ACL Preview | Why Vampire Weekend Won’t Leave A Mark
Chances are you’ve heard of Vampire Weekend. Stereogum and other blogs just like the one you’re reading now latched onto Vampire Weekend and propelled them into stardom. Having recently played Kimmell and SNL, Vampire Weekend will take the stage at Austin City Limits Festival this weekend with more buzz behind them than some of the industry veteran headliners.
Beginning at MP3s and iPods and extending all the way to music media, the Digital Revolution has brought the internet into all facets of the music industry. The ease of free internet promotion has resulted in a greater body of music being foisted upon the receptive ears of willing audiences across the globe. Unfortunately for unwitting sonic consumers, exposure on such an immense scale has only buried the proverbial needle in a much larger haystack. The definition of good music hasn’t changed, good music is just harder to find.
The music behind Vampire Weekend is solid; these guys can play their instruments without a doubt. Their downfall begins at originality. APunk is a Strokes ripoff, followed by Mansard Roof which is trying desperately to be a post-Sgt. Peppers Beatles track. M79 is nothing more than Paul Simon with a classical chamber hook. Vampire Weekend is also frequently tied to afro-beat influences, which is completely beyond comprehension. It’s almost like they tacked afro-beat onto their bio to gain some weird indie cred. The band’s rudimentary beats are less African and more recycled Brit-Pop.
Vampire Weekend and their blog buzz breathern are all certainly competent, well-intentioned musicians but do little to advance music as an artform. The Internet Generation has not yet raised up a defining voice like Generation X did with Nirvana or Baby Boomers did with The Beatles. The Digital Revolution has been fantastic for technophiles. However, it will take more than a format change to define the first decade of 21st century music. Bands like Vampire Weekend have succeeded in conveying their music to a massive audience, whereas a truly legendary band also gives a unique voice to their generation.
Vampire Weekend plays ACL Friday, September 26th on the AMD Stage at 2:30pm.
Image Courtesy Tim Soter via Vampire Weekend
2 Comments
Wow. Dead on. The internet age has allowed bands to be “discovered” before they deserved to be. This is to the detriment of their career.
Vampire Weekend needs to still have the knockout live performance in my opinion although I do love the melodies.
So you guys proudly state how you helped discover and launch this band, and then when they get big you wash your hands of them, saying, ‘eh, they’re alright, but nothing special.’
Makes me want to read more about other bands you discover so I can be on the upswing sometime.
Music has become fashion, one day you’re in, the next day you’re out. Hey, another empty pop reference! Just like everything vampire Weekend has produced.