Vampire Weekend; Arctic Monkeys of 2008?

a lot of it sounds like they had programmed stuff and then he could just play along to it. where did you hear only one song had a drum machine?

is it "Diplomat's Son"?

I read something which implied "White Sky" was the only track using a drum machine on the new album, which surprised me. The rhythms sound fine to me. They're an attraction, even.

― Tim F, Friday, January 29, 2010 12:49 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

OK what?! who is crediting them for their grooves?

fair enough, "groove" is an overstated way of putting it. but their lite-rhythmic explorations are pretty key to their whole style and sound, and i'm assuming that people who like them like their rhythms. (i admit that's just a guess, since i don't like them so i don't know -- maybe people like them despite their rhythms.) and while most of the discussion about all that seems to get hung up on whether they have the "right" to "appropriate" those rhythms etc., which is mostly a lot of nonsense afaic, the salient question to me is whether they do it well or do anything very interesting or engaging with their appropriations.

and fwiw i saw a live "unplugged" clip of them the other day and it confirmed for me that ezra's a pretty good guitarist. he's really the rhythmic center of the band.

(i admit that's just a guess, since i don't like them so i don't know -- maybe people like them despite their rhythms.) and while most of the discussion about all that seems to get hung up on whether they have the "right" to "appropriate" those rhythms etc., which is mostly a lot of nonsense afaic, the salient question to me is whether they do it well or do anything very interesting or engaging with their appropriations.

i think a lot of people on this thread are saying that the rhythms are pretty secondary to them--not to mention that even tho the "right to appropriate" discussion is kind of vague about which specific elements are being appropriated, itd be pretty hard to argue that contra (which as ppl are pointing out is mostly programmed) is going for "african" rhythms. the big "african" thing i get out of VW is the highlife-ish guitars, which sound more stolen from paul simon than from "africa"

No Max didn't you hear that Africa has an exclusive licence with respect to use of the following types of rhythms in the specific artistic field of "indie rock":

- dancehall beat
- Hounds of Love faux-tribal
- schaffel
- 4X4

wonder if they'll try to rock more next time or if mitchell froom will produce

all i'm saying re: appropriation is that it doesn't bother me one way or another, wherever it's from. the wimpiness and whining do. but hey that's just me. i eventually found a bright eyes album i liked ok, maybe that'll happen with vw too.

wimpiness!!!!

your wimpiness and whining bother me tipsy mothra

http://www.sportressofblogitude.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/wimpy-from-popeye.jpg

i will gladly pay you tuesday for a highlife groove today.

Alice Cooper, having worn eyeliner onstage for decades now, remembers when bands used to rock. I'm sorry, when bands used to rawk. Occasionally, grandpa Cooper stops whittling in the toolshed long enough to walk outside and hear some new music. These were the thoughts he expressed to Noisecreep.com when he heard Vampire Weekend.

I do get a little annoyed that it seems like a lot of bands that come out now that I read, "The greatest band that I've ever heard." And I see them and I go, "There's absolutely no testosterone in this band." I heard the title Vampire Weekend and I thought, "Oh, man, that's gonna be great. I gotta see it." And there are these guys with little Gap T-shirts on and they're singing about I don't know what, it was so light I couldn't listen to it. And I'm going, "What happened to the balls in rock 'n' roll? Why are American bands so wimpy?"

I'm getting a lot of bands that are kind of going, "Oh, the summer in the rain and aren't lightning bugs wonderful?" And I'm going, "What kind of drug are you on?" I think if you asked Ozzy, Iggy and all the other people that come from our generation, we're kind of hoping the young guys step it up a little bit when it comes to being guys.

crazy face painting old guy otm

Alice Cooper popped his head out of the ground the other day to endorse Lady Gaga too

he's batting .1000

haha i mean 1.000

btw Owl City didn't blow up until a couple months after Alice's hilarious "aren't lightning bugs wonderful?" line, do you think he heard it early or was just remarkably prescient?

alice cooper's also a religious christian and a republican, neither of which really 'rock'

"little Gap T-shirts"

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hSPmV2a4Jkw/Su93XjgKWpI/AAAAAAAAFJs/s-YkAhAIenc/s320/Stella-baby+gap.jpg

^^^^ vampire weekend

Lady Gaga def has more balls than VampWeek

Last I looked, which admittedly was a long time ago, Columbia has a class size of about 700. Yer not necessarily gonna get a Hal Blaine out of that talent pool. Lucky enough you get a Simon & Garfunkel or a Tom Meltzer or a Keonig / Batmanglij. VW are charming, and their drummer, through observation, makes great expressions & is plenty fun to jump up & down to.

I mean, I too lament the days when bands had good drummers. The Alice Cooper Band, as an example, was a road-hardened garage rock unit before even hooking up with Alice. And then they had three album's worth of getting their act together before the record company even pushed them. Those were different times.

why does white people never want to rock?

http://twitter.com/arzE

Was that evidence for the defense or the prosecution?

Me? P4k linked to his Twitter feed so I checked it out and he's arguing with some dude who's criticizing his band. i'm on his side, but dude shouldn't engage with people trolling him.

he should argue with some dude instead of some dude

yeah that's sad, esp considering how good a troll he is himself

xp

i think this is the first time i agree with you on something, Mr. Que!

whose twitter is that? (can't look at twitters at work)

btw fuck alice cooper and the entire "i remember when men were man and bands rocked" attitude

ezra koenig's

critics ignore it when the Best Rapper Alive says faggot, but hulk-out when the Worst Rapper Alive says balaclava

about 4 hours ago from web

NAGL

oh, thx, i should have been able to figure that out from the name huh

btw fuck alice cooper and the entire "i remember when men were man and bands rocked" attitude

― call all destroyer, Friday, January 29, 2010 5:55 PM (42 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this kinda makes me sad because early alice is so genius and really NOT a meat and potatoes rock thing at all more like "i remember when men were drunk mascera trannies that made tuff MC5-cum-gilbert and sullivan drug sick proto-punk operettas interspersed with caveman glam prog killer tunes'

yeah i think it's a totally valid reason to not like a band

I remember when men could speak in long polysyllabic sentences.

but the glam trannies seemed like they really wanted to have sex with you, whoever you were, is maybe his real point.

ozzy did not sound like he wanted to have sex with you

ugh artists defending their work, especially to anonymous people on the internet, is always completely embarassing

if ezra koenig doesn't stick up for vampire weekend, who will

@ErinGaetz it's a daily struggle for the righteous man in babylon

lol it's like when lily allen tweeted "i'm like gazza, the judges hate me but the people dem love me" but not as good

ozzy did not sound like he wanted to have sex with you

well he sounded like he wanted to have sex with something. a gargoyle maybe.

I don't know why she had to bring israel into the discussion

"i'm like gazza, the judges hate me but the people dem love me" rofl is this a direct quote?

@arzE your band makes great music, regardless of your background, thats all that matters... the new album is great

@arzE Please explain to this guy that you don't write songs hoping all of the blogs understand the lyrics.

@arzE Totally understand, just know that you have a TON of fans who really do appreciate your work. You guys are a truly talented band and

@arzE I always look forward to your live shows/records/development- dont let the criticism get you down, keep doing your thing!

BearSchwartz

One of my favorite musicians just tweeted me...start to a very good friday!

that's cute

allen quote in http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article6725247.ece

xps