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Contra
Studio album by Vampire Weekend
Released January 11, 2010 (2010-01-11)
Recorded 2009
Genre Indie rock, worldbeat
Length 36:40
Label XL
Producer Rostam Batmanglij
Vampire Weekend chronology
Vampire Weekend
(2008)		 Contra
(2010)
Singles from Contra
  1. "Cousins"
    Released: November 17, 2009
  2. "Giving Up The Gun"
    Released: TBA

Contra is the second album by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend, released in January 2010 on XL Recordings.

The album title is partially an homage to the Contra video game.[1]

Contents

Release

The release of Contra was announced on September 15, 2009,[2] and was released in the UK on January 11, 2010. It was released in the U.S. on the next day. However, the album was already available on January 8 on iTunes.[citation needed] "Horchata" was released as a free download on October 5, 2009 on the band's website. The first single was "Cousins", accompanied by a 7" single, and a music video.[3] The album was available for streaming on the band's MySpace starting on January 3, 2010.[4] It is also currently available for streaming from their official website, as of January 5, 2010.

It is the band's first album to reach number one on the Billboard 200, and the 12th independently distributed album in history to reach the number one spot on the Billboard 200 since Nielsen Soundscan began recording data in 1991.[5][6] The album sold 124,000 copies in its first week according to RUSE magazine.[7] It was later replaced by Hope for Haiti benefit album.

Music and lyrics

The lyrics of "I Think Ur a Contra" include the phrase "Complete Control", the title of a Clash single (notably, an influential 1980 triple album by The Clash was entitled Sandinista! after the socialist militancy opposed by the Contras during the Nicaraguan civil war). The title "Diplomat's Son" is a reference to a story singer Ezra Koenig wrote about boarding school, though the content lyrically talks about a homosexual relationship told by Rostam Batmanglij.[8] iTunes bonus track "Giant" contains references to the Notorious B.I.G. song "Juicy". "Diplomat's Son" samples the track "Hussel" by M.I.A.

Artwork

The girl's identity on the front cover of Contra is unknown, although in an interview, lead singer Ezra Koenig revealved "she's now living in Malibu".[9] Koenig has confirmed that the picture was taken in 1983 and was chosen as a juxtaposition to the debut album's cover which, while taken in 2006, looks as if it "inhabits the same world".[10] Koenig also referred to the girl as "Kirsten" in a post on Twitter.[11] Koenig likens the image to the Rorschach Test as multiple meanings can be extrapolated from just a few signifiers, saying, "Some people get very mad when they see a white blond girl in a Polo shirt."[10]

Reception

 Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars[12]
Chicago Tribune 2/4 stars[13]
Drowned in Sound (6/10)[14]
Entertainment Weekly (B+)[15]
The Guardian 4/5 stars[16]
Los Angeles Times 3.5/4 stars[17]
NME (8/10)[18]
Pitchfork Media (8.6/10)[19]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[20]
Spin 4/5 stars[21]

Track listing

Track Title Length
1. "Horchata"   3:26
2. "White Sky"   2:58
3. "Holiday"   2:18
4. "California English"   2:30
5. "Taxi Cab"   3:55
6. "Run"   3:52
7. "Cousins"   2:25
8. "Giving Up The Gun"   4:46
9. "Diplomat's Son"   6:01
10. "I Think Ur a Contra"   4:29
iTunes Bonus Tracks
Track Title Length
11. "Giant"   2:50
12. "California English, Pt. 2 (Pre-order Only; also a b-side to "Cousins")"   2:57
'Contra Megamelt' Bonus Disc
Track Title Length
1. "Contramelt A"   6:11
2. "Contramelt B"   4:36
3. "Cousinz (Toy Selectah Mex-More Remix)"   3:20

Chart performance

Charts (2010) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[citation needed] 2
Canadian Albums Chart[22] 1
French Albums Chart[23] 15
French Digital Albums Chart[23] 2
Irish Albums Chart[citation needed] 4
Italian Albums Chart[24] 98
New Zealand Albums Chart[25] 12
UK Albums Chart[citation needed] 3
UK Indie Chart[citation needed] 1
U.S. Billboard 200 1[26]
US Independent Albums 1

References

  1. ^ Michaels, Sean (2009-11-11). "Vampire Weekend name new album after videogame". guardian.co.uk. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/11/vampire-weekend-new-album-videogame. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  2. ^ Dombal, Ryan (2009-09-15). "Vampire Weekend Announce Everything About Second Album". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/news/36492-vampire-weekend-announce-everything-about-second-album. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  3. ^ Breihan, Tom (2009-10-23). "Vampire Weekend Prep New Single". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/news/36898-vampire-weekend-prep-new-single/. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  4. ^ "Vampire Weekend On MySpace". myspace.com. http://www.myspace.com/vampireweekend. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  5. ^ Caulfield, Keith (2010-01-20). "Vampire Weekend Lands First No. 1 Album". billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/news/vampire-weekend-lands-first-no-1-album-1004060383.story#/news/vampire-weekend-lands-first-no-1-album-1004060383.story. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  6. ^ Phillips, Amy (2010-02-20). "Vampire Weekend Hit Number One". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/news/37633-vampire-weekend-hit-number-one/. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  7. ^ Thesing, Aaron (2010-01-27). "A Sophomore Album That Doesn’t Suck". RUSE the.magazine.. http://rusemag.com/Pages/News.Politics/Entries/2010/1/27_0105.html. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  8. ^ Eels, J. (2010). "The Semi-Charmed Life of Vampire Weekend", Rolling Stone.
  9. ^ Dombal, Ryan (2009-10-01). "Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig Talks New Album, Confronts the Haters". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/news/36671-vampire-weekends-ezra-koenig-talks-new-album-confronts-the-haters/. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  10. ^ a b Montgomery, James (2010-01-12). "Vampire Weekend Reveal Secrets Of Contra's Cover Girl". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1629504/20100112/vampire_weekend.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  11. ^ Koenig, Ezra (2010-01-15). "Big ol kirsten in London". Twitter. http://twitter.com/arzE/status/7801625933. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  12. ^ Allmusic review
  13. ^ Chicago Tribune review
  14. ^ Drowned in Sound review
  15. ^ Entertainment Weekly review
  16. ^ The Guardian review
  17. ^ Los Angeles Times review
  18. ^ NME review
  19. ^ Pitchfork Media review
  20. ^ Rolling Stone review
  21. ^ Spin review
  22. ^ ""Charts History - Contra - Vampire Weekend"". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/album/vampire-weekend/contra/1311066. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
  23. ^ a b ""Tops : rien ne semble déranger The Black Eyed Peas"". Chartsinfrance. http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Black-Eyed-Peas/news-69299.html. Retrieved 2010-01-19. 
  24. ^ "Classifica settimanale dal 01/03/2010 al 07/03/2010" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. http://www.fimi.it/classifiche_artisti.php. Retrieved 2010-03-14. 
  25. ^ ""Charts History - Contra - Vampire Weekend"". RIANZ. http://rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart.asp. Retrieved 2010-01-18. 
  26. ^ Caulfield, Keith (2010-01-20). "Vampire Weekend Lands First No. 1 Album". Billboard. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/charts/chart_alert/e3ic7ff1e2a32aab449d319594d10dc892f. Retrieved 2010-01-20. 

External links

Vampire Weekend
Ezra Koenig · Rostam Batmanglij · Chris Tomson · Chris Baio
Albums
Vampire Weekend · Contra
Singles
"Mansard Roof" · "A-Punk" · "Oxford Comma" · "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" · "Horchata" · "Cousins" · "Giving Up The Gun"
Related articles







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