Update: The wacky new Vampire Weekend video has premiered today on Spinner and the novelty of the eclectic guest stars wears off pretty fast. The video is essentially a tennis match that slowly turns into something you might see in “Mario Tennis.” And then Lil’ Jon shows up and says things are subtitled in French. Meh. Video is below.
WTF. Upper West Side Soweto perfectionists Vampire Weekend have lined up a pretty insanely eclectic group of people for their forthcoming video.
In the video for “Giving Up The Gun,” off Vampire Weekend’s chart-topping sophomore effort “Contra,” Jake Gyllenhaal, RZA, Joe Jonas & Lil’ Jon will all feature in what’s being described as a “bizarre-o tennis match.” The group was also hoping to snag Kevin Jonas but he “wasn’t available.” Director Emmett Malloy (who filmed the White Stripes doc “Under The Great White Northern Lights”) describes the shoot: “We lit shit on fire. We had RZA presiding over the tennis match. Lil Jon came down to give some tennis tips. Jake Gyllenhaal drank himself out of the competition; Joe Jonas tried, but did not succeed. There was a lot of rigorous competition, pyrotechnics, and a little bit of milk to cap it all off.” We’re speechless.
This is the second video off the album, and it will hit the web in the next few weeks. The first video, “Cousins” was directed under Garth Jennings and Nick Goldsmith’s imprint Hammer & Tongs. You can watch it here.