FSOTD #33/Oxford Comma (2008)

The new FSOTD Friday provision allows me the choice of whatever tune I want, so Friday's Song Of The Day* is from last year's indie sensation Vampire Weekend.   It came down to "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" or "Oxford Comma".   'Oxford' won because I like the percussion hook, and especially 'cause it was in the movie I Love You Man.   I loved that movie.  But I guess America was ambivalent about the song.  It did not chart in the US, but peaked at #38 in the UK.

So what do I really know from Vampire Weekend?  Well, I do know that they were truly a sensation back in 2007; by the time of their debut release in January 2008, they were full-fledged stars. Spin Magazine loved Vampire Weekend so much they declared them "The Year's Best New Band" with a March 2008 cover story.  To date, the album has sold well over a half million copies worldwide, one of which was bought by me.  I like it.  It has catchy tunes.  I haven't listened enough to love it, but there's some evident promise in that pop-punk.   Great hooks, with hints of Lou Reed and maybe a dash of Jonathan Richman. A slew of styles too: pop, punk, African, and is that baroque I hear?  All their songs share a uniform strength in rhythms and harmonies.   But as they progress, IMO, a little more meat on the bones will be necessary.  Like all bands, Vampire Weekend faces a simple yet certain choice - evolve or die.

They describe their music as "Upper West Side Soweto", a blend of African popular music and Western classical.  Eh?  In Friday's Song Of The Day "Oxford Comma", you might recognize the stylings of Congolese soukous music.  Huh?  The Wiki article might shed some light.  It tells of band members who met while attending Columbia University.  Then they graduated, and the rest is very recent music history.  The End.   Wait...no it's not. Their sophomore release is due out in January 2010.  Drummer Chris Tomson says the album will have 10 songs and run around 36 minutes.  Good luck VW, the bar is set a bit higher the second time around. 

*Today's true first song of the day was "Time Won't Let Me" by The Outsiders (1966).

Deep Yabbathanks to Wikipedia

http://www.firstsongoftheday.blogspot.com/