"A-Punk" is a song by

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chr ...

, released on February 28, 2008, as the second single from their 2008 self-titled debut album. The band made their network television debut by performing "A-Punk" on the ''

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''.

Critical reception

Mark Richardson of ''

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'' described "A-Punk" as having a "spunky drive, pogo-inducing rhythm, and subtle but hugely effective sonic accents" and said that "while solid, tisn't one of the stronger songs on ''

''". '' Drowned in Sound'' writer Alex Denney, commented that "A-Punk" was not the best song from their debut album due to it being "a little too uptempo to let their disarmingly clever melodies breathe", but stated "for the flute-aping synths and bottled-sunshine guitars alone you need this in your life." The review from Greg Rose of '' Gigwise'', was mixed. Rose said that although the song lacked originality, it "manages to sound unique" due to the lyrical inventiveness of lines by Ezra Koenig such as, "His honor drove southward seeking exotica/cut his teeth on turquoise harmonicas", which were described as being "perky" and gave the song "a buzzing zip." In reference to "A-Punk", ''

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'' writer Ben Blackmore, said, "Do believe the hype." "A-Punk" is widely regarded as one of the band's best songs. '' Paste'' and '' Far Out'' ranked the song number five and number one, respectively, on their lists of the greatest Vampire Weekend songs. In October 2011, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' placed it at number 62 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".

Commercial performance

The song peaked at number 55 on the UK Singles Chart and number 25 on ''

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'' magazine's Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart. The single also reached #6 on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and #36 on their Canada Rock chart. Though it never reached the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the single was certified

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by the

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(RIAA) in July 2013, making it the band's first gold single. On October 27, 2008, Vampire Weekend re-released "A-Punk" in the UK, in the hope of achieving a higher Chart placement on the UK Singles Chart. However, "A-Punk" only managed to peak at number 63, which was less than the placement at number 55 earlier that year. The single continues to be sold over the years. In 2019, it was certified Platinum in the US and in the UK. In 2020, it achieved platinum certification in Canada.

Music video

The music video directed by Garth Jennings, that was said to convey the song's "spiky energy," used footage of the band performing as sped up stop-motion figures, simulating winter and underwater scenes during the performance. Despite the band being sped up, they "never miss an upstroke beat." The video made its worldwide premiere on January 7, 2008, on

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's '' Subterranean'' indie video block.

Track listing

# "A-Punk" # "Oxford Comma" (Rehearsal version)

Personnel

Vampire Weekend * Ezra Koenig * Rostam Batmanglij * Christopher Tomson * Chris Baio Technical * Emily Lazar – mastering * Rostam Batmanglij – mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

Use in other media

The song is featured in the video games '' Lego Rock Band'', ''

Guitar Hero 5 ''Guitar Hero 5'' is a 2009 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fifth main installment and the ninth overall installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series. The game was released internationally in ...

,'' '' Guitar Hero Live'', '' Just Dance 2'', '' SingStar Guitar'', the 2008 film '' Step Brothers'', the 2010 film '' Furry Vengeance'', and the UK television shows ''

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'', '' Love Island'' and '' The Wrong Door''. It is also used in the second trailer for ''Peter Rabbit''. It is also featured in the shows '' Reef Break'', '' Superstore'', '' 90210'' and '' Friday Night Lights''. It was also featured in the Netflix series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. Its most recent use was in a series of advertisements for Dick's Sporting Goods promoting its DSG brand of sports apparel in 2024.

References

External links

''Vampire Weekend'' on XL Recordings
- Album page on record label's site
"A-Punk" music video
- as provided by record label on YouTube {{authority control 2008 songs 2008 singles Vampire Weekend songs XL Recordings singles Songs written by Ezra Koenig Songs written by Rostam Batmanglij Songs written by Chris Baio Songs written by Chris Tomson