118. Brian Dunne Discusses Vampire Weekend, Father of the Bride

Send us Fan MailSinger, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Brian Dunne joins Al for this episode to introduce him to Vampire Weekend’s Father of the Bride. Brian talks about why he loves the album’s frequent shifting of genres, what he admires about Ezra Koenig as a songwriter and the specific time period that the album references. Brian also discusses his new album, Loser On The Ropes, and playing the songs from the album live for the first time.Al has a previous guest to thank for his being aware of Brian’s music, and ultimately, for Brian joining him for this episode. Joan Holiday, who was Al's guest on ep. 66, played “Rockaway” on her drive time show on WRSI The River.At 51:46, Al and Mary Beth’s horse Fynn makes his first podcast appearance!Be sure to follow Brian on Twitter and Instagram at @briandunnemusic!Brian also has a website, https://www.briandunnemusic.net/……and a Bandcamp page: https://briandunne.bandcamp.com/.Al is on Twitter at @almelchiorBB, and this show has accounts on Twitter and Instagram at @youmealbum. Be sure to follow @youmealbum to find out in advance about upcoming guests and featured albums for this podcast.Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter and participate in weekly chats about this podcast’s featured albums! https://youmealbum.substack.com/If you are interested in supporting this podcast, please check out the show’s Patreon site, https://www.patreon.com/youmealbum. Your contributions are greatly appreciated and keep this show going.1:15 Brian joins the show1:36 Brian explains why he chose to discuss Father of the Bride3:03 The album’s frequent changes in styles and genres made an immediate impression on Brian5:47 Brian cites an example of great songwriting on the album9:30 Father of the Bride has been a polarizing album for Vampire Weekend fans11:23 Al wonders why he has such a hard time “getting” Vampire Weekend14:05 Brian places Vampire Weekend in the context of indie rock17:30 There is a purpose to all of the switching between genres21:56 Brian talks about growing up with classic rock24:11 Brian digs into his favorite songs on the album27:57 Al asks Brian for his interpretation of “Jerusalem, New York, Berlin”31:49 Brian understands that Father of the Bride is not for everybody33:04 Al talks about one of his favorite moments on the album34:50 Brian sees Modern Vampires of the City as a pivotal album37:07 Father of the Bride takes Brian back to 199440:45 Brian makes an analogy between Father of the Bride and Bruce Springsteen’s The River46:46 Brain explains what he was conveying with the song “Rockaway”51:58 Brian talks about playing the songs from Loser On The Ropes liveOutro is from “Rockaway” by Brian Dunne.Support the show