My two favorite tracks!
― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:43 (fourteen years ago) link
diplomat's son and white sky are the highlights so far
― plaxico (I know, right?), Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:43 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah I love "White Sky" though I feel it's also the kind of track that I would love, which makes me want to find another track to call my favourite. Silly I know.
― Tim F, Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:45 (fourteen years ago) link
White Sky is my favourite thing here by some distance. There's something quite effortlessly charming about the chorus.
― Space Battle Rothko (Matt DC), Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:45 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah I'm kinda loving "Diplomat's Son" and its viva hate stylings
― spiny doughboy (baaderonixx), Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:46 (fourteen years ago) link
Wow. Never thought of that!
― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:48 (fourteen years ago) link
horchata 4eva
― cozwn, Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:53 (fourteen years ago) link
"White Sky" is the most Paul Simonesque track on it. I guess that's not an issue in a bad way for some of ya.
― curmudgeon, Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:57 (fourteen years ago) link
Seconding "Horchata," esp. for the way Ezra delivers the line "Oh you had it, but oh no you lost it."
― kshighway (ksh), Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:59 (fourteen years ago) link
I like how the first half of the album is all More Songs About Buildings and Food and the second turns into Fear of Music.
― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 14 January 2010 15:59 (fourteen years ago) link
'giving up the gun' is the only one i really like so far, instead of just admire
― an american hippie in israel (Jordan), Thursday, 14 January 2010 16:00 (fourteen years ago) link
I'm with the Quietus there, those two songs are the worst bits on "Contra".
― zeus, Thursday, 14 January 2010 16:24 (fourteen years ago) link
I think I could grow to dig their David Byrne if I enjoyed their Frantz-Weymouth.
― da croupier, Thursday, 14 January 2010 16:50 (fourteen years ago) link
i love this album-- at first i thought the one knock on it is that as individual songs, the album tracks don't really stand alone in singularity like "m79" or "campus" or what have you but i think it's actually kind of a strength. the album is so easy to listen to straight through. the final three songs are prob my favorite part of the album ("horchata"/"white sky" aside). ezra really sounds great over those brittle, percolating keyboards
― J0rdan S., Thursday, 14 January 2010 22:07 (fourteen years ago) link
''Cousins' is a curious choice of lead single, representing something of a red herring with its blistering staccato rhythm and agitated vocal urgency.
Doesn't this pretty much parallel "A-Punk"?
― Lt. Colonel JOHN NAGL (The Reverend), Thursday, 14 January 2010 22:38 (fourteen years ago) link
"White Sky" is the most Paul Simonesque track on it.
Yeah, the guitar line is VERY similar to the guitar on Simon's "Crazy Love pt. 2", though the pace of the VW song is faster. Still, it's among my favorites on the new record.
― scott pgwp (pgwp), Friday, 15 January 2010 00:50 (fourteen years ago) link
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/16/arts/music/16vampire.html
Mr. Koenig has a beautiful, lithe voice
??
― velko, Sunday, 17 January 2010 04:59 (fourteen years ago) link
lol of course whiney hates this
i dig any of the tracks that sound like paul simon or are just chill cool traxx to vibe out to. i dont really like cousins at all, as a result.
― not a playa but i ilx a lot (deej), Sunday, 17 January 2010 10:45 (fourteen years ago) link
outside of (but also including) rap, really feelin 'lifestyle music' lately. if someone says it will soundtrack my shopping trip @ starbucks/ikea/etc ill probably be more likely to dig it. i guess this is sub-max but what can u do
― not a playa but i ilx a lot (deej), Sunday, 17 January 2010 10:47 (fourteen years ago) link
Basically agree with that take. I quite like "Holiday" and "Cousins" but they're not what I go to this album for.
― Tim F, Sunday, 17 January 2010 11:47 (fourteen years ago) link
― velko, Sunday, January 17, 2010 4:59 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
"beautiful""lithe"
― لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Sunday, 17 January 2010 11:54 (fourteen years ago) link
great album. "giving up the gun" and "diplomat's son" both kinda suck but i think the former could actually work really well on radio, they'd be smart to make that a single
― guardian nagle (k3vin k.), Sunday, 17 January 2010 14:10 (fourteen years ago) link
i feel like this one is more pro but songs are maybe not as good
the other thing abt this band is how their two most quoted couplets have to do w/obscure drinks and garments and its supposed to represent their whole much discussed class signifiers thing - but isnt that just knowing what things are called
― ice cr?m, Sunday, 17 January 2010 15:27 (fourteen years ago) link
o and this holiday song is hella annoying - totally skipped past it
seems like theyre maybe going for something more universal and authentic and thats the problem
― ice cr?m, Sunday, 17 January 2010 15:38 (fourteen years ago) link
that sentiment is just not as believable from this from this guy
― ice cr?m, Sunday, 17 January 2010 15:41 (fourteen years ago) link
explain "universal."
― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 17 January 2010 15:43 (fourteen years ago) link
well judging from all the hullabaloo surrounding the 1st album the guys particular granular intelligence was a big part of the draw - but now hes singing like it occurred to me that we could ruuuun and it doesnt sound half as convincing
― ice cr?m, Sunday, 17 January 2010 15:48 (fourteen years ago) link
as opposed to lets get the fuck out of cape cod
― ice cr?m, Sunday, 17 January 2010 15:50 (fourteen years ago) link
theyre sort of caught inside their own joke and its starting to bum them out?
― ice cr?m, Sunday, 17 January 2010 15:59 (fourteen years ago) link
― not a playa but i ilx a lot (deej), Sunday, January 17, 2010 5:47 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
― Tim F, Sunday, January 17, 2010 6:47 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
sub-max!!! have a little decency yall
btw if ur lookin for lifestyle music this CD is pretty grebt--http://phjess.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/sting-if-on-a-winters-night2.jpg
― max, Sunday, 17 January 2010 16:00 (fourteen years ago) link
if on a winters night a sting
― supra-max (ice cr?m), Sunday, 17 January 2010 16:07 (fourteen years ago) link
what would vw sound like produced by alec empire? marginally more listenable.
― hellzapoppa (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 17 January 2010 16:08 (fourteen years ago) link
Sting, the King of Pain, was once the king of (see below) "aristo-indie"
In the two-and-a-half years since Vampire Weekend’s debut EP first appeared, a wave of world-scavenging aristo-indie has emerged, most of it pale by comparison
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 17 January 2010 16:13 (fourteen years ago) link
That's Caramanica from the NY Times before he gets into the ska discussion
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 17 January 2010 16:14 (fourteen years ago) link
i don't know what is "pale by comparison" with vampire weekend, but i also don't want to...
(ok i'll get off this thread. don't wanna be one of those people who just sit around saying THIS SUX.)
― hellzapoppa (tipsy mothra), Sunday, 17 January 2010 16:16 (fourteen years ago) link
I wonder if Koenig got this African guitar-playing guide from afropop.org leader and writer Banning Eyre. I'm guessing the 'pale by comparison' groups could use it.
http://www.afropop.org/news_flash.php?ID=147
― curmudgeon, Sunday, 17 January 2010 16:19 (fourteen years ago) link
is that Sting album an Italo Calvino concept album? Cuz I had that idea first. >: I'm liking contra!
― cajunsunday, Sunday, 17 January 2010 18:25 (fourteen years ago) link
i haven't heard 8-10 yet but this is wonderful.
― call all destroyer, Sunday, 17 January 2010 18:27 (fourteen years ago) link
― ice cr?m, Sunday, January 17, 2010 10:48 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark
but doesn't this whole song hinge on the "but with her fund" line that reveals the narrator to be as insincere as ever?
― call all destroyer, Sunday, 17 January 2010 18:28 (fourteen years ago) link
"run" and "horchata" are the most emotionally naked songs that ezra has ever written i think-- i don't like "run" that much, i think the chorus melody is a bit strained, and i think joe is otm about it vis a vis getting the fuck out of cape cod
― J0rdan S., Sunday, 17 January 2010 18:37 (fourteen years ago) link
tbh i find horchata relatable
― supra-max (ice cr?m), Sunday, 17 January 2010 18:48 (fourteen years ago) link
me too! i'm just saying
― J0rdan S., Sunday, 17 January 2010 18:49 (fourteen years ago) link
yeah i was more tbhing myself - if the whole album was like that song id prob like it a lot
― supra-max (ice cr?m), Sunday, 17 January 2010 18:51 (fourteen years ago) link
always be honest with yrself
― call all destroyer, Sunday, 17 January 2010 18:53 (fourteen years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQlHfv-NQkE
(via Stereogum)
― kshighway (ksh), Sunday, 17 January 2010 18:55 (fourteen years ago) link
i always think he's singing "those lips that ass"
― samosa gibreel, Sunday, 17 January 2010 18:58 (fourteen years ago) link
good performance
― call all destroyer, Sunday, 17 January 2010 19:00 (fourteen years ago) link
i find this band pleasant in general; they've got some nice sounds and i don't mind dude's singing or lyrics like other people seem to; but dang this a boring album and i don't really get people making such a big deal out of it. the whole thing just kinda floats by really quickly with no hooks or anything that sticks, just seems totally insubstantial and inoffensive
― congratulations (n/a), Sunday, 17 January 2010 19:01 (fourteen years ago) link
Yeah, it's a great performance! Although I think the bassist's backing vocals are hilarious, esp. when he abruptly cuts out a couple times towards the beginning.
― kshighway (ksh), Sunday, 17 January 2010 19:01 (fourteen years ago) link