Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa

Infobox Single
Name = Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa


Artist = Vampire Weekend
from Album = Vampire Weekend
Released = 18 August 2008
Recorded =
Genre = Indie rock
Length = 3:34
Label = XL
Writer =
Producer = Rostam Batmanglij
Certification =
Last single = "Oxford Comma"
(2008)
This single = "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"
(2008)
Next single =

"Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" is the fourth single by indie rock band, Vampire Weekend, released 18 August 2008. The song was rated 67th best song of 2007 by "Rolling Stone" magazine. [cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17601363/the_100_best_songs_of_2007/17|title=The 100 Best Songs of 2007|accessdate= 2008-06-09 |last=|first=|date= 2007-12-27 |publisher= "Rolling Stone"]

Background

In 2005, vocalist Ezra Koenig travelled through London en route to India and said that the trip got him "thinking a lot about colonialism and the aesthetic connections between preppy culture and the native cultures of places like Africa and India." This inspired Koenig to write a short story exploring those connections, and called it "Cape Cod Kwaasa Kwaasa", from which the song was named. [cite web |url=http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/16722257/2007_hot_issue/14|title=Hot New Kids: Vampire Weekend|accessdate= 2008-06-09 |last=Eliscu |first=Jenny|date= 2007-10-04 |publisher= "Rolling Stone"]

Music video

The video, directed by Richard Ayoade (who had also directed the band's video for Oxford Comma) and set in the 1980s, was filmed on the Jersey Shore as "every time [Vampire Weekend] talked about this video, it had something to do with the beach". It is the first video where Vampire Weekend consciously decided to use a narrative with the band becoming characters, unlike previous videos which were "fairly abstract [with] no narrative". Koenig said he felt there was "a Tim Burton element" to the video, in which the band reinvented their image as goths, "with white faces, spiked hair and black outfits". The characters were created in 2007 by Koenig, who came up with rough ideas and images, and was helped by Ayoade to create a story from them.cite web| last =Norris | first =John| title =Vampire Weekend Looking More True To Their Name In 'Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa' Video, By John Norris| publisher = MTV| url =http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1591098/20080717/vampire_weekend.jhtml| accessdate = 2008-09-27| date=2008-07-17]

Bass guitarist Chris Baio said that the band devote a lot of time to touring, so "when [they] do something different like this, it is an exciting thing." Keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij said that the band are "interested in visuals, and it's a treat for [them] to get to do this."

Cover version

Peter Gabriel, former vocalist of Genesis, has shown interest in covering "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" after being introduced to the band by a member of Vampire Weekend's record label, XL Recordings. He said of the song, "I actually do like that song a lot and they've asked me to sing a version of it now which I may well do". In an interview with BBC 6Music, when asked about part of the lyrics which reference him ("This feels so unnatural, Peter Gabriel, too"), Gabriel responded, "Well I haven't quite worked that out whether I should be doing that or substituting it with a name". [cite web |url=http://www.gigwise.com/news/43639/peter-gabriel-unveils-plans-to-cover-vampire-weekend|title= Peter Gabriel Unveils Plans To Cover Vampire Weekend|accessdate= 2008-06-09 |last=Gregory |first=Jason |date= 2008-06-05 |publisher= Gigwise]

Koenig said, "that's an idea that's been floated around before 'cause it seems so perfect. But yeah, it looks like it's happening" but stated that the band didn't want to confirm the cover version until it appears on iTunes Music Store

Critical reception

musicOMH.com commented that the beginning of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" sounds "as if imitating 1950s calypso" and described the opening hook as having "innocence [that] adds charm to the track, built on by the breezy vocal." [cite web |url=http://www.musicomh.com/singles/vampire-weekend-3_0808.htm|title=Vampire Weekend - Cape Kod Kwassa Kwassa (XL) |accessdate= 2008-06-09 |last=Hogwood |first=Ben|date=|publisher= musicOMH.com] Pitchfork Media said that the song's "instrumentation and bubbly beat evoke Paul Simon's "Graceland" and "transforms the buoyant spirit of "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" to a cheaply (but cleanly) recorded, stripped-down, no-fuss context." Pitchfork Media also said that "the unassuming nature of the production works in Vampire Weekend's favor, allowing subtle pleasures like that sunny falsetto vocalese at the end and the purity of the guitar tone to shine through." [cite web |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/download/44502-vampire-weekend-cape-cod-kwassa-kwassa-mp3stream|title=New Music: Vampire Weekend: "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa"|accessdate= 2008-06-09 |last=Richardson |first=Mark|date= 2007-08-02 |publisher= Pitchfork Media]

Chart positions

References

External links

* [http://www.xlrecordings.com/vampireweekend/release/~vampire-weekend-cd/ "Vampire Weekend" on XL Recordings] - Album page on record label's site