The screaming, glowing, ever-expanding abyss that is music journalism have so thoroughly assaulted me with reviews and opinions of Vampire Weekend's album, education and fashion sense that I felt compelled to dedicate a decent chunk of time to the album this weekend. I really don't want to repeat all the 100% recycled phrases that have been inextricably sutured onto this record, but yes, there is a serious Paul Simon Graceland influence and yes they like the Talking Heads and obviously come from a well-rounded musical background. The sound is squeaky clean, playful and accessible like a smart romantic comedy. I guess I just don't understand all the attention.

I don't mean to say that Vampire Weekend isn't a good band or that they're undeserving of press, I'm just astonished by the volume. This week, the Village Voice published not one, not two, but three articles discussing the band. They've been reviewed by countless music blogs, Pitchfork, the AV Club and any number of magazines. Vampire Weekend's self-titled album is also their debut, so what makes them so special, so deserving of this extended discussion?

Well, a quick google search and a look at any of those links will tell you that much of the discussion surrounds their privilege and incorporation of afro-pop elements, such as hand drums and any number of smart accompanying instruments (see: woodwinds). The indictment reads that these presumably wealthy Ivy League kids are playfully flaunting the trappings and indicia of their class so that others cannot easily join in. The only thing that's clear is that it's insider humor and the language they use and the scenes they evoke are unfamiliar to a lot of us. I don't know what a Mansard roof is. The afro-pop somehow comes into play here, both because it is an obvious reference and because I'm not sure if everyone is OK with a bunch of rich white kids borrowing so heavily from it.

These criticisms are bullshit. They're grounded in jealousy and reek of racism and classism. When Rich Boy explicitly raps about all the money he has, literally no one says he should stop flaunting his newly acquired privilege. When any hip-hop artist references violence or uses incredibly misogynistic language, he gets a pass. The line is that he's writing about his experiences and using the language he learned from his environment growing up. But the truth is they often get a pass because they're black and because they're language isn't exclusionary. I've seen countless white people in their early twenties speak with in faux ebonics in the company of other white people to amuse themselves. They're sitting at the poor kids table at high school and they know they can get up and leave whenever they want.

Wealth and an Ivy League education are not things that can be feigned and for the large majority of the indie rock consuming public (reads: yuppies) these are things they will never attain. They can't visit this world even if they wanted to and Vampire Weekend doesn't really make it clear if they'd be invited in the first place. What's left is an album full of simple and, at time, very catchy pop songs that will undoubtedly bring more wealth and privilege onto these young men and a lot of people just can't handle that.

I like Vampire Weekend's album. I understand the criticisms. But I think a band deserves to be judged by more than the respective class of its members and if they were coming from the other end of the privilege spectrum, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

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