As we mentioned, last night Ezra sat down with author John Wray at the New York City Public Library for a discussion of the band’s music, steez, making art without any base in struggle and, well, “your mom is a stripper” jokes (yes, really). True, this doesn’t sound too far off from any of the other interview with Koenig that we’ve read. But this thing had multi-flavored cupcakes! This might legitimately be the first and last time we ever regret not getting that $350 library gold-card member status.

Possibly the most intriguing idea that came from the evening was the one we proposed in this headline. Ezra spoke of much of the content from the first album having been spawned from a family trip to Cape Cod that could just as easily have been a family trip to the Jersey Shore. Granted Ezra & Co’s laments on sweaters and bedroom tidiness predate The Situation and his fellow beach-side cohorts. But still, how much would the world as we know it be different if those two TripTik’s had been switched up? Food for thought, no cup of supplementary Darjeeling necessary. (Via: Village Voice)

In a Galifianakified episode of SNL that fell depressingly flat in the middle, Vampire Weekend proved dependable. The foursome breezed through Contra’s two singles, “Cousins” and “Giving Up The Gun,” like a business meeting. Ezra looked like a man possessed. The Christophers looked like they were enjoying themselves. Rostam broke out a new guitar strap. We went to bed much happier than we would have had Ke$ha been the musical guest.

ALSO: Mr. Koenig will be discussing “lyrics, literature and cross pollination” with author John Wray tonight at the New York Public Library, as part of their Young Lions Forum. You may be familiar with Wray’s novels The Right Hand of Sleep, Canaan’s Tongue or, most recently, Lowboy. Not to get too nerdy, but all of those are great and tonight should be as well. Starts at 8 pm in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Find a map here.

More video after the humpty dump.

Specifically a dining room, if my high school Spanish is to be trusted.

Undertone Town! Can Jake Gyllenhaal save the recording industry? No, he cannot. But by showing up in Vampy Weeks’ new, Malloys-directed video for pop swim “Giving Up The Gun,” the new Prince of Persia answered a question Old Man Christgau (that is said with serious respect, btw) asked in his Homerian review of Contra a few weeks ago: does it have legs? Yeah, I’ve got a feeling it does. Everyone looks like a heartthrob here!

Also, did you know that Lil’ Jon sent them a case of Crunk Juice after their first record dropped? If you ever needed a reason to start a rock band, now you have one. Not just free shit, but really weird free shit. (via Spinner)

So, without introduction — okay, much introduction — we’ve neatly organized this year’s Sasquatch! lineup for you in terms of musical “genres,” after the jump. Don’t like reading? Fine, we’ll just tell you the basics: it’s taking place from May 29 – 31 at the Gorge Ampitheatre in George, WA, and Pavement is playing. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!?!?!

There’s more to be announced as well, so if you’re really disappointed Limp Bizkit didn’t make the cut, well, keep your fingers crossed (or not).

Blog Zeitgeist-y Figures
MGMT
Girls
The National
OK Go
Vampire Weekend
The xx

Club-happy DJs/Dance Acts
A-Trak
Booka Shade
Boys Noize
Dam-Funk
Deadmau5
Fresh Espresso
Hudson Mohawke
LCD Soundsystem
Massive Attack
Mayer Hawthorne
Miike Snow
Passion Pit
Simian Mobile Disco
YACHT
Yes Giantess
DJ Z-Trip

Sub Pop Bands
Avi Buffalo
Band of Horses
Fruit Bats
No Age

Bands from Canada
Broken Social Scene
City and Colour
Jets Overhead
The New Pornographers
Japandroids
Patrick Watson
Tegan and Sara

Earnest Hip-Hop Acts
Brother Ali
Public Enemy
Shabazz Palaces
Wale

Questionably Earnest Hip-Hop Acts
Kid Cudi

Vaguely Folksy Bands From Europe
Camera Obscura
Laura Marling
Mumford and Sons
The Tallest Man on Earth

“Trippy”/”Weird” Bands
Caribou
Dirty Projectors
Local Natives
Minus the Bear
Morning Teleportation
Neon Indian
Nurses
Portugal. The Man
tUnE-YaRdS
Why?

Bands that Sound Like They Could’ve Been Featured on The O.C.
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Freelance Whales
The Lonely Forest
The Middle East
Phantogram
Telekinesis
The Temper Trap

Hilarious Comedians
Craig Robinson
Garfunkel and Oates
Rob Riggle

’90s Indie Rock Revivalists
Cymbals Eat Guitars
Past Lives
Pavement (What? They are!)
Quasi (Ditto)

Classic Rock Revivalists
Dr. Dog
Drive-By Truckers
The Hold Steady
My Morning Jacket

Summery Bands
Fool’s Gold
She & Him

Indie Mainstays
The Long Winters
The Mountain Goats
Nada Surf
OK Go
Ween

Americana/Folk-Minded Acts
The Low Anthem
Midlake
Vetiver

We Have No Idea
Luke Burbank

By now you should know that we love us some Vampy Weeks. But did you know we have to take our shirts off every time we listen to the warm Afro-pop stylings of Foreign Born? It’s true. And while we can’t say that Vampire Weekend multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij experiences a similar reaction when listening to the LA outfit, he’s expressed his feelings by remixing springy Person To Person cut “Early Warnings.” Focusing heavily on the endlessly descending Afro-pop steel-drummed guitar line that acts as the song’s axis, Batmanglij adds a layer of digitized, synth-y production not far removed from the gleaming pop textures that populate his Discovery project. Throw Matt Popieluch’s rubberized pipes deeper into the mix, and you’ve got a something of an underwater Top 40 banger Batmanglij loosely described to us a religious experience. Speaking of those, Foreign Born are going out on a tour again (dates after the jump and jam) at the end of this month. Should you see a couple of pasty, oddly-shaped nerds ripping off their turtlenecks once the show gets started, you’ll know it’s us. Come say hi!

Foreign Born, Early Warnings (Rostam Batmanglij’s Boys Like Us Remix)

MP3 Download

02.24 San Francisco @ Rickshaw Stop w/ Free Energy, and The Fresh N’ Onlys
02.26 Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios w/ Free Energy
02.27 Vancouver, BC @ Fortune Sound Club w/ Free Energy
02.28 Seattle, WA @ Chop Suey w/ Free Energy
03.03 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry w/ Free Energy
03.04 Madison, WI @ The Frequency w/ Free Energy
03.05 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle w/ Free Energy
03.06 Bloomington, IN @ Video Saloon w/ Free Energy, Clovers
03.08 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern w/ Free Energy, Clovers
03.09 Toronto, ON @ El Mocambo w/ Free Energy
03.10 Buffalo, NY @ Big Orbit’s Soundlab w/ Free Energy, Clovers
03.11 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge w/ Free Energy, Clovers
03.12 Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory w/ Free Energy, Clovers
03.13 Phiadelphia, PA @ Marathon Lounge w/ Free Energy, Clovers
03.14 Washington DC @ DC9 w/ Free Energy, Clovers
03.26 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo w/ Free Energy

03.06 Oakland, CA @ 21 Grand **
03.07 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill **
03.09 Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place **
03.10 Los Angeles, CA @ Echo **
03.11 San Diego, CA @ Bar Pink Elephant **
03.12 Phoenix, AZ @ Trunk Space **
03.13 Santa Fe, NM @ Corazon **
03.16 Dallas, TX @ Lounge on Elm St. **#
03.22 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
03.23 Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theater *
03.24 Madison, WI @ The Project Lodge @
03.25 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater *
03.26 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theater *
03.27 Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theater *
03.30 Toronto, ON @ The Sound Academy *
03.31 New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge ##
04.01 Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre *
04.02 Philadelpha, PA @ Electric Factory *
04.03 Washington D.C. @DAR Constitutional Hall *
04.05 Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium *
04.06 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel *
04.08 Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle *
04.09 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues *
04.10 Austin, TX @ Stubb’s BBQ *
04.11 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues *
04.13 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theater *
04.14 Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater *
04.19 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater *
04.20 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater *

*=w. Vampire Weekend
**=w. Lovvers
#-w. Vivian Girls
@=w. Gringo Starr
##=w. Effi Briest

A week ago, critical feathers seemed to be aruffle again all thanks to the men of Vampy Weeks. Jessica Hopper of the Chicago Reader took them to task for their defensive, elastic brand of bourgeois “whiteness” and the way in which they’ve plundered Third World sounds to backdrop their hits about First World pursuits. Nitsuh Abebe, a critic whom you may have read over at Pitchfork now and again, countered very thoughtfully. Blograts scuttled back and forth. We stayed out of it. But after stumbling across the Le Blogoteque’s excellent new footage of the band unfurling their French, formerly a tongue reserved for and “bandied” about with by Europe’s upper crust, we said enough. So incensed, we couldn’t help but forget they were using it to introduce songs both old and new. Oh wait, we didn’t forget about any of that. Because these songs are really, really good. If they weren’t, no one would be arguing.

No one would care that much.

Photography and Haiku by Victoria Jacob

blood picket fences
my mother would love these boys
the floor is beating

More photos after the jump.

The Very Best released their video for 2009 highlight “Warm Heart Of Africa” late last week. The song, which features Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig filling in handily on hook duty, is what you might call “hook-laden.” After much e-badgering we were able to bully Ezra and The Very Best’s Esau Mwamwaya into liveblogging their thoughts on the video as they watched it in real time. Check it out after the hump.

0:12 – Esau: Hopefully these scenic backdrops will distract people from the fact that my dance is basically just the prelude to the Crank Dat Soulja Boy…

0:18 – Esau: If I handed you this boombox, you would totally look like John Cusack.

0:20 – Ezra: I love heavy flannel in the summer in Africa, and also in Manhattan summer.

0:43 – Esau: This is the very best pond in Africa!

1:07 – Ezra: Man, I really just am not a good dancer, do you think indie rock will notice?

1:30 – Esau: Still waiting on Malawi’s Jimmy Jazz. Everybody needs some discount Fila’s.

1:33 – Esau: Ezra, your dancing does look a bit like that giraffe come to think of it.

1:38 – Esau: The middle buffalo is my favorite. I will call him Sparky.

2:04 – Esau: Are all New York bus drivers that jovial?

2:06 – Ezra: That bus driver has sweet gloves, I wonder if they are Polo?

2:14 – Ezra: Bro side hug is the way to go. I wonder if this is how Asher Roth gets his inspiration.

3:23 – Esau: Why are they running from our dancing?

3:38 – Ezra: The dude who came up with green screen went to Columbia.

Actually, for transparency’s sake, we thought you should know they didn’t liveblog for us. It was us all along!

(Via: mtvU)

Below you’ll find a full album stream through our friends over at LaLa. What we’d like you to do is lend us your brainwaves and tweet whatever crosses your mind while listening. Maybe there’s a riff you can’t get out of your head. A lyric? A moment? An image? If you’re feeling ambitious, spend your 124 characters reviewing the record as a whole. Just toss those tweets over to us at @thetripwire and by the end of the week, we’ll cobble together and share the beautiful mess of a madlib it creates. Or, if you’re a complete Luddite/TwitterHater, you can just leave 124 characters in the comments section. We’re flexible.

This week we’ve got the much argued about sophomore effort from Vampire Weekend, Contra. We’ve always dug these guys, and this time around is no different. If you don’t feel the same about Ezra & Co., we understand. But at least check it out before you judge and tell us why. We’ll even get you started with our own 140-character take.

Things VW aren’t listening to: haters. Things this frees them up to listen to: lots and lots of music. Contra aptly celebrates just that.

Your turn.

On another note: poor Conan. That dude deserves better. 

Given that they have an album coming out shortly, it follows that the band would be planning on hitting the club circuit to demonstrate their musical chops live. True to form, they have announced a tour that will take them from New York and Los Angeles to the UK and Europe before touching back down in the US for a full-on tour of the entire country. No dates have been booked in any 0f the African or Latin American countries whose sounds the young men of Vampy Weeks find some much inspiration. That’s not so much ammunition for haters as it is a suggestion. We happen to think the appropriation argument’s awfully 2007. But this is a historic opportunity! Give back, dudes! World Cup-inspired tour dates!

Vampy Weeks tour dates are as follows:
01.12.10 Los Angeles, CA @ Henry Fonda Theater
01.17.10 New York, NY @ United Palace Theater
01.18.10 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
01.19.10 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
02.05.10 Bexhill, England @ De La Warr
02.07.10 Cambridge, England @ Corn Exchange
02.08.10 Manchester, England @ Manchester Apollo
02.09.10 Leeds, England @ Leeds O2 Academy
02.10.10 Birmingham, England @ Birmingham O2 Academy
02.12.10 Newcastle, England @ Newcastle O2 Academy
02.13.10 Glasgow, Scotland @ Barrowlands
02.14.10 Edinburgh, Scotland @ Edinburgh Picture House
02.16.10 London, England @ Brixton O2 Academy
02.17.10 London, England @ Brixton O2 Academy
02.19.10 Berlin, Germany @ Astra
02.20.10 Cologne, Germany @ Gloria
02.21.10 Hamburg, Germany @ Uebel or Gefaehrlich
02.22.10 Brussels, Belgium @ AB
02.24.10 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
02.25.10 Paris, France @ Olympia
02.26.10 Toulouse, France @ Le Bikini
02.27.10 Barcelona, Spain @ Penelope
02.28.10 Madrid, Spain @ Teatro Circo Price
03.14.10 Edmonton, Alberta @ Edmonton Event Centre
03.15.10 Calgary, Alberta @ MacEwan Hall
03.16.10 Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theatre
03.18.10 Salt Lake City, UT @ In the Venue
03.19.10 Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
03.20.10 Aspen, CO @ Spring Jam Core Party
03.22.10 Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
03.23.10 Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theatre
03.25.10 Chicago, IL @ Riviera Theatre
03.27.10 Knoxville, TN @ Tennessee Theatre
03.29.10 Columbus, OH @ The LC Pavilion
03.30.10 Toronto, Ontario @ The Sound Academy
04.01.10 Boston, MA @ Orpheum Theatre
04.02.10 Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
04.03.10 Washington, DC @ DAR Constitution Hall
04.05.10 Nashville, TN @ Ryman Auditorium
04.06.10 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
04.08.10 Atlanta, GA @ The Tabernacle
04.09.10 New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues
04.10.10 Austin, TX @ Stubb’s BBQ
04.11.10 Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
04.13.10 Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theatre
04.14.10 Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater
04.19.10 Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater

via P4k.

(Via: P4K)

So yeah, Cudi talks about how haters can suck his thingie for two minutes over “Ottoman” and leaves some of Ezra’s intro vocals in there. It’s not bad, a little weird and he gives no actual stance on ottomans (or any upholstered furniture for that matter.) But he does rap pretty well, which is something you sort of forgot he could do at times during that “record” he put out this year. Check out the song at Hypebeast. (Via: P4K)

Vampy Weeks frontdude Ezra Koenig gave SPIN a tour of his Brooklyn quarters recently, supplying them with an up-close look at his guitar, decor, breakfast grub and so, so much more. One flourish stands out above all, though: that nutty oil painting Koenig threw together when he was 13 is said to be inspired by the deep cuts of Kraftwerk. Is it weird that we, as 13 year-olds, were listening to Barenaked Ladies and Alanis Morrisette instead of Kraftwerk? Because if so, this explains SO MUCH.

For their punked-out new single “Cousins,” the men of Vampy Weeks shot an equally frenetic clip in a city alley. The Garth Jennings-directed clip is above, the single’s out digitally right now and on vinyl December 7th courtesy of XL. And oh yeah, not sure if you knew this, but their sophomore full-length, Contra, is out January 20th. Stay tuned until tomorrow for yet another update on the Road To The Next Vampire Weekend Record.

We posted a now defunct Vanity Fair video yesterday in which those dirty dogs in Vampire Weekend gave you a piece of their worldview. Though we’ve already shared some 4,457 Vampy Weeks tour dates with you in the past few weeks, we feel obliged to also inform you that the band will be performing the West Coast holiday show circuit next month in addition to a free show in Sydney next week AND a slew of shows in their native New York around the January 10 release of their deliriously excellent new LP, Contra. People can call them classists or say their music is wussy, but you’d have to be a Class A bonehead to suggest these dudes don’t grind. Cover art above, tour dates below.

11.23 Sydney, Australia @ Notes on Enmore

12.10 Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom (94.7FM “A December To Remember” concert series)
12.11 Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena (Live 105 “Not So Silent Night 2009”)
12.12 La Jolla, CA @ RIMAC Arena/UC San Diego (FM949 “Holiday Hootenanny”)
12.13 Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheater (KROQ “Acoustic Christmas)
12.15 Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater (KNDD The End’s “Deck The Hall Ball ‘09”)

01.12 Los Angeles, CA Henry Fonda Theater
01.17 New York, NY United Palace Theater
01.18 New York, NY Webster Hall
01.19 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

The men of Vampire Weekend sat down recently with whom we can only presume was a cameraperson and an interviewer (just a guess!), tackling questions of great existential and philosophical weight in Vanity Fair’s “Proust Questionnaire.” Their new album Contra drops January 12th. They’re touring like wild men. And they are, as we’ve known and the above video further suggests, very thoughtful.

As we mentioned just the other day, Vampire Weekend are set to release their long-awaited sophomore album, Contra, come January.  If the name brings to mind NES binges, that’s ’cause frontbrah Ezra Koening recently confessed to MTV News that, as an 80s baby, it is hard for him not to be influenced by the 1987-released Konami essential. But you should also be aware by now that Mr. Koenig’s brain fidgets now and again. He went on to admit that there’s double meaning, that “everybody [his] parents’ age thinks of the counter-revolutionaries in Nicaragua.”

You are surely aware by now that Vampire Weekend are preparing to unsheathe Contra on the world January 12, 2010. If for whatever reason, you’ve had the pleasure of exploring and drinking in this fine indie rock web site on the regular, you’ll also be familiar with the equally rich taste of new mpfree “Horchata.” Those four guys have been taking care of business over the past few weeks both in Europe and on the West Coast, playing new material of which the folks over at Pitchfork have collected video footage. In addition to borrowing that from zee Fork, we’re also sharing the new VW UK tour dates they lifted from NME. The Internet is so weird!

Dates below

11.05 Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy and Harriet’s
11.07 Lafayette, CA @ Town Hall Theatre
11.08 Santa Cruz, CA @ Catalyst
11.09 Visalia, CA @ The Cellar Door
11.10 San Luis Obispo, CA @ Downtown Brew
11.12 Bakersfield, CA @ Chencho’s
11.14 Lomita, CA @ VFW Hall
11.17 Tokyo, Japan @ Tokyo Unit
11.21 Sydney, Australia @ Oxford Art Factory
02.07 Cambridge, England @ Cambridge Corn Exchange
02.08 Manchester, England @ Manchester Apollo
02.09 Leeds, England @ O2 Academy
02.10 Birmingham, England @ O2 Academy
02.12 Newcastle, England @ O2 Academy
02.13 Glasgow, Scotland @ Barrowlands
02.14 Edinburgh, Scotland @ Picture House
02.16 London, England @ O2 Academy Brixton

“Run”

“Holiday”

This could absolutely revolutionize the entire Williamsburg busking scene. Forever. Q TV now has a feature entitled “How To” With Q that features indie-bands and acts showing you how to play their songs on guitar. Thus far, the show has featured the likes of Vampire Weekend (”A Punk”), The National (”Fake Empire,” “Slow Show”), Tegan & Sara (”Walking With A Ghost”) and Sondre Lerche’s bizarrely quirky 13-minute description of  “To Be Surprised”. The old dude near Union Square that covers “Landslide” every night is never going to know what hit him. Check out the  “A Punk” video above, the video for “Fake Empire” and “Slow Show” below. Also: practice your scales, man.
(Via: Stereogum)

Above is a streaming player for “Horchata,” the opening track and leadoff mpfree from Vampire Weekend’s forthcoming sophomore full-length Contra. If you hate fancy widgets as much as our parents, below is a more simpler version just for you. We had the pleasure of hearing said album two weeks ago and it set our hair on fire. Not too many people can say that about a Vampire Weekend album! While there are still elements of African musics peppered throughout in both guitar and rhythmic form, the onetime purveyors of “Upper West Side Soweto” have taken a very thoughtful step outside of the sometimes safe (haters say too safe/manicured) confines of their pop bubble. It’s expansive and it’s thrilling and warm and we’re probably as excited for everyone to hear it as those dudes are. Start here.

Vampire Weekend, Horchata

MP3 Download

If you drink Darjeeling, can appreciate a polo-clad blond or simply like good music then mark January 12 on your calendar immediately. Vampire Weekend has announced said date for their new album (with the same old Futura font) entitled Contra. They also announced the 10-song track listing for the album.

Contra

1. Horchata
2. White Sky
3. Holiday
4. California English
5. Taxi Cab
6. Run
7. Cousins
8. Giving Up the Gun
9. Diplomat’s Son
10. I Think Ur a Contra

A concise album with track names like “Horchata”, “California English” and “Diplomat’s Son” eh? Hey, if it ain’t broke… (Via: P4K)

A good friend of ours told us recently that he doesn’t have the slightest bit of love for Discovery’s self-titled R&B odyssey. He think it’s electro-laziness, we think it jams. A duo comprised of members from Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot, Discovery are releasing their debut next week and “Orange Shirt,” is an ounce of mpfree goodness we’ve been meaning to share for the past couple weeks to help you decide— Modest Mouse and LIFE got in the way is all.

Discovery, Orange Shirt

MP3 Download

Vampire Weekend’s been pretty busy. In between trying to not sound like Simon & Garfunkel and calling ex-college classmates “Goth” during interviews, the band is also doing a feel-good event tonight in New York City and playing in side projects. Ah the life.

Alongside NYC electro groups LCD Soundsystem and Hercules & Love Affair, the three bands are lending their time for a prom-inspired event called “The Prom You Were Promised” at the Music Hall Of Williamsburg. All proceeds will benefit 826NYC, who helps teach and believe that “strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.”

826NYC is also apart of other 826 programs across the country, which includes locations in Chicago, Seattle, and Michigan to name a few. The first one, 826 Valencia in San Francisco, was founded in 2002 by author Dave Eggers and helps kids from ages six through 18 in their writing skills, critique, and process, while also providing support to educators. All proceeds from tonight’s show at benefit the NYC branch.

In related news, VW’s Rostam Batmanglij and Ra Ra Riot’s Wes Miles are additionally embarking on a “super side project” called Discovery that will have a full length out over the summer. You can hear clips of the forthcoming LP on their MySpace page.

Besides the fact you weren’t cool, famous or wealthy enough to attend.

From Flavorwire:

10. Off the Heezy, Fa Sheezy. As after parties go, this one was was particularly epic. Held on the crystalline roof-deck of the Cooper Square Hotel, the intimate gathering featured a (dangerously) open bar, and, for no apparent reason, an open-air bath tub. Björk kicked up the party with an unexpectedly ruckus DJ set featuring Bell Biv Devoe’s “Poison” and Amerie’s “Got Me Trippin’.” Members of Dirty Projectors, St. Vincent, and Vampire Weekend, meanwhile, could be seen waiting in line for the can.

Read the full list here.

Something else you might not have known is that Olaf Arnalds also performed.

Taking some time off from touring, Vampire Weekend has headed back into the studio to record their sophomore LP. The band has been recording in Brooklyn and are shooting for a release this upcoming September.

Vampire Weekend has finished up writing all the material for the new record, and told the premier music outlet Entertainment Weekly that Rostam Batmanglij, the band’s keyboardist, will be producing the studio sessions.

“For the last month or so, it’s just been us by ourselves in this small studio, working every day,” Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig told Entertainment Weekly. “It’s nice after having been on tour so much to be in a slightly different situation, but it’s pretty intense. We’re really trying hard to do everything that we want to do.”

The band has already debuted one of the possible tracks for the new, yet-untitled album when they performed “White Sky” on Jimmy Fallon last month, and Koenig said they have recorded the song, but it will feature more synth sounds and be more pumped up than the acoustic version they played on the late night show. Vampire Weekend is also promising a hint of a new sound to come out of the upcoming record.

“It’s definitely going to be a recognizably Vampire Weekend sound, but there are going to be new sounds,” said Koenig. “We’re trying to challenge ourselves not to use the same bag of tricks that we used on the first album; different instruments, stuff like that.”

At last, the Lollapalooza rumors are put to rest — Depeche Mode, Tool, The Killers, Beastie Boys, Kings of Leon and (of course) Jane’s Addiction will be headlining this year’s festival, along with an impressive cast of supporting bands, Lollapalooza organizers confirmed today.

More than 100 bands/artists/DJs will take the Lolla stage this year, including TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend, Andrew Bird, Animal Collective, Arctic Monkeys, Fleet Foxes, Silversun Pickups, Bon Iver, Crystal Castles, Los Campesinos! and Passion Pit. This year’s event will also introduce “Perry’s”, a nightclub style stage featuring dance and electronic music. The DJs set to spin include MSTRKRFT, Bassnectar, DeadMau5, Animal Collective and Bloody Beetroots.

After selling out last year for the first time since Lollapalooza took roots in Chicago, ticket sales don’t seem to be lagging. Early bird discount passes went on sale at the end of March for $195. Regular priced tickets are $205, and of course if you’re not like the rest of us, worrying about saving $10 on a $200 concert ticket, you can always check out the VIP options at Lollapalooza.com.

Lollapalooza 2009
Depeche Mode
Tool
The Killers
Jane’s Addiction
Beastie Boys
Kings of Leon
Lou Reed
Ben Harper and Relentless 7
Thievery Corporation
Snoop Dogg
Rise Against
Andrew Bird
TV on the Radio
Vampire Weekend
The Decemberists
Neko Case
STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9)
Animal Collective
Band of Horses
Of Montreal
Arctic Monkeys
Coheed and Cambria
Ben Folds
Fleet Foxes
Silversun Pickups
Kaiser Chiefs
Crystal Castles
Bon Iver
Santigold
Atmosphere
Dan Auberbach
Cold War Kids
Deerhunter
Lykke Li
Robert Earl Keen
Peter Bjorn and John
Heartless Bastards
Gomez
Glasvegas
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Passion Pit
The Raveonettes
The Gaslight Anthem
The Airborne Toxic Event
White Lies
Ra Ra Riot
No Age
Asher Roth
Los Campesinos!
Bat For Lashes
Chairlift
Gang Gang Dance
The Virgins
Amazing Baby
Portugal. The Man
The Knux
Ida Maria
Delta Spirit
Friendly Fires
Manchester Orchestra
Constantines
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
Hockey
Miike Snow
Alberta Cross
Hey Champ
Sam Roberts Band
The Henry Clay People
Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
Cage the Elephant
Living Things
The Low Anthem
Blind Pilot
Langhorne Slim
Other Lives
The Builders and The Butchers
Eric Church
Joe Pug
Kevin Devine
The Green Cards
Carney
Thenewno2

Featured performers at Perry’s
Bassnectar
MSTRKRFT
Simian Mobile Disco
DeadMau5
Boys Noise
KiD CuDi
Crookers
A-Trak
Hercules and Love Affair (DJ Set)
The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set)
LA Riots
Kaskade
The Glitch Mob
Hollywood Holt
Rye Rye
He Say, She Say
Car Stereo (Wars)
Dark Wave Disco
Moneypenny
Yello Fever
Animal Collective (DJ Set)

We’ve been anticipating Blur’s reunion since we first heard about it, and were even more excited when they confirmed the addition of Crystal Castles, Deerhoof and (to a lesser extent, it’s nothing personal) Vampire Weekend to the line up for their reunion shows at Hyde Park. But the hype keeps growing with the announcement of two intimate shows for fans before their awaited reunion. See how nice they are? They hype up the Hyde Park shows so it’s not as annoying when you’re told they won’t be Blur’s first shows back as originally advertised.

The warm up shows will be played at East Anglian Railway Museum, in Colchester, England on June 13 and London Goldsmith’s College, on June 22. Proceeds for the June 13 sow will be donated to the museum’s charity and the Aldham Village Hall Restoration Project. The band announced the warm-up shows to their fan club, and tickets for the shows are on sale now for Blur fan club members, and further preview show announcements are due out shortly.

Hot off the presses this morning from across the pond — Blur have announced the roster of bands who’ll join them in Hyde Park for their highly anticipated reunion gigs this July. Among the chosen ones are Crystal Castles, Vampire Weekend, Foals and more.

The band gave the official word to NME this morning, and the hand-picked line-ups for the two nights are as follows: July 2 features Foals, Crystal Castles, Friendly Fires and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, and July 3 features Vampire Weekend, Amadou & Mariam, Florence And The Machine and Deerhoof.

Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koening told NME.com, “I think the Hyde Park show will be pretty phenomenal. People have been waiting a long time to see Blur reunite and it’s flattering to be invited to play at all. This will be my first time seeing Blur live and I’m psyched.”

We spoke with guitarist Graham Coxon about the reunion last month, and while we forgot to ask him who would be opening, he did speak about the process of reuniting and rehearsing the old songs.

Blur will also play Manchester’s MEN Arena June 26, with Klaxons and Florence And The Machine supporting. Ticket info for all three shows is available here.

There for a blessed moment we had bands that didn’t seem to care about image:  Black Flag, Husker Du, The Descendents, Beat Happening, Nirvana.  Yes, they all had an image but it didn’t seem as contrived as say, Vampire Weekend, The Shins or any number of “indie” bands playing the festival circuit this summer.
 
That is why it was so refreshing when I received a CD from the Wichita, Kansas-based band Black Gasoline.  No, they weren’t extremely original but the influences that ring through on their album, She Gave Us Magic, all mix well to create a 1970s heavy music lover’s equivalent of a giant hash brownie. This is indeed stoner rock. And what is wrong with that?
 
The band’s love of classic rock is entirely in your face.  They create a sound that is as thick as sludge and meddles into a sound that is reminiscent of Van Halen, The Who, and recent champions of the sound, Queens of The Stone Age.  Taking their name from a 1940s barely refined type of homemade fuel, the band (Bryan Seely on vocals, Paul DeCeglie on guitar, Larry Donaldson on keyboards, Kendall Newby on drums and Scott Mackey on bass) seem ready to make their namesake proud; using driving guitars, pounding drums and bowel loosing bass lines as accelerants, they’ll set the Midwest on fire.

I “spoke” with the band via MySpace.
 
When did Black gasoline come together?
 It’s been about four years now.
 
What music has had the biggest impact on you as a group? She Gave Us Magic sounds very rooted in 1970s rock to me…
I think we have stylistically gravitated to the feel of 70s hard rock, but I don’t think you could call that a genre or even say that that would make us any easier to explain if you did. I do think it would be correct in that during the 70s you saw bands like Deep Purple or Black Sabbath make increasingly diverse, ambitious and dynamic albums, so I hope that’s what you mean. But as we’ve continued developing and finding our artistic voice, we’ve moved towards a genre that really didn’t exist, in that most of your 70s era bands only made one or two heavy psych albums, a piece which was usually peppered with a lot of R&B and blues, whereas we’ve been attempting to make a career out of that era’s accidents instead of the easy “heavy metal” outs.

As far as what’s been getting our goat lately, and I hate to answer this for everyone else, but the last few years worth of Swedish hard rock like The Hellacopters, Graveyard, Baby Woodrose, Dungen, and Witchcraft are absolutely awesome. Black Mountain, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, High on Fire, The Flaming Lips, Midlake, and Dead Meadow are some American bands we’ve been into. Not surprisingly, a lot of oldies are in rotation: The Pretty Things, Grand Funk Railroad, Hawkwind, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, E.L.O, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, The Who, Queen, The Byrds, The Beatles. In the Ipod era, it’s almost more difficult to convey the logic of musical influence because after a point, and this is more likely for a musician, it gets almost more scholastic than it should be on the surface, because it is, after all, just pop music.
 
Is She Gave Us Magic your first full-length record?
 Yes it is, but we are more than half-way into a new record that will either make us or break us. I’m always appreciative of any interest in us, but it’s hard not to have more interest in the future than the past. So keep an eye on us; we’re hoping for summer or fall.
 
Is the process of songwriting a group effort or does one member take the reins more often?
I think one of our greatest strengths is our creative process. By the time a riff or a melody is filtered through the band as a whole, the original idea is, in many cases, unrecognizable. Without the collective input of all five of us, it just wouldn’t be the same.
 
Is there much of a rock scene around Wichita?
It ebbs and flows. I don’t want to be unfair to a core group of people that really do work hard to ensure that there’s always some sort of scene, but sometimes it’s music, sometimes it’s more like really loud fashioned. Like most American cities there’s a faction that is birthed from corporate radio and guitar stores which will always be shit, but there’s an underground that has no set sound but has been very interesting, for instance Wichita spawned Manilla Road, Split Lip Rayfield, so wrap your head around that!
 

What do you think of the current trend of bands becoming famous and getting signed to deals strictly from internet buzz?
It’s great if you don’t mind being famous and working a day job.
 
Do you think that it takes away from a band if they don’t have to tour the country and build their own fan base?
They certainly won’t be that cohesive. Making an ambitious record is not that hard in this day and age. Having taste is another matter, but neither will matter if you can’t pull it off live. You might have to play after us, and we won’t make it easy for you.
 
I saw your band play a club in Lawrence, Kansas, a few years ago and your energy was explosive. How do you stoke that fire every night?
Blood, sweat, practice, need for attention, energy drinks… Mostly practice, and all that energy that a good crowd reflects back to you.
 
With “indie rock” being the big thing as of this moment, do you think heavier bands like Black Gasoline suffer?
Do you mean any worse than it already has? Personally I think it’s great for a band like us; it makes us even more different. If we’re back to back with a really trendy indie band, we look like Viking plunderers when the reality is that, compared to modern metal bands, we’re not really that heavy, just louder. With music the way it is now we’re a mystery, and, personally, I think it works in our favor. Styles change, a few years ago it was that rap rock thing. How smart does that Limp Bizkit guy look now?
 
How is the tour in support of Magic going?
We’re still promoting it and selling it, but at this point, we’re really revving up to the next record.
 
What’s been the biggest crowd you’ve play for to date?
Probably The Riverfest in Wichita with fellow local luminaries Split Lip Rayfield. I think that was two or three thousand people.
 
What is your inspiration for songs like say, “Lady Iron Wing” and “The Boy That Destroyed The World”?
 
“Lady Iron Wing” starts off sounding like it’s another “dangerous chick” song, like Motley Crue’s “Looks that Kill or Deep Purple’s “Lady Double Dealer”,etc. but as the song moves along the listener hopefully” discovers that “The Lady” is actually a world war II bomber and as for “boy” your guess is as good as mine.
 
Do you think a band having an “image” is important at all?
That’s an interesting question in that we’re aware that our image is an absolute lack of image, which has its own hipster appeal. It’s interesting in that we are aware BG has this burnout image, but it’s not something that we think about because we would rather shop at thrift stores and have bad ass equipment then waste too much time really dwelling on it. If there’s any method to our image, it’s that so long as nothing dates you, your on the right track.

Have you ever thought “Man, I like Vampire Weekend, but I wish they added a bit more electro to their Afro-beat”? Well, that’s what we’re here for. Meet Cartridge, four dudes from Denmark who mix funky bass grooves, ethereal vocals, traditional pop and oh, yeah — those lovely synth notes.

Cartridge is Mathias Wullum Nielsen, Thomas Hjorth Vesterbaek, Alex Phumoon Thomsen and Niels Fibaek Bertel. We mentioned they were Danish, right? We’ve got their latest single, “The Woods”, for you to check out. It’s out digitally now, and you can get the 7″ single (with a bonus track!) May 9. It’s tearin’ up the charts in Europe, and we can see why.

They’ll be playing Rock-A-Field in Luxembourg June 28 alongside Kings of Leon, Franz Ferdinand, The Ting Tings and others. And as always, you can check out more tracks on their MySpace.

Cartridge – “The Woods”

Well, even if he’s a terrible host, Jimmy Fallon and his handlers are doing a pretty damn fine job of programming music. And with their imminent performance tonight on his show, Vampire Weekend is ready to bust out a new song.

Pitchfork has reported that tonight, March 18, when the band will performs on “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” they’ll play a new song called “White Sky”. Incidentally, this won’t exactly be the song’s debut as they’ve been playing it live for a while, but it will in essence be it’s premiere to a mass audience. As the Pitchfrork report notes, it would be awesome if The Roots — Jimmy Fallon’s house band — would back them up on it.