“A-Punk”—Vampire Weekend

In this episode, Rob reminds us that he used to be cool and live in New York City. He recounts the feeling of arriving to the city and realizing that “he missed it.” Meanwhile, indie rock bands like Vampire Weekend were coming to that same conclusion, abandoning all the coolness and angstiness that rock bands were expected to embody. Rob recollects his colleagues’ reactions to the preppiness and bold inspirational liberties of songs like “A-Punk” that were too catchy to forget, whether the listener liked it or not. Later, he is joined by Chris DeVille, author of Such Great Heights. Chris shares how he connected to Vampire Weekend through Ezra Koenig’s grappling with aging and spirituality, and why he thinks Vampire Weekend encapsulates the 2000s indie rock movement.

Host: Rob Harvilla
Guest: Chris DeVille
Producers: Olivia Crerie, Chris Sutton, and Justin Sayles