It’s been 20 years since Weezer released their self-titled debut, otherwise known as The Blue Album, and to celebrate, I’ve put together a list of my top ten Weezer tracks.
After so many years and so many great albums, it’s hard to pick just ten songs. You could fill a list with hits like ‘Buddy Holly‘, ‘Hash Pipe’, and ‘Pork And Beans’, but this list focuses on some of the lesser known singles and album tracks, covering as much of the band’s career as possible.
10. ‘Photograph’
A lot of fans were disappointed when they heard 2001’s Green Album. After the commercial failure of Pinkerton in 1996, Rivers Cuomo grew obsessed with writing the perfect song, stripping most of the emotion from his lyrics. As a result, some fans felt Green was lacking the intensity and passion of the band’s first two albums. For what it is, though, I think it’s a perfect record. There’s no denying the melodies are strong and well formed, as are the songs. Weighing in at less than 30 minutes, it doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. If you consider what the band were trying to achieve, I don’t think they put a foot wrong. ‘Photograph’ is a stand out track from the record. I love the handclaps, the backing vocals and the solo.
This track was released on 2010’s Death to False Metal, but was originally written and recorded in 1998 during the five year gap between Pinkerton and The Green Album. It was apparently recorded during the same sessions as a cover of The Pixies’ ‘Velouria’, used for a tribute album to the band – the influence shows. It’s a simple song, but it’s a good performance and gives an idea of how their third album might have sounded if the band hadn’t taken such a long break. A few other tracks from this period have been released on Rivers Cuomo’s Alone series of compilation albums, including the brilliant ‘Lover in the Snow’ and ‘Crazy One’. Based on those few songs, it could have been quite an album.
This track was the third single from Make Believe, and was reworked slightly for its release. The chorus melody was altered slightly, and the ‘perfect situation’ backing vocal was added to the ending, allegedly to please the label, who felt that the song title wasn’t used often enough in the lyrics. I think it’s a nice touch, and one of many cool moments in the song, alongside the emotional guitar solo, the excellent verse lyrics and the cathartic, wordless chorus.
Another track from Death to False Metal, this one was originally recorded by the band in 2005, on the build up to Make Believe. It starts with a guitar that sounds like it was played through a blown amplifier and the opening lyric ‘woe is me’ is humorous and self aware. The backing vocals are a great touch, adding a charm to the verses and a cool texture to the choruses. A pick scrape at the end of the bridge seems to signal the last chorus, but instead a new riff is introduced with Rivers screaming over the top of it. It’s a cool, and unexpected moment, and builds the tension well before the final, feel good chorus.
This track is from 2010’s Hurley and is one of two tracks on the album that Rivers wrote without an outside collaborator. For its first two minutes, it’s a fairly unsuspecting acoustic song, and a very nice one, with a smooth vocal delivery, some cool backing, and even a flute in the second verse. It’s in the build up to the last chorus that things get really interesting, though. There’s some grit and passion in the vocals, the guitar strums get sharper, with the drums building up behind them. Then all the instruments cut out, and a fade in of electric guitar hum signals the heavy last chorus which escalates the track to an album highlight.
The second single from Maladroit is something of an anomaly in the context of the album. The band were exploring a heavier side to their songwriting, yet ‘Keep Fishin’’ is pure powerpop, featuring backing vocals and harmonies that bring their earliest material to mind. When the song was released as a single, the band chose to entirely re-record the track, – I like the drum fill that opens the album version, but the single packs more punch and is often regarded as the definitive. The video is always worth watching, anyway, because it has the Muppets in.
This track was included on the deluxe edition of The Red Album, and at a time when more and more fans were giving up hope on the band, ‘Miss Sweeney’ is a real experiment, and one that seriously pays off. The vocal delivery is brilliant, from the anxious ‘Hi,’ at the start, through the awkward spoken word verse to the chorus, where it can’t be held in any longer and Rivers just has to break out into song – melancholy acoustic guitar replaced by powerful electric. The second verse has the acoustic once again, as Rivers apologizes; ‘I’m so sorry Miss Sweeney, I don’t know where that came from, I think I was overcome by a spontaneous emotion.’ For anyone who thinks Weezer have gotten a little too safe, check out that couplet. Then check out the screech of feedback into the bridge, and Brian Bell’s near shouted backing, it’s hard not to think of the band’s 90s output. This is a special one.
Originally released as a b-side on ‘Undone (The Sweater Song)’ in some regions, and later on the Mallrats soundtrack, ‘Susanne‘ sums up the mission statement of early Weezer, blending classic pop songs with heavy guitars, something like Nirvana covering The Beach Boys. The track was written for an A&R assistant at the band’s record label at the time, Geffen, who was a big Weezer supporter on the build up to The Blue Album. It’s one of the few non album tracks that the band regularly plays live, and guitarist Brian Bell has described it as his favourite of the band’s songs.
This is the perfect way to end an album that creates such a beautiful racket as Pinkerton. The band don’t let up from the opening of ‘Tired of Sex’ through to the feedback that closes ‘Falling For You’, and ‘Butterfly’ provides a much needed moment of reflection. As a moment of reflection, though, it’s pretty despicable. The chorus sounds like an apology, ‘I’m sorry for what I did, I did what my body told me to’ but the last verse reveals otherwise. ‘I told you I would return, when the robin makes his nest, but I ain’t ever coming back.’ You can’t like the person singing this song, but you might be able to relate to him on some level, and its dealing with these difficult emotions that makes the song so powerful. The lyrics are inspired by the Puccini opera ‘Madama Butterfly’, US naval officer Pinkerton makes the same promise to his Japanese lover as he leaves to return to his family in America. There couldn’t be a better way to end Weezer’s masterpiece.
This track was written during the Pinkerton era, ending up as a b-side to ‘El Scorcho’. It’s a perfect example of the music Rivers Cuomo was writing at that time, encapsulating his skill for disguising dark and emotional subject matter in the prettiest of pop tunes. The emotions are complex, sung from the same place as ‘Butterfly’. The ‘You’ll always be my girlfriend/I’ll always be your friend’ of the chorus is heartbreaking, but subtle, there’s nothing too dramatic. In fact, the chorus, sounds almost joyful in its delivery. The dirty, fuzzy guitar solo manages to tell the whole story, though, in one of my favourite 20 seconds of music.
