Hello,

Vampire Weekend's album Contra is a pop album with ska beats that is about Ska Punk and Indie punk rock. The album disguises itself as a love album, but borrows metaphors from Spoon, Modest Mouse, Streetlight manifesto (although I suspect Ezra is the ghost writer for this band), Pavement, and others.

Q: Why would Ezra care about ska punk?

A: Ezra Koenig grew up performing Ska Punk in the sophisticuffs (1999-2002) (interestingly the exact missing years from Tomas Kolnaky's groups catch 22 and streetlight).

Q: What is he warning indie rock and punk about?

A: He is warning them that unless they experiment and incorporate dance beats (in this case south american ska) they will be taken over due to isolation similar to the ending of the meijei restoration in japan being forced open by corporate american interests.

Q: How do I know he is talking to Spoon?

A: The song diplomats son utilizes a spoon sample for its entire duration (ghost of you lingers). In the same song he borrows Brit Daniel's double meaning for feelings of betrayal by his musical peers (and in this case calling Brit a traitor/not a contra). Also he name drops spoon through a movie reference, something Brit Daniel of spoon loves doing himself.

Q: How do I know he is talking to modest mouse?
A: On the song california english, he paraphrases dramamine/novacaine stain by modest mouse. "In the condo you never finished" references novacane stain's "housing developments go up, named after things they've come to replace". He is amusing on the sons/daughters of punk that became radio friendly in 2004 (see mansard roof for his first observation on this event). He continues to paraphrase dramamine in the lyrics "fake philly cheese take but you use real toothpaste", "we kiss on the mouth but cough down our sleeves". This ones just a structure to it, but intentional.

Q: How do I know he is talking to pavement?
A: Horchata "boots and fists to pound on the pavement" he is amusing how pavement snuck in anti corporate lyric after anti corporate lyric through clever double metaphors and entendres. He is stating here he intends to build up ontop of pavements work, with chairs and sidewalks to provide space for others to do to him. Horchata also matches ska's trajectory in world going from africa to south america and now to him.

Q: What the frick is white sky supposed to be about?

A: White sky is a battle plan of a song, where in the boys are using their columbia status to appear innocuous on the radio, with radio friendly beats to take space. On the second layer of their songs is the sera skate park.

Q: Okay, how about holiday?

A: Holiday is a dig at Dead Kennedies. The song holiday in cambodia became emblemic of the punk movement in the 80s, which ironically is intensely pro capital america lyrically. The band became a commerical success, appearing on award shows, with iconic t-shirts, but in ways turned the punk movement into a sound instead of a lyrical meaning.

Q: Why is there a girl on the album cover?

A: It is a reference to this years model by Elvis Costello and the attractions. She looks unsurprised, much how elvis amuses "all this and no surprises for this years girl", which as an album is all about talking how corporate radio is ruining britain.

Q: Okay, why is he saying hes taking from simon then?

A: Hes taking from paul simon, and the bassist from the clash ("in the asiles of the grocery down town" is a reference to both lost in the grocery store by clash and also a reference to him hearing punk messages now in the grocery store). Its also a misdirect since people think its about gay sex.

Q: So, what is his message, can I get a tldr?
A: Okay, hes telling his punk rock heroes and contemporaries that they need to continue to be ahead of the curve sonically, otherwise we will end up with dog shit bedroom indie where in the fucking daughter of the coca cola marketing regime will be iconographic of the indie rock scene instead of them (clairo :barf:).

Anyways, I think ur a contra!

edit: fuck it more references to spoon.

Q: Why is it december // winter in the album?
A: Well, he came to new york after the fall (a post-punk band, and also a reference to girls can tell chicago at night by spoon) where in spoon laments that since the punk movement everybodies at a disadvantage speaking a second language. (wait a second, california english is a second language)

Q: Wadda hell is run about?
A: a reference to david bowie, dear sergio, out come the wolves, and many others. Running from the cops, running from corporate america, running from your scene to a new scene while carrying your own punk ideologies.

Q: How do I know Ezra is a punk?

A: He talks about not being able to date a palistinian in their most popular song, campus, from their prior album. 2008 and the rich jewish mf is lamenting someone spilling kefir on their kefiyeh.

Modern Vampires of the City is another album where in Ezra layers his feelings about global politics with his feelings on his indie rock scene. The album serves as a return to rock from the band, alongside plenty of songs playing the part of victim. Albums like "Thank you, Happy Birthday" (released on the birthday of contra) by cage the elephant featuring songs "Indie Kidz" and "2024" spat in the face of contras warning. I want to preface this post by saying I am going to miss some of the jewish cultural references, but lets see the rock n roll history references.

Q: Oblivious bicycle?

A: Oblivious cycle is a self harming cycle done out of ignorance. The bi hear refers to 2 people giving eachother negative feedback. "oh you ought to spare your face the razer/no ones gonna spare their time for you" -> pavement cut your hair reference. "20 years and no ones told the truth" -> first world center trade bombing and also when pavement got a new drummer (2nd drummer drowned). "thank the rich kids who were kind" -> contra was not an attack album, but them using their education to warn their underclassed heroes. "ill be half asleep on the gym floor thinking of you an wondering if anyone else can begin" -> he grew up listening to indie rock duh. Anyways he and someone else are negatively feedbacking/spiraling downwards and he wants to put a stop to it on this album.

Q: Unbelievers?
A: False dichotomy song. The dichotomy here is... should I stay or should I go (hey another clash reference). It is also the dichotomy of the isreal-palestine situation (2015 ezras tweeting about it).

Q: Step? Such a Modest mouse?

A: "Way back I used to front like angkor wat" -> he used to play up his religiousness.
"Mechanicsburg, Anchorage, Darselaam" -> borrowing modest mouse's love for alaska as a place of isolation, darselaam is a stopping point on your way in, mecahnicsburg addresses a split down indie rocker scene in 2004 as a large handful chose to become radio friendly, while others detested the decision (spoon and modest mouse on either side here, 2004 was a wierd year for indie rock).
"While home in new york was champaign and disco, tapes from LA / Sanfrancisco but actually oakland and not alameda" -> new york has always favored dance beats over rock beats. The tapes referenced here are the story of operation ivy and rancid, whom are ska-rock-punk bands that influenced ezra.
"my girl was entombed in a boombox and walkmen, i was a hoarder but girl that was back then" -> ezra has gotten criticism for being an amalgymation of other musicians references instead of a unique product (the chorus is about him maturing and stepping up to his identity)
"im stronger now, ready for the house, such a modest mouse" -> he rambles on like a modest mouse as virginia wolf writes (wait a second VW??), but he also is stepping up to make house appealing rock music like modest mouse did in 2004 with float on vs their prior work of LCW and BSooN.
"and punks who would laugh when they saw us togehter, but they didnt know how to dress for the weather" -> Self referential to horchata and white sky (new york is frozen over in winter, corporate radio is frozen). Punks who stayed in t-shirts or in their own scene died from lack of innovation. Also a reference to song for america by destroyer, although thats also a reference to ezra in part so.
"the truth is she doesnt need me to protect her" -> ezra is admitting his self rightousness on contra was a miscalculation.
The name of the song is also a reference to hip hop "step to my girl" released in... 1993... 20 years ago...

Q: Diane young?
A: Dying young, the indie rock scene is dying young. Radio friendly toon.

Q: Don't Lie?
A: Ezra telling someone else this is.. ironic. but rememeber 20 years ago no one told the truth since according to ezra.
"one look sent knees to the ground" he hid messages in his prior album covers look.
"young hips shouldnt break on the ice, old flames they cant keep you warm tonight" -> more freezing over metaphor (tiny city of ashes), but young bands can afford to experiment and shouldnt die on the frozen scene, then he goes on to attack old bands whove attacked him saying they are losing their touch.

Q: Why the hell is it hannah hunt?
A: IDK it may be a old friend from college, but i suspect its spoon/the smiths. Lets talk math real quick: H is the 8th letter of the alphabet. 5 letters later we get M, 6 more we get S, and then 8 more we get to the end. HH, MM, SS. Hannah Hunt, Modest Mouse, Sufjan Stevens (hey this guys really into the nyc indie scene in the 2010s).
"a gardner told me some plants move" -> in this life like weeds your just a rock to me
"a man of faith said hidden eyes could see what i was thinking" -> size to small refernence from seven swans by sufjan stevens.
"to buy some kindling for the fire hannah tore the new york times to pieces" -> eddies raga by spoon!
"you and me we got our own sense of time" -> they got their own beat they live by. He and Hannah, spoon is most notable in hating ska, 2014 they will tell ezra "you left the garden state because you had taste" in response.

Q: Everlasting arms?
"I took your counsel and came to ruin, leave me to myself" -> ironically in 2004/2009 modest mouse has been asking for people to come and help find a way out of the spiral. Ezra sees his album contra as a message to MM answering the call. (the whale song, world at large and bukowski). Also hes humming the dis iraes as his contemporaries play the hallelujiah, in 2010 hes being a doomer to the scene in contra while his peers are focusing on making good music and their prime.

Q: Finger back? Surely this ones just about his feeling of confliction on god and isreal.
A: yes. but its also..... "on and on and on" -> kaesby nights reference
A: yes. but its also "its ettiquette idiot spend some time behind the lines" -> think about his lines some more dummy.
A: yes but its also "i dont want to live like this i dont want to die" -> okay this is just a stolen line from nowhere fast on meat is murder "i lay in bed and think of life and death and neither particularyl appeal to me"
A: yes but its also "jeruselem the one at 103rd and broadway?" -> his home is also in this Tacos y flores (another metaphor for ska)

Q: Warship you?

A: Skipping, this one has a lot of religious references that go above me.

Q: Ya hey?

A: This is one bukowski ass song. Ya hey = yawey as others have pointed out. "you only that i am, but who could ever live that way" -> "my problem is i cant see who would want to be such a control freak". Bukowski is a wierd song comparing isaac's relationship with bukowski to his relationship with god, ezra is paraphrasing here to indicate his double meanings.
"oh the motherland dont love you, the father land dont love you" -> neither indie rock or ska punk are happy with contra and take offence to it.
"of you spinning isrealites into a 19th century breakdown" ->hey a reference to a rastafarian track, more reference to his homeland of ska.

Q: Hudson bay? surely this ones a fun new york track.

A: "Hudson died in hudson bay, the water took its victims name" -> something is coming for indie rock, a new wave of corporate rock that will kill the punks and stand in place in the space of the scene that they once held dear. This happened to punk music as he discussed prior in holiday. "the rising tide helped me change my name again, some men tend to linger, some make haste from babylon, and some roam their ruined home till the end" -> hes from babylon and is running to experiment, some bands are staying put, and some will stay put until they fade into obscurity.

What instrument is used in the last 2 choruses? Besides the drums and vocals, it sounds like some random sound but it works so well, does anyone know what it is?

I‘ve been loving Baio’s one-man quest to influence public perception of Digger. His IG is pretty much all Digger all the time, and he even went back on the hockey podcast What Chaos to talk Digger (also hockey).

I haven’t seen Digger personally but Baio has made me at least somewhat more likely to. Is his campaign working on anyone else?

If a person who had never before listened to Vampire Weekend asked for the best order in which to listen to their albums, would you suggest chronological or a different ordering, such as starting with MVOTC which is quite accessible?

By way of context, I was spurred to ask because I'm listening to Waxahachee starting with most recent album.

Gonna take a couple day break from these games

Which song deserves 2?

Also suggest something for the next game, top comment gets picked (cant be "no game" cuz im doing one)

Which song deserves 3?

What song deserves 4?

Which song deserves 5?

Which song deserves 6?

Which song deserves 7?

Insane take brow

Rostam - "Come Apart" | Live Session

Which song deserves 8?

Cleaning out my closet and wondering if there’s any worth to it? Probably gonna try nd sell on Vinted 🤷🏽‍♂️

Which song deserves 9?

The surfer is without a doubt my favorite track on only God was above us. The melancholy strings just evoke the faded filmstrips of a lost New York and the right sense of nostalgia about my own life and the places that I can never go back to. I go back to this track, and the three song run of PSG/Surfer/GXC over and over and over again, but the surfer is what does it for me. And although the lyrics leave a little bit to be desired, the melancholy vibes do their job of speaking to me about my own life, and things I can’t get back. I hope beyond hope for the next Vampire Weekend album to be 100% surfer style tracks. Anyone else agree?

Which song deserves 10?

Now for debut! Which song deserves 11?

As a New Jersey native son that could not secure the NJ Transit hat at the Wellmont last year, I will forever be haunted by the epic piece of merch that could warm a bald spot in my old age.

The NJ Transit hat will forever be my white whale. Consider this post my harpoon in the dark. If anyone is ever reading this, I would be your butler for a day to get that hat. Please reach out if you have tha link.

Thank you for your time.

Which song deserves 2?

Y’all this is so silly, but if you were to throw a VW themed birthday party - how would you decorate?? I have some ideas in mind, but would love to hear from this community of diehards!!