Vampire Weekend; Arctic Monkeys of 2008?

diplomat's son and white sky are the highlights so far

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.

White Sky is my favourite thing here by some distance. There's something quite effortlessly charming about the chorus.

yeah I'm kinda loving "Diplomat's Son" and its viva hate stylings

Wow. Never thought of that!

horchata 4eva

"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.

Seconding "Horchata," esp. for the way Ezra delivers the line "Oh you had it, but oh no you lost it."

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.

'giving up the gun' is the only one i really like so far, instead of just admire

I'm with the Quietus there, those two songs are the worst bits on "Contra".

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.

I think I could grow to dig their David Byrne if I enjoyed their Frantz-Weymouth.

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

''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"?

"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.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/16/arts/music/16vampire.html

Mr. Koenig has a beautiful, lithe voice

??

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.

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

Basically agree with that take. I quite like "Holiday" and "Cousins" but they're not what I go to this album for.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/16/arts/music/16vampire.html

Mr. Koenig has a beautiful, lithe voice

??

― velko, Sunday, January 17, 2010 4:59 AM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

"beautiful"
"lithe"

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

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

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

that sentiment is just not as believable from this from this guy

explain "universal."

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

as opposed to lets get the fuck out of cape cod

theyre sort of caught inside their own joke and its starting to bum them out?

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, January 17, 2010 5:47 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

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, 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

if on a winters night a sting

what would vw sound like produced by alec empire? marginally more listenable.

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

That's Caramanica from the NY Times before he gets into the ska discussion

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.)

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

is that Sting album an Italo Calvino concept album? Cuz I had that idea first. >: I'm liking contra!

i haven't heard 8-10 yet but this is wonderful.

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, 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?

"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

tbh i find horchata relatable

me too! i'm just saying

yeah i was more tbhing myself - if the whole album was like that song id prob like it a lot

always be honest with yrself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQlHfv-NQkE

(via Stereogum)

i always think he's singing "those lips that ass"

good performance

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

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.

eh i disagree n/a i think there's a lot to dig into with this one.