Vampire Weekend; Arctic Monkeys of 2008?

I don't think that's an outfit, I think that's a pile of scarves strewn on a conventionally dressed person

i think the VW photo came first

It probably did for all we know. We just discovered how hard it is to parody certain trends without it evolving into looking like a sincere homage or appearing prophetic.

i like these guys til the vocals kick in. nice african influences although a bit twee and usually not that well integrated but then you hear the singing and it ruins everything. best track on the album is the one that sounds like the strokes. or actually the ones without the african influences like the one with the violins.

so . . . these guys are still partying on cape cod? p4ork4ever

I don't think that's an outfit, I think that's a pile of scarves strewn on a conventionally dressed person

― nabisco, Friday, December 19, 2008 3:47 PM (2 months ago) Bookmark

That ain't an outfit, it's a scarves race.

RIP burt_stanton. This thread makes me miss the guy.

dudes took it next level on fallon

LOVED that song.

yeah "white sky" is remarkable (now with strings!!) but i mean the whole spectacle... ezra's fleece windbreaker and 7th grade yearbook photo hair, the string players in tweed (?) hoodies, the rasta dude off to the back fumbling w/ some jug thing, the goofy drummer wearing sunglasses etc

here is that "White Sky" song from their next album:

are those hemp hoodies?

wow. worse than i could have imagined. like a band made up of all the millenials i work with...

i was about to post that he'd become a better live singer since their snl performance until 1:49 ...

thought that the paul simon comparisons were a little overblown first time around but this sounds like a graceland outtake with strings and embarrassing falsetto.

OTM

LOVED that song.

― Johnny Fever, 05:34 יום חמישי 19 מרץ 2009 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

yeah "white sky" is remarkable..

OBJECTION!

it might be good with more guitars,less strings and not trying to play it too safe.

or the faster version (which is better):

So, I am not sure if there's another thread talking about this, but has anyone heard the cover of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" that Peter Gabriel and Hot Chip have done?

It now completely sounds like Gabriel meets Paul Simon. Oh and is roffle because he sings "But this feels so unnatural/Peter Gabriel too/ It feels so unnatural/to sing your own name" LOL.

Sorry if this was in another thread.

what are ppls thoughts on discovery

Hartley vs McBain: Vampire Weekend as Sophomores

btw I like the discovery album but then I would

It's tuneless and empty to my ears; the only song I've kept is the Koenig collaboration.

this summer fall in love with autotune, all over again

is it okay to call this r&twee? i think i'm going to

To call it that there would have to be "rhythm."

i really like this - i like that it sounds like what it is, which is two white indie kids doing r&b, and i think it serious enough but doesn't seem like they're playing dress up and it's playful enough but not like lonely island

also i think the hooks are good

and i think it's serious enough but doesn't seem like they're playing dress up and it's playful enough but not like lonely island

i really wasn't sure if they were going to be able to balance this out but they did!! doesn't surprise me tho because i think rostam is really talented and pretty underrated in the sphere of vampire weekend's press always being about africa and ezra and columbia and money - the dude writes really good keyboard & strings parts for vw

i have been listening to this album alot lately, and i mostly disliked vw. i prefer this guy's singing to ezra's and all of these songs are basically instantly likeable. it`s pretty bedroom-ey, or atleast laptop-ey, but the songs aren`t weaker as a result somehow. sure the production could be more layered and less cheap-sounding but that`s not really the point here i don`t think.

I'm kinda shocked at the response. This guy's melodies define weak -- it's fourth-rate Kelly Polar. The best song is the Koenig number, mostly because for about a week I liked his version of a Kylie voice.

I'm kinda shocked at how much I like this. I'm pretty susceptible to fake teen movie music though and a big sucker for lines like "I promise to leave before your mother wakes up in the morning." Kindof an indie "I gotta feeling" imo.

you're right, definitely an indie version of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhKn_bgA-lQ

i like that it sounds like what it is, which is two white indie kids doing r&b

not to get on your case in particular but GEEZ COME ON

I mean REALLY

fwiw, calling these guys "white" is way is totally different than calling Jamie Lidell "white"

blue eyed soul dude. some of it's good guilty pleasure shit

"guilty pleasure" went out with the miniskirt and the Twist.

Soto on fire today

How does that make any sense? Bowie, Brian Ferry, 90% of the 80s, etc.

not to get on your case in particular but GEEZ COME ON

― nabisco, Thursday, July 23, 2009 5:40 PM (35 minutes ago) Bookmark

?? i don't think it's a pejorative to say that they sound "white" because they do, much more so than, like whiney says, jamie lidell or even the soulful songs at the end of the last hot chip album

the Discovery record is as soulful as Howard Jones' Dream into Action.

DUDE IS PERSIAN

Two things:

1) I've gotten way back into Vampire Weekend this summer. It seems like the hotter and more humid the weather, the more I enjoy listening to the album.

2) Who are the Arctic Monkeys of 2009?

the singer is from syracuse

or fine:

it sounds like what it is - indie r&b (really should have taken more offense to me calling this r&b - it's certainly more r&b in the way the-dream is [and that's to say very pop] than in the way ne-yo is) influenced by white people like daft punk, whom they take their name from.

ha, Jordan, you're clear on what I'm picking on here, right?

i like that it sounds like what it is, which is two white indie kids

I mean I don't know the guy's exact background or who his parents are, but it's been bugging me for over a year that everyone just instinctively turns a guy "white" because it better fits their mental categories of class/race/manner.

^^ this is referring to the person named Rostam Batmanglij who is confirmably Persian on at least one parent's side, if not both

if you consider Persian people "white," I apologize for raising the issue

i don't, but race is pretty inessential to how i feel about them anyway - the "indie" part of what i said matters much more in the context of the album

I don't believe that's an entirely honest statement, dude, considering your description of them "two white indie kids doing r&b," which seems to me to clearly be invoking some element of race in the coding of "indie" vs "r&b" -- as far as this music goes I'm actually with you on how that distinction doesn't feel significant with them, but obviously what I was getting at was a total side issue about forcing round pegs into square holes of race-coding

(it's not a big deal and I'm done -- I agree with you about the record!)