 Genius Meanings
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Ezra Koenig Explains The Southern Roots At The Heart Of Vampire Weekend’s “Harmony Hall”
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“There was always something dissonant about the history or the place.”
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Vampire Weekend – Harmony Hall
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Along with the track “2021,” “Harmony Hall” is the first single released from Vampire Weekend’s fourth album Father of the Bride, their first since 2013.
The song breezes along
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Vampire Weekend Returns With Its First Songs In Nearly Six Years & Announces Its New Album Title
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“2021” samples Japanese musician Haruomi Hosono, while “Harmony Hall” contains subtle political messages.
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Vampire Weekend (Ft. Steve Lacy) – Sunflower
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“Sunflower” was released alongside “Big Blue” as the third and fourth singles from Vampire Weekend’s album Father of the Bride.
The track features guitarist Steve Lacy from The
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The Genius Community’s 25 Best Songs of 2019 So Far
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Lil Nas X, Solange, J. Cole, and Vampire Weekend all made the cut.
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Vampire Weekend (Ft. Danielle Haim) – We Belong Together
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“We Belong Together” is the third and final Danielle Haim/Ezra duet on Father of the Bride. Koenig set out to write a simple love song, and described it as the “most wholesome
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Maggie Rogers Discusses Loving Vampire Weekend & Working With Rostam On “Fallingwater”
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She says there were roughly 40 different versions of the track.
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Switchfoot – Harmony Hall
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[Verse 1] / We took a vow in summertime / Now we find ourselves in late December / I believe that New Year's Eve will be the perfect time for their great surrender / But they don't
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Vampire Weekend – Finger Back
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“Finger Back” is about an Orthodox Jewish girl falling in love with an Arab falafel shop employee, as indicated in the bridge.
In this interview with Face Culture, Ezra Koenig
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Vampire Weekend – I Think Ur a Contra
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“I Think Ur A Contra” is a look into the inner workings of a man’s mind questioning a failed relationship–including all the doubts, signs (once ignored) indicating an unhappy end
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Vampire Weekend – 2021
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With its melancholic reflection on the passing of time, “2021” is one of six singles from Vampire Weekend’s fourth album Father of the Bride.
The song features a refrain from
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Vampire Weekend – Campus
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Rostam Batmanglij, the primary writer of the song, based “Campus” on “Cruel Professor,” a short story in Ezra Koenig’s collection Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa from his senior honors
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Vampire Weekend – Bambina
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Another track off Father of the Bride that covers religion, the upbeat “Bambina” describes an old chant that translates to
bye, bye, baby
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Vampire Weekend – A-Punk
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“A-Punk” clocks in at just over two minutes, but its awkward, reference-filled narrative, guitar, prep, and diversity with instruments like the chamberlain allow it to be
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Vampire Weekend – Hannah Hunt
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“Hannah Hunt”, according to Ezra Koenig’s interview with Carrie Battan of Pitchfork, is “named after a girl the singer sat next to in a Buddhism class in college (who also happens
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Vampire Weekend – Unbearably White
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The title “Unbearably White” plays with Vampire Weekend’s reputation as a group of milquetoast Ivy League grads, but the lyrics avoid discussions of race or privilege to focus on a
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Vampire Weekend – Oxford Comma
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“Oxford Comma” is full of anything and everything from slick guitar riffs to Lil Jon references, and appears as the second track on Vampire Weekend’s eponymous debut album.
When
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Vampire Weekend – This Life
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“This Life” was released with “Unbearably White” on April 4th, 2019 as the third and final pair of singles before Father Of The Bride was officially released.
In his Soundcheck
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Vampire Weekend – Diane Young
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“Diane Young” seems to be the “fun” song (about death) on Modern Vampires Of The City, an album full of death. The title, “Diane Young”, is a play on words of “dying young.”
You
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Vampire Weekend – Houston, Dubai
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“Houston, Dubai” is one of the three bonus tracks featured on the Japanese version of Vampire Weekend’s 2019 album, Father of the Bride.
The track features the story of someone
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Vampire Weekend (Ft. Steve Lacy) – Flower Moon
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[Verse: Ezra Koenig & Steve Lacy] / Flower moon cursed the night / If the sun don't make things right / Then it's gonna take a year / Gonna take a year / Flower moon, sacred sign
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Vampire Weekend – Big Blue
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“Big Blue” was released alongside “Sunflower” in the second of three early two song releases for Vampire Weekend’s Father of the Bride. It talks about the emotion felt when around
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Vampire Weekend – Sympathy
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The flamenco-tinged “Sympathy” is at times loud and crowded, at times quiet and understated, mirroring a world “where alliances are forged over shared resentment”, ending in a fast
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Vampire Weekend – Rich Man
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Rich Man is a tongue-in-cheek ditty built off a sample from “Please Go Easy With Me” by Sierra Leone guitarist S.E. Rogie.
The track plays as both a touching love song and a
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Vampire Weekend – Don't Lie
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To provide the most Genius-style explanation of the song possible, “Don’t Lie” is a song about not lying. Truthtelling, realkeeping, you could say “Don’t Lie” is also a double
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Vampire Weekend – Unbelievers
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“Unbelievers” is a ridiculously complex and witty take on where we stand in this world. What do our beliefs say about us? Do our commitments dictate our fate? Religious themes are
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Vampire Weekend – Jerusalem, New York, Berlin
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“Jerusalem, New York, Berlin,” references three cities that are important to world history, but are especially important to Jewish identity. Jerusalem is the holiest city in
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Vampire Weekend – How Long?
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[Verse 1] / Tough choice? Don't make me laugh / My life's a joke, your life's a gas / You broke my heart at midnight mass / Now I'm the ghost of Christmas past / The only choice
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Vampire Weekend (Ft. Danielle Haim) – Hold You Now
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“Hold You Now” describes the intensity of a promising but unstable relationship and the love shared between two people. It is Vampire Weekend’s first collaboration with HAIM member
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Vampire Weekend – Step
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“Step” is inspired by “Step to My Girl” by Souls of Mischief. Per the band:
“Souls Of Mischief I’ve always loved. I kind of associate them with the first time that I really
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Vampire Weekend – My Mistake
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[Verse 1] / Skin under sun / Summer breeze, summer break / Oh, I was young then / Hadn't made my mistake / Unaware of the fall / Unaware of my fate / There was peace in the valley
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Vampire Weekend (Ft. Danielle Haim) – Married in a Gold Rush
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“Married in a Gold Rush” is the second duet between Ezra and Danielle Haim from Vampire Weekend’s fourth studio album, Father of the Bride.
The song is about a married couple who
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Vampire Weekend – Hudson
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“Hudson” is drawn from a poem Ezra Koenig once wrote about Henry Hudson. The Hudson River looms large over New Jersey and Westchester County, New York as the path into the city’s
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Vampire Weekend – Spring Snow
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[Verse 1] / The snow fell last night / Your flight couldn't leave / Come back to the bed / Let's take this reprieve / It felt like the end / The end's been delayed / You're here in
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Vampire Weekend – Holiday
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“Holiday” similarly begins life as a ska thrash in the mould of The Specials’ Too Much Too Young with nothing more on its mind than hitting the beach before a submerged bed of
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Vampire Weekend – Ya Hey
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“Ya Hey” has a distinct religious tone. The searcher narrative may allude to some personal testimonies from the band members on the press junket promoting this album. After the
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Vampire Weekend – I Don't Think Much About Her No More
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“I Don’t Think Much About Her No More” is one of the three bonus tracks featured on the Japanese version of Vampire Weekend’s 2019 album, Father of the Bride.
The song is a cover
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Vampire Weekend – Stranger
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Speaking to Pitchfork, Koenig said
With a song like “Stranger,” even the name of it compared to “Oxford Comma” or “Mansard Roof”—it’s inexpensive. No expensive words. I still
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Genius – January 2019 Singles Release Calendar
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WELCOME TO GENIUS' JANUARY 2019 SINGLES RELEASE CALENDAR!!!
For January 2019 album releases, visit this page
This page highlights the notable singles released in all genres
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