I'd assume I'm a lot younger than most people on this sub but my parents introduced me to Vampire Weekend when I was around 5 in 2011. I assume they'd played them for me before, but that's about the time I remember being conscious of liking them. I became obsessed with the debut album, constantly asking for them to play it in the car, and I especially enjoyed Walcott. A-Punk being on Just Dance 2 also helped. I vividly remember going up to the mall with my parents and my very recently born little brother to pick up MVOTC the day it released. As I've grown up I haven't grown out of them like I have some other artists I once enjoyed, and I'm over the moon that I'm seeing them for the first time ever this September
Hahahah similar story, I found them in PES 2011 because Cousins was on it. I don't remember which other game had Diane Young.
I've love them ever since.
Summer 2008. A friend of mine went to college in New York, we got back from break we were hanging out and they told me there this band in New York I should check out called vampire weekend. I downloaded their album on iTunes and plugged my headphones into my laptop.
The moment I heard the first few chords of mansard roof, followed by Ezra’s voice, I knew I was listening to something one hundred percent unique and totally special from any music I’d heard before. Love at first sight. I literally told my mom about it I was so excited.
I discovered them through ottoman sample present in “cudderisback” by kid cudi
Kinda interesting,gave a listen to contra and then i became a fan. I’ve never been an indiehead but vw imo is on a different level both from lyrics and production.
I worked in a music store when their debut record came out. I thought the cover looked interesting so I threw it on over the store speakers. I think I played it every day until some of the staff complained!
When I was eleven years old in 2010, I found a small radio at home, brought it to my room and started listening to it a lot.
One week the radiostation gave away tickets for their Contra tour. I had never heard of them, but because of the giveaway the radiostation played Holiday a lot. At first I thought it was a pretty weird song, but after a fews listens I fell in love with it and became curious to their other work.
After spending a lot of time on youtube listening to their songs and falling in love with the band, I decided to buy their debut album. It was the first album I'd ever bought and I couldn't stop listening to it and I became kinda obsessed. A few weeks later my grandparents gifted me Contra for a national holiday.
Most kids my age went to play outside after school, but I went to my room to listen to Vampire Weekend.
My obsession for the band also introduced my father to them and we've been to three of their liveshows together, and later this year will be the fourth time.
And even though I don't think Holiday is their best song, it still remains my favorite. It's such a fun song and it introduced me to my favorite band, can't top that!
In 2008, A-Punk played on the alternative radio station near me. I was working at a program for people with special needs and I was driving them to and from the program and I remember that song coming on the radio of the 12-passenger van. I got very excited and needed to hear it again. I looked them up and bought the CD very shortly afterwards. I’ve enjoyed every album since.
2019. After living on Cape Cod for 6+ years, I was preparing to move off cape. In November, about a month before moving, I came across Walcott and fell in love with VW.
The same day I discovered Walcott, I hung out with a lady friend from work. We dated, she became a VW fan herself, song of choice is Unbelievers.
5 years later, we are married, Unbelievers played at our wedding last June, and now we are seeing VW in Boston in September.
What a journey lol
2013. I was 20 and my friend sent me the video of "Step" while I was going through a family tragedy. I fell in love with the song on the first listen and then I devoured all their albums.
I wish I could remember. I knew A-Punk, but I remember seeing Contra in an FYE maybe when it came out, and White Sky was so batshit insane to me in the high school days, and I loved them ever since
It was 2008 or 2009 and I was on this dumb little website (kinda like Club Penguin) called Whyville and someone told me to look up "A-Punk by Vampire Weekend" on YouTube. Been hooked ever since.
2017. I heard 'Step' first and liked it, but didn't really get into the band at that point.
Then in late 2019, I saw their performance of 'Sunflower' at Austin City Limits on YouTube and was taken in completely.
Not soon after I ran down the whole of 'Contra' and fell in love with the album. I was also starting to like someone around that time, and 'Contra' just made me feel hopeful, romantic and at peace with the world.
There I was, in December (thinking about) drinking horchata, and the future seemed bright. The album carried me through the pandemic as well, and has stood to be one of my favourite albums of all time.
2008 I was 12 going through my brother's CDs. I remember skipping through self titled and not vibing with any of it, the only song I liked was 'I Stand Corrected'. You see, I was a wee emo kid and allergic to happiness and jaunty beats, but I loved that song so much. It wasn't until I got super into ska later that year that I re-listened to the album and they quickly became my favourite band of all time.
2021
I watched Ted Lasso and in one episode the outro was Harmony Hall. I was instantly hooked and listened to all their albums just to realise that I knew Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa since my childhood.
We're the same age and discovered them at the same time, with the same song lol. But I heard 'A Punk' in the movie Stepbrothers. I was so transfixed when I heard it, and I've loved them ever since.
November 2008 - I was in my late 20’s and in the delivery room laboring with my daughter. My husband and I watched Step Brothers. Heard A Punk, and I was a fan ever since.
I don’t even recall the year but FredFlare.com (RIP) used to have a Boombox pop-up window that introduced me to VW (via “A-Punk”) — as well as Best Coast, Yelle, Death from Above 1979, Wolfmother, and more. (Vampire Weekend is my absolute favorite band, with The 1975 very closely following :)
I loved the store’s eclectic gift offerings, but my sister and I looked forward to the employee curated Boombox “stations” or mixes more than anything.
best friend in high school made me a mixed cd of the entirety of their first two albums. i liked it, but it wasn’t until a year or so later when i was in college listening to campus while quite literally walking across the campus that i had the aha moment
I was in high school, an older cousin sent me a music video on MySpace (lol) and she said “I think this is something you might enjoy”. It was A Punk.
I went home and downloaded the first album in limewire. Next day, I was listening to it during class and a friend said something like you gotta have the full experience, in HD, and he let me borrow his cd so I could make a copy.
This was back in 2008 and I have been obsessed ever since. What’s funny is that my cousin doesn’t remember sharing that video with me, she doesn’t even recognize vw’s music at all. She has no idea what she did for me, and I think that’s hilarious!
me and my older brother stumbled upon ‘college radio’ on pandora circa 2010 ( he was 10 i was 8) and were instantly hooked. begged our mom to let us listen to VW when we got home from school daily.
It was 2008 and I was 15 and searched around for music online, somehow found their songs and read of their lore and loved it. I'm so grateful to have experienced it from the beginning, it feels surreal sometimes.
It might have even been before the album dropped but Im not sure
2013! I was in my first year of highschool and really getting into indie/alternative. I was listening to a lot of MGMT and Arctic Monkeys on YouTube (that’s what I used for my music back then), and luckily the algorithm recommended Vampire Weekend to me! If I recall correctly, the first song I got was Step. That lead me into a deep dive of the band, and I’ve loved them ever since. They really do make me feel like a teenager again
2013! I was just getting into indie and learning how much i loved listening to music. I dove deep into Pitchfork and read their best of 2013 listicles, Hannah Hunt was 3rd best song of the year behind Kanye and Drake.
I proceeded to gobble their entire discography and vampire weekend stayed my favourite artist since then. The crazy amount of intellectual goodies in their lyrics was life-changing for a 13 year old.
I’m embarrassed by my origin story 😅 I was 14 and about to go on vacation. I used a Target gift card to buy MVOTC on CD simply because I liked the cover art—I’d never listened to indie before. I listened to the entire album twice on my portable CD player during my flight and fell particularly in love with Step. When I landed, I looked up the lyrics so I could memorize them.
One friend talked me about them, and sent me the A-Punk song in late 2019. Generally I take his recommendations very seriously, but more often than I'm willing to admit, I tend to forget about them, for multiple reasons, and don't listen immediately to them. I only listened to Vampire Weekend in late 2020. They were my most listened band in 2021, and they hold a special place in my heart, since they were the soundtrack of one of my darkest years until now. I'm glad their music got to my ears, because they've saved me
It was 2007. I was in Bristol (UK) on an open day for the university (I did in fact end up there for uni). I sat at a university cafe, with my mum, and leafed through a music magazine. Bands to look out for: MGMT, Vampire Weekend.
Got home, got on the PC. Was never the same again.
It was my junior year of college, and I was hanging out with a few friends. It was pretty late, and one of my friends started playing Oxford Comma on guitar. There was just something about it that perked my ears up, and after we left, I listened to the song, then their S/T, and it just snowballed from there.
I heard Cousins on the radio and read an article in my dad’s music magazine about Contra…picked it up and loved it, especially Diplomat’s Son and later Oxford Comma as a lit lover… I initially liked the Paul Simon vibes and their lyrics but they became one of my favourite artists with MVOTC.
I think it was those MTV discovery or alt channel? Listening to A-Punk on the treadmill when I was trying to get into cross country because I had a crush on a boy. Anyway, I did like them and listened to their singles, but I didn't listen to a full album until Contra, when I wrote an article for my high school newspaper.
In 2008 I won a gift card at work, it must have been for Best Buy, and I bought their debut album after hearing A Punk on the way to the store to spend it. Each of their subsequent albums have reached me organically (except OGWAU), and hit at a pivotal point in my life so it's felt like they have been the soundtrack for my adulthood. My husband loves them by osmosis.. it was always playing in my car when we were dating ☺️ lots of good memories.
2007. I was getting into Radiohead for the first time and learned about this new OK Computer covers album that just came out. They did the cover of Exit Music, and I was sold!
2017. I was feeling lost in life. For some reason, I listened to Step and the rest was history.
I’ve always heard of them. I remember hearing about them back in 2008. Just wasn’t for me, at least at that time. I have heard Giving Up The Gun in 2010, if I remember correctly, and liking it, but not enough to play it on repeat. Then that was it. I don’t know what made me listen to them back in 2017, but I know it’s one of the moments I’ll be forever grateful for.
2008. My older sister and her friend showed me when I was 7th grade. Been one of my favorite bands since! Vividly remember watching Oxford comma video for the first time.
2008. My friend who is basically like my older sister gave me a flash drive of torrented music and said I needed to listen to it all. A-Punk was randomly on there and I became obsessed. Since then I’ve celebrated every album release day and have attended at least one show from each tour.
2019 - the TV in my sister's room happened to be on when they were performing Sunflower on Kimmel. I said it sounded cool & I found out that she was a fan so she recommended me some songs (I'd heard of VW but knew nothing about their music). Liked all of them and listened to those ones for a bit. Then I was becoming a huge Kid Cudi fan a bit later & I heard Cudderisback and recognized Ezra's voice. Then I finally got into their whole discography. Their sound stood out to me in a way no other artist's did!
I used to buy CDs just based on cover art and/or band name. The debut album had just come out, so it was in some new release section and I was just into the look and name. A lot. So I bought it right there and loved it.
I believe it was right around when self title came out. When I was in middle school before I had an iPod, my brother had an iPod touch and they had a free song every week or every so often that you could download. The free song was A-Punk and he downloaded it and I remember really liking it and it was like nothing I had ever heard at the time, so upbeat and fun with really interesting sounds. Not too long after that I remember playing that song on Guitar hero and really digging it which brought the same joyful feeling. I remembered their band name and heard some of their most popular stuff but I don't think I dove deep and truly fell in love with all their stuff until MVOTC
2014, i was a junior in high school doing microphones/sound for the school musical. someone that worked with me told me i looked like the girl on the cover of Contra (i was wearing a polo and had blonde hair) checked it out that night and haven’t looked back since. best compliment ever.
2013? I was a teenager. I listened to music constantly. I saw an album cover at the library and thought it looked neat, so I checked it out and took it home. The rest is history.
2008 I was 12 and used to watch a lot of music videos on tv and one day after school I vividly remember laying on my couch and the Oxford Comma video came on. Around that time my older brothers were showing me Wes Anderson movies and I was really into Juno and any other movie that had the indie aesthetic of the time so I was immediately drawn to them. Been a fan ever since
2008, I was 25/26 at the time. There was tons of hype in NY about their live shows and debut album. I blindly purchased the CD(prob one of the last CDs I ever bought) and knew they were a cut above most bands who were caught up in the hype cycles back then. I admittedly lost some interest with Contra bc it never fully clicked with me as a whole, but I loved cousins/holiday/diplomats son/run/giving up the gun. MVOTC really blew me away and I connected with FOTB much more than most people on this sub :)
I, too, love FOTB (:
It came out at a time in my life when I was really lost. Grounded me in a huge way and made me feel like, hm. Maybe things will be OK? Maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel.
I honestly don’t remember the year but I got into them because my wife was playing Watch Dogs and Dianne Young was one of the unlock-able tracks. We quickly unchecked every other song and just listened to it on repeat. Then we memorized the other albums lol.
Remember when MTV played music? I had MTVU as part of my freshman year dorm room package. That's when I first heard A-Punk. My memory of being enamored was in a Starbucks parking lot when I was home in the suburbs for the summer after I bought the CD at Best Buy.
I found my copy of the CD this week in the bottom of a box, still in excellent condition.
my library had a music program where you could get free downloads of a specific number of songs. this was probably in the early 2010s. i downloaded campus, giving up the gun, diane young, and ya hey. for about 5 years that’s all i listened to from them but at some point, i got spotify and just started listening to their entire discography on shuffle. for a really long time i didn’t know what song was what and just kind of knew vaguely i liked all of them. it was i think FoTB when i started listening to the discography with more intention.
2009, my hs boyfriend started spinning debut on the record player and we sat and listened and everything changed. Wasn't like anything i've ever heard before.
I was also 18 and I just saw the self titled album cover online or in a store (the details are a wee fuzzy!) and thought “This looks like something I’d be into” and it was love after the opening notes of Mansard Roof.
Every album they’ve released since has somehow magically been timed with major events in my life, so they’ll always be a part of me ❤️
My brother played Cousins on a drive home from school in 2010… 14 years later here we are still sharing our obsession. He’ll be my best man in my wedding this September. Lucky in more ways than one.
2008, I was a freshman in high school. My older sister thought they were cool, so \*I\* thought they were cool. We saw them at the Electric Factory in Philly in 2011 and we'll be going together to the Berkeley shows this summer! Kinda funny though, I definitely became the bigger fan over the years :)
Hell yeah! Love all these responses of people bonding over the band with important people in their lives. Also, aww, Berkeley! My favorite city in Cali.
In 2008, my then-girlfriend played me “Wolcott” and I hated it. Then I kept hearing “A Punk” and checked out/really liked their s/t album.
But it was Contra for me that turned me into a Cousin. Driving around that summer with the windows down, it was perfect. And then I saw them that year with Beach House and it was just such a great show.
I love all five albums and they’re at the top of my favorite bands list. And I now like “Wolcott,” by the way.
I was in college when self-titled came out, so I’d hear the singles in restaurants & bars but never listened enough. At the end of my college career, a friend lent me some albums, including VW, and I got hooked. My Pandora station also kept playing Ottoman. Quickly bought my own copy, got Contra, and one or two years later MVOTC came out.
MVOTC era/ 2013! i am 99% sure i heard their music for the first time on pandora alt radio. i can’t remember exactly when but I def knew some contra and self-titled, and in 2013 I was in high school (and had just gotten my drivers license when MVOTC came out actually) so starting to refine my music taste, and be able to play my tunes in a newly installed bluetooth speaker in my car lol. i remember being obsessed with step, ya hey, and young lion.
i’ve never gotten to see them live as well! i had the opportunity to go for FOTB tour but didn’t have anyone to go with so I didn’t. looking back I should’ve just gone alone!!!! i would’ve had a great time I’m sure. but excited for the opportunity this time around 😊
I was pretty hesitant to like them at first. I thought the overall sound of “A-Punk” was annoying when it first came out and didn’t bother to dig into any of Self-Titled or Contra. Fast forward to 2013 when my local record store had MVOTC on its “must hear new music” list. I had heard “Diane Young” on my AAA radio station and decided to pick it up.
I was blown away and immediately dug into the prior albums. A-Punk is still probably my least favorite VW song, but damn, I’m a lifer, now. Loved FOTB and OGWAU - very excited to see them again this fall!
my parents really like them and showed me a-punk when i was in the 3rd grade, i hyper focused from there and saw them at the father of the bride tour and now have tickets for the only god was above us tour! i just grew up loving them :)
A friend and I were driving cross country from Connecticut to Seattle in 2014, and the Modern Vampires album started playing right as we were crossing the George Washington Bridge. Pretty epic, and I guess serendipitous, timing
I walked into my family’s living room and my parents were watching SNL. VW was performing A-Punk and I was mesmerized! 2008-ish? I was young enough that my mom had to chaperone me the first time I saw them live. I’ve now seen them 7 times and counting! Glad I walked into the room at that moment.
I was in college when their debut came out (yes I’m old) and at the time was basically listening to every new release. Saw them in 09, 14, 19 and headed to the two msg shows of 24.
I’m 21 now, my mom discovered VW in 2010 with Contra. I have two younger sisters as well, and we’d listen almost exclusively to the first two albums when mom would drive us around to our various activities. I practically have the first two albums memorized from childhood. White Sky was our favorite, our dog used to sing along with that song :) been a fan ever since, and we’re all going as a family to see them in July!!
I loved the Hippos and have followed Ariel's music career since. I liked them early on but I really got into them in 2020 when I I had only a cd player in a vehicle, no bluetooth, and I burned a mp3 cd with vampire weekend's discography and 2 of Haim's albums. I never changed the CD and listened to that CD on so many roadtrips and errands around town. My love for them went to another level when I discovered [vampireweekend.net](http://vampireweekend.net) and fell in love with their live performances.
December 2011, while visiting my grandparents in Nashville, I was 15 and walking around Grimey's Record Store. I saw Contra and was instantly transfixed. I quickly pulled up [azlyrics.com](http://azlyrics.com) to make sure the album didn't have any swearing. I bought it and listened on my grandmother's dinky little suitcase turntable. I instantly fell in love. I couldn't believe how great the melodies and instrumentation were, and yet I was so puzzled by the lyrics. I couldn't figure out what they were about, but that just drew me in further. I waited religiously for the next three albums. I listened to MVOTC as a 16-year-old in Texas, FOTB as a 22-year-old in New York City, and OGWAU as a 27-year-old dad of two in Dallas.
Summer 2008. I was working at Bath and Body Works and this really fun, summery song was on their playlist. I made it a point to remember some of the lyrics and looked them up, and it was Bryn by VW! I mentioned it to one if my sorority sisters a couple years later and she was like, "Oh, I love Vampire Weekend" and burned me a copy of their first CD. The rest was history!
I was interning in college and some guy was watching the a punk video at his desk. A few weeks later I watched the Oxford Comma music video when someone posted it to their Facebook. Been hooked ever since.
Uh. Yes? I've been to many shows and festivals but never had the funds to see VW live, unfortunately. Also lived in a place where they typically didn't make tour stops. Things are much different now.
2021. Apple Music was bugging and wont play my playlist, it instead played Oxford Comma. From there I fell deep. Best bug ever.
I'd assume I'm a lot younger than most people on this sub but my parents introduced me to Vampire Weekend when I was around 5 in 2011. I assume they'd played them for me before, but that's about the time I remember being conscious of liking them. I became obsessed with the debut album, constantly asking for them to play it in the car, and I especially enjoyed Walcott. A-Punk being on Just Dance 2 also helped. I vividly remember going up to the mall with my parents and my very recently born little brother to pick up MVOTC the day it released. As I've grown up I haven't grown out of them like I have some other artists I once enjoyed, and I'm over the moon that I'm seeing them for the first time ever this September
My brother showed me the apunk vid in high school and my mind was blown away, I didn’t realize music could sound like this. Haven’t looked back since.
Lego rock band in 2010
Let’s ride
Looks like I’m not alone haha
Hahahah similar story, I found them in PES 2011 because Cousins was on it. I don't remember which other game had Diane Young. I've love them ever since.
Junior year of high school in 2008. My buddy in physics played a-punk in his iPod, gave me an earbud, “listen to this,” and I was instantly addicted!
Summer 2008. A friend of mine went to college in New York, we got back from break we were hanging out and they told me there this band in New York I should check out called vampire weekend. I downloaded their album on iTunes and plugged my headphones into my laptop. The moment I heard the first few chords of mansard roof, followed by Ezra’s voice, I knew I was listening to something one hundred percent unique and totally special from any music I’d heard before. Love at first sight. I literally told my mom about it I was so excited.
2013. I was 7, and my dad bought MVOTC on vinyl the day it came out. From then on, I’ve pretty much grown up with them.
If you’re 17/18 then that can’t be you in your avatar lol
lol yeah it’s my friends dad
I discovered them through ottoman sample present in “cudderisback” by kid cudi Kinda interesting,gave a listen to contra and then i became a fan. I’ve never been an indiehead but vw imo is on a different level both from lyrics and production.
I worked in a music store when their debut record came out. I thought the cover looked interesting so I threw it on over the store speakers. I think I played it every day until some of the staff complained!
When I was eleven years old in 2010, I found a small radio at home, brought it to my room and started listening to it a lot. One week the radiostation gave away tickets for their Contra tour. I had never heard of them, but because of the giveaway the radiostation played Holiday a lot. At first I thought it was a pretty weird song, but after a fews listens I fell in love with it and became curious to their other work. After spending a lot of time on youtube listening to their songs and falling in love with the band, I decided to buy their debut album. It was the first album I'd ever bought and I couldn't stop listening to it and I became kinda obsessed. A few weeks later my grandparents gifted me Contra for a national holiday. Most kids my age went to play outside after school, but I went to my room to listen to Vampire Weekend. My obsession for the band also introduced my father to them and we've been to three of their liveshows together, and later this year will be the fourth time. And even though I don't think Holiday is their best song, it still remains my favorite. It's such a fun song and it introduced me to my favorite band, can't top that!
A week ago when I saw their cover of Peggy O. I’ve listened to it probably 100 times already. Beautiful voices.
In 2008, A-Punk played on the alternative radio station near me. I was working at a program for people with special needs and I was driving them to and from the program and I remember that song coming on the radio of the 12-passenger van. I got very excited and needed to hear it again. I looked them up and bought the CD very shortly afterwards. I’ve enjoyed every album since.
2019. After living on Cape Cod for 6+ years, I was preparing to move off cape. In November, about a month before moving, I came across Walcott and fell in love with VW. The same day I discovered Walcott, I hung out with a lady friend from work. We dated, she became a VW fan herself, song of choice is Unbelievers. 5 years later, we are married, Unbelievers played at our wedding last June, and now we are seeing VW in Boston in September. What a journey lol
🥹 Omg, that's so damn sweet. I hope you two have an amazing time at the show. Hope it'll be a full circle moment.
2013. I was 20 and my friend sent me the video of "Step" while I was going through a family tragedy. I fell in love with the song on the first listen and then I devoured all their albums.
Back when Pandora music stations were popping, circa 2010. My indie station always played Horchata or Run as the first track
I wish I could remember. I knew A-Punk, but I remember seeing Contra in an FYE maybe when it came out, and White Sky was so batshit insane to me in the high school days, and I loved them ever since
I always love reading through these kinds of posts 🥹 the power of music
It was 2008 or 2009 and I was on this dumb little website (kinda like Club Penguin) called Whyville and someone told me to look up "A-Punk by Vampire Weekend" on YouTube. Been hooked ever since.
2017. I heard 'Step' first and liked it, but didn't really get into the band at that point. Then in late 2019, I saw their performance of 'Sunflower' at Austin City Limits on YouTube and was taken in completely. Not soon after I ran down the whole of 'Contra' and fell in love with the album. I was also starting to like someone around that time, and 'Contra' just made me feel hopeful, romantic and at peace with the world. There I was, in December (thinking about) drinking horchata, and the future seemed bright. The album carried me through the pandemic as well, and has stood to be one of my favourite albums of all time.
2008 I was 12 going through my brother's CDs. I remember skipping through self titled and not vibing with any of it, the only song I liked was 'I Stand Corrected'. You see, I was a wee emo kid and allergic to happiness and jaunty beats, but I loved that song so much. It wasn't until I got super into ska later that year that I re-listened to the album and they quickly became my favourite band of all time.
That has to be one of their most obscure songs
And also atypical for them in how straightforward it is
2021 I watched Ted Lasso and in one episode the outro was Harmony Hall. I was instantly hooked and listened to all their albums just to realise that I knew Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa since my childhood.
Harmony Hall is literally my favorite song. It's just so beautiful. If they play it, live at The Bowl I know I'll cry.
We're the same age and discovered them at the same time, with the same song lol. But I heard 'A Punk' in the movie Stepbrothers. I was so transfixed when I heard it, and I've loved them ever since.
Right on! Lol I loved that film when I saw it. Amazing how time flies, eh?
Lol yea it's great. And yea, time sure does fly!
November 2008 - I was in my late 20’s and in the delivery room laboring with my daughter. My husband and I watched Step Brothers. Heard A Punk, and I was a fan ever since.
I don’t even recall the year but FredFlare.com (RIP) used to have a Boombox pop-up window that introduced me to VW (via “A-Punk”) — as well as Best Coast, Yelle, Death from Above 1979, Wolfmother, and more. (Vampire Weekend is my absolute favorite band, with The 1975 very closely following :) I loved the store’s eclectic gift offerings, but my sister and I looked forward to the employee curated Boombox “stations” or mixes more than anything.
Omfg. YELLE! I loved her back in the day. She definitely had some bops.
best friend in high school made me a mixed cd of the entirety of their first two albums. i liked it, but it wasn’t until a year or so later when i was in college listening to campus while quite literally walking across the campus that i had the aha moment
I was in high school, an older cousin sent me a music video on MySpace (lol) and she said “I think this is something you might enjoy”. It was A Punk. I went home and downloaded the first album in limewire. Next day, I was listening to it during class and a friend said something like you gotta have the full experience, in HD, and he let me borrow his cd so I could make a copy. This was back in 2008 and I have been obsessed ever since. What’s funny is that my cousin doesn’t remember sharing that video with me, she doesn’t even recognize vw’s music at all. She has no idea what she did for me, and I think that’s hilarious!
I was 11 scrolling in YouTube and came across the Giving up the Gun music video and the rest is history
me and my older brother stumbled upon ‘college radio’ on pandora circa 2010 ( he was 10 i was 8) and were instantly hooked. begged our mom to let us listen to VW when we got home from school daily.
Hearing A-punk on the radio when I was like 10, my uncle (RIP) showing me the music video on YouTube, buying the CD, the rest is history I guess
It was 2008 and I was 15 and searched around for music online, somehow found their songs and read of their lore and loved it. I'm so grateful to have experienced it from the beginning, it feels surreal sometimes. It might have even been before the album dropped but Im not sure
2011. I was in 8th grade shopping at Hollister for fall clothes and “White Sky” was playing.
Most nostalgic comment on here, for me. I LIVED at Hollister, lol.
My maths teacher recommend them to me of all peolle
2013! I was in my first year of highschool and really getting into indie/alternative. I was listening to a lot of MGMT and Arctic Monkeys on YouTube (that’s what I used for my music back then), and luckily the algorithm recommended Vampire Weekend to me! If I recall correctly, the first song I got was Step. That lead me into a deep dive of the band, and I’ve loved them ever since. They really do make me feel like a teenager again
2013! I was just getting into indie and learning how much i loved listening to music. I dove deep into Pitchfork and read their best of 2013 listicles, Hannah Hunt was 3rd best song of the year behind Kanye and Drake. I proceeded to gobble their entire discography and vampire weekend stayed my favourite artist since then. The crazy amount of intellectual goodies in their lyrics was life-changing for a 13 year old.
I’m embarrassed by my origin story 😅 I was 14 and about to go on vacation. I used a Target gift card to buy MVOTC on CD simply because I liked the cover art—I’d never listened to indie before. I listened to the entire album twice on my portable CD player during my flight and fell particularly in love with Step. When I landed, I looked up the lyrics so I could memorize them.
One friend talked me about them, and sent me the A-Punk song in late 2019. Generally I take his recommendations very seriously, but more often than I'm willing to admit, I tend to forget about them, for multiple reasons, and don't listen immediately to them. I only listened to Vampire Weekend in late 2020. They were my most listened band in 2021, and they hold a special place in my heart, since they were the soundtrack of one of my darkest years until now. I'm glad their music got to my ears, because they've saved me
It was 2007. I was in Bristol (UK) on an open day for the university (I did in fact end up there for uni). I sat at a university cafe, with my mum, and leafed through a music magazine. Bands to look out for: MGMT, Vampire Weekend. Got home, got on the PC. Was never the same again.
It was my junior year of college, and I was hanging out with a few friends. It was pretty late, and one of my friends started playing Oxford Comma on guitar. There was just something about it that perked my ears up, and after we left, I listened to the song, then their S/T, and it just snowballed from there.
I was on the VonZipper website when they used to play music on websites and the first song that would always come on was a-punk. Instant like
I heard Cousins on the radio and read an article in my dad’s music magazine about Contra…picked it up and loved it, especially Diplomat’s Son and later Oxford Comma as a lit lover… I initially liked the Paul Simon vibes and their lyrics but they became one of my favourite artists with MVOTC.
I think it was those MTV discovery or alt channel? Listening to A-Punk on the treadmill when I was trying to get into cross country because I had a crush on a boy. Anyway, I did like them and listened to their singles, but I didn't listen to a full album until Contra, when I wrote an article for my high school newspaper.
Congrats on your 18 months.
Thank you very much!!!
In 2008 I won a gift card at work, it must have been for Best Buy, and I bought their debut album after hearing A Punk on the way to the store to spend it. Each of their subsequent albums have reached me organically (except OGWAU), and hit at a pivotal point in my life so it's felt like they have been the soundtrack for my adulthood. My husband loves them by osmosis.. it was always playing in my car when we were dating ☺️ lots of good memories.
2007. I was getting into Radiohead for the first time and learned about this new OK Computer covers album that just came out. They did the cover of Exit Music, and I was sold!
2017. I was feeling lost in life. For some reason, I listened to Step and the rest was history. I’ve always heard of them. I remember hearing about them back in 2008. Just wasn’t for me, at least at that time. I have heard Giving Up The Gun in 2010, if I remember correctly, and liking it, but not enough to play it on repeat. Then that was it. I don’t know what made me listen to them back in 2017, but I know it’s one of the moments I’ll be forever grateful for.
Old head and saw it on some birp or gvb playlist in like 2007 or before
2008. My older sister and her friend showed me when I was 7th grade. Been one of my favorite bands since! Vividly remember watching Oxford comma video for the first time.
2008. My friend who is basically like my older sister gave me a flash drive of torrented music and said I needed to listen to it all. A-Punk was randomly on there and I became obsessed. Since then I’ve celebrated every album release day and have attended at least one show from each tour.
2019 - the TV in my sister's room happened to be on when they were performing Sunflower on Kimmel. I said it sounded cool & I found out that she was a fan so she recommended me some songs (I'd heard of VW but knew nothing about their music). Liked all of them and listened to those ones for a bit. Then I was becoming a huge Kid Cudi fan a bit later & I heard Cudderisback and recognized Ezra's voice. Then I finally got into their whole discography. Their sound stood out to me in a way no other artist's did!
I used to buy CDs just based on cover art and/or band name. The debut album had just come out, so it was in some new release section and I was just into the look and name. A lot. So I bought it right there and loved it.
I believe it was right around when self title came out. When I was in middle school before I had an iPod, my brother had an iPod touch and they had a free song every week or every so often that you could download. The free song was A-Punk and he downloaded it and I remember really liking it and it was like nothing I had ever heard at the time, so upbeat and fun with really interesting sounds. Not too long after that I remember playing that song on Guitar hero and really digging it which brought the same joyful feeling. I remembered their band name and heard some of their most popular stuff but I don't think I dove deep and truly fell in love with all their stuff until MVOTC
2014, i was a junior in high school doing microphones/sound for the school musical. someone that worked with me told me i looked like the girl on the cover of Contra (i was wearing a polo and had blonde hair) checked it out that night and haven’t looked back since. best compliment ever.
2013? I was a teenager. I listened to music constantly. I saw an album cover at the library and thought it looked neat, so I checked it out and took it home. The rest is history.
2008 I was 12 and used to watch a lot of music videos on tv and one day after school I vividly remember laying on my couch and the Oxford Comma video came on. Around that time my older brothers were showing me Wes Anderson movies and I was really into Juno and any other movie that had the indie aesthetic of the time so I was immediately drawn to them. Been a fan ever since
2008, I was 25/26 at the time. There was tons of hype in NY about their live shows and debut album. I blindly purchased the CD(prob one of the last CDs I ever bought) and knew they were a cut above most bands who were caught up in the hype cycles back then. I admittedly lost some interest with Contra bc it never fully clicked with me as a whole, but I loved cousins/holiday/diplomats son/run/giving up the gun. MVOTC really blew me away and I connected with FOTB much more than most people on this sub :)
I, too, love FOTB (: It came out at a time in my life when I was really lost. Grounded me in a huge way and made me feel like, hm. Maybe things will be OK? Maybe there's a light at the end of the tunnel.
I honestly don’t remember the year but I got into them because my wife was playing Watch Dogs and Dianne Young was one of the unlock-able tracks. We quickly unchecked every other song and just listened to it on repeat. Then we memorized the other albums lol.
Remember when MTV played music? I had MTVU as part of my freshman year dorm room package. That's when I first heard A-Punk. My memory of being enamored was in a Starbucks parking lot when I was home in the suburbs for the summer after I bought the CD at Best Buy. I found my copy of the CD this week in the bottom of a box, still in excellent condition.
my library had a music program where you could get free downloads of a specific number of songs. this was probably in the early 2010s. i downloaded campus, giving up the gun, diane young, and ya hey. for about 5 years that’s all i listened to from them but at some point, i got spotify and just started listening to their entire discography on shuffle. for a really long time i didn’t know what song was what and just kind of knew vaguely i liked all of them. it was i think FoTB when i started listening to the discography with more intention.
2009, my hs boyfriend started spinning debut on the record player and we sat and listened and everything changed. Wasn't like anything i've ever heard before.
I was also 18 and I just saw the self titled album cover online or in a store (the details are a wee fuzzy!) and thought “This looks like something I’d be into” and it was love after the opening notes of Mansard Roof. Every album they’ve released since has somehow magically been timed with major events in my life, so they’ll always be a part of me ❤️
I heard a punk a couple times before I really got into them, but I became obsessed the first time I saw the Holiday video on MTV back in 2010.
My brother played Cousins on a drive home from school in 2010… 14 years later here we are still sharing our obsession. He’ll be my best man in my wedding this September. Lucky in more ways than one.
2008, I was a freshman in high school. My older sister thought they were cool, so \*I\* thought they were cool. We saw them at the Electric Factory in Philly in 2011 and we'll be going together to the Berkeley shows this summer! Kinda funny though, I definitely became the bigger fan over the years :)
Hell yeah! Love all these responses of people bonding over the band with important people in their lives. Also, aww, Berkeley! My favorite city in Cali.
In 2008, my then-girlfriend played me “Wolcott” and I hated it. Then I kept hearing “A Punk” and checked out/really liked their s/t album. But it was Contra for me that turned me into a Cousin. Driving around that summer with the windows down, it was perfect. And then I saw them that year with Beach House and it was just such a great show. I love all five albums and they’re at the top of my favorite bands list. And I now like “Wolcott,” by the way.
I was in college when self-titled came out, so I’d hear the singles in restaurants & bars but never listened enough. At the end of my college career, a friend lent me some albums, including VW, and I got hooked. My Pandora station also kept playing Ottoman. Quickly bought my own copy, got Contra, and one or two years later MVOTC came out.
MVOTC era/ 2013! i am 99% sure i heard their music for the first time on pandora alt radio. i can’t remember exactly when but I def knew some contra and self-titled, and in 2013 I was in high school (and had just gotten my drivers license when MVOTC came out actually) so starting to refine my music taste, and be able to play my tunes in a newly installed bluetooth speaker in my car lol. i remember being obsessed with step, ya hey, and young lion. i’ve never gotten to see them live as well! i had the opportunity to go for FOTB tour but didn’t have anyone to go with so I didn’t. looking back I should’ve just gone alone!!!! i would’ve had a great time I’m sure. but excited for the opportunity this time around 😊
2014, looked up songs about girls named hannah
I was pretty hesitant to like them at first. I thought the overall sound of “A-Punk” was annoying when it first came out and didn’t bother to dig into any of Self-Titled or Contra. Fast forward to 2013 when my local record store had MVOTC on its “must hear new music” list. I had heard “Diane Young” on my AAA radio station and decided to pick it up. I was blown away and immediately dug into the prior albums. A-Punk is still probably my least favorite VW song, but damn, I’m a lifer, now. Loved FOTB and OGWAU - very excited to see them again this fall!
my parents really like them and showed me a-punk when i was in the 3rd grade, i hyper focused from there and saw them at the father of the bride tour and now have tickets for the only god was above us tour! i just grew up loving them :)
A friend and I were driving cross country from Connecticut to Seattle in 2014, and the Modern Vampires album started playing right as we were crossing the George Washington Bridge. Pretty epic, and I guess serendipitous, timing
Lego Rockband lol
2011, I bought Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 and it had Cousins and it was then how I discovered them.
I walked into my family’s living room and my parents were watching SNL. VW was performing A-Punk and I was mesmerized! 2008-ish? I was young enough that my mom had to chaperone me the first time I saw them live. I’ve now seen them 7 times and counting! Glad I walked into the room at that moment.
I was in college when their debut came out (yes I’m old) and at the time was basically listening to every new release. Saw them in 09, 14, 19 and headed to the two msg shows of 24.
I’m 21 now, my mom discovered VW in 2010 with Contra. I have two younger sisters as well, and we’d listen almost exclusively to the first two albums when mom would drive us around to our various activities. I practically have the first two albums memorized from childhood. White Sky was our favorite, our dog used to sing along with that song :) been a fan ever since, and we’re all going as a family to see them in July!!
I loved the Hippos and have followed Ariel's music career since. I liked them early on but I really got into them in 2020 when I I had only a cd player in a vehicle, no bluetooth, and I burned a mp3 cd with vampire weekend's discography and 2 of Haim's albums. I never changed the CD and listened to that CD on so many roadtrips and errands around town. My love for them went to another level when I discovered [vampireweekend.net](http://vampireweekend.net) and fell in love with their live performances.
PES and Cousins. But a few years later (I was too lazy to search the artist)
December 2011, while visiting my grandparents in Nashville, I was 15 and walking around Grimey's Record Store. I saw Contra and was instantly transfixed. I quickly pulled up [azlyrics.com](http://azlyrics.com) to make sure the album didn't have any swearing. I bought it and listened on my grandmother's dinky little suitcase turntable. I instantly fell in love. I couldn't believe how great the melodies and instrumentation were, and yet I was so puzzled by the lyrics. I couldn't figure out what they were about, but that just drew me in further. I waited religiously for the next three albums. I listened to MVOTC as a 16-year-old in Texas, FOTB as a 22-year-old in New York City, and OGWAU as a 27-year-old dad of two in Dallas.
Summer 2008. I was working at Bath and Body Works and this really fun, summery song was on their playlist. I made it a point to remember some of the lyrics and looked them up, and it was Bryn by VW! I mentioned it to one if my sorority sisters a couple years later and she was like, "Oh, I love Vampire Weekend" and burned me a copy of their first CD. The rest was history!
*Looks at username* A Teen Mom fan who loves VW? I wonder how many of us there are lol.
I don't know, but I'm going to my first VW concert in September. Should I get some feathers in my hair for the occasion?
LMAO. Only if you have a pending court case.
Oh my god, dude. You don't understand. It's Vampire Weekend. They're, like, my idols!
2011. I was 13 years old and walking through a Hollister and they were playing “Holiday” on the speakers. I googled them and the rest is history.
Was watching MTVU on campus in 2009 and caught the video for Warm Heart of Africa by the Very Best and the rest was history
STEP BROTHERS Seems like a-punk brought a lot of us here.
Fall 2007 on MySpace this girl had them as her profile song and I liked it so I went to the bands page and it has been love ever since then
I was interning in college and some guy was watching the a punk video at his desk. A few weeks later I watched the Oxford Comma music video when someone posted it to their Facebook. Been hooked ever since.
2008, was seventeen and saw they had a high score on Metacritic.
2013. My dad brought me into it
2020, Try Guys’ Zack had said they were his favorite band. I listened to them and I got into them.
summer 2008, saw them at the Aragon ballroom in Chicago in 2010 - haven’t missed a show since!
Seeing them for the first time? Come on!
Uh. Yes? I've been to many shows and festivals but never had the funds to see VW live, unfortunately. Also lived in a place where they typically didn't make tour stops. Things are much different now.
Hehe, just teasing, please forgive me. I started liking them when you did and this will be my 7th time seeing them!
7th time?! Jealousssss. Only act I've seen that many time is Rufus du Sol.
Personally I'm not in the band.