Vampire Weekend’s Contra (2010). Though not exactly the first album to bring me a sense of joy, since I did hear many joy-evoking albums in my first 13 years of life (Björk’s Debut, Two Door Cinema Club’s Tourist History, The Lizzie McGuire Movie soundtrack), an album that I remember vividly bringing me joy and deeply influencing my future music taste was Vampire Weekend’s second album, Contra. I started eighth grade the year this album came out, and I remember being at the mall with my friends when I saw the CD on the counter at Hollister. I found the album cover so striking–the infamous photo of that woman that would later lead to a lawsuit between her and the band–that I decided to buy it without even knowing what it was. When I went home and listened to it, I was immediately hooked. I was also surprised to hear the album’s eighth track “Giving Up the Gun,” as it had clicked that I had been seeing the music video for it on AMTV basically every morning (I watched it everyday while getting ready for school). The album’s relatively sparse yet intricately layered production combined with Ezra Koenig’s buoyant, breathy vocals and infectious melodies struck me as something I’d never really heard before. Contra not only served as my introduction to Vampire Weekend, who would become one of the definitive bands of my adolescence, but also as a gateway to the vast world of indie music. I will forever remember tracks like “Horchata,” “White Sky,” and “Diplomat’s Son,” as songs that pretty much changed my life.