Count me against ‘Contra’

I don’t get Vampire Weekend.

Sure, maybe it’s because I’m old, or perhaps I’m wary of the hype surrounding the “next big thing.” Last year all I heard was how great Animal Collective was, how Merriweather Post Pavilion was one of the best recordings of the decade. But to me it was noise – unimpressive, disorganized noise.

Vampire Weekend isn’t noise, and I appreciate the work they put in to get where they have. Their self-titled debut album was self-produced while the four guys – who met at Columbia University – were working full time jobs. And the sound, with the Afro-beats, sunny, bouncy songs and $10 words, is not what many expected from a group coming out of Brooklyn.

So yeah, I can appreciate what they’ve created. Still, they bug the shit out me.

What’s so great about the music (music, I should add, was done much better by Paul Simon two decades ago). The music is best for TV background – playing on The Hills or 90210 while one of the main characters drives through Malibu, or is trying on a new dress. The new album Contra (Contra? I hope they’re not trying to pair themselves with Sandinista) was played last weekend with great awe on Sirius-XM, and while I wanted to like it, I’d forget about the song 30 seconds after it started.

Vampire Weekend is a bore, it makes me look forward to Monday.