January 25, 2008

Vampire Weekend Perform In Other Music, Sound Like Other Bands

The Other Music live video series continues here with Vampire Weekend, capturing the kids performing "Mansard Roof" and "A-Punk" and talking about, like, being in a band and listening to music and stuff. This is the same set we wiped the early-AM fatigue out of our eyes for during CMJ; we remembered Ezra's guitar being locked into the groove better, but then, it was only 10:30AM and we were still two hours from our first Sparks on the day.

Inquiring about the guys' first concerts attended and CDs purchased is obviously a good angle for an interviewer from a record store like Other Music, but we imagine Will Hermes of SPIN's curiosity was extraspecially piqued by those confessions, 'cause they speak directly to his take on the band: In a four-star lead review, Hermes makes note of VW's blogger-approved "shiny, staccato, reverbe-free African-style guiar lines," and believes Ezra Koenig "clearly has a few iPods' worth of rock history in his head." To wit, here's where SPIN thinks VW cops their sounds:

"A-Punk" sounds like English Beat
"The Kids Don't Stand A Chance" sounds like The Police
"Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" sounds like Paul Simon's Graceland
"One (Blake's Got A New Face)" sounds like Phish "playing new wave"
"Campus" sounds like The Strokes

Pretty much the approach we just took to our review of Apes & Androids, so we ain't gonna knock it. Instead, we'll just say: Will, friend, you would have come off as a seriously prescient pundit had you said the whole thing sounded like the Batman Forever soundtrack. Instead, you just sound like us.

Posted at 5:33 PM in Video
Tags: Vampire Weekend

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25 Comments

the title of this post is maybe one of four statements from SG that have actually been clever. thanks.

Posted by: jet at 01/25/08 7:18 PM | Reply
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@jet
umm, thank you?

Posted by: amrit at 01/25/08 7:37 PM | Reply
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Is it just me, or does Vampire Weekend sound a lot like a hipper (hipster?) Bedouin Soundclash? I don't know...

Posted by: Thierry at 01/25/08 8:57 PM | Reply
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this band is just boring

Posted by: Jacket at 01/25/08 10:45 PM | Reply
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Boring? I'm afraid that I'll have to disagree. Only a few more days till the album's in stores!

Posted by: Aari at 01/26/08 1:22 AM | Reply
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people don't go to stores to buy albums anymore.

Posted by: duh at 01/26/08 2:01 AM | Reply
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Are you really comparing your writing to that of a SPIN journalist? That's kinda funny, Stereogum.

Posted by: Andrew at 01/26/08 1:04 PM | Reply
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I've heard quite enough about Vampire Weekend for about the next year, thank you.

Posted by: Johnnyboy at 01/26/08 3:10 PM | Reply
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couldn't they find a keyboard player that plays in time?

Posted by: erik at 01/26/08 3:45 PM | Reply
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I always they sound like an american Razorlight

Posted by: OOOOOKKL at 01/26/08 6:31 PM | Reply
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sorry about the missing words and bad grammar.

Posted by: OOOOOKKL at 01/26/08 6:32 PM | Reply
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this is post is spot on. though you could start an entire syndicate of blogs focused purely on this topic.

Posted by: modestmerlin at 01/26/08 6:46 PM | Reply
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this post IS spot on. though you could start an entire syndicate of blogs focused purely on this topic. (another grammar correction, sorry!)

Posted by: modestmerlin at 01/26/08 6:51 PM | Reply
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They're called off-beats, Erik. Rostam has no problems playing in time; he was a music major... You learn that sort of stuff when you're about nine.

Posted by: Breanna at 01/26/08 7:17 PM | Reply
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I need more early 60's bohemian attitude and collared shirts in my monitors, please.

Posted by: lordofendsville at 01/26/08 8:00 PM | Reply
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vampire weekend = they might be giants

Posted by: w at 01/27/08 4:50 AM | Reply
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@w
they might be giants? are you retarded?

Posted by: the.audio.phile at 01/27/08 5:15 PM | Reply
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this stuff kind of reminds of that dude sondre lerche or whatever his name is. i dont really see the deal with the hype? i saw em open for collective and they were a lot of fun, but why such a craze?

Posted by: J at 01/27/08 11:10 PM | Reply
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I'm kinda' confused about all the craze, too, but I do like the songs I've heard. Why bash a band for having a lot of fans or ascending too rapidly? Just enjoy the music.

Posted by: Chris S. at 01/28/08 3:07 AM | Reply
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P.S. That last comment was not aimed at anyone posting here. Just elitists and the internet in general.

Posted by: Chris S. at 01/28/08 3:08 AM | Reply
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How awful. There's nothing REMOTELY African about these guys. Look at those cuffed jeans and boat shoes.

Posted by: Patrick at 01/28/08 10:45 AM | Reply
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patrick, you've obviously never been to africa. the borrow from african music styles. just not on these two songs. they picked the most "indie" songs for other music.

chris, they are so hyped up because anything remotely different these days steregum thinks is the greatest movement ever. apparently, it's being clean cut now.

j, mansard roof sounds like sondre lerche and they both sound like cole porter.

Posted by: the voice of reason at 01/28/08 9:14 PM | Reply
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Voice of Reason

Um...I'm 100% Ugandan and I've been to Africa five times.I have a collection of African music ranging from Belgian field recordings from Congo to the most absurd Kenyan hip-hop.

Posted by: patrick at 01/30/08 11:15 PM | Reply
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i didn't know it was a bad thing for a band to be influenced and compared...all that i know is they are catchy and that's what matters.

Posted by: j fresh at 01/31/08 1:24 PM | Reply
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SG is doing a piss poor job of executing this VW backlash campaign.

Posted by: bryant at 02/01/08 3:37 PM | Reply
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