Vampire Weekend; Arctic Monkeys of 2008?

(this is where we need Geir to come in and say that the apex of afro-indie fusion was Dance Into The Light by Phil Collins)

as long as you have chevy chase in your video you can commit genocide for all i care

Steve Gadd vs. this weak-ass drumming

the drumming live is v different from that on the record

better?

There's what four Afro-pop moments on this entire album? Some of which last for a bar or two, hence my point about them being flourishes more than anything else. It's possible they're being overdebated here because people just aren't used to hearing them at all in indie pop in 2008.

does anyone else think theyre purposely needling w/all the waspy signifiers - i just watched a video of them riding around in a sailboat!

YACHT ROCK 08!

Next B-side will be a cover of Toto's Africa.

THAT WOULD BE SOOOO AWESOME

I'm just kidding around with all the VW hate, but no, they actually are blue-blood types. They were connected to some of the richest and most powerful students and in the most exclusive clubs at Columbia--it's not surprising how almost every NYC media outlet lifted them up to the sky for an entire year out of nowhere, especially since there are definitely better, harder working bands in New York right now.

There are better, harder working footballers than Andy Reid as well but it doesn't stop me having a soft spot for the fat bastard.

Whenever I hear or read the name of this band, I can't help thinking of that (UK television) car advert set in a therapist's office, with the midlife-crisis guy singing 'Hot-tub weekend...'

Steve Gadd vs. this weak-ass drumming

-- Jordan, Wednesday, 30 January 2008 16:48 (24 minutes ago) Link

whOaTM

You know, just because a band ironically needles all the signifiers of their upbringing, it doesn't mean they're still not using them to their advantage.

THE PLOT THICKENS: http://blog.limewire.com/posts/1138-Trailer-Vampire-Weekend

ince there are definitely better, harder working bands in New York right now.

who cares how hard they work?

are you actually serious about that?

Working hard is great, but if you aren't good, should people give a fuck?

I mean, it's great that you can afford to sod off because you know you got the tunes. Who wouldn't?

haha those two voice rvws are nuts. talk about limited critical horizons, all it takes is some lacoste shirts and a roland amp for people to completely lose their shit

This may have already been mentioned a couple times in this thread, but a lot of this VW hate reeks of jealousy. Those shitty Village Voice columns are great examples. If you want to hate a band because they strike you as boring or uninspired, fine. But hating them because they remind you of Reagan for some fucked up reason is ridiculous.

Ridiculous, yes, but how is it jealous?

http://www.infoshop.org/img4/class_war.gif

Okay, maybe that specific article was more stupid than jealousy, but a lot of the other complaints arise from the "they got too big too quick! undeserving! my band works harder!" camp.

er, the first VV column was positive.

It's like the Strokes ... those kids parents were NYC big shots, so in 2002 people in New York made a big to do about that. It's just how it is now.

so what!

xp

those kids parents were NYC big shots, so in 2002 people in New York made a big to do about that. It

like you?

http://www.northernsoul45s.co.uk/images/large/CHRIS%20CAMPBELL%20%20YOU%20GOTTA%20PAY%20DUES%20%20LARGE.jpg

You know, just because a band ironically needles all the signifiers of their upbringing, it doesn't mean they're still not using them to their advantage.

yah totally - brilliant marketing - well played rich kids!

I don't care that much, the music's not for me, but ... remember a time ... when four scumbags from Queens could make it big in New York, or a nerdy working class art school drop out ... those were the days maN!! when rent cost $4 on the -real- Lower West Side

i mean all these burt stnadonds being all waah we wouldnt even be talking abt them if they werent so privileged - dont u see youve fallen right into their trap

and no burt i dont remember that i was 4 and living in california so there

Anthony, you bring a lot of vigor to your arguments up there, but not a lot of consistency!

(a) Part of what is meant by "ordinary" is my belief that nobody is really listening to this for "Afropop-jacking"; people are listening to this for well-made happy eighth-note indie. If the problem you are having with this album is that it's not good compared to Afropop, then you are looking for the wrong thing

(b) CLEARLY "ordinary" means ordinary within its indie context; you start saying the Strokes are still ordinary subculture music (no duh), but not ordinary in a broader context (no duh); these dudes, similarly, are manna for fans not of Afropop or Afropop-jacking but of a kind of naturalistic laid-back indie; but all you've made there is an argument that they're non-ordinary in a broader context, too (haha which would make anyone who's ever said "OMG this indie band is so routine and uninteresting" fully blinkered)

But fuck's sake, the accusation of "my world is the world" blinkers is just plain bizarro and context-missing, unless you seriously want every post on ILX to say "oh yeah, this Spoon song is pretty ordinary (in the specific context of Spoon's position in modern-day indie blah blah blah, not the geological sense)"

P.S. I would kinda like the list of who provides same-thing-better, but what we come down to either way is that some people find an album well-made and some people aren't feeling it; what's interesting is that pre-internet this was considered normal, not divisive, whereas now everyone who doesn't much care about a record enters into a sighing match in a comments box somewhere. Point being we got at this a little upthread: some songs here do it for me, right now, as much as "Love Plus One" might -- they don't for you. It'd be fascinating if we could get at why, but I don't know that it's possible, especially with these guys: there's something about the tidiness of their music that makes it hard to latch onto specific elements and have good/bad debates about them. So yeah, I would totally like to hear who you think provides the same thing better (to which my response will inevitably be "no, you've got it wrong, that's not what people are getting out of this").

http://rws-blog.rhapsody.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/01/29/africaindiethumbnail.jpg

P.P.S. Boo-hoo indeed -- yet I was just saying elsewhere that I can think back to listening to the Ocean Blue in high school or whatever and being fully aware that someone somewhere would find them boring and wimpy, but of course you could still listen to and talk about it without a Stanton sitting in the corner telling you so

This isn't "boo hoo why can't people listen to one pleasant indie record in peace," it's more a question about expectations, about: (a) criticizing records for what they aren't, rather than what they are, and the gap between the critic and the consumer/chatterer, and (b) the manufacture of "controversy" and polarization and argument over what is essentially the most normal situation imaginable -- a clump of people really enjoys a record, but OF COURSE lots of people just aren't feeling whatever they saw in it, something true of everything in the universe ever

im thinking the effortless vibe is exacerbating the class war complaint here

(Ha, J, I was saying that about their sense of unconcerned happiness, earlier -- and wondering whether, if they seemed miserable, it would be different. As it is, they get the "smug" and "privileged" lines in part because they sound pleased and joyous.)

lol rich kids everythings so easy for them (including but not limited to writing and recording songs)

This thread has been stunningly consistent in its arguments. I keep reading the same three reasons why VW is OK and the same three reasons why they are not OK (though Burt is not helping on that front). Which means exactly what Nabisco is saying--some people like a record and some people do not.

So all the non-music stuff is red herrings. Class signifiers or whatever, there is nothing so interesting in the VW backdrop/context that it requires a bunch of criticism and analysis to understand it. I think these guys are absolutely manipulating the hell out of the media but that doesn't mean that we need to care/play along.

there's something about the tidiness of their music

great comment, that does come somewhere towards setting a context in which discussion of their stuff could be usefully possible.

my 2p: it's tidiness and difference at the same time that makes something stand out (and that can mean to be adored and hated). something has to jump out as different sounding but also be believable in the sense that you believe the people doing it are completely on top of what they're doing. that's what draws (me at least) in. it's there in elvis's early recordings, it's also there in why me and my son can't work out why 'mansard roof' is catchy.

xxxxxxpost, jeez

then, music aside, there's the class thing, which seems to be riling everyone. not every band can be left wing and working class.

lol rich kids everythings so easy for them (including but not limited to writing and recording songs)

Not to drag it deeper, but they're like in the 2% of bands in New York who probably never complained about how expensive a fucking rehearsal space is.

I think these guys are absolutely manipulating the hell out of the media but that doesn't mean that we need to care/play along.

otm, but we also don't need to assume that because they are of a particular class they are inherently better at manipulating the media.

yah n theres definitely happiness and even generosity there - suggesting that this might be more than just breezy indie rock

not every band can be left wing and working class.

This is totally true, and, yes, it's really unfair to judge Vampire Weekend on their class alone.

BUT i think the disconnect is happening is because they're rich in INDIE ROCK. Underground rock (from the indie/punk/DIY tradition) traditionally rewards hard work and effort. Major labels are supposed to make the cinderella stories, indie labels traditionally signed bands that were in for the long haul, lots of touring, etc. I could be RONG, but Matador would have never signed such a green band 10 years ago, would they?

Blogs fucking up the game.

x-post yeah Whatever, I think they saw an easy path to publicity because they're "not like most bands" in their appearance/background (or the fact that they don't feel the need to bury their background) and went for it. Their "hanging out with" profile in the NYT on Sunday was hilariously bad.

But yeah, manipulating the media is certainly not a class-based skill.

So all the non-music stuff is red herrings. Class signifiers or whatever, there is nothing so interesting in the VW backdrop/context that it requires a bunch of criticism and analysis to understand it. I think these guys are absolutely manipulating the hell out of the media but that doesn't mean that we need to care/play along.

i think its totally valid to dislike a band for any reason you want. how do we separate out the non-music from the music?

Nobody should be allowed to record an album unless they are poor, their parents are poor, and they have only very limited access to recording studios. I'm kidding Burt.