Vampire Weekend; Arctic Monkeys of 2008?

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.

I honestly have no opinion on this band, I just like arguing. But witnessing this whole thing from ground zero has been pretty interesting - they've been the media favorites for over a year now, even before they released their CD-R. I remember reading a lot of the little "alt"weeklie rags, and Vampire Weekend has been the unanimous favorite ("these guys are going to be huge, trust me"), even without actual music released.

Having friends in the media doesn't really hurt to get a thumbs up every now and then, and getting that first bit of attention is pretty crucial. It doesn't judge their musical merit, but I think people are understandable in resenting that kind-of easy, meteoric rise because of connections.

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?

Yeah I mean sure dislike a band for any reason you want but the whole VW discussion (not maybe in this thread but in the media in general) has been "I like VW 'cause their music is enjoyable" followed by "I don't like VW because their clothes/education make me uncomfortable" which is sort of retarded and will never go anywhere.

1) VW has toured a lot in the last year. i think at least two trips around the US. (sure they might have more $$ flexibility to make that happen, but they have put their feet to the concrete)

2) Other bands w/ Columbia grads. the Walkmen, Animal Collective, Aa. None of these bands get dumped on for getting critical NYC help like VW, is it just 'cuz they sail yahts and wear lacoste?

3) the VW cd is okay. but not Great.

This thread has been more like "I like VW 'cause their music is enjoyable" followed by "I don't like VW because there is other music like it that is better" followed by "NYC just ain't what it used to be," which is a step up, maybe.

maybe its bad timing for vamp week blowing up while the economy is falling apart

there are two americas

Well, yeah, 90% of NYC bands.. and writers... etc.etc... of note are in the Ivy League sphere of things (if you include Ivy League dropouts). A lot of it is really good, but it's definitely interesting. Who knows what it means???????

guys all but 2 of the songs on the album were recorded and circulated before they were signed so is it not possible that the ppl at xl said "hey this would make a really good album, and as luck wuold have it, they've already been written up in the new york times! we might make some money out of this!!"??

and tbh ppl bitching about them never having to slum it are either a. delusional b. jealous c. grasping at straws or d. all of the above, and most of all living in some crazy vacuum where this shit is supposed to matter

Matador would have never signed such a green band 10 years ago, would they

Well, they only distributed them, but the path here is not all that different from Belle & Sebastian's, no? Initial self-made recordings charm people with spare, natural sound, circulate through fans and critics, etc. Only in this case it's like remastering Tigermilk for your first wide release.

The idea that these guys are cleverly manipulating the media seems like an evil-genius fantasy that's probably better phrased as "they have good PR." And sure, money is involved in what was probably their wisest move, which was investing in the recording session this album came out of -- in the short term, at least, I suspect they'd have wound up with a worse record if they'd had to wait it out and record on a label's dime, rather than swinging it themselves and having their keyboard player as the producer. (Which is, ha, TOTALLY indie -- just possibly indie by way of having enough money to put into your project!)

Funny story, PR-wise: the first time I ever heard of these guys was while riding the subway home from work, and their singer was talking with an older woman about how his band was doing, and how they were starting to think about which publicity group they should go with; I couldn't resist asking someone else he was with what band it was. He did not sound like a canny evil genius, for what it's worth. Phrases like "we're exploring our options" may or may not have been involved. I dunno. He had a nice shirt, though.

you might like only musicians who have "paid their dues" because you identify w/ it but it's crazy to say that other people should do the same

the first time i heard of these guys was from j0hn d, i think: http://www.lastplanetojakarta.com/2007/06/great_new_band_alert.html

see guys all you need to do to get a good review on p4k is to befriend their writers in the subway

saw them open for somebody. i remember when my GF was asked who opened she said some boring guys

nabisco, do you think this is as good as tigermilk?

haha them is fighting words: I don't know these people at all, I just live in the neighborhood

her: "they're called vampire weekend, they're playing this weekend"
me: "yeah, i'll have to check that out (yeah right like I'm gonna go check out some random Columbia band)"

Re: Tigermilk -- that's hard; I never heard Tigermilk until after hearing the next two, and after that it didn't seem particularly revelatory, since I'd already soaked in B&S's thing; I'm not particularly into it! I'd usually rather listen to Vampire Weekend than Tigermilk, yeah, but if I were somehow first-exposed to both at the same time, who knows. My main point was just that both blow in in this casual way that kinda reminds you of root song-as-song pleasures and makes other things seem clenched and trying-too-hard

Nabsico, maybe "manipulated" would have been better phrased as "fucking with". I have to believe that's what they were doing in this piece: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/fashion/27nite.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

"Fucking with?" Maybe this makes me an Upper West Side prep, or something, but that sounds like normal four dudes goofing off over a meal.

Haha, they have yet to do any press more than two blocks from my apartment

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").

How about the Homosexuals?

Cause Co-Motion?

a certain ratio?

but that sounds like normal four dudes goofing off over a meal

Exactly, except there's the NYT writer there who is going to drape their goofing off in all this gushy prose about how great they are. Just thinking of myself, if I leave the interview saying "Oh don't forget boys, we've got that big trip to Lacoste tomorrow," I know that that's getting printed.

Orange Juice ftw

RIYL: Sublime

Homosexuals = nuts

Cause Co-Motion = yes, totally, except so far as I've heard these guys are still releasing 7-inches with rickety trebly early-Television Personalities production, not smooth-sounding LPs with consistently good songs

A Certain Ratio = nuts

Orange Juice = yes, absolutely, though gee, might be a bit hard to pitch the Times with a profile and a story on Rip It Up

I'd be the happiest boy in the world if Cause Co-Motion released a really solid front-to-back LP, for sure

lol debating the origins of the lime rickey is "intellectual showmanship"

It's like the Strokes ... those kids parents were NYC big shots

in case anyone's buying the jealous Nude Spocks here, pls to present the evidence that these kids' parents are NYC big shots.

xp, yeah i'm kinda embarrassed for the author of that article

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").

the embassy?

if the hype on Vampire Weekend was simply "hey schmindie bought a new hat" I wouldn't feel the need to rip on these guys, cuz yeah, most schmindie bores me. But I rarely see them talked about in the context of say, Hot Hot Heat, but rather their afropop-jacking forebears. which inspires the negative comparisons to the Talking Heads' Naked.

Likewise, when the Strokes were seen as the forefront of a "rock is back" tidal wave rather than a bunch of guys in denim who want to slur over "Love Vigilantes" (which I enjoyed, btw), I could understand if somebody who thought they were more Eeyore-over-Unrest than ROCK would start honking noses.

ooo, Tough Alliance is good too.

Homosexuals = nuts

Oh, I disagree. The Homosexuals were way, way ahead of th curve in terms of fusing a kind of indie pop with world music. And they were much more ambitious and better pop song songwriters than VW. I don't get this idea that VW are good songwriters. Their songs don't seem particularly interesting to me.

But I rarely see them talked about in the context of say, Hot Hot Heat, but rather their afropop-jacking forebears. which inspires the negative comparisons to the Talking Heads' Naked.

I prefer the Afro-pop jacking of early Talking Heads - Naked is actually pretty spotty. There are Vampire Weekend songs I like as well as or better than "Nothing But Flowers" - but so far I haven't heard any as good as "Once in a Lifetime" (though that's hardly a criticism).

It's nice to have something to look forward to - I think I'm going to stop by my local record shop and pick this album up tonight.

(That wasn't quite the question though, QN: the question was more what records would constitute adequate replacement for this one, to people who have a purpose for this one. Maybe we just differ on this one, but I find it really hard to imagine the Homosexuals slotting into someone's life and listening in the way VW does, appealing in the same way. And obviously people don't buy records to serve purposes like "I need to hear a fusion of a kind of indie pop with world music," they buy records for purposes like "me and my boyfriend enjoy singing along with this in the car.")

Tough Alliance threw me for a second, but yeah, there are certain songs I can see having the same effect these guys have, only for a slightly different audience. An overlapping one, but also people coming from a different place.

Haha Anthony your sentence structure up there pretty much says "I am ripping on this band because of people who write about them," which is understandable but, you know. I doubt this was premeditated by VW, but the obvious lesson = if you throw in one tiny marginal influence from elsewhere, people will spend enough of their word count talking about it that they won't just be pointing out the obvious peers you sound like. (Except there's another way VW score, with a sound and production aesthetic that doesn't sound quite enough like most peers to actually point it out.)