Rock it Out! Blog » Vampire Weekend

RiO!B episode – July 23, 2011

admin — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 22:23:50 +0000

R.I.P Amy Winehouse

New St. Vincent track/tour dates

Feist video trailer

Two tracks from VHS or Beta

Neon Indian tour dates

Ryan Adams covers Vampire Weekend

M83 releasing new album October 18th

Bjork – “Cosmogony”

Bon Iver day was on July 22nd

RiO!B episode – January 12, 2011

admin — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 01:05:05 +0000

Black Keys vs. Vampire Weekend

American Idiot the movie?

Glassjaw – “Gold”

Arctic Monkeys recording new album

Social Distortion’s new album streaming

Matt Bellamy having a baby

Watch: The Black Keys vs. Vampire Weekend on The Colbert Report

admin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 15:55:44 +0000

An indie-rock battle of epic proportions took place on The Colbert Report between The Black Keys and Vampire Weekend which led to one of the funniest things I’ve seen this year.

Stephen Colbert invited both Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney of the Black Keys and Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig onto the show to help him decide who he should vote for in the Best Alternative Music category for the Grammys. He suggests the bands influence him by showing who’s music has been used more in television commercials. The end result leads to both bands brandishing weapons and preparing to destroy each other. Watch and laugh your ass off. Thanks to our bro-dawgs at CoS for coming across this footage.

Grammy nominations revealed

admin — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 04:48:17 +0000

Well here we are again. The time when the old, white men of the recording industry decide to bestow their blessings on artists who they feel should get a Grammy award while the rest of us pull out our hair because the real talents didn’t get any recognition.

We should first be proud, however, that Arcade Fire are up for Album of the Year with The Suburbs and Florence + The Machine and Mumford & Sons are up for Best New Artist. It’s talent that definitely deserves recognition as well as the actual Grammy but my money isn’t on them. It’ll go to a pop artist like Justin Bieber or a country act like Lady Antebellum because that’s just how it is with these award shows. It’s a sad fact that we must deal with but it also keeps us bloggers fired up to promote good music.

But there are little rays of light that continue to give me hope. Rockers from Them Crooked Vultures to The Black Keys to Neil Young and many more were nominated this year as well. So let’s not waste anymore of your time and get to the noms that matter, shall we?

Record of the Year:
B.O.B. feat. Bruno Mars – “Nothin’ On You”
Eminem feat. Rihanna – “Love The Way You Lie”
Cee-Lo Green – “Fuck You”
Jay-Z & Alicia Keys – “Empire State of Mind”
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”

Album of the Year:
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Eminem – Recovery
Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster
Katy Perry – Teenage Dream

Song of the Year:
Ray LaMontagne – “Beg Steal or Borrow”
Cee-Lo Green – “Fuck You”
Miranda Lambert – “The House That Built Me”
Eminem feat. Rihanna – “Love The Way You Lie”
Lady Antebellum – “Need You Now”

Best New Artist:
Justin Bieber
Florence + The Machine
Mumford & Sons
Drake
Esperanza Spalding

Best Rock Album:
Jeff Beck – Emotion & Commotion
Muse – The Resistance
Pearl Jam – Backspacer
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – Mojo
Neil Young -Le Noise

Best Alternative Album:
Vampire Weekend – Contra
The Black Keys – Brothers
Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
Broken Bells – Broken Bells
Band of Horses – Infinite Arms

Best Rock Song:
Neil Young – “Angry World”
The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”
Mumford & Sons – “Little Lion Man”
Muse – “Resistance”
Kings of Leon – “Radioactive”

Best Metal Performance:
Iron Maiden – “El Dorado”
Korn – “Let The Guilt Go”
Lamb of God – “In Your Words”
Megadeth – “Sudden Death”
Slayer – “World Painted Blood”

Best Hard Rock Performance:
Alice in Chains – “A Looking In View”
Them Crooked Vultures – “New Fang”
Soundgarden – “Black Rain”
Stone Temple Pilots – “Between The Lines”
Ozzy Osbourne – “Let Me Hear You Scream”

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals:
Arcade Fire – “Ready To Start”
Jeff Beck & Joss Stone – “I Put A Spell On You”
The Black Keys – “Tighten Up”
Kings of Leon – “Radioactive”
Muse – “Resistance”

Best Solo Rock Performance:
Eric Clapton – “Run Back To Your Side”
John Mayer – “Crossroads”
Paul McCartney – “Helter Skelter”
Robert Plant – “Silver Rider”
Neil Young – “Angry World”

Best Rock Instrumental Performance:
Jeff Beck – “Hammerhead”
The Black Keys – “Black Mud”
Los Lobos – “Do The Murray”
Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds – “Kundalini Bonfire”
Dweezil Zappa – “The Deathless Horsie”

Muse, Phoenix, Vampire Weekend nominated for the American Music Awards

admin — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:32:52 +0000

A lot of award shows are shit…ok, I take that back. ALL award shows are shit. Yet, we watch a few of them so that we have something to complain about the next day. Whether it’s our favorite band getting passed over, a movie we think should win doesn’t win or somebody gets real drunk and runs on stage to make an ass of themselves, we’ll find something to discuss. But the American Music Awards are a complete waste of an award show. They’re almost as bad as the People’s Choice awards. Yet I’m inclined to write about it because some good bands (not many) have been nominated for this year’s AMAs. But whoever wins, it’ll still be nothing to brag about.

In the only category that actually has bands in it, Favorite Alternative Rock Act, the three that were nominated are Muse, Phoenix and Vampire Weekend. My guess is that Muse will win because the other two are “too indie” for mainstream American crowds. Also, in the Favorite Soundtrack category, AC/DC’s Iron Man 2 soundtrack goes up against The Twilight Saga: Eclipse soundtrack which features songs from Muse, Vampire Weekend, The Black Keys, The Dead Weather, Metric and more.

Honestly, if any award show ever needed a moment where someone pulled a Kanye West, this would be the one. But if you’re actually interested in watching, or you’re just that bored, it airs on Sunday, November 21st on ABC at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Watch: Vampire Weekend cover Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m Goin’ Down”

admin — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:57:28 +0000

When a band takes on the idea of covering a song by Bruce Springsteen, they also have to deal with the legions of the Boss’s fans nitpicking at every single note, vocal inflection and type of jeans they wore while playing the song. With this case, we bring you indie-rock darlings Vampire Weekend (Vampy Weeks to the insiders) presenting their version of “I’m Going Down.”

They played the song in Vancouver on Saturday, August 28th. By the look of it, the crowd seems to have no clue that Springsteen is being played at first. They probably thought they were privy to some never-before heard VW. Silly Canadians. So hit play up top and see what you think. Do the boys from the yacht club do the song justice or are you planning to kick their asses all the way down Thunder Road?

Eclipse soundtrack streams online

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 12:26:04 +0000

The little vampire tweens that haunt America will soon be heading to theaters to catch the newest film in the Twilight series called Eclipse. Meanwhile, we’ll be heading to the record store to pick up the soundtrack from the movie.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse OST comes out on June 8th but it’s currently streaming over at our good friends’ website Some Kind Of Awesome. The album, like the previous Twilight soundtracks, is packed to the brim with the best in indie and alt-rock bands.

New tracks from The Black Keys, The Dead Weather, Vampire Weekend, Beck with Bat For Lashes, Metric, Florence + The Machine and more bring us what could be the most anticipated soundtrack of 2010. Honestly, if the movies were as good as the music, then I may have actually been a fan of this series. Let’s be grateful that I’m just a real big fan of music.

Oh and that new track from Muse is also on the OST but you can skip that one. No need to ruin your listening experience.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse tracklisting
Metric – Eclipse (All Yours)
MUSE – Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)
The Bravery – Ours
Florence + The Machine – Heavy In Your Arms
Sia – My Love
Fanfarlo – Atlas
The Black Keys – Chop And Change
The Dead Weather – Rolling In On A Burning Tire
Beck and Bat For Lashes – Let’s Get Lost
Vampire Weekend – Jonathan Low
UNKLE – With You In My Head (Feat. The Black Angels)
Eastern Conference Champions – A Million Miles An Hour
Band of Horses – Life On Earth
Cee Lo Green – What Part of Forever
Howard Shore – Jacob’s Theme

BONUS TRACKS
Battles – The Line
Bombay Bicycle Club – How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep
Fanfarlo – “Atlas” (Remix) (Digital Bonus Only)
Cee Lo Green – “What Part Of Forever” (Remix) (Digital Bonus Only)

Vampire Weekend release new song, music video

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 22:14:48 +0000

Amidst all the craziness that Arcade Fire supplied on the blogosphere over the past two days, America’s indie-rock darlings Vampire Weekend decided to add to that fun by giving us a new song and a new music video on the same day.

First up we have a new video from the band for their song “Holiday”. Now we’ve all heard the gripes people may have about VW. They’re too preppy. They’re just a bunch of spoiled rich kids. They probably knew somebody so they could make it big. So the NYC based quartet decided to take that posh image and run with it to the fullest.

In the video, which you can see down below, the guys are dressed to the nines in the finest Victorian-era clothing money can provide while hanging out at lavish locations and indulging in pleasures that only the rich know of. You’ll be a fan of the video.

Also down below you can check out their contribution to the Eclipse soundtrack with the song “Jonathan Low”. It’s definitely not what you’d expect to come from the band. This would definitely be a b-side primarily because of the 12-string part played by Rostam Batmanglij.

Vampire Weekend – “Jonathan Low”

Vampire Weekend – New Music – More Music Videos

RiO!B episode – May 27, 2010

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 22:02:28 +0000

New music from the Arcade Fire

Rush announces title of new album

New song/music video from Vampire Weekend

Bands boycotting Arizona

Vampire Weekend touring North America this fall

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:11:23 +0000

Get ready to have your live indie-rock fix taken care of this fall.

NY’s own Vampire Weekend are hitting the road starting August 28th and are bringing their friends Beach House and Dum Dum Girls along with them for a series of shows that will go through the month of September (via CoS).

The first show will take place in Vancouver on August 28th and the final curtain call will happen September 26th in Los Angeles. All of the tour dates are listed down below. You’ll be able to buy tickets for this indie-rock buffet on May 21st at Ticketmaster.

I have to give credit to VW for this tour because it follows a ton of festivals they’re playing in Europe this summer. If you’re not a fan of their music you at least have to admire their energy…and the way they dress. Quite snazzy.

Vampire Weekend North American tour dates:
8/28 – Vancouver, BC @ Malkin Bowl *^
8/29 – Redmond, WA @ Marymoor Amphitheater *^
8/31 – Troutdale, OR @ Edgefield Amphitheater *^
9/03 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheater *^
9/05 – Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom *^
9/07 – Toronto, ON @ Molson Canadian Amphitheater *^
9/08 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis Theater ^
9/11 – Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion *^
9/12 – Boston, MA @ Bank of America Pavilion *^
9/15 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall *^
9/16 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall *^
9/17 – New York, NY @ Radio City Music Hall *^
9/26 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl *%

* = w/Beach House
^ = w/Dum Dum Girls
% = w/The Very Best