Vampire Weekend "Diane Young"

Why not watch this video on even one more site? It's not like you are not going to watch it like 8 times over the next few days anyway right? Sure I am right!

Vampire Weekend "Unbelievers" Jimmy Kimmel Live

I have and hopefully will always be a Vampire Weekend appreciator. This new song they played on Kimmel last night isn't very good though, at least the first half. As a rule I try not to judge a song off of a live version before the recorded version comes out. But then again I always break rulez, rulez like sometimes using z's instead of s's.

Tonight In Tempe: Vampire Weekend with Abe Vigoda | As Tall as Lions w/ Bad Veins

If you are expecting to go to a good show tonight expect to make your way to Tempe... unless you already live in Tempe or happen to be here doing something related to cave exploration.

If you don't have tickets to Vampy Weekends with Abe Vigoda then you are SOL unless you will consider blowing one of those scalpers, OR just giving them the amount of money they are asking in exchange for a ticket, I will leave the negotiations up to the two of you.

If you find your luck has run out in that department then please consider As Tall as Lions with Bad Veins at The Clubhouse. Just be sure to not park in front of that "arcade" or your shit will get towed. To be honest I have NOOOO idea who As Tall as Lions are... I do dig Bad Veins though. Check out some videos of the bands after the break.

mp3: Deer Tick "20 Miles"

I love festival season.

It seems like no other time during the year do we get as many quality shows here in The Valley then we do just before SXSW starts and shortly after Coachella ends.  While it felt like there was nothing going on this week, next week is packed with huge shows from bands making their way to Indio, CA.  Vampire Weekend, The Big Pink, A Place To Bury Strangers, Arctic Monkeys, Yeasayer, The Temper Trap, are just some of the bands you can look forward to next week.  Honestly, it feels like there are too many shows to choose from.

One show that I'm particularly excited for (but won't be able to attend, unfortunately) is the Deer Tick show at Trunk Space on the 14th.  I'm always partial to see Deer Tick but the addition of locals Jacob Smigel, Andrew Jackson Jihad and Matthew Reveles to the bill make this show look pretty damn good on paper. 

Fans of Deer Tick will be happy to know that the band has a new album on the way entitled The Black Dirt Sessions which will be out June 8th on Partisan.  You can download the first single from the new album, "20 Miles," down below.


Deer Tick - "20 Miles"

Video: Vampire Weekend - "Giving Up The Gun"

Forgive me if what I'm about to say sounds exactly like something you would expect to hear Carles at Hipster Runoff say but are Vampire Weekend even indie anymore? DON'T GET ME WRONG: I don't base my decision of whether or not to like a band based upon if they are classified as "indie" or not. I'm simply making an observation here that it seems like all the buzz that Vampire Weekend has gained over the course of their career has finally propelled them into the mainstream.

Take, for example, the song for which the above video is for, "Giving Up The Gun," which is arguably their most mainstream sounding song to date. Now take the video above which features Lil Jon, Joe Jonas, Jake Gyllenhall and The RZA. Having The RZA in your video is cool as shit but having Joe Jonas and Lil Jon in your video, well, it may as well be a P Diddy video.

I'm sure I'm coming across like quite the asshole at this point so let me just say this. I like Vampire Weekend. I like them a lot. I think they're latest album Contra, from which the song "Giving Up The Gun" comes from is really good and if they are no longer indie and are now mainstream then good for them. They deserve the success and I'm happy that they will be exposed to a broader audience. I will however say that when I'm sandwiched between a group of "bros" from Scottsdale and a group of tweens from wherever at their show at Marquee Theatre in April I will think back to a time that they were just a small little band that no one had ever heard of before but me and how much I miss those days.

[via: Spinner]

mp3: Vampire Weekend "Ruby Soho" (Rancid Cover)

Vampire Weekend stopped by some radio station in England and did a cover of Rancid's "Ruby Soho". I have never been a huge fan of Rancid and I don't love Contra all that much but there is something about this cover that makes me feel warm inside... just a little though, just the tip.


Vampire Weekend - "Ruby Soho" (Rancid Cover)

Via YANP

Video: The Very Best "Warm Heart Of Africa" f. Ezra Koenig

Why does it take so long for videos to come out for songs that have already been out for so long? I remember back in the day when the video for a song would come out BEFORE the song was or album was even available to purchase in a store. That would get you super excited for the single that would come out a couple weeks before the album THEN the album would come out and you would go in your car or bike to the store and buy it with money. GODDAMN that was a huge pain in the ass back then. But in all seriousness you should make your video at least in the same decade (even though it's not really a new decade) as when the song started playing on the internet.

The Very Best's Warm Heart of Africa is out now (since Oct 2009 even)

New Music Tuesday: Vampire Weekend, Ringo Starr, Owen Pallett

So FINALLY the holiday drought is over and we are getting some new shit. Contra came out yesterday digitally, but it's out on old fashioned CD today so you can play it in you 2005 Ford Explorer that inexplicably doesn't have an aux in port. I hear that the Owen Pallett is pretty good so I will probably download that in the next 3-7 hours.

Vampire Weekend: Contra [XL]
Owen Pallett: Heartland [Domino]
Jason Boesel: Hustler's Son [Team Love]
Jukebox the Ghost: Let Live and Let Ghosts [Rebel Group]
Kría Brekkan: Uterus Water 7" [Paw Tracks]
Laura Veirs: July Flame [Raven Marching Band]
OK Go: Of the Blue Colour of the Sky [Capitol]
Omarion: Ollusion [Starworld Entertainment/EMI]
Ringo Starr: Y Not [Hip-O]
Woodpigeon: Die Stadt Muzikanten [Boompa]

You Can Buy Vampire Weekend's Contra TODAY

So WTF? I thought this wasn't coming out till tomorrow but guess what? It's out today and only $3.99 at Amazon HERE!

Vampire Weekend Coming to Phoenix (Tempe)

This would have been nice to put in my previous Vampire Weekend post but I didn't know about it then and I don't have a time machine OK? But Vampire Weekend are playing the Marquee Theater in Tempe on April 13th, tix go on sale this Friday (the 8th of Jan) and you can get them HERE then.

Stream Vampire Weekend's Contra & New "Cousins" Video

In an effort to make sure you are super excited OR completely sick of Contra by the time it's out next week Vampire Weekend are streaming the whole thing on their myspace page. They also stopped by Juans Basement and played "Cousins"... that sentence out of context sounds really awesome! I want to go to Pedro's basement and play "doctors", if you know what I mean (you totally do).

Video: Vampire Weekend - "Cousins"

The latest video from Vampire Weekend for the song "Cousins" which comes off of their forthcoming album Contra. I like the video, but I think the song needs some time to grow on me. What do you guys think?

mp3: Vampire Weekend - "Horchata"

Vampire Weekend just recently announced their sophomore album, Contra, will be released this January. In order to keep all you hipsters salivating in anticipation the band made the album opener "Horchata" available as a free download on their website today. You can download the mp3 for free at their website by submitting your e-mail address or you can really stick it to the man and download it here with no e-mail submitting. Your choice.

Contra will be out January 12th from XL Recordings.

Video: Vampire Weekend-"White Sky"(Live on Jimmy Fallon)

So far today I've posted a video of Kid Cudi on Carson Daly, I've seen video of Modest Mouse on Letterman and The Soundtrack of our Lives on Leno and now I'm posting Vampire Weekend from Jimmy Fallon's show. Yeah, it's a slow news day.