Chords for Vampire Weekend - Interview

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_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ [F#] _ [Em] _ _ _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ [Em] _ _ _ _ [Am] _ _
_ [Bm] _ [Em] _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ _ _ I [G] remember the first story played here and [Em] everyone was kind of talking [Am] and back turned
[G] and by the end of the song at least [Em] 40% had turned around.
_ [Am] Yeah, it's a co-ed [Em] kind of place where some people [A] live upstairs and they throw parties
and have bands play right here.
_ [G] _ I think some of [Em] the most memorable shows have been here [F#] just because [G] it's, I don't know,
it's not [Gm] really a rock club.
There's something I really [A] like about that.
I _
_ [E] _ _ _ [A] _ [D] _ _
think it can get very loud on the street.
[G] I know we kind of brought the place down a few times.
Yeah, the bands play right by the windows and then right next to it are just like residential [Em] apartment buildings.
_ [Am] _ _ _
[Em] We met at [Am] school [D] kind of the way that people meet at school through parties or classes [D] or whatever.
It's kind of being musically inclined [C] people [G] ending up in the same [C] general circles. _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ [G] We officially formed as a band [Em] February 6, [G] 2006.
We had a practice in [Em] my dorm room and [D] [G] our first show was a week [Em] later and we were called
[G] Vampire Weekend and we had some of our songs.
[F#] So that [Em] was the beginning.
_ [D] _ [Am] _ _
Vampire Weekend [Em] was originally a [D] movie that I started making _ _ [A] that I filmed for about a
day and gave up on and it was inspired by the Lost Boys.
And then I found the footage around the time the band was starting and one of our songs
was vaguely related to it and we needed a name so we called ourselves Vampire Weekend.
The main character was called Walcott [Am] [Gm] and he wakes up and his dad tells him that he
needs to go to Cape Cod [F] _ to tell the mayor that vampires are taking over the country.
And so he's going on this [Am] odyssey from New Jersey to Cape Cod and then in the song it's
talking about leaving Cape Cod so maybe the song is kind of a sequel [F] but it's the same
character, the same protagonist. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _
_ [A#] _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ _ _ _
We're [A#] out of Cape Cod, we're out of Cape [Am] Cod. _
_ _ _ _ _ [E] Yeah, for today actually I wrote some different [G] arrangements because we were going to do it
with a quartet and then we only could get three people so I just kind of like revised
the arrangements that I'd used in the recordings and I even wrote something kind of different
for Walcott because I thought it would be fun.
I think all of us studied music when we were kids.
I think at least three of us have studied classical piano.
I didn't really grow up being super proficient in but always kind of was _ _ enchanted by classical
music [G] and people who could play classical [D] music and it [Gm] made me really just want to write [A] it.
Usually it tends to be someone writes part of a song [G#] and then [C] we kind of arrange it together
[G] so [G#m] every song on the album kind of came together and got new ideas from [E] the four of us playing
it even if people already had lyrics or a melody or a part written.
[B] And even like once we start playing a song live it's definitely not set in stone.
A lot of times we'll be recording and Rostam will be like oh try this, try that and you
know it's sort [F#] of it ends up being done when it's recorded as opposed to like when we first
play it live.
I think [E] we should do those.
What do you want to do? _
_ [A] Can you think and mix a little bit so it's [E] maybe more violin?
[F] A-Punk came together quite quickly.
Bay was on the drums and just [Fm] started playing this beat that [G] Ezra just started playing the
guitar thing to and then Ross and I came back in from whatever [G#m] and really just kind of started
playing it and then I think Ross yelled out D and then that was the chorus bit and it
was really not a [G] huge constructive [F#] process just kind of a very instinctive thing which
I think comes out in kind of reactions to the song.
I think yeah like we were hearing stuff in each other playing and we kind of like brought it out.
I remember Chris was playing like this like one two three, one two three, one two beat
and I was like oh play that [G] like you know bring that out more and then [D] yeah it just
kind of happened like pretty instantly [G] which is [D] somewhat rare.
_ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _ [D] _
_ [G] _ _ _ [A] _ _ [D] Look outside [D] the raincoats gonna [G] say oh.
_ [D] _ _
_ Look outside the raincoats gonna say [G] oh.
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ [Am] _ [G] _ _ Hey, hey, hey. _
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