Genius Meanings
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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 – M79
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“M79” features orchestral strings, name-drops whose ability to be understood directly correlate with the number of polo shirts you own (read: preppy), and a hint of surf-rock
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Vampire Weekend (Ft. Danny Brown, Despot & Heems) – Step (Remix)
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On New Years Eve 2013, the band released the remix to what Pitchfork named the 14th best song of the year.
https://twitter.com/vampireweekend/statuses/418132457825644544
As a
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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 – Obvious Bicycle
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“Obvious Bicycle” depicts the life of a man who has lost hope in life while growing, believing he is so small in a vast world, and that he has no importance.
One could see this
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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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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’s “Hold You Now” Samples A Melanesian Choral Song From ‘The Thin Red Line’
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The band has also used samples on songs like “2021” & “Step.”
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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 – 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 – Worship You
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“Worship You” is a direct message to God. Although the lyrics are hard to understand with Ezra’s fast-paced vocals, it’s clear to see while reading them it’s an affirmation and
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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 – 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 – Arrows
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Based on scenes from Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited, “Arrows” was apparently too hot for the American release and was only included on the Japanese version of the debut album
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Vampire Weekend – Young Lion
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The band’s multi-instrumentalist and producer, Rostam Batmanglij, wrote “Young Lion” about a real-life June 2009 encounter that lyricist Ezra Koenig had “with an older rasta at
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Vampire Weekend – Everlasting Arms
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“Everlasting Arms” is a riff on the hymn “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”, which is covered by artists from multiple genres. On Grantland, Steven Hyden pointed out the inclusion
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MoMilli – Young Money: Rap, "Step," and V-Dubs (And the Vampy Weeks Rap References You Missed)
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Last week, Vampire Weekend covered “Blurred Lines” on the BBC. A lot of listeners said they’d never heard Ezra Koenig rap to T.I. before–or rap ever !–which got them asking how
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Big Thief – Vampire Empire
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[Verse 1] / Watching TV tired, bleeding on the bed / The milk has just expired, all the leaves are dead / I'm not quiet, you've been quiet, just receiving what you said / Reeling
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Souls of Mischief – Step to My Girl
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“Step To My Girl” is an early 1990s demo recording by Oakland hip hop group Souls Of Mischief. Along with “Cab Fare,” it was among the demo recordings that helped the group land a
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Vampire Weekend (Ft. Jude Law) – Lord Ullin's Daughter
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Exclusive to the Japanese Edition of the album, this song features Jude Law reading Thomas Campbell’s poem “Lord Ullin’s Daughter”.
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YZ (Rap) – Who's That Girl
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In “Step,” Vampire Weekend paid homage to Souls of Mischief. In “Step to My Girl,” Souls of Mischief sampled this: YZ’s “Who’s That Girl,” in which the person doing the stepping is
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The Weeknd (Ft. Daft Punk) – I Feel It Coming
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Inspired by house-and ‘80s pop, “I Feel It Coming” is about wanting more from a relationship. The song differs from The Weeknd’s usual attitudes towards love, which revolve around
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HAIM – The Steps
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“The Steps” features a bright, catchy tune about trying to repair a relationship with a partner who’s completely checked out.
The lyrics evoke bitterness and frustration—but also
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