A westerly motion that moves California to sea
Eyes like a seagull
No Kansas-born beetle could ever come close to that free."
The photo shoot concept: Capture the members of Vampire Weekend in poses that are fun, a little preppy, and quirky, just like the band themselves.
The models: Ezra Koenig (lead vocals, guitar), Rostam Batmanglij (keyboards, guitar, backing vocals, co-writer, lyricist), Chris Tomson (drums, percussion), and Chris Baio (drums, percussion)
Above lyrics are from "Bryn", off Vampire Weekend's titular debut album, released in 2008.
"[...]it is a condescending idea that music needs protecting. The idea that African music needs to be protected and shielded by white American critics, let's say, is one of the most patronizing things you can possibly do. And these are the people who are trying to criticize our music as being culturally insensitive? People need to understand that to be inspired by music from around the world is a good thing. That's how music works! The African music I love tends to be more modern music with electric guitars. So, should people be getting angry that these Africans took this quintessentially American instrument, the electric guitar, and did their own thing with it? No! It's amazing that music works that way. And trying to raise red flags about musical appropriation is no substitute for real social activism. Love music, but use other parts of your life to educate yourself about the global political climate. That's what I try to do. And, I'm 25; hopefully it's something I'll get better at." - from an interview with frontman Ezra Koenig about critics of the band.
