I’m not sure how this song originally leaked, but by the time of its official release on Rivers Cuomo’s Alone demo compilation of 2007, “Lover In The Snow” was a familiar recording to Weezer die-hards. It’s a rare artifact from the Dark Ages of Weezer, the 1997-1999 period during which Cuomo quietly remodeled his craft after the […]
“Private Message” is a song from the band’s aborted Early Album 5 sessions, which transpired during the spring and summer of 2002 (both predating and following the release of Maladroit). It’s a love song with some pretty mystifying couplets, especially when heard in succession: I want you so badly Too bad that you slammed me And […]
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Pinkerton is the closest Weezer has ever come to a bona fide concept album, but I still think Blue has a kind of continuity to it. Between songs like “In The Garage” and “Only In Dreams,” there’s a common theme of the outcast nerd archetype (leading to the fake genre many claim Weezer birthed: “geek rock”), in spite […]
The Weezer discography is one fraught with criminal omissions. Why didn’t “We Go Together,” “Broken Arrows” or “Diamond Rings” make Maladroit? How did songs like “O Girl” manage to elude The Green Album, or official release of any kind? How can a song as good as “Longtime Sunshine” have been recorded and attempted time and again, […]
…And in the opposite corner, we have The Green Album. Whereas a gloriously on-edge, unhinged performance like “Getchoo” highlights exactly why Pinkerton is so satisfying even a dozen years on, by 2001 Rivers Cuomo had changed directions. In his mind, that approach now represented the sophomore slump, his biggest commercial failure; while many would be […]
Pinkerton is not just the greatest record Weezer will ever make. It is, in my opinion, one of the greatest records anybody has; though it’s not the best record of all time, it might very well be my favorite. And when you’ve got a record that boasts “Falling For You,” “Tired Of Sex,” “Across the Sea” and “Butterfly,” […]
“Island in the Sun” is the most released song of Weezer’s career. Too released. More released than any one song ever should be. To wit: THE (MAYBE IN)COMPLETE “ISLAND IN THE SUN” DISCOGRAPHY The Green Album (2001) Radio-only promo CD (2001) UK retail CD single #1 (2001; with “Island in the Sun” music video CD-ROM) […]
Not to be confused with Green Album closer “O Girlfriend,” this song surfaced live during the initial reunion tour in the summer of 2000, and was briefly considered for that same album (funnily enough, the era also produced a song called “Girlfriend,” which has nothing to do with “O Girlfriend” or “O Girl” — it […]
“Burndt Jamb” is, without question, one of Maladroit’s finest tunes. It’s got a summery jazz-funk groove to it, the likes of which the band has seldom attempted prior or since. Rivers’ lyric, while simple, is decently effective, contrasting the bright pop milieu against some humdrum mopery. It’s essentially three brief verses, the first of which referencing “gothic […]
“Velouria” dropped at an interesting time in the Weezer chronology. A cover of a Pixies tune, it was recorded in 1998 and released, finally, in June of 1999 on the Where Is My Mind? tribute album. It was, after spring 1997’s excellent Good Life EP, the first Weezer song to be officially released in over […]