Holiday (Vampire Weekend song) explained

Holiday
Cover:	Vampire Weekend Holiday promo.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Vampire Weekend
Album:	Contra
B-Side:	Ottoman
Released:	June 7, 2010
Recorded:	2009
Genre:	Ska punk,^[1] indie pop
Length:	2:18
Label:	XL
Composer:	Chris Baio Rostam Batmanglij Ezra Koenig Christopher Tomson
Lyricist:	Ezra Koenig
Producer:	Rostam Batmanglij
Prev Title:	Giving Up the Gun
Prev Year:	2010
Next Title:	White Sky
Next Year:	2010

"Holiday" is a song by American indie rock band Vampire Weekend. It was released as the third single from their album Contra. The video premiered on MTV.com on May 27, 2010.^[2] The song was featured in Christmas-themed television advertisements for Tommy Hilfiger and Honda^[3] during the 2010 holiday season.

Music video

The music video was directed by directing duo The Malloys, who also directed the video for the previous single from Contra, "Giving Up the Gun".^[4] It features the band dressed up as 18th century aristocrats in what appears to be the present day, taking a vacation from their jobs and doing very un-monarchical activities including attending at a pool party, driving around California in a '63 Impala and ordering In-N-Out drive-thru, going to the beach, vandalism, and assault, among other crazy activities.

The concept behind the video was to portray the band as being "fish out of water" in Los Angeles. They used their manager's pool in Hollywood Hills to shoot the pool party scenes. The band did not have a permit to shoot the music video, so all of the driving scenes were shot under technically illegal circumstances, while, ironically, the scenes in which they are assaulting a beach goer and spray painting graffiti were staged and perfectly legal.^[5] During shooting, one band member ripped the pants of his rented costume. While filming the dessert scene, the band became ill due to the amount of sugar that the members consumed during the shooting and re-shooting of the scene.

The video was featured on the VH1 show Pop-Up Video.

Track listing

1. "Holiday" - 2:18
2. "Ottoman" - 4:02

Personnel

Vampire Weekend

• Ezra Koenig – lead vocals, guitar
• Rostam Batmanglij – piano, background vocals, vocal harmonies, keyboards, harpsichord, VSS-30, drum, synth, sampler programming, guitar
• Christopher Tomson – drums
• Chris Baio – bass

Technical

• Rostam Batmanglij – mixing, engineering
• Justin Gerrish – mixing, engineering
• Shane Stoneback – engineering
• Fernando Lodeiro – engineering assistance
• Emily Lazar – mastering
• Joe LaPorta – assistant mastering engineering

Chart performance

Chart (2010)	Peak Position
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)^[6]	19
UK Singles Chart^[7]	158
UK Indie Chart^[8]	12
US Billboard Adult Alternative Songs	29
US Billboard Alternative Songs	31
US Billboard Heatseekers Songs	23
US Billboard Rock Airplay	34
US Billboard Rock Songs	34

Notes and References

1. Web site: Sublime Goldfish Radio Station on Apple Music .
2. Web site: 2010-05-27. Holiday | Vampire Weekend | Music Video . https://web.archive.org/web/20100529193132/http://www.mtv.com/videos/vampire-weekend/520233/holiday.jhtml . dead . May 29, 2010 . MTV . 2012-02-21.
3. Web site: Vampire Weekend Soundtracks Hilfiger, Honda "Holiday" Ads . Stereogum . 2010-11-29 . 2016-07-14.
4. Web site: Video: Vampire Weekend: "Holiday" | News . Pitchfork . 2010-05-27 . 2012-02-21.
5. Web site: 2011-10-27 . "Holiday (Pop Up Video)" by Vampire Weekend | Music Video . https://web.archive.org/web/20111111001319/http://www.vh1.com/video/vampire-weekend/702446/holiday-pop-up-video.jhtml#id=1671817 . dead . November 11, 2011 . VH1.com . 2012-02-21.
6. Web site: Vampire Weekend Chart History . Billboard Mexico Ingles Airplay for Vampire Weekend . January 10, 2019.
7. http://zobbel.de/cluk/100605cluk.txt Chart Log UK: New entries update (5.06.2010)
8. Web site: Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50. Official Charts Company.