Friday, July 18, 2008

Vampire Weekend or The Cure?

Why are Vampire Weekend "dressing up" like The Cure? Stereogum has your answer. (Thanks Sofia)
Posted by Craig at 1:46 PM

35 comments:

  1. RandyJuly 18, 2008 at 1:53 PM

    the whole vampire weekend thingy went right past me. i finally listened to a couple songs and thought they were terrible.

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  2. sofiaJuly 18, 2008 at 1:57 PM

    i liked them better the first time around when they were called haircut 100.

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  3. RandyJuly 18, 2008 at 2:17 PM

    lol- nice, sofia.

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  4. caterpillargirl2July 18, 2008 at 2:20 PM

    Never heard of them.

    I have heard of Haircut 100 though.

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  5. AnonymousJuly 18, 2008 at 2:36 PM

    Those ungrateful bastards didn't even mention The Cure. John Hughes? I don't think John Hughes has ever referred to The Cure or had such elements.

    I think Vampire Weekend is over-rated and I dislike the more Ska-ish, African-ish stuff, but their album has 6 pretty good songs.
    Try this one out, monkeybutt:
    Oxford Comma:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpcHRgUx8mU (pretty great performance!)

    This one sounds a little Cure-ish:
    "I Stand Corrected":
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ9o5A1CalA

    This pitchfork online video has 3 full acoustic performances of good songs, too:
    http://www.pitchfork.tv/special-presentation/vampire-weekend-secret-session-columbia-university

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  6. Clockwise CatJuly 18, 2008 at 2:36 PM

    anyone who calls themselves vampire weekend deserves to be impaled in the gut.

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  7. AnonymousJuly 18, 2008 at 2:37 PM

    Oh, yeah, much as I wanted to dislike the band, I ended up buying the album.

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  8. CraigJuly 18, 2008 at 2:39 PM

    I love their name. : P Not so sure about the band.

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  9. CraigJuly 18, 2008 at 2:41 PM

    And I loved Haircut 100!
    Ok, I only really knew Love + 1, but still...

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  10. Jerry DJuly 18, 2008 at 2:57 PM

    Speaking of Haircut 100, Nick Heyward's solo single "Kite" is still one of my absolute favorite tunes!

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  11. RandyJuly 18, 2008 at 3:00 PM

    hi muld. thanks for the links.

    re: 'oxford comma,' i'll stick with haircut 100, actually, as sofia pointed out. and, to a lesser, but still obvious, extent early weezer. i think the band is sincere, but i'm too old to be able to enjoy this again as something original. it is nice to hear a band celebrate their influences, though eventually they have to find their own identity or they're just a great cover band.

    re: 'i stand corrected.' i like this song a little bit more. it doesn't demonstrate the 'we're so cool and cute' factor that OC does. and i like the faux (or real?) strings.

    in general, though, if i want to freak out and a have a john hughes weekend with a newer band (instead of just listening to my 'some kind of wonderful' soundtrack), i'm going to put on 'saturdays = youth' by M83.

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  12. AnonymousJuly 18, 2008 at 3:07 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. sofiaJuly 18, 2008 at 3:08 PM

    um i hate bands whose names are incongruous with their music.

    vampire. weekend.

    it's just a pet peeve of mine.
    theyre actually one of those bands i hate more for being hipster's darlings more than their actual music. one must have SOME standard, musn't one?

    jerry, "kite" is fucking excellent.

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  14. Jerry DJuly 18, 2008 at 3:14 PM

    Sofia, Tio Jerry will never let you down! ;-) I dunno something about that song that just makes me smile...

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  15. crawleyJuly 18, 2008 at 3:15 PM

    young blow it's not bad...i think

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  16. RandyJuly 18, 2008 at 3:22 PM

    jerry, my favorite song on that nick heyward album is 'caravan.' great tune, that.

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  17. cure_kittyJuly 18, 2008 at 3:25 PM

    cat has got it right!

    I'm not impressed by the band.

    But I love Haircut 100 & Nick Heyward! :)

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  18. AnonymousJuly 18, 2008 at 3:26 PM

    That's cool, monkeybutt. I'm completely unfamiliar with Haircut 100, except there was some VH1 program that tried to get the band back together.

    The pitchfork clips are really good, and I think their strongest element is the extra instrumentalization -- the synths and strings and stuff. The guy who does that (I think he has a Dutch name) seems to be really in charge and produces the band.

    Vampire Weekend (I'm on the opposite of this one, Craig because I hate the name almost as much as "The Killers") is from some film the singer made on his own in undergrad about some horror story sillyness.

    The band formed at Columbia University and the members all seem from rich backgrounds, so they're usually very preppy-looking, but, as far as I can tell, aren't trying to be the biggest thing in the world or anything. They also seem comfortable admitting they're from privileged backgrounds. There's nothing worse than the preppies I went to university with who tried to act badass and slumming it with their shockingly rude behavior and expensive cars.

    Joefrog and sofia, I think the goth look for this song (which is supposed to be ironic or something. Personally, I don't get John Hughes films; I think they were popular with my big brother, but they're so archetypical (nerd, prom queen, jock) and melodramatic. However, I didn't really grow up enjoying them; I was too young to even understand the "Breakfast Club" when my brother rented it. I just knew Judd Nelson as the voice of Rodimus Prime in The Transformers movie! :)

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  19. Clockwise CatJuly 18, 2008 at 3:27 PM

    politik is violence

    anyone else like REAL music like manu chao? ;-)

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  20. RandyJuly 18, 2008 at 3:31 PM

    i don't know about manu chao, but I'M the king of bongo bong.

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  21. sofiaJuly 18, 2008 at 3:39 PM

    y me gusta marihuana, me gustas tu.

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  22. Clockwise CatJuly 18, 2008 at 3:40 PM

    oh cool! i am glad ya'll like him or at least know him. i LOVE him! do you have his latest? it's great!

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  23. AnonymousJuly 18, 2008 at 3:42 PM

    Monkeybutt, I hope you took no offense when I criticized John Hughes films; I just re-read your post about listening to a John Hughes soundtrack. I was more reacting to the article's reference.

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  24. RandyJuly 18, 2008 at 3:44 PM

    god no, muldfeld, no offense at all.

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  25. RandyJuly 18, 2008 at 3:45 PM

    cat, haven't heard the latest one from MC, but it's on 'the list' of music to get.

    you know, that list that gets longer every second?

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  26. sofiaJuly 18, 2008 at 3:46 PM

    cat, haven't heard the new one but i appreciate his stuff. i like when people make multiethnic music (NOT vampire weekend).

    and i would put the mars volta in there who, against all personal conventional judgement, i adore.

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  27. Jerry DJuly 18, 2008 at 3:47 PM

    I love the reference of John Hughes films in the movie Dogma from Jay & Silent Bob:

    "Jay: See, all these movies take place in a town called Shermer, in Illinois. And there's all this fine bush running around, and we could kick all the dude's asses because they're all whiney pussies. Except Judd Nelson - he was harsh. But best of all, there was no one selling weed. So I says to Silent Bob "Man, we could live phat if we were the blunt-connection in Shermer, Illinois!" So we collected some cash we were owed, and caught a bus. But when we got here, you know what we found out? There is no Shermer in Illinois. What kind of shit is that?! Fucking movies are bullshit!"

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  28. Clockwise CatJuly 18, 2008 at 4:30 PM

    mc newest is great stuff; do indulge yourselves, mb and sofia. mb, i know what you mean about that list getting lengthier by the second.

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  29. AnahJuly 18, 2008 at 4:42 PM

    This band annoys me.

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  30. comicsnstoriesJuly 18, 2008 at 4:46 PM

    WHAM? I always thought they sounded like Graceland era Paul Simon. Which is also terrible.

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  31. sugar*girlJuly 18, 2008 at 4:52 PM

    Agree on the Paul Simon comparison..lol and I though I was alone in my thougts on that :)

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  32. AnonymousJuly 20, 2008 at 4:08 PM

    Pretty funny, Jerry D. Although I can't stand Kevin Smith, he is a MASSIVE Battlestar Galactica fan and I do find Jay and Silent Bob enjoyable. Vulgar and silly, but enjoyable. I'd much rather watch them than another Ben Stiller or Adam Sandler film; I can't believe Stiller and Sandler became multi-millionaires doing the same stuff every damn film!

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  33. AnonymousJuly 20, 2008 at 4:16 PM

    Okay, one last chance at Vampire Weekend. This is the non-African ska-like stuff that sounds great. Also, it's only their first album. They're over-rated but have a nice sense of melody and don't try to act like obnoxious rock stars:

    Walcott:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAHySDD67UY

    M79:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IgT9UruWe8

    Oxford Comma (official video):
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_i1xk07o4g

    "I Stand Corrected":
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ9o5A1CalA

    "The Kids Don't Stand a Chance (French TV):
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSa23oJy78U

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  34. AnonymousJuly 21, 2008 at 1:43 AM

    "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance" (album version):
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzMU06_17qM

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  35. MarieJuly 21, 2008 at 8:19 AM

    ... jumping someone else's train

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