Our scientific question was, on the surface, quite simple: Is it possible for a band to make a Tusk without having first created a Rumors? But within that question, there is a whole mess of other questions. Can the cocaine-fed vanity and ambition — and a $1M recording budget — be swapped out with Highlife-drenched amateurism and fussiness and still share any musical DNA? Is songcraft and pop prowess interchangeable with afro-kraut-yacht? Can a sampler replace the coos of Stevie Nicks, even if you throw a black, silk cape over it? Is it just as sexy to write songs about the various relationships within your band if your members are all male and look like burn-out, middle-lower class members of Vampire Weekend?