Andrew's #4 - "Giving Up the Gun" by Vampire Weekend

"Giving Up the Gun" by Vampire Weekend

Andrew

And now we venture into the portion of my list that is simply harder for me to justify. What can I say? These songs hit me on a level I find difficult to explain.

And believe me, I know that Vampire Weekend is sometimes tough to defend. These be-loafered turds do very little to convince us they are not the privileged North Atlantic shit-sacks they are. They're well-educated, well-trained, and have atrocious taste in clothing but BY HOLY GOD they write tight tunes.

I heard Vampire Weekend's premier album before it was released and saw their Summer Stage performance right as they were becoming especially popular with the kind of 19-year old girl I would have loved when I was 19. They are a fascinating group of lads that have somehow come together to create brilliant pop music. There were some really encouraging tracks on their eponymous debut but nothing with the muscle and flow of "Giving Up the Gun".

The song, incredibly, is a cannibalization of a song from lead singer Ezra Koenig's mediocre college hip-hop group, L'Homme Run. Fortunately, VW's version bulks up the simple melody with cascading synths, insistent percussion, and Chris Baio's prominent bass line.

I find it difficult to describe pop music that really moves me, so I won't. I love this song. I think it's fast, tight, and hot. VW have transcended the African influences they consciously aped on their first album and have gone on to create songs that embody a whole new type of pop music.

Seth

I like Vampire Weekend fine but the argument that a lot of critics make for their being an IMPORTANT BAND seems to me like arguing for the health benefits of Froot Loops. They make tight indie pop songs that are really fun to listen to but don't stick with me in any major way. I also feel like I see a lot of praise for Ezra Koenig as a lyricist (which is funny, since I think he's underrated as a guitarist. Say what you will about VW, these motherfuckers can play!) and outside of a very few examples (this song, "Holiday," and half of "I Think U R a Contra") I don't see him as a great teller of stories or doing much to evoke the human condition outside of someone very similar to himself.

Regardless, "Giving Up the Gun" is a great song and my second favorite from their sophomore album Contra, a record which I like with a mild sense of warmness. "...Gun" is a step forward for the band sonically as it includes more dance-y electronics and a nifty four-on-the-floor stomp absent in much of their earlier, more organic (and derivative) work. Also, it has a very funny video.

Ultimately, I don't get why so many people have such strong feelings about this band, which is why I'm so interested in them even though I don't feel a passionate connection to the music. They're one of the few indie bands to get really big in the past few years to suffer a popular backlash without suffering a critical one. On the one hand, they seem like a sitting duck for the right kind of embittered music critic. They're children of privilege: educated, upper class, (mostly) white guys who could VERY EASILY be accused of musical colonialism and appropriation. (Though, honestly, who gives a fuck when there's ACTUAL COLONIALISM still at play in the world. Nevertheless, such accusations are the backbone of much modern criticism.) For whatever reason, much of the critical establishment has pulled their punches. On the other hand, though, I suspect that most of the people who H-A-T-E Vampire Weekend are similarly affluent white guys who went to prep schools and Ivy League universities and are just upset they didn't get the idea first. I guess where you come down on Vampire Weekend is probably influenced more by your opinion of the petit bourgeosie than your opinion of well-executed indie pop.

On a side note and in response to your observation about how VW is popular with the type of girl you would have loved at 19: that is exactly why I would have hated VW in college. That's the type of girl I would have wanted to make hate me when I was 19 (what can I say, the late teens aren't known for being a time of great self-control or depth of soul). When they blew up I would have insisted--often and at high volume to anyone within earshot--that they were "for teenage girls who don't get the Talking Heads." The fact that it strikes me now as unnecessarily snotty and mean-spirited is, I think, a sign of at least some form of maturity creeping into the corners of my life. Read into this what you will, also viz. my last post re: Kanye.