In late 2008, after Vampire Weekend has guested on Saturday Night Live, sold out the Theater at Madison Square Garden for nine consecutive nights, and licensed songs for commercials for every product in Apple's lineup, Zach Braff discovers a hip, new underground band called "Vampire Weekend." He adds them to the soundtrack for his new movie, a coming-of-age story about Zach Braff sleeping with whichever currently popular 22-year-old actress is the hottest. He explains in the CD's liner notes: "Their songs sound like Graceland by Paul Simon, another artist with which I am newly familiar." [Read More]

The guys are just as studied when it comes to fashion, with a preference for blazers, button-downs and other blue-blood affectations. Mr. Koenig said he had found his cardigan, decorated with embroidered pheasants, at a Ralph Lauren boutique in Palo Alto, Calif. "I've got another one that's yellow with dogs on it," he said. [Read More]

"I feel like a lot of people have heard of us, starting in the summer, and they've been writing about a speculative way," bassist Chris Baio tells Billboard.com. "Maybe they've only heard three MP3s or seen us live. I think we've all been pretty anxious to have it out there."

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"I think this version represents our full sound," Baio says. "There were some sections where drum parts were changed; some vocals might have been redone, and I re-recorded bass for one song. Little touch-ups [like] that might not make a difference to most listeners but made a difference to us." [Read More]