hi this is Rostam from Vampire Weekend / Discovery. I wrote some original music for a play by Kenneth Lonergan called THIS IS OUR YOUTH. It's starring Kieran Culkin, Michael Cera, and Tavi Gevinson. I'm here at reddit in New york to answer your questions, AMA.

https://twitter.com/matsoR/status/509063976131772416

edit: hey y'all... i'm have to be on my way but thanks for your Q's. if you're in NY check out the play it's at the Cort Theatre on 48th and 7th Ave and it opens on Thursday. http://thisisouryouthbroadway.com

Comments: 264 • Responses: 36  • Date: 

dimplejuice17 karma

Does your Grammy make a good door stop?

RostamBatmanglij26 karma

I don't know. I sent it to my parents. : )

isobel316 karma

I'm not really sure how this is a question but i just wanted to let you know that you made me feel comfortable and proud of my heritage. I'm half iranian and for a while i was uncomfortable telling people that because of the stigmas surrounding the country. however, you really inspired me to be proud and celebrate who i am, so thank you so much. I guess my question would be what is your favorite persian food?

RostamBatmanglij15 karma

tadiiiiiig!

zhuzh_michael15 karma

Hi Rostam,

I met you in the fall of 2009, when I was a shaggy-haired American making my way around Europe on a back-packing tour. I was downtown London trying to find my way to King's College for y'all's show that night at the student union, and I ran into you on the street. We chatted a bit while we walked the few blocks to the venue, and then when you found out I didn't have a ticket, you put me on the list! So, thanks for that—it was very kind of you.

I have two questions:

  1. Being a big Radiohead fan as well, I've always wondered: were you and the guys in VW aware that Thom Yorke included "I Think Ur A Contra" on one of his "office lists" shortly after Contra came out? If so, did that hold any significance for you?

  2. I'm now living in the upper westside—do you have any dining recommendations around Columbia?

RostamBatmanglij18 karma

  1. yes it was amazing to see that. one of my first tweets ever was about the song "atoms for peace"

  2. "taqueria y fonda" on amsterdam and 107 used to be amazing back in the old days, i'm guessing it still is

dylonw12 karma

what's ur fav arctic monkeys album??

RostamBatmanglij38 karma

i'm a really big fan of the submarine EP

Janisrashida11 karma

What did you write your Columbia application essay about?

RostamBatmanglij18 karma

i actually wrote it about music and what it meant to me. how i applied music theory to everything i listened to, including pop songs like "hit me baby one more time" (it was 2001 at the time)

Yo_Angie11 karma

Are you still flossing? :)

RostamBatmanglij12 karma

ohhhh thanks for the reminder

bitethelightning10 karma

Hey Rostam, will you be singing more songs on LP4? I sure hope so. Discovery is incredible and Young Lion has become an extremely important song to me. Thank you for creating the things that you do.

RostamBatmanglij13 karma

who knows what the future holds... : ) thank you for your kind words

pawneegoddess99 karma

Hi Rostam, Why weren't there any b-sides on MVOTC?

RostamBatmanglij20 karma

MVOTC is the album we wrote the most songs for... and there are a lot of scraps left over and half-written songs lurking about. i think some bits and pieces might turn out in the next thing we do.

dianamariedk9 karma

What is your favorite venue to play?

RostamBatmanglij12 karma

webster hall!

james_is_lames9 karma

Hey Rostam! I know VW recorded the debut on your own time with limited space/equipment. Got any tips for DIY recording with a pretty tight budget/not a lot of space? Big fan of your work. Thanks for doing this.

RostamBatmanglij10 karma

find friends who have drums set up in their basement, pay them with pizza 🍕

peipunk8 karma

Hiya Rostam - what are your top three desert island classical songs?

RostamBatmanglij10 karma

BEETHOVEN 6th SYMPHONY TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 CHOPIN PRELUDE IN A MAJOR

valperiepal8 karma

What sort of things help you when you feel stuck creatively?

RostamBatmanglij7 karma

taking a break, taking a shower, taking a walk

crawlingvines8 karma

What movies/books/TV/albums have you been really inspired by in the past few weeks?

RostamBatmanglij6 karma

I'm really into the web series "High Maintenance" https://vimeo.com/channels/highmaintenance

banjotrack8 karma

Rostam! How do you like to kill time on a long-ass flight?

RostamBatmanglij8 karma

reading play scripts!

exzty8 karma

is batman your actual favorite super hero?

RostamBatmanglij8 karma

def, I also like Neil Gaiman's Death the High Cost of Living

capecodkyrakyra8 karma

What's your favorite song to perform with VW?

RostamBatmanglij24 karma

i love playing the slide guitar part at the end of "hannah hunt", I also love performing of "obvious bicycle", it's really tough but when we nail it i get a great feeling

sasspolice8 karma

What would you consider your favorite song out of everything you've worked on?

RostamBatmanglij17 karma

"don't lie" has a special place in my heart, "i retired", a song i did with Hamilton Leithauser from the Walkmen is also pretty dear to me... "need your love" which is coming out in October on Charli XCX's new album is a song that i'm really proud of : )

ParrotLad7 karma

Any chances we'll see some more solo stuff from yourself? The song Wood is absolutely amazing and I'd love to hear more from you. (ps your gig at leeds festival this year was amazing! thanks for playing California English pt 2 live, i never ever expected that to happen!)

RostamBatmanglij7 karma

yes. absolutely. thanks for the kind words about wood. i'm glad we played Cali English II as well. i think it's one of my favorites.

rebeccag177 karma

what is the best concert you've ever been to?

RostamBatmanglij15 karma

dirty projectors at carnegie hall... everyone who was there agrees : )

oxfurdcomma7 karma

hii rostam what is your favorite type of dog?

RostamBatmanglij7 karma

german shepherd

peipunk7 karma

How did you get Bill DiBlasio in your promo video for Modern Vampires of the City?

RostamBatmanglij6 karma

he and steve have known eachother for a long time!

ithinkURaPunk6 karma

I have a tattoo of lyrics "Here comes a feeling you thought you'd forgotten" who wrote that lyric? Thank you for making my favorite music!

RostamBatmanglij12 karma

hey there, actually that is one of the lyrics of horchata that i wrote. Ezra had the melody and we were working on it together trying different things. that lyric was from a little demo i made with a very different melody a couple days prior. we tried it out in that spot and it worked so we kept it

obviouslybicycling6 karma

What's your favorite album by The Strokes?

RostamBatmanglij5 karma

first impressions...

jr60006 karma

Do you ever read the comments on your instagram and or twitter?

RostamBatmanglij11 karma

yeah i do!

Sarahisenburger5 karma

how do you feel about mac DEMARCOS new album, salad days?

RostamBatmanglij9 karma

I LOVE THE FIRST TWO SONGS TO PIECES

nahassenav4 karma

when will the unbelievers music video be released?

RostamBatmanglij5 karma

😳

bender424 karma

Hey, big Vampire Weekend fan. Saw you guys in Michigan in June, and you were great! Anyway, what advice would you have for a band just starting out?

RostamBatmanglij9 karma

learn as much about music as you can but also be ready to forget everything when you need to and just trust your instincts

GusTheProspector4 karma

Matsor, what have you been listening to lately?

RostamBatmanglij16 karma

human sadness : )

WavvyBoi4 karma

How did you get the idea to write music for a play?

RostamBatmanglij2 karma

eli and scott , the producers, sent me the script for this play, i think they knew how much i loved Kenneth Lonergan's movie Margaret. i read the play in one sitting and immediately said yes!

banjotrack4 karma

Would you bring Angel back in studio to record more vocals for future tunes?

RostamBatmanglij4 karma

absolutely, she is so fun to work with and her voice has so many textures to it

RostamBatmanglij10 karma

also... maybe i already have ; )

mdrnvmprs3 karma

who is one artist that you would LOVE to make a collab with??

RostamBatmanglij4 karma

kate bush!

Alexsebold3 karma

Favorite Springsteen song?

RostamBatmanglij7 karma

atlantic city

noladyballs3 karma

Hi Rostam, I'm a very big fan! Will the music from "This is Our Youth" be available on iTunes or any other platform? I'm very excited to hear it. Also, have you met Michael Cera yet and is he a strange guy?

RostamBatmanglij3 karma

figuring out the release schedule... but you'll be hearing music from it very soon. : )

michael is not a strange guy to my knowledge... he's seems like a good dude

TuMadreWey3 karma

What's your favorite food?

RostamBatmanglij4 karma

arugula !

sabraja2 karma

what was it like seeing jay z and beyonce live??

RostamBatmanglij2 karma

AMAZING!