.

Vampire Weekend on the Birth of New "Contra" Single "Cousins"

November 18, 2009 1:21 PM ET

Last month, Vampire Weekend gave fans new tune "Horchata" gratis. Yesterday, they released their official first single from Contra (due January 12th), the frenetic, bouncy "Cousins." VW's Rostam Batmanglij and Chris Baio recently sat down with Rolling Stone to discuss the genesis of the song and its live debut south of the border.

" 'Cousins' is a song that we recorded in Mexico City. It's got probably the most demanding bass part Chris [Baio] has wrote for himself, and probably the most demanding drum part Chris Tomson ever did for himself," Batmanglij says. "So it's a demanding song." Whereas "Horchata" was a laidback slice of California pop, the "Cousins" groove kicks off fast and the energy never stops with rapid fire drums and frenzied guitars.

After conceiving the song, Vampire Weekend quickly introduced the track to their fans. "When we were in Mexico, we were working on the song, maybe it was like a Tuesday or Wednesday and that Friday we played it in Guadalajara," Baio told RS. "So it was sort of like 'Okay, we've been chipping away at this, now we get to share it.' "

As for whether the audience embraced "Cousins" after its live debut, Batmanglij said, "I put myself in the audience's shoes, like when I go to see a band that I love and I hear them play a new song for the first time, there's always an element of it's never going to hit you the way the ones you've heard so many times before have. But I look at it as just kind of a gift, so you try to savor it."

Related Stories:
• Vampire Weekend Unload New Song "Horchata," Tour Dates
• Vampire Weekend's New Album "Contra" Out January 12th
• Vampire Weekend California Dreamin' On Second Album

To read the new issue of Rolling Stone online, plus the entire RS archive: Click Here

prev
Aerosmith on Steven Tyler: "He Doesn't Act Like a Sober Person"
Music Main Next
Nick Jonas' Administration to Debut at Grammy Nominations Concert in Los Angeles

Picks From Around the Web


blog comments powered by Disqus
Daily Newsletter

Get the latest RS news in your inbox.

Sign up to receive the Rolling Stone newsletter and special offers from RS and its
marketing partners.

X

We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy.

Most Popular

Photos & Videos

Go To Content

Random Notes: Hottest Rock Pictures

Go To Content Play Video

Video: Dave Grohl Sits in With the Rolling Stones

Go To Content

Gallery: 'Born Sinner' Series by J. Cole

Best Ever Lists
100 Greatest Guitarists

Other Lists

Song Stories

“Tonight's the Night”

The Shirelles | 1960

The lead cut and title track from this girl group's debut album, "Tonight's the Night" was written by 19-year-old bandmember Shirley Owens, who sings lead, and producer Luther Dixon. The band from Passaic, New Jersey met in high school, first calling themselves the Pequellos. The song's frank thoughts about sexual and emotional surrender was racy for the time, but that didn't stop the Chiffons from cutting a similar version immediately after the original came out. "We were the first female group to write some of our own material," band member Beverly Lee recalls. "We did have some say-so in our writing."

More Song Stories entries »