Why Vampire Weekend found ‘fifth-album energy’ in ‘Seinfeld’ and the Beastie Boys
As a long-time music enthusiast who has seen countless bands come and go, I must say that Vampire Weekend stands out as a truly unique and captivating group. Their latest album showcases a raw sound that harks back to their roots in a period building, much like some West Hollywood condos are not. Yet, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that this is no ordinary band.
The members of Vampire Weekend are very good at this.
On a recent afternoon, the band members – Ezra Koenig (frontman), Chris Baio (bassist) and Chris Tomson (drummer) – got together for a chat about their fifth album titled “Only God Was Above Us.” They decided to play a fun game where they’d try recalling LP No. 5 from six well-known bands off the top of their heads.
5 out of 6 choices are accurate: U2 (“The Joshua Tree”), Kanye West (“My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy”), Bruce Springsteen (“The River”), Bob Dylan (“Bringing It All Back Home”) and Coldplay (“Mylo Xyloto”). However, they incorrectly identify Madonna’s fifth album initially as “Like a Prayer” but quickly correct themselves to “Erotica”. Despite this one mistake, their argument remains quite convincing.
According to Koenig, she transitions into being known as Madonna during the initial three albums, and ‘Like a Prayer’ further cements this identity. However, he questions if ‘Like a Prayer’, being the fifth album, doesn’t carry more of an energetic impact than what is typically associated with such a transition.
It’s not unexpected that these passionate music enthusiasts would excel in this task, considering that Vampire Weekend, over the past two decades, has interwoven references and homages to pop history into its indie rock tunes, demonstrating a keen interest and deep understanding of music history.
This year’s tour finds the band delivering a medley titled “Cocaine Cowboys,” blending tunes like Vampire Weekend’s “Married in a Gold Rush,” Flying Burrito Brothers’ “Sin City” and “All the Gold in California” by the Gatlin Brothers. For an encore, they entertain audience requests for songs they may not be fully familiar with, such as Steely Dan’s “Peg” and “Rock Lobster” by the B-52’s. Remarkably, they managed to perform these unfamiliar tracks (mostly) successfully at the Hollywood Bowl in June.
They not only understand the creative progression inherent in an artist’s or band’s discography and the narrative it conveys, but according to Koenig, the first three albums focus on creating an identity, the fourth offers an opportunity to explore and “spend a bit of that earned recognition.” The fifth album, he suggests, should be a refined expression of their abilities, demonstrating self-assurance and proof that they know their artistic identity and still have creative energy left.
× At the age of 40, Koenig recalls watching the music video for the Beastie Boys’ “Intergalactic,” which was the lead single from their 1998 album “Hello Nasty.” He believes this fifth album to be a classic. For him, it was unlike anything they had done before, but still felt just right because it was the Beastie Boys. It was as if he said: unique, yet naturally theirs.
The song “Only God Was Above Us” skillfully blends different styles and feels, as is characteristic of the band, demonstrating this in the track “Ice Cream Piano” that transitions smoothly from soft ballads to powerful rock rhythms. Additionally, it exhibits a fresh, gritty sound.
In every album they produce, Thomas Mars of the French band Phoenix contends that they make complexity impossible to resist. Koenig was invited to feature on their song “Tonight” from the 2022 “Alpha Zulu” LP. Their music is incredibly layered and pulls influences from multiple directions, yet it consistently sounds like them – a testament to the essence of true artistic expression.
Over the past couple of years, Phoenix has frequently invited Koenig to perform “Tonight” alongside them onstage, such as during the closing ceremony of the summer Olympics in Paris last year and at the Just Like Heaven festival in Pasadena this May. After their performance of “Tonight”, Koenig remained for Phoenix’s rendition of “1901.” According to Mars, he was improvising on his guitar surrounded by six other musicians, and made the song sound like a blend with Vampire Weekend. This recollection elicits a chuckle from Mars.
Titled similarly to a New York Daily News headline displayed on its cover, “Only God Was Above Us” – potentially earning Vampire Weekend their fourth nomination for alternative music album at the Grammys – weaves together reflections on various cultural icons and political events that influenced the band’s previous residence. Vampire Weekend was established in 2006 among students at New York University, yet Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, and Chris Tomson now reside in Los Angeles. (Interestingly, Koenig’s partner, mother to their 6-year-old son, is actress Rashida Jones. Notably, she was directed by Mars’ wife, Sofia Coppola, for the 2020 film “On the Rocks.”)
Transplanted from New York to Los Angeles, Koenig distinguishes his musical interests from the fact that “Seinfeld,” a series obsessed with New York, was filmed here, and the Beastie Boys created their album “Paul’s Boutique” in L.A., which has a strong New York vibe despite its location. Koenig has passed by the actual exterior of Jerry Seinfeld’s fictional apartment building in Koreatown. He comments on it, saying, “It’s an old-fashioned building, not like a modern West Hollywood condo,” and as he looks at it more closely, he feels, “Yeah, I can see it.
× The musicians credit the rougher sound of their latest album to the numerous hours they spent practicing together in a rehearsal studio located in Eagle Rock, which is managed by Baio and Tomson. However, Ariel Rechtshaid, who collaborated on the production of the past three Vampire Weekend albums (and has also worked with artists like Haim, Usher, and Charli XCX), points out that the recording process was actually more complex in certain aspects compared to their previous, more polished records.
As a movie buff, I’d put it like this: “It might seem like it was effortlessly thrown together,” according to Rechtshaid, “but let me tell you, there was an enormous amount of raw human talent at play here. People strumming guitars, blowing saxophones, even sawing away on cellos and violins. And Koenig’s voice? Never has it been more evocative – wistful in ‘Mary Boone’, tender yet suspicious in ‘Prep-School Gangsters’. For Rechtshaid, the studio’s ultimate goal is always to let that voice resonate through the speakers, with everything else simply there to support it.
Initially, Vampire Weekend aimed to reinvent certain musical styles that might have been less popular at the time, such as ska elements noticeable in their self-titled debut from 2008, which emerged during the New York garage-rock resurgence. As Koenig explains now, there was a conscious effort to challenge people’s tastes. If someone thought something was trendy, I felt compelled to dislike it, and if they considered something uncool, I had an urge to appreciate it instead.
He continues by stating, “However, t Do your songs resonate? Songs that strike a chord with people over years or even decades are hard to come by.
Vampire Weekend plans to tour extensively throughout 2024, taking their expanded seven-piece band on the road. This lineup includes an extra drummer alongside Baio, who was spotted today wearing a T-shirt honoring jazz legend Herbie Hancock following his reunion with The Head Hunters at the Bowl. Baio notes, however, that they’re still without gongs in their setup. “Having two drummers but no gongs sets a clear, solid limit,” he says.
As a film enthusiast, I can’t help but wonder about the trajectory of Vampire Weekend’s next five albums. Ezra Koenig, their lead singer, mentioned that he finds it intriguing when an artist reaches a point where they no longer care about what others think. However, when pointed out that such an attitude seems unlikely for a band as meticulous as this one, Koenig agreed, saying, “You’re right, but that’s the beauty of the challenge.” He then chuckled at the thought of a saying he once saw on a shirt: ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff, It’s all small stuff.’
“I have to do some research to find out if that’s true.”
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2024-10-09 13:36