1.Weezer (1994); 2.Pinkerton (1996); 3.Weezer (2001); 4.Maladroit (2002); 5.Make Believe (2005); 6.Weezer (2008); 7.Raditude (2009); 8.Hurley (2010)
Weezer
Released May 10, 1994, Length 41:17, Label DGC
1.My Name Is Jonas 3:242.No One Else 3:04
3.The World Has Turned and Left Me Here 4:19
4.Buddy Holly 2:39
5.Undone – The Sweater Song 5:05
6.Surf Wax America 3:06
7.Say It Ain't So 4:18
8.In the Garage 3:55
9.Holiday 3:24
10.Only in Dreams 7:59Weezer, also known as The Blue Album, is the debut album by the American alternative rock band Weezer, released in May 1994 through DGC Records. The album was produced by former Cars frontman Ric Ocasek and recorded inElectric Lady Studios in New York City. The Blue Album spawned the popular singles "Undone - The Sweater Song", "Buddy Holly", and "Say It Ain't So", all of which were responsible for launching Weezer into mainstream success with the aid of music videos directed by Spike Jonze. As of December 2007, the album had sold 3,146,000 copies in the United States, where it peaked at number 16 on the Billboard 200. It is certified triple-platinum in the US and double-platinum in Canada.
Background
Weezer was formed on February 14, 1992, in Los Angeles by Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Matt Sharp, and Jason Cropper. They would then play clubs and other small venues around L.A. However, it took a long time for the band to gain a following:
...I remember just being totally shocked at how little people responded to us, because I thought we were so good. I mean, we were playing the same songs that eventually became big hits, like 'The Sweater Song' and 'Say It Ain't So,' and we'd play 'em out in the L.A. clubs would just be like, 'Go away. We want a grunge band.'
Weezer recorded the Kitchen Tapes as an attempt to create a buzz around L.A. The band eventually attracted attention from major-label A&R reps looking for alternative rock bands while performing on the same bill as the band that dog. They were then signed to DGC Records on June 26, 1993, by Todd Sullivan, an A&R rep from Geffen Records.
Recording
While prepping for the forthcoming studio sessions, the band focused on their vocal interplay by practicing barbershop quartet-styled songs, which helped both Cuomo and Sharp achieve a newfound collaborative comfort during rehearsals. Sharp, who never sang before joining Weezer, got his falsetto background vocal abilities—"I had to sing an octave higher than Rivers. After a lot of practice, I started to get it down."
Fifteen songs were rehearsed for the album during early practice sessions in New York in preparation for the Electric Lady Studios album recording. Ten of the songs appear on the album, but four of the songs were cut: "Lullaby for Wayne", "I Swear It's True", "Getting Up and Leaving", and a reprise version of "In The Garage". The other song, "Mykel and Carli", was attempted during the Electric Lady sessions, but was also abandoned. It would be recorded a year later and became a popular B-side.
The band briefly considered self-producing, but were pressured by Geffen to choose a producer. They ultimately decided on Ric Ocasek; Cuomo explained his choice: "I'd always admire The Cars and Ric Ocasek's songwriting and production skills." During production, Ocasek convinced the band to change their guitar pickup from the neck pick-up to the bridge pick-up, resulting in a brighter sound.
During these sessions, founding guitarist Jason Cropper left the band and was replaced by current guitarist Brian Bell, leading to some speculation about how much Bell contributes to the album. While Bell's vocals are clearly audible on some tracks, Cuomo re-recorded all of Cropper's guitar parts. According to Ocasek, all ten tracks were laid down by Cuomo in one day, each in one take. Cropper's writing credit on "My Name Is Jonas" is earned by his coming up with the intro to the song.
Writing and composition
Most of the album was written by Rivers Cuomo. Exceptions are "My Name Is Jonas", which was co-written with Jason Cropper and Patrick Wilson, and "Surf Wax America", which was composed and written by Cuomo and Wilson. Weezer touches upon various life experiences of Cuomo, including subjects such as his brother's car accident, heartbreak, jealousy, alcohol, and former girlfriends.
The single "Undone - The Sweater Song" was described by Cuomo as "the feeling you get when the train stops and the little guy comes knockin' on your door. It was supposed to be a sad song, but everyone thinks it's hilarious." The video marks one of the early directorial efforts of Spike Jonze, whose pitch was simply "A blue stage, a steadicam, a pack of wild dogs." The video became an instant hit on MTV.
Both "No One Else" and "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here" are lyrically connected, with Cuomo describing the narrator of "No One Else" as "the jealous-obsessive asshole in me freaking out on my girlfriend" and claiming that "'The World has Turned and Left Me Here' is the same asshole wondering why she's gone."
The second single from the Blue Album was "Buddy Holly", whose music video was also directed by Spike Jonze. It portrayed the band performing at the original Arnold's Drive-In diner from the popular '70s television show, Happy Days. The video combined contemporary footage of the band with clips from the show. Happy Days cast member Al Molinaro made a cameo appearance in the video. The video was met with great popularity and heavy rotation on MTV. The video won four awards at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, including prizes for Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative Video.
"My Name is Jonas", deals with Cuomo's brother Leaves who had been seriously injured in a car accident while a student at Oberlin College and was having problem with his insurance. Jason Cropper earned co-writing credit for coming up with the intro to the song.
The final single, "Say it Ain't So", was again inspired by Cuomo believing his parents split up when he was four because he thought his dad was an alcoholic.The music video, which was directed by Sophie Muller, was less successful than the previous two Spike Jonze-directed videos. It featured the band performing in the garage of their former house, and the bandmates playing hacky sack in the backyard.
Artwork
The album artwork by Todd Sullivan features Patrick Wilson, Rivers Cuomo, Matt Sharp, and Brian Bell standing left to right in front of a plain, blue background.The simple image would be used prominently in the advertising of the album.The cover received many comparisons to the Feelies' album Crazy Rhythms.
On some vinyl pressings of the album, the cover does not crop off their feet. On the Deluxe Edition case the feet are presented on the back cover, and the band sold an official t-shirt with a shot of the band's feet after the deluxe edition release.
Inside the album booklet, Rivers Cuomo pays tribute to his past metal influences with a photo taken in the group's garage on Amherst (this same garage would be featured in the "Say It Ain't So" music video). A poster of Judas Priest's album British Steel is featured on the left side of the photo, while on the right a Quiet Riot concert poster is displayed. The Deluxe Edition features additional photographs of the band and hand-written lyrics for each song.
Release
The Blue Album was released on May 10, 1994. It was certified gold just under seven months later on December 1, 1994, and certified platinum on January 1, 1995; since then it has gone three times multi-platinum in the United States. The album peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200. As a single, "Undone - The Sweater Song" peaked at #35 on the UK Top 40, and "Buddy Holly" and "Say It Ain't So" peaked at #12 and #37 on the UK Top 40 respectively. In the U.S., "Buddy Holly" peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart.
A deluxe edition of the album was released on March 23, 2004. The release includes a version of the original album as well as a second disc (entitled Dusty Gems and Raw Nuggets) of B-sides and rarities.As of December 2007, the re-issue has sold 86,000 copies.
Reception
Initial
The album was well received by critics on its release. Allmusic gave the album 5 stars, explaining "What makes the band so enjoyable is their charming geekiness; instead of singing about despair, they sing about love, which is kind of refreshing in the gloom-drenched world of '90s guitar-pop." Rolling Stone praised the album, saying "Weezer's Rivers Cuomo is great at sketching vignettes (the Dungeons and Dragons games and Kiss posters that inspire the hapless daydreamer of 'In the Garage'), and with sweet inspiration like the waltz tempo of 'My Name Is Jonas' and the self-deprecating humor of lines like "I look just like Buddy Holly/And you're Mary Tyler Moore", his songs easily ingratiate."
Retrospect
In the years since its release, The Blue Album has risen in stature to become one of the most highly-regarded albums of the 1990s, appearing on many "Best-of" lists. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 297 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2002, the readers of Rolling Stone ranked the album the 21st greatest of all time. Blender named the Blue Album among the "500 CDs You Must Own", calling the album "Absolute geek-rock, out and proud." Non-U.S. publications have acclaimed the album as well: New Zealand's The Movement placed it at number 39 on a list of "The 101 Best Albums of the 90s", and Visions of Germany ranked it number 32 on a list of "The Most Important Albums of the 90s."
Reviews of the deluxe edition of the album have also been positive. In 2004, Popmatters gave the album a very positive review, saying "I'd go so far to declare the 'Blue Album' one of the greatest records of the last 20 years." Blogcritics Magazine gave the album a score of 10/10 and asserted that "this is one of the most important debut albums of the last ten years."
In naming Weezer the 26th best album of the 1990s, Pitchfork Media summed up the album's critical recognition:
An album so substantial the band misguidedly attempted to tap into its resonance through cover graphics a mere two releases later. In 1994, 70s rock had come to mean either a bastardized version of Led Zeppelin or a bullshit reconstruction of punk rock. As guitar nerds, Weezer sought influence there but found true inspiration in forgotten bubblegum power-pop like Cheap Trick, Raspberries, 20/20, and The Quick. Most impressively, Rivers Cuomo rescued the thrilling guitar solo from finger-tapping metal and disregarding grunge/punk. A decade later air-guitaring to the album feels far less embarrassing than singing along. With the help of Spike Jonze, Weezer kept joy alive in arena rock, making the critical repositioning of Weezer as some emo touchstone even more absentminded. They called themselves Weezer, knowingly, for chrissakes. - Brent DiCrescenzo
NME claimed that the album "pretty much invented emo's melodic wing".
Pinkerton
Released September 24, 1996, Length 34:36, Label DGC
1.Tired of Sex 3:01
2.Getchoo 2:52
2.Getchoo 2:52
3.No Other One 3:01
4.Why Bother? 2:08
5.Across the Sea 4:32
6.The Good Life 4:17
7.El Scorcho 4:03
8.Pink Triangle 3:58
9.Falling for You 3:47
10.Butterfly 2:53Pinkerton is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer, released on September 24, 1996. After finishing tours in promotion of their 1994 album Weezer, the band originally planned to record a space-themed rock opera entitled Songs from the Black Hole. However, this project was eventually abandoned and the group used some of the songs from the discarded album on Pinkerton. Much of the album was written while frontman Rivers Cuomo was studying at Harvard University, which influenced the themes addressed on the record.
The album was seen as a departure from the band's original power pop sound for a darker and more abrasive sound. Upon its release in 1996, the album was initially considered a critical and commercial failure; Pinkertonhas since risen in stature to become one of the most highly-regarded albums of the 1990s, receiving much critical acclaim, and is now considered one of the most important albums of the decade. The album was certified gold in the United States in 2001. As of August 2009, Pinkerton has amassed U.S. sales of 852,000. It also went gold in Canada, with sales of over 50,000. It was the last Weezer album to feature bassist Matt Sharp.
Background
After the multi-platinum success of their debut album Weezer, the band took a break from touring for the Christmas holidays in late December 1994. Rivers Cuomo traveled to his home state of Connecticut and, using an eight-track recorder, began piecing together demo material for Weezer's next album. Cuomo's original concept for Weezer's second album was to be a space-themed rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole. The album was intended to feature songs that flowed together seamlessly and end with a special coda that briefly revisited the major musical elements of the piece.The band began demoing and working on Cuomo's concept through intermittent recording sessions in the spring and summer of 1995. During this time, Cuomo, who was born with one leg shorter than the other, received leg surgery intended to lengthen his right leg. This would impact his songwriting for the album because he would be under the influence of painkillers. Sometime during this period Cuomo applied to study at Harvard University with an application letter describing how disillusioned he was with the rock lifestyle.
After the multi-platinum success of their debut album Weezer, the band took a break from touring for the Christmas holidays in late December 1994. Rivers Cuomo traveled to his home state of Connecticut and, using an eight-track recorder, began piecing together demo material for Weezer's next album. Cuomo's original concept for Weezer's second album was to be a space-themed rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole. The album was intended to feature songs that flowed together seamlessly and end with a special coda that briefly revisited the major musical elements of the piece.The band began demoing and working on Cuomo's concept through intermittent recording sessions in the spring and summer of 1995. During this time, Cuomo, who was born with one leg shorter than the other, received leg surgery intended to lengthen his right leg. This would impact his songwriting for the album because he would be under the influence of painkillers. Sometime during this period Cuomo applied to study at Harvard University with an application letter describing how disillusioned he was with the rock lifestyle.
Ultimately, the Songs from the Black Hole album concept was dropped. The album would instead feature songs composed before their first album (which had briefly been incorporated into the space-opera) as well as some new ones written while Cuomo was at Harvard.
Recording processAfter touring for their debut album wrapped up in August 1995, the band took a seven-day break. Just a few days before Cuomo was set to travel to study at Harvard University, the band gathered for two weeks of recording at Electric Lady Studios, the same studio where they recorded their debut. Guitarist Brian Bell commented "We're going for the deeper, darker, more experimental stuff," but assured fans, "we'll always be the Weezer you know and love." In these very early sessions, the band would attempt to record a "special coda" of several overlapping songs. It would be from these sessions that Songs from the Black Hole would come to fruition. The songs "Why Bother?", "Getchoo", "No Other One", and "Tired of Sex" would be tracked.
For the album, the band decided against hiring a producer. Cuomo felt it was "the best way for us to sound like ourselves is to record on our own." The intention of the band was to make a raw record, which would better resemble the band's live sound.The main goal was to achieve a big drum sound and abrasive guitar sounds. This was accomplished by connecting multiple distortion pedals. At just under thirty-five minutes,Pinkerton was according to Cuomo, "short by design." In recording the album over four respective sessions, the band would usually spend two days on rehearsals and then head into the studio to record the tracks. To give the album a live feel, members of the band would record the vocals in tandem around three microphones.
While Cuomo was at Harvard, his busy schedule left his fellow band members with copious amounts of free time. Cuomo himself, while at Harvard, would focus his attention on textbooks about music theory. Various members of the band used this time to work on their respective side-projects. Matt Sharp would work to promote his side-band The Rentals' debut album, while Patrick Wilson and Brian Bell worked on material for their side-bands The Special Goodness and the Space Twins, respectively.The band regrouped in January 1996, during Cuomo's winter break, for a two-week recording session at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California, with an intent on wrapping up the songs they had previously worked on at Electric Lady Studios from last August. As well as recording new songs, "El Scorcho", and "Pink Triangle", before the band went their separate ways, once again, while Cuomo returned to Harvard. The other members of the band went back to work on their various projects.
During a week-long break, in the spring of 1996, the band regrouped, once again, at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California to continue work on the album. During this break, the band recorded three new songs, "The Good Life", "Across the Sea", and "Falling for You", before Cuomo returned to Cambridge for the remaining weeks of his second semester at Harvard and his university finals.
The band would put the finishing touches on the album in the early summer of 1996 in Los Angeles. During this time, Cuomo would be without a permanent L.A. residence and would stay at Le Parc Suites in West Hollywood. At this point, he would worry about the transition from the academic lifestyle to the rock lifestyle. In the final Pinkerton session, two additional tracks, "I Swear It's True" and "Getting Up and Leaving" (originally written for the band's debut album but not recorded) were attempted and nearly finished, but were left incomplete just prior to the mixing process.
Writing and compositionMuch of the album's content was written by Rivers Cuomo while studying at Harvard. Cuomo strived to write from a more direct and personal standpoint. The album touched upon various life experiences of Cuomo and included subjects like groupies, dysfunctional relationships, a fan letter, identity and former girlfriends.
Although Cuomo received sole writing credit on the album, Weezer bassist Matt Sharp later sued, claiming he co-wrote the first nine songs on the album. The case was settled out of court.
The inspiration for the lead single "El Scorcho" came from Cuomo's shyness and inability to say "hello" to a crush of his while at Harvard. Cuomo revealed that the song "is more about me, because at that point I hadn't even talked to the girl, I didn't really know much about her." For the single, Cuomo refused to make any "Buddy Holly"-like videos explaining "I really don't want the songs to come across untainted this time around...I really want to communicate my feelings directly and because I was so careful in writing that way. I'd hate for the video to kinda misrepresent the song, or exaggerate certain aspects." The final video featured the band playing in an assembly hall in Los Angeles, surrounded by light fixtures of diverse origin, flashing in time to the music.
The song "Tired of Sex" was written on an 8-track, prior to the release of the The Blue Album. Cuomo rants about meaningless groupie sex encounters, reciting his list of conquests, and wondering why true love eludes him.
Another song, "Across the Sea" whose inspiration came from a letter he received from a Japanese fan during a lonely winter at Harvard university. Cuomo remarked: "When I got the letter, I fell in love with her. It was such a great letter. I was very lonely at the time, but at the same time I was very depressed that I would never meet her. Even if I did see her, she was probably some fourteen-year-old girl, who didn't speak English."The second single from Pinkerton, "The Good Life", chronicles the rebirth of Cuomo after an identity crisis as an Ivy League loner. Cuomo, who had been isolated while at Harvard, wrote it after "becoming frustrated with that hermit's life I was leading, the ascetic life. And I think I was starting to become frustrated with my whole dream about purifying myself and trying to live like a monk or an intellectual and going to school and holding out for this perfect, ideal woman. And so I wrote the song. And I started to turn around and come back the other way."
The final single, "Pink Triangle", was released to radio on May 20, 1997. The song describes a man who falls in love and wants to get married, but soon discovers the object of his devotion is a lesbian.
ThemesPinkerton has been assumed to be named after the character B.F. Pinkerton from Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly. Like the Puccini opera, the album includes other references to Japan, Japanese people, and Japanese culture from the perspective of an outsider who considers Japan fragile and sensual. The album's lyrical themes infuse the Japanese allusions with its first-person narrator's romantic disappointments and sexual frustration, the latter at times visceral and graphic.Due to the cohesion of the narrative themes, the album plays as a concept album about sexual longing and lost love, and because of its first-person voice, many consider Cuomo's songs autobiographical. Cuomo has stated that "the 10 songs are sequenced in the order in which I wrote them (with two minor exceptions). So as a whole, the album kind of tells the story of my struggle with my inner Pinkerton."
Artwork
Behind the album's CD tray is a map with the title "Isola della farfalla e penisola di cane." which is Italian for "Island of the Butterfly and Peninsula of Dog." Also on the map are a ship named U.S.S. Pinkerton and "Mykel and Carli Island", an allusion to Weezer's fan club founders, as well as more references to Madame Butterfly (Don Giovanni, Sharpless, Cio Cio San Island). In a 2005 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Rivers Cuomo said that the names listed on the map are those who influenced him during the writing and recording of the album, with Howard Stern being one of those influences. Other names include Yngwie Malmsteen, Brian Wilson, Lou Barlow, Joe Matt, Camille Paglia and Ace Frehley.The artwork on the album's cover is Kambara Yoru no Yuki ("Night Snow at Kambara"), print number 16 in Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hiroshige's popular 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō series. There are other references to Japanese culture and Puccini as well: In some pressings, when viewed at an angle, the back of the album's jewel case has a vague image of a woman, perhaps a geisha. A more direct reference to Puccini may be found around the edge of the CD. This is the written lyrics from Puccini's opera in their original Italian: "Everywhere in the world, the roving Yankee takes his pleasure and his profit, indifferent to all risks. He drops anchor at random..."
Release
Geffen A&R rep Todd Sullivan described Pinkerton as a "very brave record,' but worried "what sort of light does this put the band in? I could have been interpreted as them being a disposable pop band.'" The label overall was pleased with the record and felt "no one's going to be disappointed" with the album.
The first music video was shot for "El Scorcho". The band would pass on a video treatment proposed by Spike Jonze, who had previously helped raise the band's status to platinum sales with the help of his "Buddy Holly" video. Cuomo wanted to take a straight approach to video making because he was against doing any big-budget videos since he felt the videos would "taint" his songs. Mark Romanek, the director of the video would eventually quit the video after numerous verbal arguments with Cuomo, leaving Cuomo to edit the video himself. The final video featured the band playing in an assembly hall in Los Angeles, surrounded by light fixtures of diverse origin, flashing in time to the music. It debuted on MTV's program 120 Minutes and only received moderate airplay on the channel.
Just as "El Scorcho" was gaining momentum on the radio, on MTV, and a day before the album was to be released for public sale on September 24, 1996, arestraining order was obtained against the band and Geffen by Encino, California-based security firm, Pinkerton's Inc. The company sued the band and Geffen for alleged federal trademark infringement, claiming that Weezer was trying to capitalize on the company's reputation. Under the terms of the restraining order, which had Pinkerton's Inc seeking two million dollars in damages, Weezer would be kept from "selling, distributing, or advertising an album with the name Pinkerton." Geffen spokesman Dennis Dennehy, defended the title stating "to Weezer, Pinkerton is a character in Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly... It was not meant to be aimed at any sort of corporate entity." Cuomo wrote a six-page paper defending his choice of the title. He described what the papers entailed, it "explain[ed] why [he] chose it, and how it works for the album, and how it's essential." Although a federal court hearing had been initially set for October 3, the seriousness of the legal and financial ramifications surrounding the album forced the case to be expedited to September 26. Due to the cover art which was akin to the Puccini's opera, the case was thrown out-of-court, after the judge dissolved the previous court order to have the CDs pulled after determining "that the hardship of not issuing the Pinkerton disc would be greater for Geffen than any hardship Pinkerton's Inc or its shareholders might incur from consumers who mistakenly presume the company has anything to do with the album."
Noticing the commercial failure of the album, the band had to compromise to make the video more to the liking of MTV. The music video for "The Good Life", was directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, features a pizza delivery girl (played by Mary Lynn Rajskub) on her route, highlighting the monotony of her job. The music video is noted for its use of simultaneous camera angles appearing on screen as a fractured full image. The video was rush-released by the record company to try to save the commercially-failing album, but was not successful.
In October 1996, the band toured the Far East with concert appearances in Australia, New Zealand and Japan. After wrapping up the tour of the Pacific Rim, the band flew home to Los Angeles. Patrick Wilson and Matt Sharp did a promotional appearance on the nationally syndicated radio show "Modern Rock Live", in an attempt to improve the album's standing on the U.S. album charts. A few days later, on November 1, Weezer launched its tour of North America at the Ventura Theatre in Ventura, California. On November 6, Weezer performed an acoustic set at Shorecrest High School in Seattle due to a contest won by a student. A few of the songs performed at the acoustic set would later appear on the The Good Life EP. The band would continue to tour up until just before Christmas. They wrapped up the tour with a performance at "The Palace" in Los Angeles. Overall, the Pinkerton tour was largely successful, bringing the band to mid-size venues around the globe.
In July 2009, Karl Koch, the webmaster for Weezer's website, revealed the band was preparing a deluxe edition of Pinkerton. In January 2010, Koch stated the deluxe version would be released "before or by spring". In April 2010, Brian Bell stated that the re-release will include: "more photographs, a really nice booklet, and, I believe, some unreleased tracks that were recorded during that time. [...] I hope to gain some new fans. That album has definitely taken on a life of its own and became more successful and more accepted. At the time, it wasn’t especially critically acclaimed. In fact, I think it was one of the worst records of the year by Rolling Stone that year, and then later it was hailed. That just goes to show the fickleness of the music business and industry. As an artist, you just have to do what you believe in at the time, whether it’s accepted or not. You just have to keep going with it." The album was originally scheduled to be re-released on October 5, 2010, but the date was bumped to November 2.
On November 20, 2010, the reissue of Pinkerton debuted at number 6 on the Billboard Catalog Albums chartand re-entered the Billboard 200 at number 73.
Weezer
Released May 15, 2001, Length 28:20, Label Geffen
1.Don't Let Go 2:59
2.Photograph 2:19
3.Hash Pipe 3:06
4.Island in the Sun 3:20
2.Photograph 2:19
3.Hash Pipe 3:06
4.Island in the Sun 3:20
5.Crab 2:34
6.Knock-down Drag-out 2:08
7.Smile 2:38
8.Simple Pages 2:56
9.Glorious Day 2:40
10.O Girlfriend 3:49
6.Knock-down Drag-out 2:08
7.Smile 2:38
8.Simple Pages 2:56
9.Glorious Day 2:40
10.O Girlfriend 3:49
Weezer, also known as "The Green Album" due to the lime-green cover, is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer, released on May 15, 2001. Produced by Ric Ocasek, it was the band's third studio album released on Geffen Records. This is the first, and only Weezer album to feature bassist Mikey Welsh, who replaced long-time member Matt Sharp. The musical style of Weezer is grounded in the power pop genre, featuring strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, and prominent guitar riffs.
Weezer received generally favourable reviews. The album is often recognized as a rebirth for the band after a long hiatus following their 1996 album, Pinkerton. The album attained chart success by debuting at number four in the US and number two in Canada. The album also charted within the top ten in Norway and Sweden. Since its release in 2001, the album has sold over one million copies in the United States.
Three singles were released from the album including "Hash Pipe", "Island in the Sun", and "Photograph". The first single, "Hash Pipe", was a worldwide modern rock hit, charting on seven different charts, despite their record label's reluctance to release it as first single.
Following the commercial and critical failure of Pinkerton (1996), Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo placed the band on hiatus. He returned to Harvard University in an attempt to finish his studies, but eventually dropped out to focus on songwriting. During this time, Cuomo played with a different group of musicians in a band called Homie, which was based in Boston. One of the members of Homie was Mikey Welsh, a bass player who would eventually be asked to replace Matt Sharp in Weezer.
By February 1998, Cuomo had quietly disbanded Homie and headed to Los Angeles to begin work on Weezer demos with Brian Bell and Patrick Wilson. At this point, bassist Matt Sharp was absent from numerous Weezer rehearsals and was becoming estranged from the band. On April 8, 1998, Sharp announced his official exit from Weezer to devote all his energies to his band, The Rentals. It was quickly announced that former Homie member Welsh would take over on bass for Weezer. Frustration and creative disagreements led to a decline in rehearsals, and, in the latter half of 1998, drummer Patrick Wilson left for his home in Portland pending renewed productivity from Cuomo, who went into a period of admitted depression, during which he painted the walls of his home black and put "fiberglass insulation all over the windows and then black sheets of fiberglass so that no light could get through."
By the beginning of 1999, Weezer had once again gone their separate ways. Drummer Patrick Wilson resumed his efforts with his side-band The Special Goodness, guitarist Bell worked on his band Space Twins and Welsh toured with Juliana Hatfield. Meanwhile, Cuomo focused his energy on songwriting, crafting 121 songs, nearly half of which would become demos. During this time, he isolated himself and abstained from contact with the outside world.Cuomo also received braces on his teeth, further damaging his self-esteem. Bell would occasionally visit Cuomo and play songs with him. In turn, Cuomo would eventually reveal songs he was working on to Bell.
Unbeknownst to the band, their fanbase was connecting and growing on the internet, which was helping to boost the reputation and sales of Pinkerton. When it was released, Pinkerton was considered a critical and commercial failure, however in the years following the release of the album, it would gain a much more positive reputation due to word-of-mouth on message boards and various web pages. This expanding internet activity would later set the stage for the band's 2001 comeback. Renewed interaction between band members took place when Weezer was offered an extremely lucrative offer to perform in Japan in August 2000 for the Summer Sonic Festival. Rehearsals for the show reinvigorated the band into talking about making a new album. The band returned to performing in June 2000, playing low-key shows around Los Angeles under the pseudonym Goat Punishment, ensuring that Weezer would only perform for longtime fans who would recognize the name.
Eventually, the band started performing at higher profile gigs such as the Warped Tour. Cuomo later remarked, "We went in there fully expecting to be booed and to have things thrown at us. But it was exactly the opposite, people were singing along to all the songs and just going crazy, giving us the best support. And I think that gave us the confidence we needed." The positive response to the Warped Tour performances led to further shows being scheduled. When touring began to wind down, MP3 demos captured live on the band's mobile unit and sound checks began to surface on file-sharing services and eventually for downloading on the band's official website. These songs were often referred to as Summer Songs of 2000 (commonly abbreviated as SS2K).
Recording
On October 23, Cuomo announced that the band would start recording material "with or without" a producer. However, the band's record label decided to have the band employ a record producer due to the commercial failure of their self-produced album Pinkerton. The band began rehearsing and arranging both the Summer Songs of 2000 and newer material Cuomo had written at his home with engineer Chad Bamford. The band eventually decided to hire Ric Ocasek—who had also produced their debut album—as producer, and began sending demos to Ocasek during the summer of 2000. There was much debate among the band members as to whether they should record in Los Angeles or Ocasek's New York home, with the band eventually deciding to record in Los Angeles at Cello Studios. The band continued to demo new music daily and started to weed through more than seventy-five demos, eventually homing in on twenty-five potential album tracks in anticipation of Ocasek's arrival. Ocasek worked with the band to trim these down further to eighteen songs.
Recording sessions for the album began in early December, with Ocasek providing creative feedback to the band by telephone. On December 27, the band embarked on what would be close to six weeks of studio work by playing songs repetitively in order to track the bass and drums parts. They also did "scratch takes" of the vocals and guitar, designed to get accurate rhythm tracks before being redone more efficiently later in the recording process. While recording the album, the band continued to performed gigs under the pseudonym Goat Punishment.
During the recording sessions, an executive at the band's label, Geffen Records, visited to observe the band's progress and expressed dissatisfaction with several tracks. This feedback eventually forced the band to discard a few of the album's possible songs. The band then relocated for three weeks to a smaller studio in another part of Cello Studios where Cuomo and Bell worked on guitar takes while the entire band recorded vocal tracks. Ocasek remarked, "Rivers always does his guitar parts in one take."
Mixing for the album began on January 31 by Tom Lord-Alge at South Beach Studios. Bell was absent from the mixing process.
Packaging
The picture inside of the CD booklet is a photo of Weezer playing live, featuring (in the lower right hand corner) an overlay of the silhouettes of Mike Nelson, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot from the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. (Hence the liner note citation "MST3K silhouette appears courtesy of Best Brains, Inc.")The art direction of the album was handled by Chris Bilheimer with photography from Marina Chavez and Karl Koch. The album cover was shot between band practices and featured Mikey Welsh, Rivers Cuomo, Brian Bell and Patrick Wilson standing left to right in front of a plain, lime-green backdrop in a manner similar to the band's debut album. This was done as a tribute to Ric Ocasek, who had also produced their first album,and also to symbolize the band's back-to-basics approach they took while recording the album. This approach is alluded to in a quote in the liner notes of the album: "Torniamo all'antico e sarà un progresso", from Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi that means "Let us return to old times and that will be progress."
This was Weezer's first album to feature a transparent CD tray. Under the CD tray of the album, the word "No" can be found on the back of the spine. Some fans speculate that this is a response to the inside tray of Radiohead's album OK Computer which contains the text "I like you. I like you. You are a wonderful person. I'm full of enthusiasm. I'm going places. I'll be happy to help you. I am an important person, would you like to come home with me?" Weezer's official explanation was vague, with webmaster Karl Koch stating "No means no."
The album contains the dedication "In loving memory of Mykel and Carli." Mykel and Carli Allan were sisters devoted to developing fan clubs for up-and-coming bands.The sisters had been influential in starting and developing Weezer's official fan club in the 1990s and, along with their young sister Trysta, died in a car accident in 1997.
Release and promotion
The album was met with enthusiasm from the record label. "They had nothing but supportive and excited things to say about it," remarked Karl Koch.However, the album's original release date of April 17 was postponed due to executives not liking Cuomo's choice of "Hash Pipe" as the first single. Citing the song's lurid content about a transvestite prostitute as inappropriate, they suggested that "Don't Let Go" be chosen as the first single. However, Cuomo continued to fight and "Hash Pipe" eventually became the album's first single. The label again tried to postpone the release date further until June, but the band convinced them to adhere to the original May 15 release date.
Singles
The first single from the album was "Hash Pipe". The video for "Hash Pipe" was directed by Marcos Siega and was the first of many Weezer videos that Siega would direct. In the video, Weezer performs in an arena while a group of sumo wrestlers are fighting in the background. The song title was often censored as "H*** Pipe" (the title employed on the music video's title card) or "Half Pipe." The song became a huge hit on the MTV show Total Request Live, and also received heavy rotation on radio, eventually peaking at number two on the US Modern Rock Charts. The song even landed the band a nomination for High Times magazine's "Pot Song of the Year".
The next single, "Island in the Sun", was a successful radio hit and became one of the band's biggest oversea hits. It peaked at number 11 on the US Modern Rock Charts and at number 31 on the UK Top 40. Two music videos were created for the song: the first video, directed by Marcos Siega, shows Weezer playing the song at a Mexican couple's wedding reception and features all four band members. This version remains the more obscure of the two, receiving less airplay than the second. The executives at MTV disliked Siega's video, prompting the band to film a second video. This second version was directed by Spike Jonze and featured the band playing with various wild animals on a supposedly remote hill (although it was actually filmed a short distance outside of Los Angeles, possibly near Simi Valley). Only Brian Bell, Rivers Cuomo and Patrick Wilson appear in this video, as then bassist Mikey Welsh had left the band shortly before shooting. It is also rumored that original bassist Matt Sharp was approached to be in the video, though it is unclear if the offer was ever actually made. Scott Shriner, who was filling in for Welsh and would later become a permanent member of Weezer, stated in the commentary for "Video Capture Device" that he almost asked the band to let him appear in the video. The second video received much wider airplay than the original and has become the standard video for the song.
The third and final single from the album was "Photograph", which was released to radio in early November. The single peaked at number 17 on the US Modern Rock Charts. In Japan it was released as the first single instead of "Hash Pipe." The band felt the song didn't have the staying power of the previous singles, and thus decided to pass on a big-name director for the music video, opting instead to have Karl Koch shoot and edit a video from on-the-road footage.
Critical Reception
Weezer received generally favourable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73 out of 100. Allmusic senior writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who gave the album a rating of four and a half stars, stated that "this may seem like nothing special -- it's just punk-pop, delivered without much dynamic range but with a whole lot of hooks -- but nobody else does it this [sic] so well, no matter how many bands try." Popmatters' writer Jason Thompson also gave the album a positive review, praising the decision of the band to have Ric Ocasek produce them again: "The guitar solos ring out as joyful as the words. And even the songs' lengths are nice and compact. Weezer comes in, plays the song, and exits. No overkill makes for many moments where you want to hear these songs again and again. Perhaps having producer Ric Ocasek back on board was one of the best ideas the band had, as The Green Album is certainly water tight all around."
Not all the reviews were complimentary. Spencer Owen from Pitchfork Media declared that "The new self-titled Weezer album, as it turns out, is average from beginning to end. In addition, Sarah Dempster from NME was disappointed with the album and said, "The most irritating aspect of The Green Album is, however, the maddening itch of wasted opportunity."
Chart performance
In the United States, Weezer debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 on the week of May 15, 2001. In two weeks the album had sold 215,000 copies. It was certified platinum on September 13, 2001. As of December 2007, the album has sold 1.6 million copies. In Canada, the album debuted at number two on the Canadian Albums Chart. In June 2001, the album was later certified platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for sales of 80,000 units.
The album debuted at number thirty-one on the UK Albums Chart.In Australia, the album peaked at number twenty-five. The album has since been certified two-times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 140,000 copies. Weezer also peaked in the Top Ten in Norway and Sweden, charting and eight and seven respectively.
Maladroit
Released May 14, 2002, Length 33:43, XL/Geffen
1.American Gigolo 2:42
2.Dope Nose 2:17
3.Keep Fishin' 2:52
4.Take Control 3:05
5.Death and Destruction 2:38
6.Slob 3:08
7.Burndt Jamb 2:39
8.Space Rock 1:53
9.Slave 2:53
10.Fall Together 2:02
11.Possibilities 2:00
12.Love Explosion 2:35
13.December 2:59
Maladroit (meaning either inept or an inept person) is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer, released on May 14, 2002 on Geffen Records. The album is the band's first to feature bassist Scott Shriner, following the departure of former bassist Mikey Welsh in 2001. Maladroit features heavy metal riffs, uncommon to Weezer's previous releases.
As of December 2007, the album sold 605,000 copies in the United States, having reached a high of #3 on the Billboard 200 and quickly going gold.
Background and recording
Background and recording
For their fourth studio album, Weezer attempted to incorporate an innovative system in which they'd release demos in MP3 format on their weezer.com website every day while in the studio working on Maladroit. This resulted in dozens of different versions of over thirty different songs circulating on the Internet before the album was released.
The idea was to keep solid communication open with their fan base on their official message board as well as, more crucially, on unofficial message boards such as the Rivers Correspondent Board (which was closed to the public at Cuomo's request, chiefly so that members of the press could not gain access). Yet frontman Rivers Cuomo and the fans strongly disagreed on a number of creative aspects of the album. One thing they did agree on was bringing back the old summer 2000 song "Slob" for use on the album. Cuomo commented, "I never would have thought to put the song 'Slob' on the record if the fans did not request it. Scott Shriner also wanted a hidden track, 'Are You Gonna Be?,' for the album." Regardless of disagreements, Weezer fans are still "specially thanked" in the album's liner notes and the album title itself was suggested by a board member on the Weezer message boards who went by the screen name of Lethe.
The band's uploading of MP3 demos onto their website resulted in many major radio stations playing the still unreleased (and sometimes unfinished) songs on the radio for the masses to hear. In the week it was leaked to radio stations, the lead-off single "Dope Nose" reached #25 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart without an official single having been issued.
Unfortunately, the airplay resulted in a gag order being issued by Geffen Records in which they requested that Weezer return the master tapes from the Maladroitsessions and apologize to each radio station that played the song. The band resisted, citing that they had funded all the sessions themselves and that apologizing seemed pointless. The fans resisted as well, forming an online group called "Unreleased Weezer for the Masses" that rallied for the release of the album.
The hit songs "Dope Nose" and "Hash Pipe" (off The Green Album) were both written using the same method on the same night, with Rivers Cuomo allegedly taking "a bunch of Ritalin and ... like three shots of tequila" to write the songs.
25 unreleased songs from the Maladroit sessions circulate among collectors and fans on the Internet.
It is also interesting to note that the longest song on this album is 3:08, and is one of only two that lasts longer than 3 minutes.
Packaging
The first 600,000 copies of the album were specifically numbered, with the number located on the back of the CD case near the lower right-hand corner.
The album cover was chosen from a contest. Weezer, through their website, asked for submissions. Their favorite of these submissions was chosen as the cover seen today.
Reception
Maladroit received received generally favourable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album four stars, saying that it "retains the high quality of The Green Album".
Spin Magazine ended up calling it the 6th best album of 2002, and Rolling Stone readers voted it as the 8th best of the year. In another Rolling Stone readers poll, it was voted the 91st greatest album of all-time.
In June 2009, Magnet Magazine had an article on the five most overrated and underrated Weezer songs. "All ofMaladroit" was ranked number one on the list of the underrated half.
Make Believe
Released May 10, 2005, Length 45:09, Label XL
1.Beverly Hills 3:16
2.Perfect Situation 4:15
3.This Is Such a Pity 3:24
4.Hold Me 4:22
5.Peace 3:53
6.We Are All on Drugs 3:35
7.The Damage in Your Heart 4:02
8.Pardon Me 4:15
9.My Best Friend 2:47
10.The Other Way 3:16
11.Freak Me Out 3:26
12.Haunt You Every Day 4:37
Make Believe is the fifth studio album by Weezer, released on May 10, 2005, the eleventh anniversary of the release of their debut album. Bolstered by the Top 10 hit single "Beverly Hills", it gave Weezer their biggest chart album peak yet, hitting #11 in the UK, #1 in Canada, and #2 in the U.S., where it went gold quickly, and eventually platinum. The song also earned the band their first Grammy nomination for Best Rock Song. Despite this, Make Believe has received mixed reviews from critics and fans, though it has remained a consistent seller.
As of December 2007, Make Believe has sold 1,215,000 units in the U.S. alone.It reached number two, the band's highest peak to date.
Make Believe features the band's first two songs to top the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, the aforementioned "Beverly Hills" and "Perfect Situation."
Writing and Recording Process
As early as spring 2002, and at random points in late 2002 and early 2003, demos for possible use on Weezer's fifth album would be uploaded to Weezer.com's audio/visual page. After some time, the band decided to start from scratch with a fresh group of songs. 28 songs in all were uploaded on the website (and can still be found on various fan sites) yet none made the actual album. This batch of songs is commonly referred to as "The A5 Demos" or "Album 4.5", amongst fans.
Rivers Cuomo's discovery of meditation in the three years between this and their previous release, Maladroit had a great influence on the content of the album. Mainly on "Pardon Me," which was written after a ten day guided meditation course, in which he learned the ancient techniques of Vipassana (Insight Meditation) and Metta (Lovingkindness) which encourages those who practice to "seek pardon from all those who I have hurt in action, speech or thought." He also claimed the title of the album came to him while meditating.
Make Believe marks a return to Cuomo's more personal songwriting style after taking a more distant approach on the previous two albums. An example of this is "The Other Way," which was written for Rivers' ex-girlfriend Jennifer Chiba after her then boyfriend Elliott Smith died. Cuomo said, "I wanted to console her, but I was confused and skeptical about my own motives for wanting to do so, so I wrote that song about that." "We Are All on Drugs" was inspired by Cuomo hearing party-goers on Sunset Strip."Hold Me" was written during a songwriting experiment in which Cuomo fasted for 24 hours and then wrote a song.
Producer Rick Rubin told Rivers Cuomo to "write a Billy Joel or Elton John type of song." The result of Rubin's request was "Haunt You Every Day" which is not the first Weezer song to feature piano, but is the first that Rivers wrote entirely on piano. According to Cuomo, Rubin told Tom Petty the same thing and he wrote "It's Good To Be King."
As the band was working on the album, they struck a deal to have "My Best Friend" be included in the film Shrek 2yet this deal was scrapped when the makers of the film didn't think it fit to the timings of the visuals. The Counting Crows song "Accidentally in Love" took the place of "My Best Friend." However, in late 2010, "My Best Friend" was included on the soundtrack to the film "Yogi Bear", and can be heard during the end credits.
Hundreds of songs were demoed during the three year period of making of the album. Despite the abundance of release-able material, to the dismay of many fans, this is the first Weezer album not to feature any b-side releases. Of the notable unreleased material, partial rough versions of "You're the One" and "Love is the Answer" can be heard on the "Making of Make Believe" special feature on the disc's Enhanced CD feature. A cover of Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart" was in consideration for the album and later for a soundtrack, although it would only see release five years later.
While deciding on the name of the album, one of the title suggestions given by Patrick Wilson was One Thousand Soviet Children Marching Towards The Sun. Another suggestion was Either Way I'm Fine (something Cuomo said often during the sessions when discussing changing elements of a song or sound). Ultimately the title of Make Believe won over his suggestion.
While most Weezer albums are quite short, with a time span around 30 minutes, Make Believe is the longest album they have released to date, clocking in at 45 minutes.
Artwork and liner notes
Much of the album's art direction was handled by Francesca Restrepo with photography from Karl Koch and Sean Murphy. The album cover was done in a similar manner to both the band's debut album, The Blue Album and their 2001 album, The Green Album. It featured Patrick Wilson, Rivers Cuomo, Scott Shriner, and Brian Bell standing left-to-right in front of a black backdrop with illustrations by Carson Ellis.
The liner notes feature a monologue from William Shakespeare's play The Tempest. The monologue is taken from Act 5, Scene 1 of the play in which Prospero gives up his magic. This had prompted many fans to speculate that Make Believe would be the band's final album. The monologue is as follows:
“ | This rough magic I here abjure, and, when I have required some heavenly music, which even now I do, To work mine end upon their senses that This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff, Bury it certain fathoms in the earth, And deeper than did ever plummet sound I'll drown my book. | ” |
Weezer
Released June 3, 2008, Length 41:23, Label DGC/Interscope
1.Troublemaker 2:44
2.The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn) 5:52
3.Pork and Beans 3:09
4.Heart Songs 4:06
5.Everybody Get Dangerous 4:03
6.Dreamin 5:12
7.Thought I Knew 3:01
8.Cold Dark World 3:51
9.Automatic 3:07
10.The Angel and the One 6:46Weezer, also known as "The Red Album", is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band Weezer, released on June 3, 2008. Rick Rubin and Jacknife Lee both helped to produce the album. Like the group's 1994 debut album Weezer (and unlike most Weezer records that featured Rivers Cuomo as the main songwriter and vocalist), other band members contributed to songwriting. This is the first and so far, only, Weezer album to feature lead vocals from all band members.
The video for the album's first single "Pork and Beans" quickly became the most-watched video on the internet the weekend following its release. Additionally, an unconventional Hootenanny Tour replaced the traditional rock concert tour to promote the album. The sales of Weezer are below that of its 2005 predecessor, Make Believe, which was certified Gold (500,000 copies) after the same amount of time Weezer took to sell 300,000 copies.
Background
After the platinum success of their fifth album Make Believe, the band once again was put on hiatus. Frontman Rivers Cuomo returned to Harvard University to complete his education. He ended up graduating Phi Beta Kappa.Cuomo also married Kyoko Ito on June 18, 2006, a woman he had known since March 1997. He proposed to her in Tokyo shortly before Christmas of 2005. The wedding was held at a secluded beach on Paradise Cove in Malibu and was attended by over a hundred people, including six of the seven members who played in Weezer (Mikey Welsh was not in attendance) as well as notables Justin Fisher, Kevin Ridel and Rick Rubin.
Meanwhile, members Patrick Wilson and Brian Bell appeared in the 2006 film Factory Girl playing John Cale and Lou Reed respectively and contributing a cover of the Velvet Underground song "Heroin" for the film. Also during this time, Bell formed a new side-band called The Relationship while Wilson started work on material for the next Special Goodness album. He also had a second child, Ian Patrick Wilson, with his wife in early 2008.
The band announced in June 2007 that recording sessions for the album would begin in July. In December 2007, Cuomo released Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, which featured home demos that Cuomo has recorded from 1992-2007. It was also during this time that a mysterious website called albumsix.com began gaining attention.The website gave false information about the album such as the album title would be "Tout Ensemble" and a fake release date. The website fooled several news outlets such as Pitchfork Media and Rolling Stone. The website was later revealed to be a hoax by some fans. Band historian/webmaster Karl Koch stated on Weezer's official website:
“ | Please note that Weezer and Geffen Records have no affiliation with www.albumsix.com. The new Weezer record is not called Tout Ensemble and there is no official release date yet for the album. Remember, when it's on Weezer.com, it's for sure. (Though I will say, 'well played', to the authors of that site.) | ” |
Recording process
At the beginning of the album's creation each Weezer member asked themselves what they wanted to get out of the album. With that in mind, they set out to record. Recording was done in three sessions. Half of the album was recorded during the spring of 2007 with Rick Rubin overseeing production. The second session, started in July and finished on October 18, was produced by Weezer themselves at Malibu. The third and final session of recording was done at the request of Geffen Records, who claimed that there was not enough commercial material on the album. This session was produced by Jacknife Lee and completed in March 2008. In the first podcast released on www.riverspodcast.com, Rivers mentioned playing drums on two songs on the album. In an interview with Pitchfork Media, Cuomo stated the album would contain "longer songs, non-traditional song forms, different people writing and singing, instrument switching, TR-808s, synths, Southern rap, and baroque counterpoint."
Writing and composition
The majority of the album's content was written by Rivers Cuomo. However, for the first time since their debut album other members of the band contributed songwriting as well. Cuomo consciously strived to write less traditionally-structured songs, breaking away from the "verse-chorus--verse-chorus-bridge" structure that was present on past albums. Much of the album's subject matter is rooted in past experiences and nostalgia.
"Pork and Beans" is the first single to be released from the album. "Troublemaker" was also considered for the album's first single, but later this was switched to "Pork and Beans", a song written by Cuomo as a reaction to a meeting with Geffen where the band was told it needed to record more-commercial material.Jacknife Lee produced the track with the band in early 2008 during the third and final session for the record.
"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)" is a track that includes piano, police sirens, and Cuomo singing in falsetto. "Miss Sweeney"' was named by Cuomo, along with "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived," as a track which features rapped vocals. Bass player Scott Shriner was particularly proud of the song saying, "The song 'The Greatest Man That Ever Lived' is a masterpiece that includes ten different styles of music based around a common theme. It's awesome. That word gets abused a lot, like 'Wow, these pancakes are awesome,' but 'Greatest Man' is . . . awesome!"
"Everybody Get Dangerous" is featured briefly in the film 21. The song was not included on the official soundtrack release. Cuomo's childhood friend Adam Orth recently commented on the autobiographical element of this song. It also appears in Guitar Hero: On Tour: Modern Hits."Heart Songs" is about all the artists and records that have influenced Cuomo from Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" when he was 5 years old to Nirvana's Nevermind in his early 20s. The song misidentifies the cover of "I Think We're Alone Now" as being by Debbie Gibson instead of Tiffany.
"Troublemaker" is featured in the trailer for Disney's comedy film G-Force.
"Dreamin'" was formerly known as "Daydreamer" and was described in the liner notes to Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo as an "epic, 6-minute, symphonic type of art song." "This is the Way" was written as a more straightforward counterpart, and was originally selected by the band to be recorded for the Weezer album, but Cuomo persuaded the others to go with "Dreamin'" instead.
"Thought I Knew" was also the name of a song by Brian Bell's band The Relationship, and is a reworking and re-recording of the track with Weezer sung as a lead vocal by Brian Bell. The song was originally written in a minor key. However, Bell felt that historically the band's songs haven't worked in minor and that the song needed to feel more uplifting. So he changed the song from minor to major and sped up the tempo.
"Cold Dark World" is a song that was written by Rivers Cuomo and Scott Shriner and features Shriner on lead vocals. Shriner commented, "...I wrote this kind of creepy music, and Rivers wrote these kind of happy, positive lyrics, but when you put it together, it made a super-creepy song which I'm really proud of."
"Automatic" was remixed by LA Riots for the upcoming video game Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. This track features Patrick Wilson on lead vocals. Wilson commented, "This song is interesting. It's a big rock tune but it's kinda got a vibe to it and the lyrics are just about me wanting to give as much love as I can to my family..."
"The Angel and the One" is the album closer. Some members of the band have claimed that this is their favorite track, including Pat Wilson. Cuomo described the writing process of the song, "It started out as a really standard pop song called 'bad girl' and had a verse and a chorus and bridge and all that stuff. And I just wasn't satisfied with it. It was too normal. So one day I sat down with my acoustic guitar and I just played [this] song over and over, on basically looping it. My fingers hurt so much, I just kept playing it. And over the hour that I was playing it, the song slowly evolved and it smoothed over and the sections blurred into each other. And it turned into this spiritual reverie that is really just one long development without any distinction between sections."
"Pig" leaked as a demo in early 2007, this song details the life of a pig including playing in the mud as a piglet, falling in love, getting married, raising children and eventually being slaughtered. The final version of the track appears on the deluxe edition of the Weezer album.
"King" is the last song on the deluxe edition of the Weezer album and is sung by Scott Shriner. In the liner notes for the deluxe edition Scott says that the song was not being voted by the rest of the band but was one of his favorite tracks from the demos Rivers played for the band. One day Scott called up Rivers and demanded the band add the song on the album, Rivers responded by saying that if he [Scott] wanted the song so bad he should sing it, and so he did. The song apparently took the longest to record and perfect, taking three weeks.
Artwork
The album's cover debuted on Spinner.com on April 21, 2008. It features the band members Brian Bell, Patrick Wilson, Rivers Cuomo and Scott Shriner in various outfits standing left to right in front of a red backdrop, and is in a manner similar to their debut and 2001 album. The cover was photographed by Sean Murphy. Pitchfork Media writer Amy Phillips compared the cover to the Village People saying, "Meet the new Village People: The Bartender, the Professor, the Cowboy, and the Biker." The cover received mixed reactions from fans wondering if the cover was a hoax. The cover was reconfirmed by the band's publicist Jim Merlis, "Yes, that's absolutely the cover. It's what they chose. They looked at a bunch of mockups, and that's the one they decided to go with. It's not a joke."
From a Buzznet.com interview with Scott Shriner:
| “ | "The cover for The Red Album was kind of ... a happy accident," Shriner said. "We had a whole 'nother set of photographs that we wanted to be the cover and nothing that we were looking at ever matched up to what we felt that album sounded like and represents for us. Our art director got that photo [the official album cover], which originally was a fun photo. 'OK, everybody, go as your alter ego, and we'll take a kooky picture,' [he said.] He [the art director] put the red background behind that, and that's what felt like the strongest image that matched how we feel the album sounds." Like the album cover, the album itself was very much a group effort. While many tend to assume that most Weezer material was scribed by Cuomo, Shriner insists that, "We all wrote music on the record. [Drummer] Pat [Wilson] and [guitarist] Brian [Bell] wrote songs, and we all sing lead vocals on songs and sing leads on different verses and choruses." | ” |
Release
On April 1, 2008, Rolling Stone reported that the album would once again be self-titled and become known as "The Red Album", with the first single being titled "Pork and Beans". Weezer later announced that the release date had been moved up to June 3, 2008, from June 24, 2008. It got released on June 16, 2008 in the United Kingdom in a standard edition with 2 bonus tracks, and a deluxe digipak including 6 bonus tracks. On May 7, 2008, the first 8 tracks from the album were leaked to the internet, leading to mixed responses from Weezer message boards and fan blogs. On May 26, 2008, the final two tracks from the album were leaked along with bonus cover "The Weight". On May 31, 2008, the 4 bonus tracks from the US Deluxe Edition were leaked.
This record was one of the first albums to be released on the new microSD slotMusic media format. In addition to the full album in a DRM-free MP3 format, the memory card also includes album art, liner notes, videos, and other features.
The standard album was released on transparent red vinyl upon its initial release in the US, though it is now out of print. A 180 gram version of the Deluxe Edition has been released. A video of the 180 gram versions being produced can be seen on Weezer's website.
Reception
The album received generally positive reviews, with a Metacritic score of 64, based on 32 reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album a positive review of 4 and a half stars out of five calling the album, "A cheerfully restless record, one where all the parts don't fit and it's better because of it, as it has a wild, willing personality, suggesting that Weezer is comfortable as a band in a way they never quite have been before." The Boston Globe called the songs, "consistently vibrant, catchy, and well-built." IGN also gave the album a positive review stating, "The Red Album is totally bizarre, a certifiable mess, and a hell of a lot of fun." NME complimented Cuomo's songwriting saying, "Musically, it’s a record that does much to further the claim for Cuomo’s songwriting greatness."
Among the negative reviews, Tiny Mix Tapes called the album "a sad portrait of a band that has been totally destroyed by fame and the pressures that come along with it," and The Onion A.V. club saying: "If the so-called 'Red Album' really is an elaborate goof on an all-too-forgiving fan base, that doesn't make Weezer's newest worst album any less insipid." Pitchfork Media gave the record 4.7/10, lamenting that "like the YouTube culture the 'Pork and Beans' video depicts so well, the song-- and this album-- relies on a high quantity of short-lived pretty good ideas to distract from a shortage of great ones." Prefix Magazine said that ifThe Red Album's "songs were formulaic, shiny, and easily digestible like everything on Green or Maladroit, the vacuity of the new songs wouldn't be as big a problem. But 'Heart Songs,' 'Thought I Knew'--these are just plain bad."
The Red Album debuted at the fourth spot of the Billboard 200, with 126,000 copies sold in its first week. As of November 2009, according to Nielsen SoundScan, The Red Album has sold 443,000 copies.
Raditude
Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
11.Get Me Some 3:36
12.Run Over by a Truck 3:33
13.The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World 4:00
14.The Underdogs 4:40
Raditude is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer, released on November 3, 2009. The title of the album was suggested to Weezer vocalist Rivers Cuomo by actor Rainn Wilson.
In late 2009, Weezer revealed their seventh album, Raditude. The record was released on November 3, 2009, where it debuted as the seventh best-selling album of the week on the Billboard 200 chart. The band scheduled tour dates in December 2009 extending into early 2010 to coincide with the new album's release. Compared to other Weezer albums, Raditude received a lukewarm response. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave Raditude an average score of 57 ("mixed or average reviews"), based on 22 reviews.
Released November 3, 2009, Length 34:34 Label Interscope Records/ XL Recordings/ DGC
1.(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To 3:28
2.I'm Your Daddy 3:08
3.The Girl Got Hot 3:14
2.I'm Your Daddy 3:08
3.The Girl Got Hot 3:14
4.Can't Stop Partying 4:22
5.Put Me Back Together 3:15
6.Trippin' Down the Freeway 3:40
7.Love Is the Answer 3:43
8.Let It All Hang Out 3:17
9.In the Mall 2:39
10.I Don't Want to Let You Go 3:48
Deluxe Edition Bonus Tracks
11.Get Me Some 3:36
12.Run Over by a Truck 3:33
13.The Prettiest Girl in the Whole Wide World 4:00
14.The Underdogs 4:40
Raditude is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer, released on November 3, 2009. The title of the album was suggested to Weezer vocalist Rivers Cuomo by actor Rainn Wilson.
The album's first single, "(If You're Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You to", was released in August 2009. The album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200.
The album was initially released in Australia on October 30, 2009. It was made available in the United Kingdom on November 2, 2009, and the following day in the United States. It opened at number seven on the Billboard 200, selling 66,000 copies in its first week of availability. As of September 2010, it has sold 240,000 copies.
Recording
Knowledge of the record was first made public by Billboard.com, who reported that Weezer was to head into the studio in early November 2008 to record a seventh album. A YouTube post titled "Let's Write A Sawng: Step 16," uploaded on November 15, 2008, showed Cuomo in the studio with producer Jacknife Lee short-listing three songs from a list of 23, adding speculation to the recording of a seventh album or new b-sides.
In May, the band's webmaster and archivist Karl Koch revealed that the album had no set release date, and that the band would be recording additional material. He revealed that Cuomo would be the sole lead vocalist on this album unlike their previous album, 2008's Weezer. In early summer of 2009, session drummer Josh Freese joined Weezer as the percussionist, with Pat Wilson taking over guitar duties for Cuomo. Freese performed with the band at the KROQ Weenie Roast. In an interview for the event, the band revealed that the new album would be released in summer 2009.
On July 24, Weezer played three new songs in Korea at the Jisan Valley Rock Festival: "Can't Stop Partying", "I'm Your Daddy", and "The Girl Got Hot". "Can't Stop Partying" had previously been released in demo form on Cuomo'sAlone II album in 2008. While performing "The Girl Got Hot" on July 26, 2009 at the Fuji Rock Festival, Cuomo revealed that Weezer's seventh studio album would be released in October 2009. August 4, 2009, saw the final recording sessions for the album, with mixing of the disc beginning two days later.
"Can't Stop Partying" was co-written with hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri, and features rapper Lil Wayne. "Put Me Back Together" was co-written with The All-American Rejects members Tyson Ritter and Nick Wheeler.
Guitarist Brian Bell has stated that he had reservations about the inclusion of outside collaborators and the album's overall mainstream pop aesthetic. In a 2010 interview, Bell revealed that he "[had] a conversation with Rivers about [Raditude]. And he said, to put my mind at ease, that this is just one album out of many more that we are going to make in our career. When I heard that, I was like, okay, cool, well that’s a great way to think of it. We’re just trying something and this is just one record out of many more. When I heard that, I was fine with it."
Promotion
On August 14, 2009, MTV confirmed that the first single, "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To", was to be released on American rock radio on August 25.The track leaked less than a week after the announcement, and the official release of the single to radio was moved up to Tuesday, August 18. A music video for the single was filmed with director Marc Webb and co-starring Odette Yustman.
Via updates on their official website, the band revealed in August 2009 that the album would be called Raditude and released on October 27. This date was pushed back a week to November 3. On October 13, the band announced "The Weezer Raditude Club," which allowed customers to pre-order Raditude and gain access to exclusive tracks each week leading up to the album's release.
Weezer recorded a promotional performance for Sessions@AOL. Guests included Kenny G, Chamillionaire and Sara Bareilles. Kenny G's contribution was a solo after the second chorus of "I'm Your Daddy". Prior to the performance he said that he knew nothing of Weezer. Although Cuomo and Kenny G live near each other in Malibu they had never met before the recording which was done in one take. Kenny G commented in the green room on the lack of rehearsal, "...that's OK. I'm a professional."
Raditude is being sold in conjunction with a Weezer version of the Snuggie, a popular wearable blanket.
The album debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200, selling 66,000 copies in its first week, only about half as many copies as the band's previous album,Weezer, sold in its first week in 2008.
Reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 57 ("mixed or average reviews"), based on 22 reviews.
Hurley
Released September 10, 2010, Length 34:15 (standard)/ 47:05 (Deluxe) , Label Epitaph Records
Hurley is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer. It was released on September 10, 2010 by Epitaph Records. The album was produced by Rivers Cuomo and Shawn Everett and, like Raditude, features songs co-written with songwriters outside of the band.
Hurley
Released September 10, 2010, Length 34:15 (standard)/ 47:05 (Deluxe) , Label Epitaph Records
1.Memories 3:16
2.Ruling Me 3:30
3.Trainwrecks 3:21
4.Unspoken 3:01
5.Where's My Sex? 3:28
6.Run Away 2:55
7.Hang On 3:33
8.Smart Girls 3:11
9.Brave New World 3:57
10.Time Flies 3:42
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
11.All My Friends Are Insects 1:53
12.Viva la Vida (Coldplay cover) 4:06
13.I Want to Be Something 2:56
14.Represent (Rocked Out mix) 4:13Hurley is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer. It was released on September 10, 2010 by Epitaph Records. The album was produced by Rivers Cuomo and Shawn Everett and, like Raditude, features songs co-written with songwriters outside of the band.
Background
In late 2009, Weezer revealed their seventh album, Raditude. The record was released on November 3, 2009, where it debuted as the seventh best-selling album of the week on the Billboard 200 chart. The band scheduled tour dates in December 2009 extending into early 2010 to coincide with the new album's release. Compared to other Weezer albums, Raditude received a lukewarm response. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave Raditude an average score of 57 ("mixed or average reviews"), based on 22 reviews.
In December 2009, it was revealed that the band was no longer with Geffen Records. The band stated that they would still release new material, but they were unsure of the means, whether it be self-released, released online, or getting signed by another label. Eventually, the band was signed to the independent label Epitaph.
Music and lyrics
In July 2010, Weezer began recording their follow-up to Raditude. Rivers Cuomo said of the album, "There's definitely going to be more raw rock energy on this one." In August 2010, the tracklist was revealed.
The first track and single from the album was "Memories", also featured in a Guitar Hero track pack alongside "Buddy Holly" and "(If You're Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You to", released simultaneously with the album on September 14. The second single that was released is "Hang On", on February 15 to U.S. Alternative radio.
The video track also features members of Jackass on backing vocals, and clips from the upcoming movie Jackass 3-D. AP magazine described the high energy track as "Andrew W.K.covering The Killers".
The string tracks in "Memories", "Unspoken", as well as bonus tracks "All My Friends Are Insects" and "Represent" were recorded at The Banff Centre in Banff, Alberta, Canada.
"Hang On", co-written by Rick Nowels, features Canadian actor Michael Cera on backing vocals, hurdy gurdy and mandolin.
The album's closer, "Time Flies", co-written by country singer and songwriter Mac Davis, features a lo-fi, folk-country sound, which has been compared to music of Led Zeppelin.
The deluxe edition's recording of Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" was recorded live at P.C. Richard & Son Theater (iheartradio show) in New York City on October 28, 2009. Accompanying are Sonya Lee (piano), Jane Cords-O'Hara (cello), Kiwon Nahm (violin) and Stephanie Chandra (chimes).
Artwork and title
The album's cover is simply a picture of Chilean-American actor Jorge Garcia, who portrayed Hugo "Hurley" Reyes on the television series Lost from 2004 to 2010. The photo itself is a small cropping of an original picture of Cuomo being embraced by Garcia, taken in the green room of Lopez Tonight while Weezer and Jorge Garcia were taping segments for separate shows on the same day
Originally, the band was going to self title the album for a fourth time, but decided against it, since the band figured most fans would simply refer to the album with Hurley cover as the "Hurley" album. Guitarist Brian Bell stated publicly that the record was named after clothing company Hurley International, whose bosses he said funded the recording and provided a studio for recording sessions. Bell later claimed that he was mistaken and that the album was in fact named after the Lost character and not the clothing company. However, the group subsequently worked with the clothing manufacturer to create a Weezer-branded clothing line.
Promotion
Weezer used internet streaming service YouTube as a way to promote the album. Weezer loaned itself to 15 amateur online video producers, "going along with whatever plans the creator could execute in about 30 minutes." They have used many of the popular channels to promote themself, such as Barely Political, Tay Zonday, Onision, Dave Days, Magic Hugs, Fred Figglehorn, Ray William Johnson, and The Annoying Orange. The Gregory Brothers solicited musical and vocal contributions from the band on one of its signature topical compositions—built around melodically enhanced speeches by Rep. Charles Rangel and President Obama. Weezer calls the promotion "The YouTube Invasion".
Reception
Critical response
Hurley has so far been generally well received by music critics. The review aggregator website Metacritic gave the album an average score of 68% from ten reviews, which indicates "generally favourable reviews". After the album was leaked to the internet, the band made it available for free streaming on their MySpace page. Many music sites and magazines used this as an opportunity to review the album before it was tangibly released to the public. Many critics favorably compared the songs on Hurleyto Weezer's first three albums. Alternative Press and Rock Sound compared the song "Ruling Me" to the songs from the band's self-titled debut and second self-titled album. Alternative Press said that the song "is a distant cousin of both the Blue Album's 'No One Else' and the Green Album's 'Don't Let Go,' serving as a straight-ahead slab of power-pop" Rock Sound said that "The chugging guitars of the verse [of 'Ruling Me'] hearken back to Green-era Weezer, which is all very pleasant, but it's the chorus that rockets 'Ruling Me' into a different league." Rolling Stone also compared the song "Where's My Sex" to various songs from Pinkerton. "'Where's My Sex?' is a Pinkerton-esque song about, um, sox [sic], with the word 'sex' sung in the place of 'sox' [sic] — like, 'I can't go out without my sex/It's cold outside and my toes get wet.'"
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