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Who Gives A Fuck About
Vampire Weekend

But, most have agreed upon one thing: VW have crafted one of the most addictive and enjoyable debut albums in years. In the arctic chills of February, the disc is a tremendously tropical getaway soaked in Manhattan mambo, white boy reggae and an African dashiki-wearing, soukous-spitting Steve Miller rocking on a yacht named Graceland (those Paul Simon comparisons won’t cease!).

On the verge of exploding into stardom and gearing for an upcoming gig in Ann Arbor, RDW chatted with Koenig about hype, Africa, Cape Cod, Columbia, Lil Jon and the Oxford comma.

I think rock music is going through a transition, from the Interpol-inspired Joy Division revivals to a refreshing, colorful and more rhythm based sound that, along with bands like The White Rabbits, Vampire Weekend is on the forefront of.

I think we’re getting a reaction from kids that grew up with certain styles that people were playing that were boring or cliché. People naturally wanna make music that reflects what they’re listening to and for most people it’s a lot more than just a few years of post-punk.

In Pitchfork’s review of the record, the writer made comparisons to The Strokes. Any thoughts on that?
It’s funny, I really like The Strokes, and one thing that I do think that’s true that they talk about in the Pitchfork review, they’re the kind of band that people had a lot of strikes against and people were annoyed. But, the truth is, I thought that they were so undeniably good at writing songs. I think we sound very little like The Strokes. It’s probably just wanting to substitute things from New York; people want to compare you to New York bands.

Right, and I think in terms of hype, the Arctic Monkeys are probably a better comparison, especially considering the Internet driven word of mouth. How did the band handle the immense buzz?
I think we just kinda focused on finishing our album and making sure it was exactly how we wanted it to be and we didn’t really let it affect us too much. I definitely think that’s worked out for us. People that are fans and listen to the music aren’t concerned about hype and backlash, that’s more from a media perspective.

I’ve noticed that printed on the album sleeve is “Under exclusive license to XL Recordings,” does VW have a special contract?
It’s different than some people — in a traditional record deal, they usually own your recordings forever, whereas in our deal it was important for the recordings to eventually revert back to us.

What did you take from your time in the band The Dirty Projectors?
A lot of things. It was my first experience touring in a band. Since then, Dave (Longstreth) has become a friend and I relate a lot to the way he thinks about music. He taught me a lot about music and I find it very interesting to talk with him about it, like certain ways of playing and from talking to Dave. I’ve definitely got more interested in African music, which is important to our band.

Have any of you guys ever been to Africa?
No.

How do you guys capture that aesthetic as New Yorkers?
I guess we just try and make it happen wherever we are. We’ve had really good experiences playing our music in cold places. We played a show in Salt Lake City and it was snowing outside, it’s always nice to play outside when it’s warm but sometimes the opposite can be just as fun.

With the role that African music plays in the band, do you have the urge to pull a Bono and become an activist?
It’s very important for me; I would like to do things in my life besides pop music that maybe would benefit people in a more obvious way. And yeah, I’m very interested in current events and politics and reading up on the political situations in Africa. Our music reflects our love of African music, but it doesn’t seem to be the appropriate venue to talk about African politics or issues. Sometimes it really isn’t good for anybody to make a heavy-handed political song, ultimately you’re making a worse pop song and you’re not even making the right kind of political statement, so I wouldn’t wanna mix those things up unless I felt like I really knew how.

The album is riddled with references to Cape Cod and it often seems like you’re painting a bittersweet or dark picture of this normally beautiful tourist resort. Am I off? Did you spend time there?
I did spend time there growing up, usually in the summer; I haven’t been there in a long time. I’m definitely not anti-Cape Cod in any way, and I think the truth is that some people that write about us, they think Cape Cod represents this very rich resort place. But you could pick much better places, like the Hamptons, if you want to talk about where rich people live. Cape Cod is more diverse than that.

Did you ever have Charles Tilly as a professor?
No.

He gave a very dull speech at my graduation. How were the professors at Columbia?
There’s so many … but I loved a lot of my professors, definitely a lot of really interesting people

Did you guys roam the school’s underground tunnels — the ones that aren’t closed off, anyway?
Well, a lot of them are closed up; you can take a tour of them. I’ve been in some of them, but it would be nice if they were all functional. There are some buildings that don’t have tunnels but are connected which are nice, especially in the winter.

A lot has been written in the press about VW’s supposed “Ivy League preppiness,” and songs like “Mansard Roof,” and “Campus” are direct references to your time at Columbia, but, in reality, how was the Ivy League?
Well, I think there’s nothing that I experienced that’s explicably Ivy League. I think it’s basically like most people in college; it’s about meeting people and having the time to think about things. Certainly being in New York and being into music, you like to be able to do shows and have access to a lot of different music, but when I think about college, I think about not really doing that much and getting to relax and get engaged with what you’re interested in.

The band name originates from the amateur film you worked on one summer. The trailer is on YouTube, but will it ever be released?
It’s unlikely. Maybe I can start it from scratch one day.

Do you have any favorite films?
I’ve always been into Japanese films and movies from the black and white era. Repo Man is a favorite movie by the director Alex Cox.

Are you a Lil Jon fan?
Lil Jon, he’s not my favorite, but I do find he’s an interesting personality and definitely a very intelligent producer.

What rappers are your favorites? Jay-Z? Nas? New York or The Dirty South?
I definitely like all those guys. Jay-Z’s definitely a favorite, one of my favorite artists is like Native Tongues stuff, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, Q-Tip is definitely one of my favorite rappers. Mainstream rap, I never … rap that people call indie underground rap, I never got into that, because it tends to be more labored, but it’s got nothing to do with intelligence or seriousness, because I think Jay-Z is incredibly intelligent, it has more to do with the vibe. In my lyrics, I take more inspiration from the Tribe Called Quest-type rappers.

How was your time as an eighth-grade teacher in Brooklyn and would you ever return to the classroom?
Yeah, I would consider it, certainly not against it; it was a very difficult experience, partially because it was my first full-time job. I really liked the kids more than anything, but teaching’s a very tough job and I think I have a lot more to learn as a teacher.

What made you choose “Oxford Comma” over “Harvard Comma?”
I guess when I first heard about it, I heard it being called an Oxford comma and I found that more attractive, too.

I can relate to “Who gives a fuck about an Oxford comma,” because I’ve had editors tell me not to use one, but I’ve told them it’s second nature for me to use it because I was taught to.
I wouldn’t tell you to do that. Ultimately, it’s a little arbitrary, but there’s times when it’s helpful.  

So, as an English teacher and also a musician, does worrying about an “Oxford Comma” seem arbitrary?
Yeah, I have mixed feelings about it because having been a teacher, when you’re trying to get kids to follow certain rules you start to question, “What’s the point?” But in America, to succeed, you do need to know a certain set of rules, even if they’re totally made up, 'cause English is a pretty bizarre language. But it is important to know how to speak a certain way, even if it’s not fair. When it comes to artistic merit or expression, those things are less important and it’s totally complicated.  | RDW
Vampire Weekend • 2/12 • Blind Pig

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