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Vampire Weekend
On Tour167,277 listeners (5,679,017 plays)
Listening now: aBlocParty, tixe, kano7
indie, indie rock, indie pop, alternative, rock
New York, NY ( February 2006 – present)
Vampire Weekend is an indie pop/rock band with Afro-pop influences. Bandmates Ezra Koenig (vocals, guitar), Rostam Batmanglij (keys & vox), Christopher Tomson (drums) and Chris Baio (bass) formed February 2006 in New York, NY.
Their self-titled debut album was released on January 29, 2008 on XL Recordings to, so far, critical success and the single A-Punk garnering heavy airplay on Alternative radio stations throughout the US. They are quickly garnering comparisons to Paul Simon’s Graceland for the Afro-pop style, as well as to The Kinks and NYC’s The Walkmen. The album itself is also drawing comparisons to The Strokes’ 2001 debut, Is This It, which also broke through at the time for its pop simplicity and ingenuity.
Vampire Weekend received much buzz from local blogs throughout 2007 during their rise to a record deal. Rolling Stone placed Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa at number 57 for the top 100 songs of 2007. They also garnered much local buzz in the summer of 2007 with their song Oxford Comma, which gripes about prep grammar, Lil’ Jon, and coal drama. They are currently on their first major tour, covering North America and ending off at Coachella 2008 in Indio, California.
They are self-proclaimed “specialists in the following styles: ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’, ‘Upper West Side Soweto’, ‘Campus’, and ‘Oxford Comma Riddim.’”
The name Vampire Weekend comes from a movie that Ezra Koenig made in the summer of his freshman year at college. You can watch the trailer on Youtube, here.
Their self-titled debut album was released on January 29, 2008 on XL Recordings to, so far, critical success and the single A-Punk garnering heavy airplay on Alternative radio stations throughout the US. They are quickly garnering comparisons to Paul Simon’s Graceland for the Afro-pop style, as well as to The Kinks and NYC’s The Walkmen. The album itself is also drawing comparisons to The Strokes’ 2001 debut, Is This It, which also broke through at the time for its pop simplicity and ingenuity.
Vampire Weekend received much buzz from local blogs throughout 2007 during their rise to a record deal. Rolling Stone placed Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa at number 57 for the top 100 songs of 2007. They also garnered much local buzz in the summer of 2007 with their song Oxford Comma, which gripes about prep grammar, Lil’ Jon, and coal drama. They are currently on their first major tour, covering North America and ending off at Coachella 2008 in Indio, California.
They are self-proclaimed “specialists in the following styles: ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’, ‘Upper West Side Soweto’, ‘Campus’, and ‘Oxford Comma Riddim.’”
The name Vampire Weekend comes from a movie that Ezra Koenig made in the summer of his freshman year at college. You can watch the trailer on Youtube, here.
Similar Artists
Black Kids, White Rabbits, Bishop Allen, Les Savy Fav, Voxtrot, The Fiery Furnaces, Blood on the Wall… see all
See moreVideos
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Play
Vampire Weekend - M79
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Play
Vampire Weekend - Mansard Roof
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Play
Vampire Weekend - "Campus" (clip)
Top Albums
Shoutbox
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Ketisfolk wrote:
Oxford Comma is a stand out track for me, but it's Walcott that really makes me want to dance!
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brenda1222 wrote:
campus is my fave song fo sho!
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MrsSparkes wrote:
Martin from The Hoosiers loves them ;)
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EdyFTW wrote:
Oxford Comma=awesome!
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sls wrote:
lol @ experimental tag
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skistar123 wrote:
http://www.last.fm/group/Mark+Ronson+makes+me+angry
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Jopzorz wrote:
I agree with Boston should have been on the LP (or Ladies of Cambridge as it's also known). Much better than I Stand Corrected and M79 for instance.
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satanbutt wrote:
they're decent, but way overrated.
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lazyache wrote:
as a radiohead fan, i dont mind the cover. its ok. nice try and such. everyone's entitled to their own "vision"
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[deleted-user]
wrote:
Its mostly because people want to be original and be one of the few people that like a band. Been there done that. Its old. I love VW :)
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imsureso wrote:
ha, my friend makes a very good point. people who used to dig them are now haters of them.
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nobbis wrote:
pretty awesome
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FinalPizzaHut wrote:
It's a shoutbox, not a fan club. Get over it.
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imsureso wrote:
yo ben, ur ugly. stop whining, if you fuckers dont like it, then just stop commenting. gahhhhhhhhhhhhhsssssssssssss
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WeirdRadiofish wrote:
their cover of radioheads exit music is awesome! <3
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adamzZz wrote:
I was also a hater, but I listened to their music and it seemed very good. I love Oxford Comma now :P.
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stas_ke wrote:
cool band,nice music )))
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NowDrop wrote:
Hrm, Boston should've been on the LP. As far as I'm concerned, it's better than half the songs that made the cut, or more. Also, I don't think the butchered Exit Music, they just did an version which isn't very memorable, for any reason; negative or positive. I also don't think they try to hard to do anything, which is why they're as charming as they are. It's all very light, bubbly, fun music. If they solely wanted dance music, they could've copied something much more mainstream instead of going a fairly less-travelled route.
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bencanfield wrote:
shit band indeed. way to butcher the hell out of one of Radiohead's best songs. shit name, shit song names, it seems like they're trying way too hard to make dancy music.
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radekkkkkkk wrote:
shit band
Listeners
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aBlocParty
Listening now
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ralphpmiller
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thekeeper927
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ilmigliorfabbro
Top Listener
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EhJay_112
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RebeccaIsWhoIam
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Events
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Jul
18
Pitchfork Music Festival 2008
Union Park, Chicago, United States
252 shouts
| 980 attendees -
Jul
20
Rogers Picnic
Historic Fort York, Toronto, Ontario, Toronto, Canada
101 shouts
| 150 attendees
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Jul
25
Capitol Hill Block Party 2008
Capitol Hill, Seattle, United States
26 shouts
| 212 attendees
Recent Activity
- Dimm17 tagged Vampire Weekend with ‘seen live’. 1 hour ago
- Failquail tagged Vampire Weekend with ‘indie rock’ and ‘indie’. 1 hour ago
- Romansix tagged Vampire Weekend with ‘indie rock’ and ‘indie pop’. 1 hour ago
- PeeBergi tagged Vampire Weekend with ‘sammelpotenzial’. 4 hours ago
- Meier tagged Vampire Weekend with ‘seen live’. 5 hours ago
- Disenchanting connected Vampire Weekend to the group Chicagoland. 12 hours ago
- SideFlower connected Vampire Weekend to the group Last.FM Top 200 Artists. 12 hours ago
- Tian-Shi tagged Vampire Weekend with ‘indie’. yesterday evening
- Dubvulture added Vampire Weekend to the lineup of Vampire Weekend at The Glass House. Friday afternoon
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More Information
- Links
- Band Members
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- Chris Baio
- Christopher Tomson
- Ezra Koenig
- Rostam Batmanglij
