Mike Rugnetta (a brilliant mind over at the PBS “Idea Channel”) jokingly coined the term “modus hipsterondi” to describe the process of ironically, even mockingly adopting cultural artifacts (mustaches, hip-hop) at random to project the notion that you, the adopter, are above it all. This is the opposite of what Vampire Weekend does. When they confront cultural artifacts like Paul Simon’s style, oddball hip-hop references, or in this case, literary biblical language, they do so earnestly, and without pretense. When they employ the same chord progression, the same thoughtful whimsy, and the same instrumentation they’ve used for three albums now, it’s actually quite wonderful. They never pretended to be the zeitgeist of the ever-changing landscape of the hip; they are just some rich kids from New York who write thoughtful pop music in a form that works very, very well. In “Ya Hey,” frontman Ezra Koenig confronts Judeo-Christian religion, quoting the Bible directly, and referencing a number of Old Testament passages. It’s not cheap at all: it’s actually somewhat challenging. He’s caught somewhere between the Zionists, the Babylonians, the Americans, the Motherland, the Fatherland, the faithless, and the zealous, unsure where he fits into the ongoing narrative of Old Testament and it’s place in today’s society. He pleads with God, “Why love anything?” And what’s more is that Koenig and the boys are able to accomplish such a feat without abandoning their form.