Random Music Talk CXI: W Sellin' VW To Me?

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I say that VW lacks substance not because Ezra's lyrics aren't densely packed with cultural references, puns and other witticisms, but because what's underneath all of that isn't very interesting. His lyrics seem geared towards proving that he's well read, which just gets in the way of the personal revelations that seem to be there but can't quite surface. Erudition is not inherently substantial.

Granted, he's improved since namedropping Lil Jon and chapstick in the same chorus (though he's still hasn't grown beyond namedropping Jandek and Modest Mouse in a lyric meant to argue his growth as a man, which works primarily on an ironic level), but I hope one day he drops the artifice. Even Beck knew when to set non sequitur aside.

I wasn't speaking solely about the lyrics when I mentioned erudition. I'm more into them for the music than the Ivy League BS anyway.

You're disregarding how different they sound(ed) from their contemporaries, the musicianship, the quality of the production, etc.
 
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Should have bought one and thrown it on the stage after he asked all the security to move. That would have been worth 8 bucks.

I wish I had known about that while I was eating my chicken tacos. Just so I could have spitefully enjoyed them.




Ashley fucked up intensely yesterday and made a Ke$ha shirt at FYF's free shirt tent instead of a Jack Nicholson Party shirt. I was too busy watching Mac DeMarco to prevent this.


i really regret that JNP was not my first thought. I am still kinda upset about this.




I say that VW lacks substance not because Ezra's lyrics aren't densely packed with cultural references, puns and other witticisms, but because what's underneath all of that isn't very interesting. His lyrics seem geared towards proving that he's well read, which just gets in the way of the personal revelations that seem to be there but can't quite surface. Erudition is not inherently substantial.

Granted, he's improved since namedropping Lil Jon and chapstick in the same chorus (though he's still hasn't grown beyond namedropping Jandek and Modest Mouse in a lyric meant to argue his growth as a man, which works primarily on an ironic level), but I hope one day he drops the artifice. Even Beck knew when to set non sequitur aside.
Hell at least you're coming up with reasons I just get do sick of the, VW is just stupid argument.

I still agree with Laz, though, if critical consensus is good enough for Kanye, it's good enough for VW.
 
That really sucks because RTJ is basically the best show ever (except for all of those other best shows ever I just saw).
 
Modern Vampires of the City is the ultimate filler album for me. Half of it is absolutely fantastic. The rest ranges from boring to nearly unlistenable.
 
Well, at least The National's shows are prohibitively expensive, so that makes one easier to cross off the list.
 
The only thing I'm trying to prove is that the reaction to this album in particular shouldn't be "haha these critics are crazy this sucks" but more "it's very well-respected but just not my thing".

I obviously mean the latter. But a lot of the reviews have confounded me because I just can't see it. It all sounds so tryhard to me. I do like a few songs - Giving up the Gun is great - but I bought up the p4k review because it's example of an album receiving such wankery praise and then me listening to it and not seeing it all.

I really don't know why the critics fell for Vampire Weekend. It's affected meme music for college students and has been since day 1. No substance in sight. This is the kind of chaff that critics should be weeding out, not praising to the heavens. But hey, that's just one guy's opinion, not a broad consensus or anything.

I thought you were a huge fan for some reason.

All in all, it was a fun day, but weirdly enough, I like it better when I have to travel to a festival. It feels more special.

Really?! I hate that. All my favs are camping ones.
 
I obviously mean the latter. But a lot of the reviews have confounded me because I just can't see it. It all sounds so tryhard to me. I do like a few songs - Giving up the Gun is great - but I bought up the p4k review because it's example of an album receiving such wankery praise and then me listening to it and not seeing it all.

The reason I frequently quote Christgau is because he has a knack for saying a lot (agree with him or not) in a small capsule, which is the opposite of Pitchfork, writing like 6-7 paragraphs and often not saying much at all, especially about the material itself.

So fuck Dombal and tumble with this distillation:

Modern Vampires in the City [XL, 2013]
Think maybe this is overworked? Think maybe the hosannas are reflexive, generalized? I did, and then I didn't. So now think Paul Simon instead if you insist, admittedly a great album. But Sgt. Pepper is a truer precedent, to wit: if you're smart you say where's the rebop, only if you're smarter you quickly figure out that maybe sustaining groove and unfailing exuberance don't matter as much as you believed. Each verse/chorus/bridge/intro melody, each lyric straight or knotty, each sound effect playful or perverse (or both)--each is pleasurable in itself and aptly situated in the sturdy songs and tracks, so that the whole signifies without a hint of concept. And crucially, the boy-to-man themes you'd figure come with several twists I've noticed so far and more no doubt to come. One is simply a right-on credo: "Age is an honor--it's still not the truth." Another is how much time Ezra Koenig spends wrestling a Jahweh-like hard case. The Big Guy comes out on the short end of a fight song called "Unbelievers," and a DJ "spinning 'Israelites' into 'Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown'" gives Him a nasty turn. But Koenig claims no permanent victory. Too smart. Too much a man, too. A+



The album is far from simple surface sheen.
 
I hate Vampire Weekend because I give a fuck about Oxford commas.

He really is. I was so excited when I saw Spicy Pie pizza was there, until I heard they weren't serving pizza with meat at the request of Morrissey. Luckily, other vendors didn't give a fuck. I should have gone with a bacon wrapped hotdog, but they were charging $8 for one and that is just ridiculous.

Welcome to Australian festival prices.

In fact $8 is probably a bargain.

Ashley fucked up intensely yesterday and made a Ke$ha shirt at FYF's free shirt tent instead of a Jack Nicholson Party shirt. I was too busy watching Mac DeMarco to prevent this.

You both fucked up intensely. I can't think of a single musician who, without hearing a note of their music, I want to punch in the face more than Mac DeMarco.

Really?! I hate that. All my favs are camping ones.

I'm not sure there's any live music experience I want to have less than a camping festival.

That said I kind of wish I'd gone to Splendour this year.
 
You both fucked up intensely. I can't think of a single musician who, without hearing a note of their music, I want to punch in the face more than Mac DeMarco.

Lay off Mac, he's a funny and sincere dude. I can see finding his music boring, but there are few people in indie rock that seem to like their job more than he does.
 
I wasn't speaking solely about the lyrics when I mentioned erudition. I'm more into them for the music than the Ivy League BS anyway.

You're disregarding how different they sound(ed) from their contemporaries, the musicianship, the quality of the production, etc.

Aww, do I have to?

You know I'm very much interested in lyricism. It can be a make or break thing for me. And the complaints I raised toward Ezra, as well as some absolutely grating vocal choices he makes sink the band for me.

I think they're skilled musicians and the production on MVOTC (their best album IMO) is sublime, but skill and creativity only go so far in the subjective realm of enjoyment.
 
The reason I frequently quote Christgau is because he has a knack for saying a lot (agree with him or not) in a small capsule, which is the opposite of Pitchfork, writing like 6-7 paragraphs and often not saying much at all, especially about the material itself.

So fuck Dombal and tumble with this distillation:

Modern Vampires in the City [XL, 2013]
Think maybe this is overworked? Think maybe the hosannas are reflexive, generalized? I did, and then I didn't. So now think Paul Simon instead if you insist, admittedly a great album. But Sgt. Pepper is a truer precedent, to wit: if you're smart you say where's the rebop, only if you're smarter you quickly figure out that maybe sustaining groove and unfailing exuberance don't matter as much as you believed. Each verse/chorus/bridge/intro melody, each lyric straight or knotty, each sound effect playful or perverse (or both)--each is pleasurable in itself and aptly situated in the sturdy songs and tracks, so that the whole signifies without a hint of concept. And crucially, the boy-to-man themes you'd figure come with several twists I've noticed so far and more no doubt to come. One is simply a right-on credo: "Age is an honor--it's still not the truth." Another is how much time Ezra Koenig spends wrestling a Jahweh-like hard case. The Big Guy comes out on the short end of a fight song called "Unbelievers," and a DJ "spinning 'Israelites' into 'Nineteenth Nervous Breakdown'" gives Him a nasty turn. But Koenig claims no permanent victory. Too smart. Too much a man, too. A+



The album is far from simple surface sheen.

I feel like what you just posted here is a perfect encapsulation of the frustration some of us are expressing about the critical response to this band: the Christgau review is incredibly labored in trying to ascribe some sort of profundity to the band. If people like the music, great - I can't take issue with that. But to try to pass off a song like "Unbelievers" as somehow lyrically accomplished is an exercise in futility. If we're talking about songs concerning crises of faith, place it up against something like Sufjan's No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross and it looks absolutely juvenile in comparison.
 
Lay off Mac, he's a funny and sincere dude. I can see finding his music boring, but there are few people in indie rock that seem to like their job more than he does.


Yeah, totally. I'm trying to get into his music solely because he seems like such an awesome bloke.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference
 
Yeah, totally. I'm trying to get into his music solely because he seems like such an awesome bloke.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

Skip the new one, check out 2 and Salad Days.

But to try to pass off a song like "Unbelievers" as somehow lyrically accomplished is an exercise in futility. If we're talking about songs concerning crises of faith, place it up against something like Sufjan's No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross and it looks absolutely juvenile in comparison.

So true. I was looking over some of VW's lyrics today and found Unbelievers extremely banal.
 
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Also I have to say no five minutes of music this year has moved me as much as the last 40 or so seconds of Hood Politics and then How Much a Dollar Cost. That shit is fucking perfection and I cry erytime

(The Blacker the Berry and Mortal Man also make me cry)
 
u and i both have that effect on me. Opposite kinds of emotion, but that's what great records can do for a person.

I can't think of a rap song that's as personally debasing as u...not since Suicidal Thoughts by Biggie anyway. This is a genre dominated by braggadocio and here's Kendrick accusing himself of allowing his friend to die in a Compton slum because he cared more about touring and making money than anything else. Which makes the sentiment in i all the more bittersweet and, in its own way, triumphant.

TPAB is an amazing album.
 
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That show is a charity fundraiser, right? I think that explains the prices.

True, but it's still expensive





So true. I was looking over some of VW's lyrics today and found Unbelievers extremely banal.

Ugh, Unbelievers is one of my favorite lyrics of his. I thought he hit a great many gut punches with that one.

And yet I hate that song because of the vocal choices, because that's how divisive the band can be.
 
Lay off Mac, he's a funny and sincere dude. I can see finding his music boring, but there are few people in indie rock that seem to like their job more than he does.

Seriously, every time I see a picture of him he comes across the same way as Tony Abbott or Donald Trump - a colossal wanker with a stupid smirk and an eminently punchable face.

I haven't heard a note of his music and every mention of him makes me want to do so even less. I'm sure in ten years I'll finally hear it and realise it's good, in much the same way I'm still kicking myself for spending eight years ignoring Ladytron because "that's one of the dumbest fucking band names ever".
 
Speaking of, I finally heard Witching Hour and liked it quite a bit. Where to now in their discography?
 
Speaking of, I finally heard Witching Hour and liked it quite a bit. Where to now in their discography?

Definitely Velocifero. I think it's better, marginally. I love the start and finish of Witching Hour but I think it dips a bit in the middle; Velocifero is more consistent.

Or for something a bit more playful, 604. It has three of my five favourite songs of theirs and a whole bunch of quirkiness besides, but it's infuriatingly patchy.

Marnie's solo album from 2013 is fucking awesome too. A bit more pop than Ladytron are going to get, but that's not to say it's all sunshine and daffodils. I actually like it more than most Ladytron albums.
 
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