Vampire Weekend, Contra

If the revolution will not be televised, will it at least be recorded? And if it will be recorded, could it be set to something more meaningful than a largely homogeneous though admittedly peppy mass-market beat? Could I not at least question the revolution for, on the one hand, an apparent unwavering commitment to thematic interpersonal transgressiveness and conflict, whilst obscuring it beneath trivial synthobeats and sampled drums? If I said I enjoyed "White Sky" for its faultless Paul Simon impression, which I swear is more positive than it sounds because I adored The Rhythm of the Saints and that track is the "Proof" of this album, does my accusation of derivation mean I oppose the new social order? If I said I like almost every track except the artlessly garbled "California English" (where the Auto-Tune is ironic but the tape speed is obnoxious), but mostly for their unvaried inoffensiveness, does this taint my ideological purity? Except for the wistful murmurs of intimacy despoiled in "I Think Ur A Contra," is my shame that even as I play the rest, nodding my head to the beat as I type, that this album's vain attempts at depth do not envelop me? Turning to the jewel case as I write, is that enigmatic starkened vision of loveliness upon the cover coming to pierce my loyalties? Will she know my secret regret? Will she be the firing squad that ends me?

Do you think I'm a contra?

(Content: adult themes on "Diplomat's Son.")

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