Vampire Weekend

Thanks 青梅 for introducing them to me. :)

Song of the Day: Vampire Weekend - Mansard Roof (Live @ KEXP)

Vampire Hunter Weekend: The Movie

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Afternoon Show host Kevin Cole, is Vampire Weekend’s Mansard Roof, which appears on their 2007 self-released demo, Vampire Weekend, sometimes known as the Blue CD-R. This version was recorded live in the KEXP studio on 7/22/07.

Vampire Weekend - Mansard Roof [Live @ KEXP] (MP3)

Last week, we featured Vampire Weekend and the other bands that will be performing at the upcoming John in the Morning at Night series. Well, we couldn’t help featuring this band once again. Their infectious blend of afrobeat, punk, and ska, yes ska, has been running rampant through our ears for the past several months.

Did you know that “Vampire Weekend” is actually the name of a movie guitarist and vocalist Ezra Koenig began working on while in college? During an interview with Fader, Koenig reveals, “It was about a guy, that I played, called Walcott whose dad gets killed by vampires because vampires take over his country. His dad’s dying words were, ‘you have to go to Cape Cod to tell the mayor that vampires are taking over your country and you have to kill ‘em all,’” adding, “It’s still the second thing that pops up when you google ‘Vampire Weekend.’” Sounds like he was pulling their leg, right? He wasn’t. Here’s the trailer:

Vampire Weekend Trailer from ezra on Vimeo

In case you missed our past coverage of this quartet of Columbia grads, check them out here and here. Also, listen to the entire in-studio session this song was taken from by subscribing to our live performance podcast. Vampire Weekend is about to venture out briefly with Dirty Projectors and Yacht. Check the band’s MySpace page to see if you’re within driving distance of one of those shows. Seattle-ites, if you haven’t already, mark your calendars for 9/22 as Vampire Weekend shares the stage during the John in the Morning at Night even with Maps, Jamie T., Das Llamas, and Joy Wants Eternity, all taking place at the Crocodile and all proceeds benefiting KEXP.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 17th, 2007 at 7:58 am and is filed under KEXP, Song of the Day Podcast. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Oxford Comma

About the band

from wikipedia

Vampire Weekend gained attention via a variety of blogs, such as Stereogum. The band is influenced by both African popular music and Western classical music, describing their genre of music as "Upper West Side Soweto", performing such songs as "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", and "Oxford Comma", which references Congolese soukous music.

The members of the band met while attending Columbia University; they then self-produced their first album after graduation while concurrently working full-time jobs. Lead vocalist Ezra Koenig and drummer Chris Tomson first collaborated as members of the comedy-rap band "L'Homme Run".

In 2007, Vampire Weekend's song, "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa", was ranked 67th on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of the year. In November 2007, they toured the United Kingdom with The Shins. They were declared "The Year's Best New Band" by Spin magazine in the March 2008 issue, and were the first band to be shot for the cover of the magazine before releasing their debut album.