Vampire Weekend Debut New Song as Bonnaroo Kicks Into Gear

Midway through Vampire Weekend's Thursday night closing set, frontman Ezra Koenig jokingly asked the crowd, "Did anyone take public transportation to get here?" Judging by the hours of traffic it took thousands of cars and RVs to roll into the Bonnaroo campground, not many people did. Still, the preppy pop-punk crew got the crowd riled up with the sparkling pop-rock jam "M79," which Koenig described as their tribute to public transport. Vampire Weekend's set mostly featured tracks from their debut disc, including "One (Blake's Got a New Face)," on which Koenig engaged the crowd for a deafening sing-a-long. But the band were brave enough to unveil a new, still-untitled song, and it might be their most afro-pop-inspired jam yet, with synthesized tribal chants, sparklingly clean guitar lines and Koenig's amped-up hoots and hollers. "If you don't know this song," Koenig told the crowd, "and you're on drugs, all you have to do is dance."

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Song Stories

“My President”

Young Jeezy | 2008

Young Jeezy teams up with Nas on this track, in which he compare his own success with the idea of an African-American winning the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 presidential election. "When I pulled up in my car, that s--- was unbelievable to people in my neighborhood because they were like, 'We grew up with him. How the hell did he accomplish this?'" he told Rolling Stone. "I feel like it was the same way with Obama. I grew up all this time, but I've never seen a black man this close to running this country."

More Song Stories entries »

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