Diane Young

"Diane Young"
Single by Vampire Weekend
from the album Modern Vampires of the City
B-side"Step"
ReleasedApril 20, 2013 (2013-04-20)
GenreIndie rock
Length2:40
LabelXL Recordings
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
  • Ezra Koenig
Producer(s)
Vampire Weekend singles chronology
"Run"
(2010) 		"Diane Young"
(2013) 		"Step"
(2013)
Music video
"Diane Young" on YouTube

"Diane Young" is a song by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend, taken from their third studio album Modern Vampires of the City. It was released as the lead single from the album on March 19, 2013.[1] A promotional video of the single, which features two Saab 900s burning throughout the duration of the song, was uploaded to Vevo and YouTube on March 18, 2013.[2] The official video to the single was uploaded on June 3, 2013.[3]

Background

[edit]

The band has since stated that the song title and concept is a play on the phrase "Dying young".[4][5][6]

Commercial performance

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To date,[when?] the single has peaked at #11 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.[7] It also reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart and number 50 on UK Singles Chart.

Music videos

[edit]

The promotional video for "Diane Young", dubbed the "official stream", was released on March 18, 2013. Throughout the duration of the video, two 900-series Saabs are shown burning in slow motion. The opening lyric for the song, "You torched a Saab like a pile of leaves", served as the inspiration for the video.[8] According to an interview with Vancouver's The Peak radio station, the video for "Diane Young" was made with only five seconds of footage from a Phantom Cam which films at 1000 frames per second.[9] The video concept came from Vampire Weekend member Rostam Batmanglij's friend Borna Sammak, and was filmed while the band was performing at SXSW.[10] There were allegations that the cars had been purchased under false pretenses and that the original owners had not been informed their cars would be destroyed. Vampire Weekend stated publicly that they were "stunned by the accusation", and denied any deliberate deceit in the purchase of the cars.[8][11]

The official video for "Diane Young" premiered on June 3, 2013. The video was directed by Primo Kahn and features cameos from Santigold, Chromeo, Sky Ferreira, Despot, Dave Longstreth from Dirty Projectors and Hamilton Leithauser from The Walkmen.[12] The video parodies Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper, depicting a dinner party that becomes progressively chaotic, attended by members of the band and other guests. An unidentified and disinterested man wearing a balaclava, analogous to Jesus in The Last Supper, is at the party (and video's) center.

Personnel

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Vampire Weekend

Additional musicians

  • Adam Schatz – saxophone
  • Jeff Curtin – additional drums
  • Ariel Rechtshaid – additional drum and synth programming

Technical

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23] Gold 40,000‡
United States (RIAA)[24] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Listen to Vampire Weekend's new singles, "Diane Young" and "Step"". Consequence of Sound. March 18, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  2. ^ "Vampire Weekend - Diane Young (Official Stream)". YouTube. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  3. ^ "Vampire Weekend - Diane Young". YouTube. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  4. ^ Hepburn, Ned (2013-04-17). "Vampire Weekend prove there's nothing wrong with 'Diane Young' | Death and Taxes". Deathandtaxesmag.com. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  5. ^ More Indie PLOY - "XIX" [Brett Remix] (2013-03-18). "Vampire Weekend - "Daine Young" + "Step"". Earmilk. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  6. ^ "Rostam and Ezra Interview - New.Music.Live. - 3/25/2013". YouTube. 2013-03-25. Retrieved 2013-07-10.
  7. ^ "Vampire Weekend's Chart History for Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 13 June 2013.
  8. ^ a b Battan, Carrie (March 28, 2013). "Vampire Weekend Caught in Controversy Over Burning of Saab Cars in "Diane Young" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  9. ^ Halvorson, Trevor (March 27, 2013). "PEAK Mornings: Interview with Vampire Weekend". The Peak. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  10. ^ Batmanglij, Rostam (March 19, 2013). "'Diane Young' Official Stream ..." Tumblr. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  11. ^ Dekel, Jonathan (March 28, 2013). "Vampire Weekend, Saab Story: Ezra Koening Responds to Car Arson Accusations". Spinner. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  12. ^ Pelly, Jenn (June 3, 2013). "Watch Vampire Weekend Party With Sky Ferreira, Dirty Projectors, the Walkmen, Chromeo, and Santigold in "Diane Young" Video". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 3, 2017.
  13. ^ "Vampire Weekend Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  14. ^ "Vampire Weekend Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  15. ^ "Mexico Ingles Airplay". Billboard. April 27, 2013. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  16. ^ "Vampire Weekend: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  17. ^ "Vampire Weekend Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  18. ^ "Vampire Weekend Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  19. ^ "Vampire Weekend Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  20. ^ "Vampire Weekend Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  21. ^ "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  22. ^ "Alternative Songs: Year End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  23. ^ "Canadian single certifications – Vampire Weekend – Diane Young". Music Canada. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  24. ^ "American single certifications – Vampire Weekend – Diane Young". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
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