Smackdown: Vampire Weekend

Soundcheck | May 3, 2010

The New York indie rockers Vampire Weekend are topping the Billboard 200 chart by selling more than a 120,000 copies of their second set "Contra." While fans praise their unusual, global sound, critics call them Ivy-league elitists ripping off third world music. Joining us for a Soundcheck Smackdown: Chicago Sun-Times pop music critic Jim DeRogatis and New York-based pop culture writer Marisa Meltzer, author of the new book Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music.

Tell us: What do you think of Vampire Weekend? Are they social satirists or cultural tourists? Leave a comment -- we might read yours during the show today.

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