Unbelievers | Ezra Koenig

ii. | like a rolling stone

•

Meeting —
10:36 in the morning

"... Daft Punk's our cover issue for the first part of June, and we're quite happy with the results. Jonah, fantastic job on the interview. Couldn't have trusted a better man for the job."

Will Dana, managing editor at RS, sat at the forefront of the contributor's table. There, he went over the first of two bi-monthly issues that the magazine published in a calendar year. Issue 1184, as Will stated, featured the electronic music duo known as Daft Punk on the cover — and it was a pretty big deal, according to the man.

"They do very few interviews. Jonah and Rolling Stone were right on time," Will bragged humbly. "Give Jonah a round of applause, ladies and gentlemen!"

The room suddenly exploded with applause and extol for Jonah Weiner, longtime contributor editor for the magazine. He, like Will, humbly accepted the acknowledgment his colleagues presented to him. "Dana," he said, "it was my absolute pleasure!"

"Alright, alright! Next up, Romanoff and her review of Vampire Weekend's new release!" Will paged through the carpet which Illyana had provided the roundtable with. "Three years since their last album. Why should I care, Romanoff?" He asked as he skimmed through Illyana's typed column.

"Right. Okay — first off, their sound has matured. It's got cries of an existential and religious crisis, but it's not heavy in a killing them slowly sort of way. It's fresh and it's new. It has that... I don't know, Vampire Weekend sound without the African melodies from their debut album or Contra. Again; they've distanced themselves from the Oxford comma and they now ask the listener to ponder their mortality in a way you'd never think they would. He's 29, sure, but he hears his clock tick in a way he hadn't before."

Will Dana nodded slowly. His folded hands pressed against his nose, as if slowly digesting the information presented to him by Illyana. She was right, he thought. Will, too, had listened to the album. The hype had been too loud not to believe. "Is that it?" He asked. He raised his head in a soft smile, as though he were challenging Illyana to think further and deeper into the album. "What else do you note, Illyana? What do you gather from this?"

The redhead furrowed her brow. Typical Dana strikes again, she thought. It wasn't unusual for him to guide her through her written reviews and other musings. An unusual bond had formed between the two; ever since her arrival as a junior intern, aged 22. An English Major with a minor in music would have been career suicide elsewhere in the world. Thankfully, Illyana was in New York — the kind of place where she wouldn't have to end up at McDonalds, drowning in useless debt. The kind of place, she knew, where she'd put her 'useless' degrees to work.

"Yes, uh, of course! They've, uh, revamped the way people think of them. Out are the preppy sweaters and tunes that could perhaps accompany a Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger commercial. It's brooding and it's eerie. Especially, I suppose, when you see the bigger picture. They're not old men — they're barely meeting the end of their formative years. Even the catchy Diane Young, when broken apart, can be interpreted as a song about death and uncertainty. If dying young won't change your mind, Ezra Koenig seemingly sings. Finger Back, meanwhile, masquerades as an upbeat tune that actually tells the story of a modern day Romeo and Juliet, who hail from Palestine and Israel, respectively. Hudson is eerie, and it pays homage to a New York geographical landmark and its vast history. Its tune reflects the atmosphere of its past and everything it has ever witnessed. Finally, Unbelievers is Koenig's cries to a religious world which frowns upon his choice to be just that — an unbeliever whose punishment comes in the train tracks. Or, perhaps, it's his salvation." Illyana's hidden eyes drifted away from Dana, and as she explained the sounds and stories told in the album, her hand movement became free and spirited. "And so, goodbye, Paul Simon and Graceland, I believe Modern Vampires says. It's truly Vampire Weekend living up to its name this time around."

Jonah Weiner turned to Will, who turned right back. "If you're ever worried about the future of the magazine, old Will, I'd say Illyana's got everything under control."

Illyana bit her underlip. "There's a chance I might have gotten carried away with my review," she replied. Will disagreed. "This is why you're working for us, Romanoff. The passion and the details. Congratulations on the review, kid."

Maura Johnston, another contributor, spoke up. "I see you gave it a near perfect score."

"Yes," replied Illyana, "four and a half stars, top to bottom! A few missteps here and there, albeit nothing major. Truly a joyride."

"Won't be long until you're given a front page story, Illyana. Jann Wenner loves people like you, y'know? I say, stay on the beat of what's current and soon enough, you'll be putting me out on the streets." Jonah smiled once more at the blushing Illyana. "Some of your best work yet."

•

"How'd it go in there?" Inquired Chloe, just as Illyana approached her office. "Success? Success, I'm guessing, because there's this unbelievable smile on your face, which I'm sure the International Space Station can see from above." Her eyes widened in anticipation. Illyana's every win, Chloe knew, was also a win for her.

"Oh, it was beautiful, Chlo!" Illyana said. "They loved it, and I loved it, and we all loved it together! It was a massive orgy of music loving and politics and whatnot." Her grasp on her copy of the contributor's binder tightened as it pressed upon her chest. "I'm going to send my work out for publishing, then I'm going to get started on my next assignment."

—
Author's Note:
Chapter title taken from the song 'Like a Rolling Stone ' by Bob Dylan