Vampire Weekend

At a time when indie pop was opening up to a wide world of influences, Vampire Weekend nudged things to the next level, bringing brainy lyrics and African flavors to the table as a sort of late-2000s alternative-scene answer to Paul Simon.

The band began at New York’s Columbia University, where singer/guitarist Ezra Koenig, guitarist/keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij, bassist Chris Baio, and drummer Christopher Tomson were students when they united in 2006.

They released their first single, “Mansard Roof,” the next year, and though their self-titled debut album wouldn’t arrive till 2008, a massive internet buzz had already earned them legions of followers by the time it appeared—along with suggestions of cultural appropriation that made the seemingly innocuous group a lightning rod for controversy.