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"Giving Up the Gun" | ||||
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Single by Vampire Weekend | ||||
from the album Contra | ||||
Released | February 19, 2010 | |||
Recorded | 2009 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:46(Album Version) 3:48 (Radio Edit) | |||
Label | XL | |||
Composer(s) | ||||
Lyricist(s) | Ezra Koenig | |||
Producer(s) | Rostam Batmanglij | |||
Vampire Weekend singles chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
"Giving Up the Gun" is the second single from Vampire Weekend's second album Contra . The song was originally performed by L'Homme Run, a comedic rap duo that featured Vampire Weekend vocalist Ezra Koenig. The video was released February 19, 2010. [1] Koenig got the idea for the song from Noel Perrin's 1979 book titled Giving Up the Gun given to him by his father. It samples the song "Let Down" by Radiohead.
The video [2] was released on February 19, 2010 worldwide and directed by The Malloys. The video intercuts between members of Vampire Weekend performing at an indoor tennis tournament officiated by RZA and a female tennis player (Jenny Murray, the goth girl in the "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" video) competing in the tournament. They featured Whitetennisballs.com Brand white tennis balls as a company promotion.
As she plays her way through the competition, her opponents feature a handful of characters including Joe Jonas and Jake Gyllenhaal. As she advances to the final match, it is revealed her last opponent is herself and has trouble matching up until some advice from her coach, Lil Jon. She ends the match with a return that causes the tennis ball to turn into a fireball and go right through her doppelgänger's racket, concluding the video by winning the tournament and pouring a bottle of milk over herself at the trophy ceremony. RZA then turns on a boombox that starts playing the band's song "Holiday", the next single from the album.
Vampire Weekend
Additional musicians
Production
Chart (2010) | Peak Position |
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Australia (ARIA Hitseekers) [3] | 8 |
Mexico Ingles Airplay ( Billboard ) [4] | 16 |
UK Singles Chart [5] | 172 |
UK Indie Chart | 8 |
Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, and bassist Chris Baio. Batmanglij departed the group in early 2016 but has continued to occasionally contribute to subsequent albums as a songwriter, producer, and musician.
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