Opening Act: Weezer

Welcome to another edition of Opening Act.

This is only the 2nd time I’ve attempted one of these. The first one was back in January when I tackled Fuel for the Hate Game, the debut LP from Hot Water Music.

This time around, I am taking a look back at the debut from Weezer.

THE BAND

In 1989, Rivers Cuomo and his metal band Avant Garde relocated to Los Angeles from Connecticut. After moving there, and after the dissolution of the metal band, he met drummer Patrick Wilson. They formed an alternative rock band that went through several different names and several different lineups. Eventually, a lineup was solidified in 1992 with Rivers, Patrick, Matt Sharp, and Jason Cropper, calling themselves Weezer. The band performed their first show with Keanu Reeves’ band Dogstar. They recorded a demo in November called The Kitchen Tape.

As of this writing, 19 studio albums later, the band consists of Rivers, Patrick, Brian Bell, and Scott Shriner. Besides the LPs, the band has released 2 compilation albums and 9 EPs. They won a Grammy in 2009 in the Best Music Video category for the song “Pork and Beans.” They have also won multiple MTV Music Awards.

THE ALBUM

The debut album from the band is often referred to as The Blue Album but officially is just called Weezer. It was released in May 1994 by DGC Records. The iconic Cars frontman Ric Ocasek produced the album. It was recorded at Electric Lady in New York City. The band wanted to produce the album themselves but after pressure from the label, chose Ocasek based on his work with The Cars song “Just What I Needed.”

The band started recording the album with guitarist Jason Cropper but during the recording he was fired and Rivers re-recorded all of the guitar parts that Cropper had recorded. Before the release was finalized, the band hired Brian Bell as Cropper’s replacement.

The album peaked at #16 on the US Billboard chart but reached #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart. It also reached #23 on the UK Albums chart. The album is, to date, the band’s highest selling album. It has been certified 5 times platinum, selling over 5 million copies in the United States alone. It appeared in the Blender magazine article, 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die. It has appeared in several best of albums lists. For instance, it was #26 on Pitchfork’s Top 100 Albums of the 1990s in 2003 and #294 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2020.

The original release contained 10 tracks. A deluxe edition of the album was released in March 2004 that included the original album as well as Dusty Gems & Raw Nuggets, a collection of B-sides, demos, and rarities.

For my re-listen of the album I am focusing on the original release and not the deluxe edition. I will say, however that there are some absolute bangers on that deluxe edition (see “Mykel and Carli,” “Susanne,” and “Jamie”).

THE SONGS

It’s been a while since I’ve listened to this album all the way through so it’ll be interested taking a look back…..

“My Name is Jonas”

I love the opening of this song. I mean, I love the whole song. I love the guitars. Such a great album opener. Nothing super fancy about the guitar solo on this one but it is a good break.

“No One Else”

I don’t know really what to say about this song. It’s great. Solid 2nd track.

“The World Has Turned and Left Me Here”

Another banger. One of my favorite songs on the album. “I just made love to your sweet memory, one thousand times in my head.” Damn Rivers. I’m not sure if that is romantic or smutty? Probably both.

“Buddy Holly”

Actually not one of my favorite songs from this album. That being said, it was the 2nd song of Weezer’s that I had heard and made me start to notice them. It was the 2nd single from the album. I still remember the video for this song (back when MTV played videos). The Happy Days setting was perfect. For some reason, this is the song from the album where I most “feel” the influence of producer Ric Ocasek. One of my favorite bits from this song is that break (“bang bang knocking on the door, another big bang get down on the floor…). It’s a solid number. Not surprised that it was a single.

“Undone - The Sweater Song”

The first single from the album and the first song I had ever heard from the band. Fun story here, well, maybe not fun. When I first heard this song, I did not like it and I had a friend that would tell me about Weezer and I would dismiss him based on this song. I told him I was not a fan because I didn’t like this song. It was the only song I had heard from them at the time of course. To be completely honest, I still don’t really care for this song. I’m not sure what it is. I’m just not a fan. I vaguely remember the video. Sort of. I remember that there was a video. I can’t really remember what it was all about. To be honest, I’m not sure why this song was a single. And the first single at that. Very strange.

“Surf Wax America”

This song is just damn good fun. I particularly really like Pat’s drum work on it. It’s got this fun, antiemetic feel to it. Such a great blend of surf rock and high energy power pop. That bridge with the falsetto vocals is a good slow down and take a break from what is going on in this song. And the build up back to the “regular” song is fantastic. I love this song.

“Say It Ain’t So”

This was the 3rd single released from the album. I’m going into this one with a fresh focus, or trying to anyway. This song has never really done anything for me. It’s a good song. It’s not bad per se. It just never really hit me. Maybe after the energetic surf rock song I wasn’t ready for a ballad. This is probably the song that got them tagged by many in the industry as an emo band. It is quite different from the rest of the album. At least thus far. Instead of mostly power chords, the dynamics of the music itself are quite different. Really good guitar work overall though. However, after this re-listen, my thoughts remain. It’s a good song. Just doesn’t really do anything for me.

“In the Garage”

Another one of my favorites. Love the harmonic intro. I love the overall dynamic of the song. The whole feel. The lyrics. A guy talking about his garage and all the nerd shit that’s in there. While I don’t hang out in my garage, I feel like I can really relate to this song. While the previously song got them tagged with the emo tag, this one earned them the nerd rock tag. Musically, the song is an all around banger. But the song in generally is just…….hmmm…..the word I’m looking for….how about comfortable? The song makes me feel comfortable. That guitar is perfect for the song. To me, this is one of the songs (if not THE song) that encapsulated the Blue Album.

“Holiday”

This is the song from the album that I always just kind of forget that it’s there. It is definitely not a bad song. It is great. I just always forget about it. I am not sure if I had ever noticed this before but it has a strong Beach Boys vibe to it. It has some really great vocal harmonies in it. Another thing I don’t think I ever noticed about this song before but it’s got a weird time signature. Well, not weird, just, not your typical 4/4 thing. What is that? Hang on, rewinding it to listen to a specific portion again….is that 6/8? Hell, I dunno. I’m not a music theory guy. I know a little bit but I’m no expert. It is a satisfying song.

“Only In Dreams”

This is absolutely my favorite song from this album. What a hell of a closing song. It is the longest song on the album, clocking in at a little over 8 minutes. Ridiculous guys! But it opens up with the bass and very slowly builds to something. It doesn’t really intensify until well into the song, probably about 5 minutes in. Good lord, I had forgotten how haunting Matt’s bass line is in this song. The song just blissfully lingers and that bass line is like a hypnotic anchor. This is also the only song on the entire album to use any guitar effects. There is a tiny bit of use of a delay in this one. This is such a beautiful song. Such a powerful finale. That break in the song where the guitar is droning away and Pat is clearly building up to something and where it finally get to is nothing short of majestic. And this is just closing out again with just the bass. Perfection. Fuck that’s such a good song.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Okay, so I’ve never been shy about it. I am a Weezer fan. I would like to say that I’m a ride or die fan…….

However….there are albums that the band has put out that I’m not a fan of. Off the top of my head I’m thinking of Pacific Daydream, the “black” album, and OK Human. That being said, I like more of their albums than those that I either dislike or have mixed feelings about or just think they are mediocre.

In any case, I’m a Weezer fan. In fact, I’m pretty sure that they are in my top 10 overall list. I was not a fan at first, as I mentioned earlier in my notes about the song “Undone.” After hearing “Buddy Holly” I did go buy the album and got into quite a few of the non singles. Way back then in 94 I thought it was a good album but not really anything special. It wasn’t until several years later that I really got into their music in general. It was the 2001 “green” album that cemented by love for the band if I remember correctly. But at that point, this album because a much bigger deal.

Overall, this is just a fantastic record and I can totally understand why it is their best selling record. It is my favorite Weezer album. I can’t really say anything bad about it. I mean, even in the case of the song “Undone” this album is a complet package of great tunes.

So there’s my 2nd attempt at this Opening Act thing.

What are your thoughts on this album? What are your thoughts on Weezer? Leave me a comment. See you next time.