Vampire Weekend; Arctic Monkeys of 2008?

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.)

Why is it wrong for people to dislike something? I think there's this weird obsessive "positive bias" in the Anglosphere that it's worse to dislike something than it is to like it.

You are doing your best to erode that, for sure

the Anglosphere?

Ludus.

a reason why people might dislike this band is a perceived lack of emotional depth...i.e. the entire album has no sense of pain or struggle, lust or intrigue. who ever thought that being inoffensive and well-to-do was ever worth a ticket to stardom?

jesus and mary chain.

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,"...

But I definitely know people who buy records based on just this sort of thing. And the way that VW was initially brought to my attention by others was largely by way of them mentioning, "oh, there's this band called Vampire Weekend; they kind have this indie with Afro-pop thing going on." i.e., their influences as the selling point

That's a description, not a selling point! The selling point is the next couple sentences that go "I really like their songs, they're very catchy etc."

this is some of the worst music ive ever heard.

I don't think that's true.

xpost

I mean none of their upcoming fans is watching MTV2 and going "if only a band would come on next that brought world influences to an indie templ-- hey, eureka!" I'd anticipate a lot of them who hear "A-Punk" and never think of Africa at all, but feel like it was peppy / sunny / low-key / etc

they kind have this indie with Afro-pop thing going on

See, if all I had to go by was that description, I would have run screaming from Vampire Weekend. To me, the combination of Afro-pop with indie in theory sounds about as appetizing as dill pickles with peanut butter - which makes it all the more amusing when you hear the music and it actually sounds pretty good.

i just watched "mansard roof" on youtube.

it reminds me of like if the decemberists jammed with one of those italian organ grinder dudes with a monkey, they should wear boater hats that would be pretty sweet.

it's not terrible but damn u all really like this more than "you can call me al"????

the song "a-punk" is a lot better

the main riff reminds me of "time bomb" by rancid

does anyone remember Macha? -- their indie/world music thing seemed a little more interesting to me

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.")

That's why I mentioned the songwriting issue. The Homosexuals make me want to sing out loud, clap along, take their music everywhere I go. It's wonderfully catchy pop. I can't speak for others, but VW's music doesn't inspire me that way. It don't think it's exuberant or catchy or full of life.

Someone mentioned Dave Matthews earlier; I actually think VW doesn't sound that diff from the Samples. In the early to mid 90s, when I was in college, just about every college/hippie mountain town had a quirky pop band that was a mix of They Might Be Giants, a little Phish, and a little world music/reggae. That, to me, is basically what this band does. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it comes off kind of soft.

Seems to me VW use afropop like Kid Creole used funk -- as a frame to contain and propel their singer/songwriterly impulses. Which are mighty formidable for a bunch of 22 year olds. I saw last night's show too. I also saw Talking Heads in '77 and for that matter Paul Simon's Graceland show. And while last night was neither of those, it was an excellent showcase and fwiw the audience seemed to be having a better time than those at either of the more historic events. I stood upstairs where I could pretend to be someone's parent.

It's a longstanding tradition for ny art bands to set musical and stylistic parameters within which they can excel, and then have people wonder how much of their act is real and how much a put-on. Ramones being the obv example. The Ramones were street kids from the outer boroughs, so they made themselves the platonic ideal of that. It's an extension of the idea "write what you know."

I mean, if you don't channel your creativity into some kind of framework, you wind up with the horrible let-it-all-hang-outness of that opening act with the harmonium. Devil something. Speak Of the Devil? Devil In the Details? Devil May Care? I sure didn't.

I stood upstairs where I could pretend to be someone's parent = one of things in that post that makes me go <3

indie anthropologists of the distant future should note that that's a heart

i love music

kill me now

Seems to me VW use afropop like Kid Creole used funk

That's an interesting point. But I think Kid Creole was much more convincing as club music, as a creature of rhythm. That's why I find him more interesting. Then again, I like grooves.

a reason why people might dislike this band is a perceived lack of emotional depth...i.e. the entire album has no sense of pain or struggle, lust or intrigue.

this is a very reasonable response for anyone who doesn't know how to read or understand lyrics

this is some of the worst music ive ever heard.

lol, awesome

a reason why people might dislike this band is a perceived lack of emotional depth...i.e. the entire album has no sense of pain or struggle, lust or intrigue.

this is a very reasonable response for anyone who doesn't know how to read or understand lyrics

ad hoc attacks are cool for people who can't think of anything interesting to say

explain to me to emotional depth of vampire weekend.

learn to read :D

they are way more rusted root than dave matthews

yr a couple months behind me there

*sigh*

there's no debating a vampire weekend fan.

gabbneb was into rusted root before it was cool

they are a little rusted root, a little but .moe

*bit

gabbneb was into rusted root before it was cool

sad but true

fred durst has "emotional depth." so does staind. also, nickelback.

i'll have to refrain from reading this thread or else i will hate this band

oh wait...too late

TS: this vs. the 2008 primaries thread on ILE

http://www.celebrityvalues.com/images/eddie_vedder_295.jpg

It seems perfectly valid to find thing lacking in blood or fire -- I'd disagree with Gabbneb and say that extends to the lyrics, too. They're not a bloody or a fiery group, it's true. (Blood and fire leave stains on blazers.) I suppose I get my blood and fire elsewhere, and come to this for rather different reasons, ranging from sedate joy to less-sedate elan, or something. Given the winter release, it's almost escapist; when spring comes it'll be less so.

But another thing I find interesting about it is that it accidentally winds up confronting what constitutes "blood" and "fire" -- e.g., does eschewing distortion and less-controlled sounds really mean a lack of blood and fire? Not doing these things is a lot of what makes them sound a little different from some of their immediate peers. I don't think they're bloody or fiery in the least, it's true; is part of my interest the fact that they run with that, unselfconsciously, without using the standard musical signifiers that might suggest it to people? This is kind of where the "refreshing" part comes from.

does anyone remember Macha? -- their indie/world music thing seemed a little more interesting to me

-- M@tt He1ges0n, Wednesday, January 30, 2008 3:17 PM (37 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

Oh yeah. I saw them live once. "The Nipple Gong" ruled.

Vampire Weekend is music for chicks that work at Urban Outfitters.