Vampire Weekend; Arctic Monkeys of 2008?

It might provide a cheaper substitute for oil.

guys, even his wife agreed

discovering that a band is eye-gougingly irritating

I wish they were at least mildly irritating. At best, they're as exciting as that wet piece of Wonder Bread I saw on the sidewalk this morning. And the Wonder Bread held my attention longer.

its exciting to learn that gabbneb enjoys a type of music.

No numbers for VW, which may get a boost from the Saturday Night Live appearance

While watching them play "M79" on SNL (I missed the first song), I surmised that they're more likely to get an SNL boost than 90% of the bands that have been on the show in the last 10 years. Overhyped in blogger circles, sure, but this was probably the first time thousands of people had heard of them.

i have watched the snl clips - guy does a weird thing w/his eyes

I was a little surprised at them picking "M79" for the second song, I was thinking that something like "Campus" or "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance" would have been a better choice.

They got to show off the string quartet, though.

I have no idea what that last sentence is supposed to mean.

-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, March 10, 2008 10:58 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

just that there hasn't been as perfect a band for both the rock populi and social critics to centralize their hate around for a long time. vw's timing is perfect. they're like the knack for a new millenium.

and to preempt further miscategorization, what irritated me about them wasn't that they were having fun. I like fun, I like seeing people having fun. one of my favorite records is unrest's perfect teeth fer crissakes. and the ivory tower privilege shit doesn't bug me -- note that I am ilm's resident joanna newsom apologist. but there's a smugness and sense of entitlement that comes off vampire weekend like a heat mirage (and that was my perception before I, god help me, read this entire thread).

people can try to reduce this to "they just made a poppy record that people like to dance to" but the bonfire of the vanities stuff these guys trade in is just too delicious to ignore. I'm glad they're around, they make recent flash-in-the-pan whipping dogs like arcade fire and the strokes look positively unassailable.

Right, because ILM hates money.

I have no idea what that last sentence is supposed to mean.

flash-in-the-pan whipping dogs like arcade fire and the strokes

i wouldn't exactly call these bands flash in the pan nor would i assume that vw are gonna have a more successful career than either. i mean af sold almost 100,000 copies in its first week, which i guess vw could and probably will do, but still.

They got to show off the string quartet, though.

Right, I just don't think that songs plays to their strengths.

a flash in the pan whipping dog must be a scary sight on a dark evening, even for a mixed metaphor.

mixed metaphors are my stock-in-trade mise-en-place!

As a friend who got dumped last week but has already gone on a couple of dates since then said, "There's plenty of fish in the barrel."

Bonfire of the Vanities! Good effort.

I imagine they did M79 - which I discounted a bit because it's my favorite - in part because they're (or Rostam is) proud of it. And also because it's probably their best poster-child for fuck you, we don't care about rocking as hard as you think we should.

Also, chaki, I will attend your pep rally if it's that important to you. I may even bring pom-poms.

anyway I like the arcade fire and strokes, calling them "flash-in-the-pan whipping dogs" speaks more to their status as backlash contenders than to my actual opinions on them.

"there's plenty of fish in the barrel" is zenlike confusion.

Bonfire of the Vanities! Good effort.

here is the point where I observe that even their fans are condescending... this is like shooting fish in the sea.

I'm just picking on you.

you only do it because you hate fun

probably their best poster-child for fuck you, we don't care about rocking as hard as you think we should.

So...are they saying, "Fuck you, we won't rock hard", or "Fuck you, look how hard we're rocking"? The latter would be kind of interesting (in the way that watching a dog walk on its hind legs is interesting), but the former is pretty funny too.

I think they should tour with Northern State.

Northern State is also up there for "most god awful group on earth". It's like a bunch of 33 year old moms thought it would be so CUTE and HILARIOUS to be like, one of those hip-hoppers.

They should totally tour with Northern State!

Modus Operandi: Strong Island-bred Hesta Prynn, Guinea Love and Sprout put the sub-bass in suburbia with old school hip-hop you haven't heard for way too long. Politically charged and socially aware, these are the highly skilled lady MCs you've been reading so much about, so now it's time to hear them.

In Their Own Words: "We're presenting an alternative so that young women will feel that to be in this industry you don't have to take off your clothes and have sex with rappers." -Hesta Prynn, vocals

Not that I have a crush on Spero or anything

The thing is, it doesn't matter that these kids aren't rich industry babies like The Strokes, the fact is they're worse than The Strokes, because they have the unmitigated gaul to reject the low drone of the proletariat.

http://embedded.eecs.berkeley.edu/Alumni/mehrotra/images/asterix.jpg

^^^
unmitigated gaul

They should cover some Liberaci

Burt is so CUTE and HILARIOUS

Vampire Weekend are flash-in-the-pan capitalist running dogs

One's perfectly valid subjective impressions are one's own perfectly valid subjective impressions, but when I see people write things like "I saw this band play a song about a bus on TV and I got an overwhelming sense of their smug entitlement," I cannot help but conclude that some small level of projection is going on.

I should phrase this as a question, though: is the feeling that they should act more serious, or look like they're trying harder?

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/03/vampire_weekends_snl_appearance.html

a lot of hype. more like VW = TV on the Radio

nabisco, I assume you mean projection not in the freudian sense, but in the sense of seeing something that isn't there? one person's smug is another person's self-confidence perhaps?

I'm not suggeting the band should be more serious or look like they're trying harder. the latter's a weird one... who thinks a band should look like they're trying?

I don't have the stomach to go back and rewatch their performance, but if a band's wide-eyed exuberance isn't contagious and/or convincing they are going to appear misguided at the least. maybe it *was* the sweaters.

one person's smug is another person's self-confidence perhaps?

normally i'd agree, but what struck me about their snl performance was that it wasn't the least bit self-confident. they appeared deeply frightened, and tremendously smug. i have to say, i've never seen anyone pull that off before.

U-Haul OTM right down to the "band is pretty good and brings out the doctrinaire rockist in their detractors"

OTOH I really like Hurting 2's suggestion that people bring Chairman Mao outta mothballs to really teach those privileged VW dudes a lesson or two about what's real

I wonder if the people who dislike VW for their socioeconomic posturing have the same feeling towards a filmmaker like Wes Anderson, who also tells stories from the perspective of the young and privileged.

film is a way different medium, with way different memes than rock. there weren't old blues directors and screen play writers crafting stories about being hopelessly broke. and then there's the whole punk rock thing and its roots in socialist situationist propaganda. that's what i think rubs people the wrong way. plus a lot of indie rock seems based on resentment about and making fun of success. plus maybe vw suck. haven't heard them

I hope I'm making clear that I don't dislike them BECAUSE they're privileged and making rock music. I more just feel like they lack guts, and that I not only feel that in the music, but in the way they present this sort of confused, uncertain picture of themselves by getting on stage in clothing that looks preppie but isn't especially nice or stylish.

I liked Darjeeling Limited, and that film obviously had a lot to do with privilege. I thought it made astute class observations without seeming snipey or hypercritical or didactic. It's partly about luxury and freedom softening the edges of grief without getting to the heart of it.

film is a way different medium, with way different memes than rock

I think I kind of see what you're getting at. Rock music came out of popular forms that arose from the less privileged segments of society, and its early stars were people who faced racial as well as economic prejudice - Chuck Berry, Elvis (the son of a truck driver), and so forth. Like blues, folk, R&B, gospel and country, forms that influenced and shaped it, it has roots in a salt-of-the-earth ideal of authenticity, one that finds nobility and honesty in suffering and poverty and the plight of the common man.

It's been kind of a dirty little secret of rock music since its early years that many of its most popular and famous artists have come from more advantaged backgrounds, but it's considered de rigeur for these stars to downplay if not conceal their origins and affect a more common touch. (There are countless examples: Mick Jagger came from a middle-class British background, but affected a Southern American accent and sung tales of a more louche and declasse experience; Bob Dylan came from a middle-class Minnesota background, but in his early days often spun tall tales about his background, to portray a much earthier and less privileged past). All this is quite different from the milieu and image of Hollywood, whose stars have always aspired to a kind of faux-aristocratic hauteur.

Way different memes, maaaan

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:A15TBoamUP-HAM:http://vbcroadrunners.com/db2/00171/vbcroadrunners.com/_uimages/Roadrunner2.jpg
"meme!"

vampire weekend could look better. the polo shirts they wear could be slightly more crisp and have more vibrant colors. i also find myself very disappointed by the way their jeans fit too. they're cut too long, thus causing the legs to bunch up near the ankle. it's like they're not even trying. because of this, i question their music

Hurting thinks they lack guts

They're obviously just going with the music-blogger flow

I wonder if the people who dislike VW for their socioeconomic posturing have the same feeling towards a filmmaker like Wes Anderson, who also tells stories from the perspective of the young and privileged.

-- o. nate, Wednesday, 12 March 2008 14:58 (45 minutes ago) Link

wes anderson's career is a pattern of diminishing returns for me. but I like shakespeare, whit stillman, and kieslowski's blue, so I don't think privilege-hatin' is my problem.

lawrence the looter makes an interesting observation about the disconnect in vampire weekend's delivery.

in the interest of science I tried to listen to their cdr yesterday but could only get through 2 songs. no repulsion, just disinterest. maybe I should hear the cd?