5 best moments from “Modern Vampires Of The City” lyrics

A year ago today, Vampire Weekend’s third album, Modern Vampires Of The City, was released. In the last year, it has received near-universal acclaim. Only Yeezus topped more end-of-year rating charts. The one place it didn’t get any love was here on Rock Genius, where it failed to make our top 30 albums of the year

Personally, I really love the album, and I know a lot of you do too, so to make up for overlooking it in the “best of 2013” list, here are the five best moments from Modern Vampires Of The City, as chosen by our forumers –thanks for all your help!
UnbelieversWe know the fire awaits unbelievers
All of the sinners the same
Girl, you and I will die unbelievers
Bound to the tracks of the trainSeveral of the songs are liberally sprinkled with Judeo-Christian theology, and “Unbelievers” is comfortably the most optimistic. A lapsed Orthodox Jew, Koenig here proudly announces his agnosticism, and tackles some of the biggest questions in theology – is faith necessary for salvation? And is our destination already determined – are we “bound” to end up in Hell?Step“Step” is one of the most popular tracks on the album. Lyrically, it is as dense as Dylan, and there are three or four moments that could be singled out. The lover “entombed between boombox and Walkman”, the music that is “richer than Croesus and tougher than leather”, the way Ezra feels in his bones that “the gloves are off”. But the highlight is:Wisdom’s a gift but you’d trade it for youth
Age is an honor – it’s still not the truthThe song is based around an extended metaphor, in which music is personified as a lover. It debunks the idea of music “dying”, or any notion that older music is better, whilst fitting in brilliantly with the album’s themes of mortality and a lack of time. It’s also probably the second most misheard lyric on the album…Don’t LieOld flames they can’t warm you tonight
So keep it cool, my babyOne of the more understated tracks on the album, “Don’t Lie” has very knotty lyrics, which are strongly reminiscent of “Oxford Comma” or “Horchata”. It’s not as upbeat as “Diane Young”, as grandiose as “Ya Hey”, or as desolate as “Obvious Bicycle”. Instead, it’s realistic - it acknowledges the problems of the world whilst saying that now is not the time to deal with them
This lyric encapsulates all of that – there’s no point mooching over your lost love, you’ve got to get on and stop worrying. The juxtaposition between warm flames and “keeping it cool” is particularly effective
HudsonA stranger walked in through the door
Said all apartments are pre-war
We laughed and asked him for his name
He stayed until the end“Hudson” presents a post-apocalyptic New York, seemingly experienced through the eyes of a Native American. The lyrical imagery is striking, and the arrangement is equally haunting, with expertly used strings and choirs. Global warming is causing the Hudson River to drown New Yorkers, and there is the hint of an oncoming war, causing the protagonist to have “never-ending visions.”
This is comfortably the post pessimistic song Vampire Weekend have ever given us – it’s hard to believe that this is the same band that cut “A-Punk”!“Hannah Hunt”If I can’t trust you, then damn it, Hannah
There’s no future, there’s no answer.Wow, just wow...
The first time these lines are sung, it’s note perfect and truly beautiful. The second time, Ezra screams them with such passion that the first rendition pales completely and is totally forgotten
It is hard to better the thoughts of Pitchfork writer Ryan Dombal on this song, so I’m not going to try. Needless to say, that crescendo was the moment I realised that this wasn’t the sort of album that comes along every week...
Thanks for all your contributions, even if you only read this post. I hope this post makes you appreciate Modern Vampires even more!