Thoughts on Vampire Weekend's Modern Vampires of the City

It is difficult to write about an album that I hold in such high regard (my top pick of 2013), as such an exercise is riddled with both subjectivity and personal bias. I would be similarly challenged to gather my thoughts on Reflektor, Shrines, Helplessness Blues, Visions, Bloom, or Channel Orange, for example, but this difficulty is in many ways symbolic of each album's high level of achievement. Modern Vampires should be remembered as a collection of experiences and characters--each unique yet unified by a common aura--where layers of lyricism and production complement themes of faith, regret, and fleeting youth. Perhaps most stunning, however, is the effortless wedding of metaphor and complexity with recognizable pop melodies; we're taught a lesson that doesn't seem forced.

The below is meant as a guide. Colin, thank you for the inspiration.

(1) Obvious Bicycle

Sampling Ras Michael's "Keep Cool Babylon," "Obvious Bicycle" is a soothing, reverential opener that (fittingly) hits like ray of light: "Morning's come / you watch the red sun rise / the LED still flickers in your eyes." Just as we commence our journey through Modern Vampires, Koenig addresses a jobless student entering the post-college, corporate world:

Oh, you oughta spare your face the razor, 

Because no one's gonna spare the time for you.

You oughta spare the world your labor

It's been twenty years and no one's told the truth.

While the message is elegant, will anyone actually "Listen?"

(2) Unbelievers

From a rhythmic perspective, "Unbelievers" is starkly juxtaposed to (1) above and more reminiscent of the uptempo tracks from 2008's self-titled release (e.g., "Walcott" and, to a lesser degree, "A-Punk"). But the messaging of a "cold, cold world" continues, and here we're introduced to the first of Modern Vampires' many religious undercurrents. Directed at a girl or companion more broadly, VW reminds that for every person or idea in which we believe, there's always someone or something left disappointed or omitted altogether; it is inevitable, therefore, that we all die unbelievers:

We know the fire awaits unbelievers

All of the sinners, the same

Girl you and I will die unbelievers

bound to the tracks of the train

At first listen, "Unbelievers" plays like a fast-paced and joyous summer anthem (it's almost too easy to envision Batmanglij furiously striking the keys in a live performance). But the marriage of accessibility and intrigue is precisely what makes it work. 

(3) Step

Some history: oddly enough, "Step" was originally inspired by the Souls of Mischief (SoM) track "Step to My Girl," a song that ironically only made it to a 12" promo (vs. appearing on any of SoM's five full-length albums). It turns out that the original SoM track borrowed the lyrics of the main refrain ("Every time I see you in the world / You always step to my girl") from new-school rapper YZ and sampled a classic Grover Washington, Jr. saxophone track, "Audrey," for the production. "Audrey," in turn, employs the ground bass of Pachelbel's timeless Canon in D. For the cinéastes out there, the official lyrics video published in March begins with the same Jessica Hische-designed font as the title cards in Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom.

"Step" serves as a witty representation of EK's--or arguably the band's--evolution, from the halls of Columbia ("Back back way back I used to front") to the present day. It seems plausible that EK is addressing the naivete of his past self, practically admitting to relationship-ending egotism. Now, however, he looks to fill the void:

The gloves are off, the wisdom teeth are out

What you on about?

I feel it in my bones, I feel it in my bones

I'm stronger now, I'm ready for the house

Such a modest mouse,

I can't do it alone, I can't do it alone

The backdrop of course is Manhattan ("I can still see them there huddled on Astor"), where the tale of self-induced regret rings true more than anywhere else. Similar to VW's "M79" and the majority of Beach House's Teen Dream, the combination of harpsichord staccato, keys, and drums provides an enchanting foundation upon which Koenigs emotions--and our own--pour out.

(4) Diane Young

Clearly one of the most frantic and energetic VW tracks (and videos) to date, the majority of "Diane Young" (read: Dyin' Young) chronicles the experiences of a madcap doing everything from torching Saabs to escaping government agents before "tottering off into that good night." But, as often the case, the final verse brings us back to reality:

Nobody knows what the future holds

And it's bad enough just getting old

Live my life in self-defense

You know I love the past, 'cause I hate suspense...

It's no secret that some plow through life with little account for their actions, while others live in the past or in constant self-defense. While the track doesn't offer the answer to finding balance, it sure makes a convincing argument for having a good time. And if you're not a fan of track, take comfort in the fact that VW, too, had little conviction in the original demo; rather, co-producer Ariel Rechtshaid--the man behind two more of 2013's best albums, Haim's Days are Gone and Sky Ferreira's Night Time, My Time--heard some potential and pushed for the song's inclusion (as a single no less).

(5) Don't Lie

EK has said that "Don't Lie" is meant as a sequel to "M79" and "White Sky" from Vampire Weekend and Contra, respectively, all three of which include a multitude of the band's cryptic New York references. The organ and harpsichord pair perfectly with the mildly-discouraging (and by now familiar) thought that life cannot be paused:

I want to know, does it bother you?

The low click of a ticking clock

There's a lifetime right in front of you

And everyone I know

Listening to "Don't Lie" on the coldest day of the year is only fitting; it is indeed a challenge to make the fire last.

(6) Hannah Hunt

The structure is delicate and pace slow, at least for the first two minutes. After a brief intro of indeterminable static, the curtains part to major chords and simple bass plucks as EK recounts a road trip with a girl ("Hannah Hunt") from Providence, RI to Phoenix AZ. He describes landmarks (Waverly and Lincoln, NE and Santa Barbara) and encounters (man of faith, crawling vines/weeping willows, NYTimes kindling) along the way, all of which set the stage for the raw and unrestrained final ballad:

If I can't trust you then damn it, Hannah

There's no future, there's no answer

Though we live on the US dollar

You and me, we got our own sense of time

While the notion of time and the "ticking clock" have been recurring themes in each of the previous five tracks (and will be in the remaining six), here EK has, at least momentarily, found his own sense of time.

(7) Everlasting Arms

A modern take on Anthony J. Showalter and Elisha A. Hoffman's 1887 hymn "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" (you may recall a version of the original hymn by Iris DeMent was featured at the end of the Coen Brothers' 2010 film True Grit), "Everlasting Arms" continues the religious thoughts of "Unbelievers." Specifically, the track addresses the internal strife of one's own beliefs versus those prescribed by a community of faith:

I thought it over and drew the curtain

Leave me to myself, leave me to myself

And I’ll only consider it as you played the hallelujah

Leave me to myself, leave me to myself

In EK's own words: "You lose some sense of your own ability to reason and your own individuality when you become part of a group. Religion is a great jumping-off point for thinking about how to live, period." The hymnal influence adds to the song's authenticity.

(8) Finger Back

Arguably the album's most danceable track (along with "Diane Young"), at least a portion of "Finger Back" is a true story about EK's friend's roomate, an Orthodox Jewish girl, who fell in love with an Arab worker at a falafel shop close to Columbia (Jerusalem on 103rd & Broadway). While it scandalized her family, she was willing to deal with it; EK has described the story in interviews with NME as a "Romeo and Juliet" love story. Although the remainder of the song is up for interpretation, with lyrics spewing at lazer speed in L'homme Run fashion, in most verses EK scoffs at critics of his early work: "Listen to my bum rap / Listen to the evidence exonerating me from being right."

(9) Worship You

The fiery tempo of the Persian raga-inspired drum riff and electro synth (starting @ 1:46) continue the energy of (8), but the track as a whole is much less anecdotal, instead focusing on the broader scenario of what happens when we lose someone or something we love or "worship:"

We worshipped you,

Your red right hand

Won’t we see you once again?

In foreign soil, in foreign land,

Who will guide us through the end?

In interviews, EK has hinted that the song is both a specific commentary on American foreign policy (which admittedly seems logical) and a review of the more general emotions produced when one's faith is shattered.

(10) Ya Hey

This track has justifiably garnered the most attention since first posted in May. Instead of musing on Congo dance rhythms, horchata, or grammar, however, the focus here is the greatness of God (Ya Hey = Yaweh). In typical VW fashion, "Ya Hey" embeds abstract spiritual theology in a five minute pop song, complete with chipmunk distortion. Maybe we are a nation of "Unbelievers:" 

Oh, you saint

America don't love you

So I could never love you

In spite of everything

(11) Hudson

A somber song about the death of the 17th century English explorer and navigator, Henry Hudson, who was cast overboard with his son and seven others by mutineers in 1611. It's a dark homage to New York, where our constant race against time ("The time has come / The clock is such a drag") inevitably ends in the Hudson.

(12) Young Lion

The simple walk down the scale with repetitive bass octaves to commence Modern Vampire's closing track promotes a feeling of hopefulness and inner reflection. It makes us feel alone in a positive sense, as if we're the only beings privileged to hear the album's final message. "Young Lion" succeeds in that it provides closure, but not a permanent or finite end; instead, it plays more like a virtue assuring that with patience comes reward. The story goes that in the final weeks of recording Contra in late 2009, an anonymous man approached a tired and stressed Koenig in the recording studio, saying simply: "You take your time, young lion." EK, touched, subsequently relayed the quote to Rostam, who wrote the song.

Pack Heat or Pay Up

The small southern town of Nelson, Georgia recently passed a law requiring all "Heads of Households" within city limits to maintain a loaded firearm in their homes, under penalty of a maximun fine of $1,000.  Exempted from this ordinance are those who either (1) “suffer from a physical or mental disability,” (2) are “paupers,” (3) “conscientiously oppose maintaining firearms as a result of beliefs or religious doctrine,” or (4) have been “convicted of a felony.”

One city resident, Harold Kellett, does not suffer from any physical or mental disability, he is not destitute; Mr. Kellett has never been convicted of a felony, nor does he object to owning a weapon on any philosophical or religious grounds.  Mr. Kellett simply does not want a gun in his home.  As such, Mr. Kellett was forced to purchase a firearm, under the threat of a $1,000 fine.  

Luckily for Mr. Kellett, he is a member of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which has filed a lawsuit against Nelson, on the grounds that the town's mandatory gun ownership law is unconstitutional.

Specifically, the Brady campaign asserts that this law infringes on the constitutional rights of the residents of Nelson in four ways, citing three amendments (Second, First, Fourteenth) and one constitutional principle (right to privacy):

A) SECOND AMENDMENT (Right to Bear Arms) -- The Second Amendment, in its most individualistic interpretation, affords an individual the right to own a gun for his own personal protection.  The argument that seems to be made by Brady's attorneys here (if I read it correctly) is that the Second Amendment also gives individuals the right not to own a gun, if that is how they decide to protect themselves.  This position is akin to the First Amendment argument currently being used by cigarette manufacturers in their fight against the FDA's requirement that they put 'graphic imagery' on all packs of cigarettes sold in the US.  The cigarette companies claim that the first amendment not only gives them the right of free speech, but protects them from being compelled to speak -- or in this case, put a picture of a dying lung cancer patient on their product.

B)  FIRST AMENDMENT (Free Speech) -- Brady's attorneys have channeled the above-mentioned thinking in their complaint by stating "Freedom of speech includes freedom to act or not to act."  By requiring, in lieu of purchasing a firearm, that a resident identify himself as member of one of the exempt groups (disabled, destitute, a felon, or morally opposed to gun ownership), the statute "forces individuals to impugn their own mental abilities, stigmatize themselves as impoverished, or profess to having beliefs including religious beliefs, different from other members of their community."

C) FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT (Equal Protection Clause) -- The statute requires that the 'Head of Household' maintains a weapon in his or her home.  As such, this law creates two classes: heads of households and non-heads of households, who are treated differently under the law.  The law turns the non-heads of households into "second-class individuals [who] have no input into the decision whether guns are brought into their homes."  For example, a non-head of household could fit into one of the exempt groups, but no consideration for this is made.

D) THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY -- Lastly, the attorneys for Brady cite precedent establishing a constitutional "zone of privacy," protecting the sanctity of one's home.  By forcing a resident to bring a firearm into his or her home, the statute is in potential violation of this principle.

2013

First post of 2013.

All's Fair

NYTimes covers the Assad regime's involvement in the booby-trapping of rebel ammunition.  The very brief Op-Doc on the history of this practice is well worth viewing.

24.6%

At 24.6 percent, "Spanish unemployment hit its highest level in the second quarter since the Franco dictatorship." - Reuters

Never a good headline to wake up to...

4 Minute Warning

1'06" mark, Josh Fox's GasLand (2010): Radiohead's "4 Minute Warning" eerily begins to play.

Of course, the chemical-infested frozen rabit corpse has been preserved in a WalMart bag. If you're looking for a powerful amalgamation of emotions, this is it.

Have yet to finish the documentary, but will certainly return to this EID article.

Refranchising Gains and Losses

Are YUM's refranchising losses cause for concern? The company "[does] not allocate such gains and losses to [its] segments (China / YRI / U.S. / India) for performance reporting purposes." RT's FY2008 10-K provides a decent definition of the concept:

Refranchising Gains (Losses)
Refranchising gains (losses), included in other restaurant operating costs, include gains or losses on sales of restaurants to franchisees. All direct costs associated with refranchising are included in the calculation of the gain or loss. Upon making the decision to sell a restaurant to a franchisee, the restaurant is reclassified to assets held for sale at the lower of book value or fair market value less cost to sell and any anticipated loss is immediately recognized. When the sale occurs, any loss not previously recognized is recorded concurrently with the sale. Any gains to be recognized are recorded when the sale closes.

To be continuted...

Risk Factors...

How could anyone feel comfortable with a PEIX common equity/convertible debt investment? I've never seen a more terrifying "Business Risks" portion of an annual filing.

From "Risks Related to our Business," 2011 PEIX 10-K...
"The results of operations of the Pacific Ethanol Plants and their ability to operate at a profit is largely dependent on managing the spreads among the prices of corn, natural gas, ethanol and WDG, the prices of which are subject to significant volatility and uncertainty."

If only 2006 wasn't the peak...
"In early 2006, the spread between ethanol and corn prices was at an historically high level, driven in large part by oil companies removing a competitive product, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), from the fuel stream and replacing it with ethanol in a relatively short time period. However, since that time, this spread has fluctuated widely and narrowed significantly. Fluctuations are likely to continue to occur."

Terrifying chart for PEIX investors...
Extracted from CBOT/CRB's 7/9/12 Ethanol Outlook Report, this chart bluntly exhibits the soaring input costs (corn) alongside near-month ethanol futures. Sep corn prices +36% in just 3 weeks, touching a 10-month high of $7.14. Severe heat and drought conditions have shattered the summer's corn supply outlook: Sep ethanol-corn margin remains negative at -11.5c/gallon.

Absolutely Stunning

Zero Hedge via NY Fed

Of course, Professor X mentored Emanuel Moench as a doctoral student at Penn. I've been thinking about the significance of this study nearly all day, and have yet to fully comprehend the results. I've shared with coworkers with 20+ years of market/investing experience, all of whom are stunned.

Hedge Funds!

Via Seeking Alpha's Market Currents:

10:01 AM Pension funds might consider going back to the old days of holding 60% of assets in equities and 40% in bonds as the classic strategy has whipped hedge fund performance for the last 5 years. Nevertheless, Citi sees institutional investors continuing to pour money into hedge funds. It's tough for a Vanguard brochure to compete with fancy dinners and a round at Shinnecock.

If only Malkiel's advice was more glamorous...

Quotable 7/9

“Effectively, there is no money to give back.”

- José Ciscar Bolufer, vice president of Valencia’s current regional government, on why the publicly-financed Ciudad de la Luz is struggling to repay taxpayers' $325 million.

“As long as you offer any kind of support to terrorists, you are partner.”

- Bashar al-Assad blaming the US, Saudis, and Qatar for promoting violence in Syria.

Unexpected Decree

"The announcement on Sunday suggested that Mr. Morsi was willing to stake his credibility on a challenge to the military’s version of power sharing, which left the president’s legislative agenda and even his budget dependent on the generals."
                - Kareem Fahim, NYT

This seems to make sense, however. If a president is freely elected, he should have reasonable authority above and beyond a related military council. Unfortunately for Morsi, the move may look like a greedy grab for power. But, after all, "the people and the president are one hand.”

Emmanuel and Savage on Roberts' Medical Condition

Given John Robert's susceptibility to seizures, it is interesting to wonder how his own medical condition weighed on his mind while deciding the constitutionality of ACA.

Ezekiel Emmanuel (brother to the infamous Ari and Rahm) explores just that topic:

"Chief Justice Roberts has a pre-existing condition but is just 57, and thus not eligible for Medicare. Remember his unexplained seizure soon after he became chief justice? If he did not have employer-provided insurance and had to get his own coverage on the individual market, he would be denied health insurance coverage at almost any price. Maybe the appreciation for his precarious insurance status made Chief Justice Roberts more sensitive to the need for the Affordable Care Act and its requirement that insurance be available to all of those with pre-existing conditions."

And then, there is Michael Savage, who ponders whether Roberts' condition contributed to his thought process in other, more subversive ways: 

"It's well known that Roberts, unfortunately for him, has suffered from epileptic seizures. Therefore he has been on medication. Therefore neurologists will tell you that medication used for seizure disorders, such as epilepsy, can introduce mental slowing, forgetfulness and other cognitive problems. And if you look at Roberts' writings you can see the cognitive dissociation in what he is saying."

Politics on the Bench

More on the ACA SCOTUS decision later, but in skimming the Opinion, I came across the below qoute, delivered by Chief Justice Roberts:

"We do not consider whether the Act embodies sound policies. That judgment is entrusted to the Nation’s elected leaders. We ask only whether Congress has the power under the Constitution to enact the challenged provisions."

This passage - especially in light of Scalia's rambling 22 page politically charged Arizona dissent on Monday - strikes me as particularly powerful, and on point.

Syria and Turkey as a Proxies

“If there is anyone who could not understand this up until today, we would and will prove in the most clear and determined way that Turkey cannot be challenged” - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his country's response to any further Syrian agression.

With Russia and China allied with Syria, and the US and EU as part of NATO behind Turkey, the gravity of this situation - and the speed with which this conflict could potentially escalate - should not be underestimated.

(Source)

X's Pension Realities

Underfunded pension plans can be quite terrifying in some circumstances. The above exhibit, extracted from page F-38 of U.S. Steel's 2011 10K filing, reveals that PBO of $10.8b exceed the fair value of plan assets by $2.4b and "other benefits" exceed plan assets by $2.7b, for a total underfunded status of $5.2b. As David Trainer points out in a 6/20 Seeking Alpha post, this massive deficit is just under twice the size of X's current $2.76b market cap.

Great News!

"The Fed isn't going to be buying European sovereign debt."

-Ben Bernanke, 6/20/12 Federal Reserve news conference

Evolution

The New Yorker seeks to explain the results of a recent poll which initially baffled me, stating that 46% of Americans adhere to a strict creationist view -- that humans were created in their present form within the past 10,000 years.  The prevalence of this belief -- one which is categorically and demonstrably false -- can be explained, at least partially, in terms of neurophysiology.

Jonah Lehrer's Why We Don't Believe in Science, features a study showing that comprehending a scientific concept counter to intuition involves two specific brain processes, among others. The first of which involves a triggering of a part of the brain which perceives intuitive inconsistencies, and then a separate area in the more developed part of the brain whose role it is to suppress unwanted thoughts.

In essence, our brains are hardwired in their cores to detect intuitive inconsistencies - even if they are factually correct - and it is the more developed areas of our brains which are able to over-ride our knee-jerk reaction which blurts out  "it doesn't make sense, so it can't be true!"

May Post

Here is our one post for May.

Presidential Power

For the first time since WWII, no presidential candidate in either Party has served in the military. As Jeffrey Toobin points out, this is the culmination of a recent trend in American Politics over that last two and a half decades: " In every election since 1988, the candidate with the better military record lost." Some may lament the fact that military experience has played a decreasing role in how we evaluate a person's ability to become Commander and Chief - and there are valid points to be made in favor of electing a person who has seen the horrors of war up close - but there are also persuasive arguments against electing a person purely on the basis of military prowess.

Once such argument can be found in Richard Neustadt's seminal work, Presidential Power, where the author asserts that a President's greatest asset is his ability to persuade others - whether the public or in the administration - to do his bidding. As opposed to in the Military where a soldier is legally bound to obey his General, there is no such obligation in politics. This fact was not lost on President Truman when he commented that Eisenhower, should he become president, will just "sit here, and he'll say, 'Do this! Do that!' And nothing will happen. Poor Ike-it won't be a bit like the Army. He'll find it very frustrating."

And after being elected, Eisenhower found this to be true. In his very own words, "I sit here all day trying to persuade people to do the things they ought to have sense enough to do without my persuading them.... That's all the powers of the President amount to."

Americans say they don't want professional politicians in the White House, but a politician is the exact type of person who embodies and has spent his career honing these skills. We just want a politician so good, that he persuades us he isn't one.