Here Are 25 Punk Covers Of Vampire Weekend’s “2021”
Almost two years ago, Vampire Weekend introduced their long-awaited fourth album Father Of The Bride with not one, but two, new songs. One of those was the instant classic VW track “Harmony Hall,” and one was something smaller, more casual. It was called “2021,” which somehow feels very innocent now that we know how 2020 turned out.
“2021, will you think about me?” Those were some of the only lyrics on the brief, simple song, but it primed “2021” for a whole bunch of social media references as we finally exited 2020 last week. It also, apparently, prompted a whole collection of punk interpretations of the song: Sam Sutherland and Josiah Hughes’ 155 podcast curated 25 different renditions of “2021,” each by a different artist.
“155 is a podcast about ‘punk” songs,'” they said in a comment accompanying the collection. “But we can turn any song into a ‘punk’ song if we feel like it. Here are some ‘punk’ versions of Vampire Weekend’s ‘2021.’ Happy New Year!”
Given that “2021” is less than two minutes and sort of an interstitial-style song, the new 2021 comp breezes on by — some of the bands racing through their versions in less than half the time Vampire Weekend took for their own. You can check the whole thing out — and revisit VW’s original — below.