Last November, Rostam teased a new era. His new album American Stories, the follow-up to 2021's Changephobia, is coming out sometime this year. But before he's moving forward, he's looking back. Today the former Vampire Weekend member officially shared the original version of "Campus," from VW's 2008 self-titled debut album. (We posted about it back in the day, but it's officially on streaming now.)
Although frontman Ezra Koenig wrote most of the lyrics on that debut, "Campus" was the exception. You can hear slight lyrical differences between the two versions, but the most noticeable change is the brilliant strings that scaffold the song alongside a blunted kick drum. Rostam's vocals also sound quite lovely. I didn't think there would be a version of "Campus" I could like more than what was released in 2008. I stand corrected.
Rostam shared some insight about the original:
I wrote most of this song in December of 2005. We came together as a band a few months later. Ezra wrote pretty much all of the lyrics on our debut album, but this song was an exception.
I was interested in creating a piece of music that was built around a cello, a kick drum, and a vocal that told a story. Robyn’s ‘Be Mine’ was an inspiration. From the first time we tried playing it as a band with rock instruments, it happened to work. That was a happy accident, but I always intended for this original version to see the light of day someday.
The strings in this version were recorded in my dorm room at Columbia in 2006. It’s just one cellist and one violinist that I built up into an ensemble with multi-tracking.
There are some small differences in lyrics between this version and our Vampire Weekend version and I’m sure some people will notice them. I’m happy that version exists and I’m also happy this one is out in the world now too.
You can pre-order the limited edition “Campus (Original Version)” 7-inch here. 51% of the proceeds from the master recording of “Campus (Original Version)” will be donated to: Palestine Legal, CHIRLA, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and Sudanese American Physicians Association.
Listen to "Campus (Original Version)" and watch a mini doc where Rostam goes deep into the song's construction below.
