In keeping with yesterday’s “The Way I See It,” today’s “From the Vault” also has something to do with Buddy Holly and bands that used to be awesome – but aren’t so much anymore.
In 1994 Rivers Cuomo and his band with its extremely goofy name released their self-titled debut album, “Weezer.” Later known as “The Blue Album” because of its neon-blue cover art.
Weezer’s foray into the music scene was somewhat of a difficult one. In the early ’90s hair metal was dying out and the grunge genre was taking over. Bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam were at the forefront of the rock scene, and it didn’t seem like there would be room for a catchy, pop/alternative-centric band like Weezer.
Around this time, Blur’s Damon Albarn agreed that his band was “anti-grunge” saying “If punk was about getting rid of hippies, then I’m getting rid of grunge.” Weezer probably didn’t hold the same sentiment, but grunge fans thought otherwise. They saw Weezer as a rip-off of the Pixies and Nirvana, but more radio-friendly and accessible – something heavily frowned upon in the music world.
However, Weezer’s “Blue Album” is without a doubt one of the greatest albums of the ’90s, and should always be considered when compiling a list of the greatest records of all time.
From the album’s opener “My Name is Jonas” to the epic closer of “Only In Dreams” Cuomo and crew crafted a sound that wouldn’t be remembered as a derivative of the Pixies, but as sound that was simply Weezer.
Whether it was Cuomo’s vocals, something that would later help generate the emo movement of the late ’90s, or the uncountable number of hooks within songs – I dare one to find a catchier song than “Buddy Holly,” or a cooler video for that matter.
Growing up as a kid I always thought of Weezer as the band whose members had geeky glasses. Its true that Cuomo sings about 12-sided die, playing guitar, and having posters of KISS and members of the “X-Men” on one of the album’s highlights “In the Garage.”
However, it’s Weezer’s carefree attitude and catchiness coupled with Cuomo’s heartfelt, but silly lyrics that makes the band’s early work so appealing and timeless.
Two years after “The Blue Album,” Weezer released “Pinkerton,” an album that was heavily criticized by Weezer fans. However, just as hindsight had allowed Weezer to gain the respect they so heavily deserved in 1994 “Pinkerton” is now hailed as on par (or even better) than the band’s debut. “Pinkerton” wasn’t exactly a complete departure- – there were still plenty of catchy guitar riffs and all sorts of Weezerish shenanigans throughout the record – but something was indeed different.
The band was evolving. Cuomo’s lyrics and vocals contained more groans and whines, and he no longer sang of construction workers going home or playing guitar in the garage. Now Cuomo was “Tired of Sex” and cursing at half-Japanese girls in “El Scorcho.”
Rivers Cuomo had a lot of emotion to get out, and “Pinkerton” seemed to be the perfect outlet.
After “Pinkerton,” the band went on hiatus for a while and did not release another album until five years later. This hiatus marked a slow decline for the band, but not a total loss.
The band’s second self-titled album, “The Green Album” wasn’t necessarily bad – songs like “Hashpipe” and “Island in the Sun” saw heavy rotation on the radio and on MTV.
Their sound was still catchy and still had the Weezer style. 2002’s “Maladroit” is actually one of my personal favorite Weezer records, but it didn’t receive very good reviews. It’s true songs like “American Gigolo” and “Slob” leave a lot to be desired from the band, but the second half of the album features a lot of Weezer’s best work since the “Pinkerton” days.
Weezer’s last two albums are fairly forgettable. 2005’s “Make Believe” featured the atrocious “We Are All On Drugs” and “Beverly Hills.” Although the album did have a couple of good songs none of them were noteworthy. Last year’s “The Red Album” was supposed to be a return to form, and was better than “Make Believe,” but it still wasn’t good enough.
Right before and after “The Red Album” Cuomo released two volumes of his old demos and old recordings, which have more than enough great tracks to forgive Weezer’s last two sub-par endeavors.
If another Weezer album ever sees the light of day listening back to the band’s early work provides a glimmer of hope that they might one day return to form.
If not we’ve always got “The Blue Album” and “Pinkerton” to pop in.
