When I first saw the cover for Vampire Weekend’s sophomore album, Contra, I thought it was weak. It’s a shadowy Polaroid pic of a redheaded girl donning a light yellow Ralph Lauren polo shirt, collar halfway popped. I assumed they’d snapped the pic recently—since the band has fully embraced preppiness, I guessed that was a random fan or perhaps one of the guy’s girlfriends. After ranting to a friend about this, he looked it up and discovered that, no, the photo wasn’t recent. It was taken in 1983. This made it 200 times cooler—I kind of loved the idea that the 20-something girl in the image was now close to 50 and could basically be anywhere in the country doing anything. I liked that it was a subtle commentary on style, and how something taken so long ago could still look completely current.
But apparently, the woman in the photo—Ann Kirsten Kennis (hello, country-clubbiest name ever)—wasn’t so thrilled with the cover. Keep reading »
