Rumors have been a swirlin' for some time about the fate of NBC's critically adored and viewer neglected Friday Night Lights. Stalled with seven episodes remaining in its second season, the most recent reports seem to indicate that a third season is imminent. Hooray, right?
Not so fast. Nothing is certain yet, and word is that new NBC honcho Ben Silverman doesn't much care for the Dillon Panthers. This online petition to save the show has been circulating for quite awhile, but with a decision looming in the very near future we thought it was high time to bring it to your attention.
Yes, but what does this all have to do with music? Well, most obviously there's the Explosions in the Sky factor; that they've featured prominently in the show's soundtrack for the past two seasons and have undoubtedly and deservedly reached millions of additional ears as a result is reason enough to keep this little-show-that-could rolling, right?
And according to Spin, having your band's song on the show is like the new O.C. status symbol of sorts. Witness the recent Vampire Weekend cover story, when Andy Greenwald wrote:
Further, their (Vampire Weekend's) success demonstrates a radical redefinition of the very term at a time when quantifiable benchmarks are increasingly defined not by units shifted or radio airplay, but by less scientific means. "Success might mean a synch on Friday Night Lights," says Alexandra Patsavas, music supervisor for Grey's Anatomy, Chuck, and Gossip Girl, referring to the placement of Vampire Weekend's infectious "A-Punk" on an episode of the football drama last November.
So the moral is Friday Night Lights stays on the air and everyone wins, yes?
Listen:
Vampire Weekend - "A-Punk" AND "A-Punk" (EF Live recording from The Earl, Atlanta, GA 3/9/08)
Explosions in the Sky - "It's Natural To Be Afraid"
24 March 2008
The Fate of Friday Night Lights?
11 March 2008
The Walkmen and Vampire Weekend @ The Earl (Atlanta) - 9 March 2008 (pics, video)
This past Sunday evening, The Walkmen (above) made it very clear why they were headlining The Earl and why Vampire Weekend - though riding the comet tail of hype and adulation - were still better suited as openers. The former are rock stars, plain and simple, having matured from carving a studied and distinctively narrow niche for themselves to blossoming into a dynamic beast of a live act, shape-shifting from stadium-sized waves of rock one moment to pensive and cavernous dirges the next and back again with ease.
And after feeling the bass saturate the room, the drums rattle my chest and then witnessing Hamilton arch waaaay back to hit that shrieking final note for an extra 20 seconds, I’m almost convinced they could have gone down the road a few miles and filled Turner Field with the wall of sound they created. It was an absolute privilege to see them play up close again in such an intimate venue as The Earl, where the sound was LOUD but mixed to perfection.
This is not to suggest at all that Vampire Weekend was disappointing or unworthy of praise; in fact, I was pleasantly surprised at how incredibly tight these guys are live. This is music that’s made for a live and social setting, i.e. party music. And one night after playing Saturday Night Live, Ezra Koenig did his damned best to bring the enthusiasm and the party to the sold-out crowd (who were all doe-eyed and all there to see them - see picture below). As I overheard the doorman say, “I like it, sounds like Jimmy Buffet.”* See more pics and watch live videos from this show after the jump...
Watch:
"Little House Of Savages" by The Walkmen live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT
"If Only It Were True" by The Walkmen live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT
See more pictures of The Walkmen (from this show) HERE.
Visit The Walkmen on MySpace.
Watch:
"A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend live (from this show) on YouTube | download QT
See more pictures of Vampire Weekend (from this show) HERE.
Visit Vampire Weekend on MySpace.
--
*words by Mike, pictures and video by Matt.
10 January 2007
Vampire Weekend
Boy do I wish it was Summer right now... Not because these one-point-five days of Winter have tested my ability to deal well with cold weather, but rather because I really want to buy that Sublime box set and, you see, I'm fairly literal with what music I listen to from season to season. No Babylon by Bus in February and no Long Cold Winter on repeat in July. If you catch my drift.
Well if you're like me with all of that then I ask you to suspend your fastidiousness for the time being and check out the following band.
Vampire Weekend is a quartet of Columbia graduates who, like Islands, clearly share a certain love of the sounds that informed Paul Simon's Graceland and half of everything Peter Gabriel has ever done. While there's probably still some finishing touches that could be done on these tracks the beats and strumming you're thirsting for are all here in heaping portions, as are the mellow sunny day melodies. Judging from the song "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" I'd bet that this is one band you're really going to enjoy in a live setting and I'd even go so far as to call this band the best group of African music making white boys in all of New York.
The second song posted here, "Oxford Comma", is the one that's really gotten me most interested in Vampire Weekend. Why? For one it reminds me of things I enjoy about Bishop Allen. A certain carefree take on songcraft you're not likely to find just growing on trees. Smart pop. Ivy League pop? Yeah sure. If that means preppies who own guitars and know who Ladysmith Black Mumbazo is I'll go with that. The second reason I jumped when I first heard "Oxford Comma" is because I give a fuck about fun music, catchy lyrics, AND Oxford commas. That's how I roll. You too? Then let's make this weekend a Vampire Weekend full of boat drinks and fun in the sun. In January? You betcha.
Listen:
"Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
"Oxford Comma"
***also, please, do yourself a favor and check out the excellent Les Bank Robbers mashup of Vampire Weekend's "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and Clipse's "Wamp Wamp" - listen to it on the Les Bank Robbers MySpace page HERE***
Visit Vampire Weekend on MySpace.
See Vampire Weekend on the 31st of January at Mercury Lounge.
