If you’ve been longing for more Vampire Weekend since 2019’s Father of the Bride, you’re in luck (kind of). The indie rockers who still don’t give a fuck about an Oxford comma commissioned two artists to create new versions of “2021” less than two full years after the song’s release.
Jazz saxophonist Sam Gendel and rock quintet Goose were each given the sole instruction of making their takes exactly 20 minutes and 21 seconds long, leading to the creation of Gendel’s “2021 (in the space between two pieces of wood)” and Goose’s “2021 (January 5th, to be exact).”
Both tracks also came paired with representative visuals, with Gendel choosing to show off his animation skills while Goose favored the more traditional performance music video route. Each artist has served as a major influence on Vampire Weekend, and clearly, the respect is mutual enough to willingly create a 20-minute rendition of a song that was originally 98 seconds long.
Check out the new tracks below. Here’s Goose:
And Gendel:
The reimaginings may not be exactly what Vampire Weekend fans were hoping would be the band’s first “release” of the new year, but at least it wasn’t as weird and unnecessary as that time Ryan Adams covered Taylor Swift’s entire 1989 without really improving it in any way.