Weezer Blue Album (Weezer)

While I cannot condone the painful sell out that Weezer has undergone in the past decade, I can say that we all should have seen it coming. First of all, Weezer was a bit of a novelty band from the beginning, what with the cute videos, quirky look, and precise knowledge of pop culture. Secondly, it seems as though the stars were just aligned for this release to reach immortality. Nobody could have expected Weezer to come close to matching this effort. Of course it was not unreasonable to expect a nice little career for the band after the obvious artistic progress they made with the very sufficient Pinkerton album. Lastly, the gimmicky videos and mainstream appeal of Blue Album revealed some veiled commercial aspirations. We all know that strong commercial aspirations lead to pandering to the crude desires of the mainstream rock fan. Finally, Cuomo’s insecurity and borderline unhealthy yearning for approval (only mildly apparent in Blue Album but fully visible in Pinkerton) made it apparent that his band would be malleable to the desires of others.

Now that my mandatory Weezer rant has been satisfied I can precede to discuss their finest hour- Blue Album. It makes sense that the Blue Album begins with a very blue collar song in “My Name is Jonas,” which sets the tempo quite nicely for what’s to come. After the lone subpar song, “No One Else,” you get “The World has Turned”- a droning ballad of lament that marks the birth of a theme that about  50% of Weezer’s future tracks revisited- isolation. The next two songs are responsible for the Weezer mania of 1994. One of them deserves it – “Buddy Holly” – while the other does not. “Buddy Holly” is the best song on the album; it pays tribute to the leader of a very important era of music while introducing another future Weezer theme- Asian women (Hell, Cuomo even recently married one). Reasons why I love the Sweater Song include the awesome guitar solo, the killer metaphor, and the accuracy of Weezer’s portrayal of people my age. Reasons why I hate it are that it reminds me of those people and the fact that it is so loved by them.

Track six really comes from left field. I mean can any of you really imagine Rivers Cuomo surfing? Regardless to the obvious hypocrisy of the song, Cuomo chooses an appropriate theme to use while paying homage to a huge influence in The Beach Boys. “Say it Ain’t So” is the highlight of the album and about the time the nimble lead guitar starts interlocking with the rhythm guitar you realize that it is the seminal song of Weezer's early career. Besides the fact that “In The Garage” creates unbelievably vivid and accurate imagery about its subject, I just love the quirky intro’s translation into a crushing guitar riff. I have never had too much to say about “Holiday” besides the fact that it’s anthemic, soothing, and happy, making it a good representation of the general mood of the album. “Only in Dreams” avoids the one downfall of many Weezer songs in that it absolutely never gets tiring. It really is a perfect closer to the album, with its tender, honest feel complemented by slightly restrained yet crushing riffs.

1. My Name is Jonas- 8.4

2. No One Else- 5.4

3. The World has Turned- 8.6

4. Buddy Holly- 9.0

5. Undone the Sweater Song- 7.9

6. Surf Wax America- 6.8

7. Say it Ain’t So- 9.2

8. In the Garage- 8.8

9. Holiday- 7.7

10. Only in Dreams- 8.9

Overall Score – 9.9- One part tenderness and regret one part hopefulness, with enough guitars and melody to satisfy everyone

Updated: 08/10/08 by the Rock Czar 

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