone be surprised? Contra, their sophomore album, debuted at No. 1 on the charts, and their clean-cut trop-pop is one of the most undeniable sounds of the past few years -- and now everyone finally seems to have fallen for it. His band's sound gushing sweetly and crisply through the main stage sound system as a postcard-worthy sunset bathed the Gorge in a wholesome glow, frontman Ezra Koenig offered up a Jumbotron-worthy grin while cooing the falsetto chorus of set opener "White Sky."

From then on, it was pure pop bliss, as few among the 20,000-plus main stage crowd could resist giddy, danceable shimmies like "A-Punk" and "Cousins." Later, the hook of "Horchata" -- "Here comes a feeling you thought you'd forgotten" -- rang so true. That feeling: Seeing a new member initiated into rock'n'roll's touring elite."

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Aw, cool, sounds like a fun gig! Wish I could've been there. And "I Will Follow" is exactly what came to my mind, too, with the "Jonathon Low" song .

I've got the same problem. I really don't understand why so many bands let their music be used by such a bad movie.

Eh, it makes for good publicity, I guess. Gets their name out there. At least that's the one positive thing the anti-'Twilight' crowd can say, the musical soundtracks are pretty good. Nothing wrong with introducing people to more good music.

Nice little clip with Conan and the band there! They sounded good together . Thanks for sharing that.

Angela

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

The band was on Stephen Colbert's show last night-here's the link, both to the interview and the performance of "Holiday":

Vampire Weekend | June 3, 2010 - Vampire Weekend | ColbertNation.com

Funny little interview. I must be a nerd, I've always used the Oxford comma . Force of habit.

Angela

 

[LyricalDrug]

^ Heheh. Yeah, gotta stick up for the O.C. as well. Ezra was an english major so I think that deep down he knows its merits, lol. He made the comment in another interview that "the song isn't so much about the Oxford comma as it is about not giving a fuck."

Also funny: Colbert: "will you come back and play us a properly-punctuated song?" Ezra: "we'll see"

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

^ Heheh. Yeah, gotta stick up for the O.C. as well. Ezra was an english major so I think that deep down he knows its merits, lol. He made the comment in another interview that "the song isn't so much about the Oxford comma as it is about not giving a fuck."

I can go with that mindset . Yay for English majors!

Also funny: Colbert: "will you come back and play us a properly-punctuated song?" Ezra: "we'll see"

. Yeah, that was good. I liked the bit where he started asking them about '80s politics and if their album had any ties to that.

Angela

 

[VintagePunk]

I'm sure the hype train has turned into the bandwagon by now, but whatever the case, I'm firmly on it.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Eh, well, whatever it's called, good to have you on board. Enjoy the ride .

Angela

 

[LyricalDrug]

This is pretty hilarious... Vampire Weekend take over the CNN Broadcast Center in Atlanta. Even has a U2 shout-out, lol

YouTube - Boom Box All Access: Vampire Weekend Part 1

YouTube - Boom Box All Access: Vampire Weekend Part 2

 

[lazarus]

Someone should tell Ezra that Shuttlecock is playing the Batman Forever song on the tour now.

And might as well tell him about Battlestar Galactica while they're at it.

 

[Flaming_C]

My wife and I have tickets for VW in Montreal. However, I more interested in seeing Beach House and The Dum and Dum Girls.

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Wish I lived in that area, I'd gladly go if you wanted to see those other artists instead. So far it doesn't look like they're THAT close that I'd be able to go see them .

Thanks for that CNN video, LyricalDrug! Very entertaining-I loved the bits with them doing the weather and answering questions from fans/viewers (poor Chris T., though, being unable to participate in most of that). I have to disagree with Ezra, though, on "Kiss From A Rose"-I love that song, and also disagree on 'Batman Forever'. Saw that movie once a long time ago, it was meh. But ah, well. They seem like total goofballs, I love it . They should put up video of that vampire movie they did sometime just for grins and giggles.

Angela