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"This Life" is a song by American rock band Vampire Weekend, released as the third single from their fourth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
'' Father of the Bride''. It was released on April 4, 2019, by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
as a
double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
with "
Unbearably White "Unbearably White" is a song by American indie pop band Vampire Weekend. It was released on April 4, 2019 by Columbia Records as a double A-side with "This Life", and the third single from their album ''Father of the Bride''. Background Discuss ...
". The highly referential song contrasts bright music against a lyrical exploration of uncertainty and suffering, and was written by lead singer Ezra Koenig with iLoveMakonnen and Mark Ronson. The track was released to widespread critical acclaim, being described as amongst the band's best work, and peaked at 11 on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Hot Rock Songs chart.


Composition

"This Life" bears strong similarities to Van Morrison's " Brown Eyed Girl" (1967), and has also been compared to
Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...
's '' Graceland'' (1986), with the opening lyrics referencing " It Never Rains in Southern California" (1972) by Albert Hammond. The upbeat
pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...
and pop rock song incorporates bright guitars, handclaps and brushed percussion with a Latin shuffle. The bright music is contrasted against Koenig's lyrics, which explore spiritual uncertainty and inevitable suffering. Koenig co-wrote the song with American rapper iLoveMakonnen, who originally wrote the line "you've been cheating on, cheating on me / I've been cheating on, cheating on you" for his song "Tonight" (2014), and English-American record producer Mark Ronson, who contributed to the song's bass line.


Critical reception

The song received universal acclaim from music critics, and has been described as being among Vampire Weekend's best work to date. Matthew Strauss of '' Pitchfork'' awarded the song "Best New Track", praising its storytelling and bright musical palette. ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
s Will Gottsegen praised the song as the highlight of the singles released leading up to ''Father of the Bride'', describing it as "a high water mark for Koenig in the post- Rostam era—a deft interlacing of references, equal parts melancholic and playful". Reviewing ''Father of the Bride'' for ''
Noisey ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...
'', Alex Swhear described the track as "one of the year’s most purely enjoyable pop songs". For '' Loud and Quiet'', Sam Walton commended the song as "the best thing Vampire Weekend have ever recorded, and one of those songs that leaves you baffled as to how, after 60-odd years of recorded pop, it was only written now", praising its songwriting and construction as accessible yet unique, and addictive.


Music video

A music video for the song was released on May 20, 2019, directed by previous collaborator
Emmett Malloy The Malloys is the working name of music video and film directors and brothers Emmett Malloy and Brendan Malloy. They have been with Superprime Films since 2010. Videography *"Holiday (Vampire Weekend song), Holiday" by Vampire Weekend (2010) ...
. The video depicts Koenig, Danielle Haim and Ariel Rechtshaid riding through the California desert with a driver introduced as Wade (portrayed by Kyle Field), eventually arriving at a
Passover Seder The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew c ...
hosted by Mark Ronson, with other guests including
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, Despot, Simi and Haze and Jovan Hill.


Personnel

Credits adapted from ''Father of the Brides liner notes. * Ariel Rechtshaid – engineering * Chris Kasych – engineering * John DeBold – engineering * P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel) – engineering * Hiroya Takayama – engineering * Takemasa Kosaka – engineering * Manny Marroquin – mixing * Chris Galland – mix engineering * Robin Florent – mix engineering assistance * Scott Desmarais – mix engineering assistance * Emily Lazar – mastering * Chris Allgood – mastering assistance


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


References

{{Vampire Weekend 2019 songs 2019 singles American pop rock songs American pop songs Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Ariel Rechtshaid Songs written by Ezra Koenig Songs written by Mark Ronson Vampire Weekend songs Songs written by iLoveMakonnen