On the recommendation of one of my very best friends (Brandon Murray), I listened to Vampire
Weekend for the first time in my life. Their new album, Modern Vampires of the City, is an aural collage so awesomely constructed of old things from many parts of the world. It is a masterpiece. It uses music and religious concepts to create an entirely unique sound, vibe, and experience for the listener. To be clear, it is not a religious work, for those of you who are not familiar with Vampire Weekend. I've separated all these different sounds into separate talking points on this blog. But the truth is that these concepts all appear in endlessly exciting combinations throughout the album. It's almost overstimulating to listen to.
Some of the song titles are reference the Torah (Old Testament) with names like Don't Lie and Ya Hey (a play on the Hebrew title for God, Yahweh), while others have more subtle religious allusions (e.g. Everlasting Arms, Unbelievers, and Worship You). Given that the lead singer Ezra Koenig identifies strongly with the Jewish faith, it is not so surprising.
What I found more surprising was the musical and textual content of the album. In songs like Obvious Bicycle and Young Lion there are some strong similarities between the vocals and chant associated with ascetic ritual of some religions. In these songs the vocal lines stretch out syllables in slow melismatic contours. Combined with a lot of reverb and (sometimes) subtle choral accompaniment, suddenly you feel like you're in a great cathedral, temple, or synagogue. It's beautiful. Textually, Ya Hey is full of religious allusion, "Zion doesn't love you... Babylon don't love you." "I am that I am" is repeated in the chorus numerous times; this is a verse from Exodus 3:14 that Moses spoke to God. In the second verse, Ezra addresses God directly (is he supposed to be Moses?):
Well except for this: A blatant Baroque aesthetic shows up on the third track entitled Step. Pachelbel's famous Canon in D sequence serves as the harmonic foundation of the song even though Step transposes the sequence so that it is in B flat Major. The song is accompanied by choral voices (as are many in the album) and a harpsichord. There are also several songs heavily coated in the 50s rock tradition. Elements that put you in the mind of Buddy Holly and the Crickets (Peggy Sue). And of course, I mean the sound is more similar instrumentally than it is in vocal style. Diane Young and Finger Back are great examples of Vampire Weekend's eloquent stylistic quotations. There are some cool jazzy bass lines that you can find hidden in Hudson. And there are some songs hinting at drinking song/Gaelic folk, reggae, and something that just reminds me of Michael Jackson (like PYT Michael, not Thriller Michael).
Super cool.
This is a supreme example of artistry to me. Now, I've gotta go back to see what I've missed from these guys' past projects.
Some of the song titles are reference the Torah (Old Testament) with names like Don't Lie and Ya Hey (a play on the Hebrew title for God, Yahweh), while others have more subtle religious allusions (e.g. Everlasting Arms, Unbelievers, and Worship You). Given that the lead singer Ezra Koenig identifies strongly with the Jewish faith, it is not so surprising.
What I found more surprising was the musical and textual content of the album. In songs like Obvious Bicycle and Young Lion there are some strong similarities between the vocals and chant associated with ascetic ritual of some religions. In these songs the vocal lines stretch out syllables in slow melismatic contours. Combined with a lot of reverb and (sometimes) subtle choral accompaniment, suddenly you feel like you're in a great cathedral, temple, or synagogue. It's beautiful. Textually, Ya Hey is full of religious allusion, "Zion doesn't love you... Babylon don't love you." "I am that I am" is repeated in the chorus numerous times; this is a verse from Exodus 3:14 that Moses spoke to God. In the second verse, Ezra addresses God directly (is he supposed to be Moses?):
Oh, good God
The faithless they don't love you
The zealous hearts don't love you
And that's not gonna change
There's more stuff like like this all throughout the album. Clearly I find it fascinating but I won't go on being a geek.
Well except for this: A blatant Baroque aesthetic shows up on the third track entitled Step. Pachelbel's famous Canon in D sequence serves as the harmonic foundation of the song even though Step transposes the sequence so that it is in B flat Major. The song is accompanied by choral voices (as are many in the album) and a harpsichord. There are also several songs heavily coated in the 50s rock tradition. Elements that put you in the mind of Buddy Holly and the Crickets (Peggy Sue). And of course, I mean the sound is more similar instrumentally than it is in vocal style. Diane Young and Finger Back are great examples of Vampire Weekend's eloquent stylistic quotations. There are some cool jazzy bass lines that you can find hidden in Hudson. And there are some songs hinting at drinking song/Gaelic folk, reggae, and something that just reminds me of Michael Jackson (like PYT Michael, not Thriller Michael).
Super cool.
This is a supreme example of artistry to me. Now, I've gotta go back to see what I've missed from these guys' past projects.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment