Weezer (Blue Album) by Weezer

Weezer is at least partly responsible for bailing me out of a great depression. It was 1995, summer was closing down, we were only months away from a big move, I had graduated high school 14 months prior and had still not found a job, and it was up to Nintendo and MTV to keep me happy.

Every now and then, I'd catch this music video where a group of college guys were playing hackey sack, and when the song was over, the lead singer would always take a sip off one of those boxes of fruit juice. You know, the kind that you put in your 2nd grader's lunch box. There was sort of a carefree integrity about these guys that only left me thirsting for more.

So then, one night, we were watching MTV with Mom in the room. Talk about walking on eggshells. A different Weezer video came on, and we're just sitting there like "Oh, no.." because if this song sounded anything like "Say It Ain't So" did, then it wasn't going to be on that TV for long. Instead, it was "Buddy Holly". And wonder of wonders, it passed with not a complaint. One thing is for sure; we were not expecting such a friendly pop song out of Weezer!

Wager big, Win big

Weezer is one of those bands that risked everything but still made a significant impact with their first album. From a distance it looks like just another punk album, but up close and personal, you will find that they are full of surprises.

"My Name Is Jonas" opens with some sweet arpeggios in 3/4, only for the band to come raging in like an ocean wave. Say hello to Weezer! This song was like their introduction to the world, for those such as myself who were curious enough to take a listen at the whole package. My sister and I still think the start of the second verse has him singing My name is Weezer! but prounouncing it with a sort of southern Shakespearish drawl; My name is Wae-zeuh! Bumping right along with a surprisingly cheesy sound, the song successfully segues into the punk/pop anthem of "No One Else".

I hated "No One Else" at first, for two reasons. Number one, the lyrics are possessive and I had a stick up my ^ss that could make Fred Durst's ego look like a dust mite. I want a girl who'll laugh for no one else, when I'm away she puts her make-up on the shelf; when I'm away, she never leaves the house. And two, the simplicity of the drumming and the way he would hit it twice halfway through the chorus used to drive me bonkers! However, I have loosened up quite a bit since then, and this very simple fill-in would soon become one of my favorite drumming techniques. So congratulations, Weezer, you're not only a band but you are musical educators as well. No kidding, folks!

"The World Has Turned And Left Me Here" is where The Blue Album really starts to get good. Settling into a brooding mid-tempo beat, Weezer seriously caught me off-guard with a song about spanking the monkey to a photograph (or a memory, or something). This was the coolest thing I had ever heard! This is also where Weezer begins to wax poetic with the lyrics a little bit. I just made love to your sweet memory one thousand times in my head; you said you loved it more than ever, you said; You remain turned away, turning further every day.

Getting to know Weezer a little better before hitting a single was a good idea. So "Buddy Holly" came next, and I gladly closed my eyes and basked in the festive arrangements of guitar and swirly synth notes, while visions of Happy Days danced in my mind (thanks to that great video). Unfortunately, "Buddy Holly" is one of those songs that you may easily think about years after you've first heard it and think "Nah, it wasn't that great." Then you hear it again and find yourself quoting Celine Dion herself, "It's all coming back to me now."

"Undone (The Sweater Song)" was funny for a while, until I had to start analyzing it to death, as I always do. As far as melody goes, well it's a real drunk melody, I can tell you that. It's a relatively simple sequence, but it is played in such an extraneous manner that it makes you feel drunk just listening to it. The first few minutes of the song frequently cut to conversations at a college party where everybody's stoned, watching bands, asking for drives home. The chorus is altogether a silly approach. If you want to destroy my sweater, pull this thread as I walk away. Watch me unravel, I'll soon be naked, lyin' on the floor, lyin' on the floor, I come undone. It's funny how he's getting naked, but it would be funnier if he just kept walking like he didn't know it was happening. But obviously he does know since number one, he's lying on the floor, and number two, he's asking someone else to do it. The whole idea of pulling the thread and him becoming naked is funny, but becomes a lot less funny when they try to make it actually mean something. This shows just what an idiot I am, that I would analyze a song like this in the first place. But either way, I think it's overrated.

"Surf Wax America" isn't afraid to be a simple feel good song. With liberal guitar work, Weezer jam on about going to the beach while everyone else goes to work. You take your car to work, I'll take my board; and when you're out of fuel, I'm still afloat. The song goes silent for a minute except for a single low organ note, and you can't help but expect the Beach Boys to come out softly singing Gooooo-tta keep those a-lovin'... vibrations a-happenin' with her. I particularly like the way Rivers throws in a high note on the last syllable of afloat in the 2nd chorus. It's little surprises like that that make this album sound so spontaneous, and make you glad you decided to listen to the whole thing again, whether it's your 2nd or your 82nd time.

Weezer slow back down for a more sober sounding "Undone", only this one is called "Say It Ain't So". It's not often that the sound of a guitar and a guy's voice can complement each other so well. Just check out the last syllable of the word heartbreaker. Awesome!!! "Say It Ain't So" showcases Rivers' vocal talent better than almost any other Weezer song I think I've ever heard. Just don't think that this is as easy of a song to listen to as I make it sound, because it's not. It doesn't seem to have a mood at all. Once you learn what to expect of the melody, then it becomes a lot easier, but I still can't put my finger on just what the mood of this song is. I know that it makes me think of claustrophobia.

"In The Garage", here's your five-star song, baby. This mid-tempo, distortion saturated monster steals the show all around. It is a kind of stream of consciousness rant about "the garage", where many great bands start out. Rivers talks about his posters of Kiss and his electric guitar, on which he "plays his stupid songs and writes his stupid words". The song has some neat little hooks, and while it obviously weaves around in the volume department, it doesn't make your speakers explode. This kind of restraint leaves the song with a smooth finish. You might call it polished, but I don't care. I love it anyway.

Once Weezer takes that very rare opportunity to revert from reality back into dreamworld, they slam us with another feel-good rocker in "Holiday". The opening riff has an obvious "carnival" quality to it (and re-appears late in the song in such an incredibly slick way!) This may very well be the second best song on the album. Obviously, we're talking about Let's go away for a while lyrically. Musically, it's got the same 3/4 beat as "Jonas", just quite a bit faster and full of childlike exuberance. One other thing, the song has the greatest ending! Makes you wanna smile, that's all there is to it. Is it just me or is there a cat meowing in the background, though?

Finally they finish out with track number 10, "Only In Dreams". Even if you don't like the sound of electric guitars, it's almost impossible not to like this song. It has a few iffy moments here and there. The chorus, however, is brilliant. The way it eases out, and the drummer taps his way back in, brilliant as well. Right around the 6th of its 8 minutes, the song almost completely stops, then gradually (and I DO mean gradually) builds up, settling into one of the most emotional rock-out jams you've ever imagined. If you liked the way the bass sounded on Better Than Ezra's song "Good", you ought to like this. I still can't hear a bass guitar playing solo notes without seeing in my mind the red hearts on Mario Paint bouncing up and down.

So those who are just getting into Weezer, or even just getting into music, I know the feeling. I don't like to buy a lot of old CD's, because I have this thing where I want to be able to know that others are feeling it at the same time as me. I'm on this never-ending search for a reason to hope, and I want to know that what I'm hearing could be changing the world, and that's not gonna happen if it's been 2/3 of a decade since the album sat in the top 100. I know it should be about the music, and not about what others think. But I'll say this much, if you like anything at all by Weezer and you don't have this CD yet, you should probably give it a spin.

Great Music To Play While: Doing anything creative.