It begins:

Start a pool in your dorm! If “Sriracha” doesn’t get a name-check on the third record, we will eat a Tretorn.

And, to the tune of “quattro formaggi,” it only gets better. Check it out.

What adorns the sleeve of the vinyl, or gazes out from the CD case, or peers up at you from a diminutive iPod screen, is a picture. Her expression is blank, her yellow Polo collar floppily half-popped, her lips slightly parted. The photograph is clearly old, aged; it screams “prep,” the 80s lifestyle buzzword that’s been slapped on Vampire Weekend to the point of meaninglessness. The image is striking, vivid, alive. It’s art, a genuinely stylish example of what was recognized as emblematic beauty in a bygone era. If you want to kneecap the photo’s value because of an issue with the girl’s aesthetic, than you’re exactly the type of person that Ezra Koenig and co. have no time for.

Hell, a significant bunch of the consumers of Contra will probably never see its cover, considering the manner in which most music is consumed today, but that’s not how it’s meant to be.

Much has been made of VW’s assumed snobbishness, their silver-spoon hijacking of the indie rock apparatus. Regardless, there was nothing about their self-titled debut that spoke of nepotism, other than maybe a debt to Paul Simon’s Graceland and an intimate knowledge of Cape Cod (Kennedys, anyone?).

Contra is no different in its merit, but it’s an altered cut of similar cloth: the same African-inspired rhythms and vibrant percussion, this time warmed by generous piano and tinged with electro. In fact, the omnipotence of strings and keys is almost as noticeable as the more exotic leanings, a clue that anyone pegging VW as a one-trick pony has selective hearing.

One major weapon that VW’s added to its arsenal this time around is a newly developed sense of fun. In the same way that Wes Anderson’s films are pleasant and enjoyable but rarely an off-the-rails good time, Vampire Weekend stayed relatively under control. It was an ebullient and sunny record, but except for on “A-Punk” and the last half of “Walcott” (dropping the f-bomb on “Oxford Comma” notwithstanding), the band never seemed to loosen their collars, so to speak.

Not true for Contra. “Cousins” is contagiously joyful, a burst of guitar-and-bravado brilliance careening on a frenetic Chris Baio bassline and Chris Tomson’s relentless drumming. “California English” has the same almost out-of-control feel, carried by bubbling electronics and Koenig’s borderline-incomprehensible vocals. Though “English” seems, at first, to be a less focused sister of earlier track “White Sky,” its obvious intrigue with itself is contagious, and the song unfolds with repeated listens. It’s true that, if you were among those whose preferred touchstone for VW is “Graceland,” you’ll be falling over yourself after hearing these two tracks, but this is far from a bad thing.

Koenig especially seems to have broadened his repertoire this time around. Throughout Contra, the boyish frontman can usually be found shrieking, shouting, rocking a girlish falsetto or singing so fast he’s nearly rapping (not that he’d be the first to rap over a VW instrumental—see Kid Cudi’s “Cudderisback”). In fact, his vocal gesticulations—coupled with the college-boy aesthetic, an outsider ethos, a taste for the African and that consistent attack on pretentiousness—call to mind an 80s tastemaker not named Paul Simon: David Byrne. Nowhere on Contra is this clearer than “Holiday,” with its weaving bassline and hyperactive guitar/drum combo.

Really, there are a number of connections here between Contra and Talking Heads’ second go, More Songs About Buildings and Food, with a similar balance between the raucous and the more restrained, except Koenig lacks all of Byrne’s art-school weirdness and the Heads hadn’t gotten quite so tribal yet (their soul moorings are somewhere that VW could plausibly explore). A loose connection right now, sure, but could be worth remembering if Koenig can keep multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij around.

As for those slower songs. Contra sees something VW hadn’t tried yet: length. “Giving Up the Gun” clocks in at 4:46, a little repetitive in its electro-leaning thump—which calls to mind Batmanglij’s other gig, Discovery. Ironically, it’s the even longer “Diplomat’s Son”—a hefty 6:01—that really succeeds in its bombast. Built on maracas, a vocal loop and some pace-changing piano, Koenig’s tale of a diplomat’s son in 1981 employs most of the production tricks in VW’s arsenal as well as some serious musical chops. And maybe most important of all, the song situates the album, at least to a point, in New York City: a Googling of “diplomat’s son 1981” reveals a three-paragraph New York Times brief mentioning the hit-and-run of a man by—you guessed it—a diplomat’s son.

The track serves as a smooth lead-in to closer “I Think UR a Contra,” an ethereal, meditative offering that features one of Koenig’s most telling lines: “You wanted good schools/And friends with pools/You’re not a contra/You wanted rock and roll/Complete control/Well, I don’t know.” Vampire Weekend continues to straddle the river dividing these two avenues of thought, but with Contra they’ve taken an impressive step toward proving that their position isn’t so unnatural.

Top Five Band Names That Consist Primarily of Gender References
5. Man Man
4. She and Him
3. Me and Women
2. Women
1. Girls

There are also three different lists pertaining exclusively to Lil Wayne. Among them:

Top Ten Things Lil Wayne Doesn’t Do, According to Lil Wayne On Tha Carter III
10. Owe you, like two vowels
9. Rap, he films movies
8. Fantasize
7. Have to get his tooth fixed
6. Write sh-t, cuz he ain’t got time
5. Have the answer
4. Wanna finish
3. Know what you are on
2. Give a f-ck if you see him
1. Care

They also remind us of Vampire Weekend frontman Ezra Koenig’s college blog and their favorite tertiary characters from The Wire. For the rest of the post, check here.

UPDATE: Check out part two here.

Justin Vernon. Courtesy rcrdlbl.

A whole 17 days before the year ends, we did it. We summarized the best our favorite music of 2008 on our humble blog, and its name was Justin Vernon. The Jagjaguwar re-release of Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago, our favorite album of the year, made it into six of our nine lists, all in the top five (that was a lot of single-digit numbers, more coming). The lists had three mentions of “re:stacks,” two of “Skinny Love” and one of “Lump Sum.” Some other numbers after the jump.

• Kanye was the second most acknowledged artist, with five appearances-two for “Street Lights” and three for his guest spot with Estelle.
• Vampire Weekend had four nods, each for a different song: “Walcott” and singles “A-Punk,” “Oxford Comma” and “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa.”
• Dan Rossen had four mentions as well, two for Department of Eagles and one for each of the Grizzly Bear singles from the band’s upcoming release
• Mash-up artists the Hood Internet and “Laptop Artist” Girl Talk each grabbed a spot on a list
• Three mentions: Fleet Foxes, TV on the Radio, Bradford Cox (one as Atlas Sound, two as Deerhunter) and MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” (which had a hard release in 2008)
• Two mentions: the Dodos, Sigur Ros, Okkervil River, Lil Wayne, Beach House and Black Kids
• A total of 62 artists made appearances on our lists (this counts Atlas Sound and Deerhunter as different, Kanye as different from his track with Estelle, Grizzly Bear as different from Department of Eagles, etc.)
• This also means that each list had an average of 6.89 original artists
• “Single Ladies” did not appear on any of the lists.

Justin Vernon. Courtesy New York Press.

10. Lil Wayne. Tha Carter III.

Tha Carter III makes a case for itself from virulent opener “3Peat” all the way to the amusing political piece “Don’t Get It.” The concept is simple: fill an entire album with songs that sound like singles, paired with worthwhile guest-appearances and Lil Wayne’s singular, codeine-laced style. The voice of hip-hop in 2008 was Weezy, not Ye. -Brian Contratto

9. Sun Kil Moon. April.

By now, Mark Kozelek fans know what to expect from his music. The Ohio-born musician makes the case for classic songwriting. April is stripped down, instrumentally sparse–just as, if not more, honest and powerful than anything else in 2008 and as good as anything from his past two decades of music-making. -Andrew Hibbard

8. Vampire Weekend. Vampire Weekend.

Had Jack Kennedy skipped out on politics and moved to Africa, this could be the soundtrack to his life. Vampire Weekend is marked by its catchy vocals, catchy guitar, catchy drums—hell, even the album cover is catchy. Don’t believe the hype and don’t listen to the backlash; these four gentlemen deserve an honest listen. -Kevin Lincoln

7. The Streets. Everything is Borrowed.

The Streets’ performance on his fourth album, Everything is Borrowed is the equivalent of winning gold in rap’s decathlon. Mike Skinner beautifully mixes both genres and subjects, using jazz and rock influences to discuss everything from his female obsessions to the future of the human race. With Everything is Borrowed, Skinner leaves little doubt that he is one of music’s most versatile (and intelligent) figures. -Jordan Axt

6. Lykke Li. Youth Novels.

Breathy vocals. A spoken monologue. Quirky instrumentation and coos. You’ve heard it before. But Lykke Li has range and can manipulate her airy voice to make it sound electronic, separating her from other artists. Bjorn Yttling injects his chipper sounds (think “Young Folks’” whistling) with eclectic percussion, distorted woodwinds and electronica beats, capturing the minimalistic essence of indie pop. -Baishi Wu

5. The Walkmen. You & Me.

The Walkmen have crafted a masterpiece, a soaring paean to intimacy that builds until the final ride cymbal fades away. The album’s soggy guitars and ancient organs hum under grainy howls about long-lost friends and far-off islands, showcasing booming waltzes, haunting ballads, maraca-and-woodblock stomps, and the furious “In The New Year.” -Nate Freeman

4. The Dodos. Visiter.

The guitar-drum duo of Meric Long and Logan Kroeber combine breakneck strumming and violent drumming to produce Visiter, one of the most beautiful compositions of the year. Aside from spirited singles “Fools” and “Jodi,” Visiter includes folk-y arrangements in “Walking” and “Undeclared,” displaying the subtle harmonies present underneath cacophonous melodies. -Baishi Wu

3. Why? Alopecia.

Genres bend and blur on this release from avant-garde hip-hop collective Anticon. Yoni Wolf sings, raps and waxes philosophical over clanking beats and organic instrumentation, and his lyrics—think a little death, a little yearning and a whole mess of twisted imagery—are in turns wrenching and impenetrable. Like many great albums, Alopecia rewards repeated listens, as every spin reveals a new verse to decipher or a different sound that asserts itself. This is a group that cannot be labeled. -Kevin Lincoln

2. TV on the Radio. Dear Science,.

The Brooklyn band strikes gold on its follow up to the eccentric (read: confusing) Return to Cookie Mountain. Dear Science, is a product of the perfect balance between experimentation and experience: catchy, more accessible and—as Tunde acknowledges—more regular. Their signature syncopation is fully realized in energetic opener “Halfway Home” and “Crying,” but slower songs including ballad “Family Tree” and “Love Dog” are also noteworthy. Simply put, TV on the Radio’s ode to modernity is far from regular and one of the year’s best. -Jessie Tang

1. Bon Iver. For Emma, Forever Ago.

For Emma, Forever Ago is, at its core, a break-up album. But if all break-ups resulted in such beauty, I would want to have my heart ripped out every day. Justin Vernon’s debut charts the course of his catharsis. From the harsher “Wolves” to the inward turn that comes on “Blindsided,” Vernon draws us into his personal life, guiding us as he comes to terms with whoever Emma is, ending not with “realization” but a “lift-away.”

It is not about simply love, but different kinds of love. Musically stunning, the album is more about the feelings it evokes. It transcends music. For Emma, Forever Ago is an experience. And one of the best any of us could have had in 2008. -Andrew Hibbard