02.02.08
The band Vampire Weekend have been the latest subject of much hype and equally as much hate. Their music teems with touches of afropop, hints of the caribbean and sometimes even a little swath of what you could swear is reggae. Apparently the source of a lot of the hatred stems from their ivy league educations and privileged upbringings. I guess a lot of rock-n-rollers want to reserve rock for the lower class and keep it close to it’s first cousin, the blues. I personally could care less. I just know what I like.
Yes you can definitely hear a little Police here and a little Paul Simon there on Vampire Weekend’s album, but those are two things I really like and haven’t really heard any newer bands do well. Vampire Weekend does it very well. Their music is highly composed, and it is refreshing to hear percussion treated as more than a time and tempo keeping device. There is good fodder for the lyric lovers in their music as well and some of those lyrics are what have inspired some of the indy versus ivy backlash. The haters will hate, however and there is little anyone can do about that. In my opinion, it doesn’t stop their album from being something I really enjoy listening to and will continue to do so. I honestly haven’t enjoyed an album this much since Spoon’s latest release. If you are not convinced or have some reservations about my taste in music, you can have a listen to some of their latest tunes at their MySpace page and decide for yourself. Love or hate.
written by Christopher | tags: Indy Rock, Vampire Weekend
