It has been 10 years since the Vampire Weekend released its debut album. The group is made up of Ezra Koenig, Chris Baio, Chris Tomson, and Rostam Batmanglij.
The Vampire Weekend consists of four Ivy League grads who wanted their voices to be heard. Before launching their career, the group came up with a manifesto vowing to never release tracks that are "too rock."
In a previous interview, Koenig revealed why he and his bandmates felt it was necessary to only release songs that are true to their genre. In 2006, they were mostly listening to rap and electronic music, so they were careful about not becoming a rock-and-roll band.
Vampire Weekend Drops Unique Song
In 2008, the group released the song "Oxford Comma" and Koenig said that he wrote the track after hearing about a group of Columbia students who created the Students for the Preservation of the Oxford Comma.
"People think it's nerdy sometimes because it's about a comma, but it is, 'Who gives a [expletive] about an Oxford comma?' But maybe just even mentioning it makes people feel a certain way," explained Koenig.
The Vampire Weekend is also a huge fan of the fashion brand Ralph Lauren. In an interview 10 years ago, Batmanglij even likened the designs of Ralph Lauren to music. He said that the fabric or pattern used by the brand tends to be abstract just like music.
Group Reacts To Paul Simon Comparison
Koenig, Baio, Tomson, and Batmanglij's music has also been compared to Paul Simon's Graceland but the Vampire Weekend says its songs were not inspired by the singer. Koenig admitted that he has mixed feelings about the comparison.
"It's somewhat of a put-down to say that your band sounds like someone else's album. Like, you can't even move beyond one phase of Paul Simon's existence. But then to other people, Graceland just means really good pop songs with some non-European influences," said Koenig.
More Fun Facts
On a more personal level, the Vampire Weekend consists of four hilarious men who love to make fun of each other on Twitter. Tomson is also a huge New Jersey Nets fan, and Baio supports the New York Rangers.
Even though the group has become one of the most successful bands of their time, the Vampire Weekend used to tour on a minivan and they did not have any qualms about it.
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