Thursday, September 09, 2004
Weezer - Weezer (The Blue Album)
I've been giving people lifts again, so the second half of this album is currently playing in my headphones as I sit at my PC typing away. Which is interesting; it keeps the whole thing fresh in my mind. It also means I can't quite follow the lyrics and write at the same time. More practice required!
Apologies to long-time Weezer fans for the rest of this paragraph; I know it annoys them. There's a good chance that if you're of a similar techy disposition to me, you discovered this group through a freebie video clip of the song "Buddy Holly" included on the Windows 95 CD-ROM. Oh how we smiled at the antics of the band as they placed themselves in an episode of Happy Days (whilst admiring Microsoft's latest video compression codec. Or was that just me?). Some of us found ourselves hooked to the melody, too. I was one, so I went out to buy this CD.
You can see why true Weezer fans hate this; their group is forevermore associated with an operating system. And yet, somehow, that's quite fitting. After all, this is group for which the term 'geek rook' was invented. Four guys, still going through uni (the band's tours were put on hold while lead vocalist Rivers Cuomo finished his studies at Harvard), and not the most slick-looking bunch you've ever seen. Look at the album cover. I work with people who dress like that.
The songs cover geeky themes, too: most notably "In The Garage", an anthem to hiding away in the comfort of your den, with only your Kiss poster collection for company. We also have what I believe rates as one of the greatest break-up songs, namely "Undone - the Sweater song", in which a guy already torn with his recent split says "hey, you've ruined me, you might as well ruin my jumper". It's rather wry stuff that works well.
A mid-90s heavy guitar post-grunge sound prevails throughout, with many a riff borrowed from 70s metal bands (like the aforementioned Kiss). Every time I play this album, it always surprises me how thick and loud the sound is. Surely I don't normally listen to that sort of thing? Then the vocals kick in: soft harmonies, very reminiscent of The Beach Boys, with catchy melodies, and that's what keeps me coming back.
The Blue Album stands alone in the Weezer section of my collection; I've never opted to try more from the group. Perhaps I should. Or perhaps I'm attached to this specific set of tunes for silly, geeky reasons. Hey, I can admit it - it's great fun!
Apologies to long-time Weezer fans for the rest of this paragraph; I know it annoys them. There's a good chance that if you're of a similar techy disposition to me, you discovered this group through a freebie video clip of the song "Buddy Holly" included on the Windows 95 CD-ROM. Oh how we smiled at the antics of the band as they placed themselves in an episode of Happy Days (whilst admiring Microsoft's latest video compression codec. Or was that just me?). Some of us found ourselves hooked to the melody, too. I was one, so I went out to buy this CD.
You can see why true Weezer fans hate this; their group is forevermore associated with an operating system. And yet, somehow, that's quite fitting. After all, this is group for which the term 'geek rook' was invented. Four guys, still going through uni (the band's tours were put on hold while lead vocalist Rivers Cuomo finished his studies at Harvard), and not the most slick-looking bunch you've ever seen. Look at the album cover. I work with people who dress like that.
The songs cover geeky themes, too: most notably "In The Garage", an anthem to hiding away in the comfort of your den, with only your Kiss poster collection for company. We also have what I believe rates as one of the greatest break-up songs, namely "Undone - the Sweater song", in which a guy already torn with his recent split says "hey, you've ruined me, you might as well ruin my jumper". It's rather wry stuff that works well.
A mid-90s heavy guitar post-grunge sound prevails throughout, with many a riff borrowed from 70s metal bands (like the aforementioned Kiss). Every time I play this album, it always surprises me how thick and loud the sound is. Surely I don't normally listen to that sort of thing? Then the vocals kick in: soft harmonies, very reminiscent of The Beach Boys, with catchy melodies, and that's what keeps me coming back.
The Blue Album stands alone in the Weezer section of my collection; I've never opted to try more from the group. Perhaps I should. Or perhaps I'm attached to this specific set of tunes for silly, geeky reasons. Hey, I can admit it - it's great fun!
# posted by Sam : 23:18
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I think that Weezer fans generally realise that Weezer themselves are geeks. If you want to try more do, but don't expect more of the same - The Green Album is the only one that's at all similar to Blue, in my opinion at least.
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