Web Exclusive: Vampire Weekend, Life in Bed, Lohio, Dirty Faces and Axelrod

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Who gives a f*ck about Barack Obama? ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Vampire Weekend does, and… ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Who gives a f*ck about Barack Obama? ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Vampire Weekend does, and they’re not afraid to say it. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Vampire Weekend’s website states, ‘For us, the choice in this election is incredibly clear. We support Barack Obama because on every issue we care about he is more logical, more sensitive and less biased than John McCain. It’s important to talk openly about voting and we’re happy that we can contribute to the campaign, not only as individuals, but as a band.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘You’re never going to have a candidate that you agree on about all the issues, but all four of us really sway to the Obama side of things from issue to issue,’ said bassist Chris Baio in an interview with The Pitt News. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Vampire Weekend was certainly the right choice for bringing college students into a venue.’ The last time they came to Pittsburgh, in February, they sold out the Andy Warhol Museum in a performance that came just as they became the biggest buzz band of the year. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Over the past year and a half, Vampire Weekend has gone from a college band known around Columbia University’s campus to being voted ‘The Year’s Best New Band’ by Spin Magazine. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Their indie Afro pop sound caught the attention of popular music blogs like Stereogum, and the rest is indie rock history. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Rolling Stone placed their song ‘Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa’ in the top 100 best songs of the year in 2007 and Christian Lander, author of Stuff White People Like, did them the honor of dubbing Vampire Weekend the ‘whitest band.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ When asked about being deemed the whitest drummer in the realm of indie rock, Baio responded, ‘I’m okay with it actually.’ Right now I’m drinking coffee, which I know is a big thing, and ‘The Wire’ is my favorite TV show. So yeah, I think I can live with that honor.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Vampire Weekend’s roots started on Columbia’s campus, as Baio said, ‘performing outside for students is always fun ‘mdash; we did it a lot at Columbia.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Their unique sound with the unusual use of African influences partly came from their college experiences. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Baio said their African Influences really ‘came from a number of places.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s one of the many things that the four of us have in common. Our parent’s all had good record collections so we’re all pretty open-minded. And I did college radio and the library there had an Afro pop section.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ So Spin Magazine and indie blogger accolades aside, Vampire Weekend’s most important role may just be that of political motivator. Though Carnegie Mellon’s planned October 4 free show, to have been headlined by the band, was cancelled, Vampire Weekend will be sure to stay on the campaign trail for their man Barack.