Following on from being pitched as headliners for Falls Festival after one of their songs was used to soundtrack the New Year’s music festival’s expansion to Byron Bay, Vampire Weekend are now being pitched as relationship experts… to teenage girls.
The New York group’s frontman, Ezra Koenig, and bassist Chris Baio are the latest musical stars to face the inquisitions of teenage girls requiring advice on life’s tough topics as part of the awesome ongoing ‘Ask A Grown Man’ series, which finds Rookie magazine sourcing real-life questions then asks ‘grown-up’ celebrities to answer.
Vampire Weekend’s turn follows in the vein of Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich (of Radiohead/Atoms For Peace vs Spotify infamy) giving some hilarious but heartwarming responses to teenage girl’s real-life questions in their edition.
The giggles begin right off the back when Ezra Koenig confusingly inserts a ‘you’ where it doesn’t belong in the first poised question: “Do you guys get turned off by girls who are too easy?”
After a good chuckle, the Vampire Weekend mouthpiece replies, “I’m not turned off by girls who seem to be too easy. That doesn’t even really seem like a thing, being too easy… there doesn’t have to be a whole rigmarole and cat and mouse game going on.” “I’ve never met a man who told me that he did not experiment with viewing pornographic material.” – Ezra Koenig, Vampire Weekend
While Baio’s adds his five cents, saying there’s a “sort of double standard about girls and guys and sex. Maybe there’s still some guys that are going to be jerks about it in that antiquated way, but you shouldn’t let their thinking dictate your actions.”
When the topic of pornography is (pun warning) raised, Koenig warns, “I don’t want to get too much into my personal habits,” perhaps undoing his clean-cut image before noting “I’ve never met a man who told me that he did not experiment with viewing pornographic material.” Before comparing it to baseball (really?).
Other highlights include the pair explaining how romance can lead to murder – but shouldn’t, how to ask out your crush, questioning whether you can remain close with an ex-boyfriend, and other truth-bombs, including Koenig succinctly noting, “life is pain, girl.”
Rookie‘s ‘Ask A Grown Man’ series has featured a range of American comedians, actors, and producers thus far – most notably director Judd Apatow, actor Paul Rudd, stand-up comic Mike Birbiglia, TV host Jimmy Fallon, Mad Men star Jon Hamm, and the series first-ever female appearance from The Gossip’s Beth Ditto.
Meanwhile, both confused teenagers, grown men, and festival-goers alike can get equally excited at the prospect of Vampire Weekend heading to Australia for New Year’s.
The speculation stirring after the band’s song ‘Unbelievers’, from their latest album Modern Vampires Of The City, was used to soundtrack all three videos that accompanied the Falls Festival trailers for Lorne in Victoria, Tasmania’s Marion Bay, and the newly added expansion to Byron Bay. A not so subtle hint that the New York four-piece are playing Falls? Or pure coincidence?
As Koenig sings on ‘Unbelievers’ “I’m not excited/but should I be?”, the answer is most definitely ‘yes’ if the soundtrack trick happens to have the same end results as Splendour In The Grass, which featured Jake Bugg’s ‘Lightning Bolt’ on their trailer for the 2013 edition, before – lo and behold – his name appeared in the confirmed lineup.
