SONG OF THE DAY
“Horchata” by Vampire Weekend (Contra, XL Records, 2010).
INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)
– This is the second album by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend.
– “Horchata” was released as a free download on October 5, 2009 on the band’s website.
– The album was available for streaming on MySpace starting on January 3, 2010. It is also currently available for streaming from their official website, as of January 5, 2010.
– It is the band’s first album to reach #1 on the Billboard 200, and the 12th independently distributed album in history to reach the #1 spot since Nielsen Soundscan began recording data in 1991.
– The name of the album, Contra, is set up in contrast with Sandinista!, the 1980 album by The Clash. In Nicaraguan history, the Contras were a loose federation of right-wing militant groups established in opposition to the Marxist militancy of the Sandinista National Liberation Front during the late 1970s and 1980s. The lead singer of The Clash Joe Strummer was cited as inspiration for the lyrics of “Taxi Cab”. Additionally, the lyrics of “I Think Ur a Contra” include the phrase “Complete Control”, the title of a Clash single. The title “Diplomat’s Son” is also a reference to Joe Strummer. “Diplomat’s Son” samples the track “Hussel” by M.I.A. The album’s title refers to the word contra, which means opposite or against.
– The girl’s identity on the front cover of Contra is unknown, although “She’s now living in Malibu”. Lead singer Ezra Koenig has confirmed that the picture was taken in 1983 and was chosen as a juxtaposition to the debut album’s cover which, while taken in 2006, looks like it ‘inhabits the same world’. Koenig also referred to the girl as “Kirsten” in a post on Twitter. The image of a blonde, white girl in a Ralph Lauren polo shirt fits the bourgeoise aesthetic of the band and is intended to represent the social and cultural conflict at the heart of the album. Koenig likens the image to the Rorschach Test as multiple meanings can be extrapolated from just a few signifiers, saying “some people get very mad when they see a white blond girl in a Polo shirt.”