Vampire Weekend reject 'activist' critics

Vampire Weekend have hit out at the way they are portrayed by some critics.

Frontman Ezra Koenig told The Guardian that the perception of the group as "privileged white kids" is "a joke" given the Jewish and Persian background of the band's songwriters.

Koenig said: "White, college-educated critics... don't often get the chance to be activists.

"So when they see us come along, it provides them with a brilliantly simple opportunity to be activists, 'This is an outrage! These people are exploitative!'.

"Of course people should be on guard for exploitation, but... they're attacking a version of us that doesn't actually exist - the myth of Vampire Weekend."

He added: "It's just as natural for us to listen to music from Africa as it is to Cream or whoever. There's no reason why Cream should be a bigger part of my heritage - my family is from eastern Europe and grew up in New Jersey and Eric Clapton is a British guy playing the blues.

"When you break it down like that, the rock'n'roll canon becomes a little less monolithic. Just because I grew up a white guy in America doesn't mean that's the music of my life."