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'Weezer' is an American Grammy-nominated rock band from Los Angeles, California. They have released five full-length albums, three EPs, and a DVD; the first album was later re-released as a remastered deluxe edition. Their most recent album, ''Make Believe'', was released on May 10 2005. Weezer is currently recording their sixth album, with a tentative release for the first half of 2008 in mind. They have sold more than 10 million records to date in the US.[1]
History
Early days (1992-93)
Weezer was formed February 14, 1992, in Los Angeles by Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Matt Sharp, and Jason Cropper.[2]
Five weeks after forming, they had their first gig, opening for Dogstar (Keanu Reeves's band) at Raji's Bar and Ribshack on Hollywood Boulevard. Weezer played clubs and other small venues around L.A. The band eventually attracted attention from major-label A&R reps looking for alternative rock bands. They were signed to the ''DGC'' label (which later became Interscope) on June 26 1993, by Todd Sullivan, an A&R rep from Geffen Records.
''The Blue Album'' (1993-94)
The self-titled debut, ''Weezer'', commonly referred to as the ''Blue Album'' because of its blue cover, was released May 10, 1994. The album was produced by former Cars frontman Ric Ocasek and recorded at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.[3] During the recording of the Blue Album, Jason Cropper left the band and was replaced by Brian Bell, a then-bassist for the band, Carnival Art.[4]
"Undone - The Sweater Song" was released as the first single. The music video was directed by Spike Jonze.[5] Filmed in an unbroken take, it featured Weezer performing on a sound stage with various amusing studio antics, including a pack of dogs swarming the set.
Jonze also directed the band's second video, "Buddy Holly."[6] The video featured footage from the television sitcom ''Happy Days'', spliced with the band performing in a remade "Arnold's Diner," a familiar setting from the series.[7] The video achieved heavy rotation on MTV and went on to win Jonze and the band four MTV Video Music Awards, including Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative Music Video, and two Billboard Music Video Awards.[8] The success of the video arguably pushed the band into the mainstream spotlight. Highlighting this was Microsoft choosing to include the video on the CD-ROM for the initial release of Windows 95 to demonstrate the multimedia capabilities of the operating system.
The video for Weezer's third single, "Say It Ain't So," was directed by Sophie Muller. It featured the bandmates performing in their original rehearsal space in California, known as The Garage, as well as footage of the bandmates playing hacky sack. A photo of The Garage is featured on the inside cover of the album. The house featured in the video has since been demolished.
The ''Blue Album'' is currently certified triple platinum in the United States,[9] making it Weezer's all-time best seller. It is ranked 297 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums.[10] It was re-released and repackaged in 2004 as a Deluxe Edition, which included a second disc of b-sides along with other previously unreleased rarities.[11]
''Songs From The Black Hole'' (1995)
In late December 1994, Weezer took a break from touring for the Christmas holidays. Cuomo traveled back east to his home state of Connecticut, and using an eight-track recorder, he began piecing together demo material for Weezer's next album. Cuomo's original concept for Weezer's second album was to be a space-themed rock opera, ''Songs from the Black Hole''.[12]
The album was intended to feature songs that flowed together seamlessly and end with a special coda that briefly revisited the major musical elements of the piece. The band began demoing and working on Cuomo's concept through intermittent recording sessions in the spring and summer of 1995.
Some songs such as "Tired of Sex" and "Why Bother?" were on ''Songs From The Black Hole'' and later released on ''Pinkerton''. Some demos of unreleased songs, such as "Long Time Sunshine" can be found on various fansites.
''Pinkerton'' (1996-97)
Ultimately, the ''Songs from the Black Hole'' album concept was dropped. The album would instead feature songs composed before their first album (which had briefly been incorporated into the space-opera) as well as some new ones written while Cuomo was at Harvard.[12]
Weezer's second album, ''Pinkerton'', was released on 24 September, 1996.[14] Due to initial weak sales (it peaked at #19 in the U.S.),[15] the album was, at first, viewed as a commercial failure,[16] especially when viewed in light of the multi-platinum success of their debut album. The album failed to gain traction in the mainstream music world, perhaps due to a darker, more abrasive sound on the album.[14] ''Pinkerton'' was labeled "one of the worst albums of 1996" by a Rolling Stone Magazine reader poll. However, word-of-mouth kept the trickle of sales going, and the album eventually achieved a cult status. As if to validate this, in 2004, Rolling Stone changed their rating to 5 stars[18] and inducted ''Pinkerton'' into the Rolling Stone Hall Of Fame. A large contingent of critics and fans currently view ''Pinkerton'' as Cuomo's artistic peak, despite the album being outsold by three of the five albums.
Three singles were taken from the album: "El Scorcho", "The Good Life", and "Pink Triangle". A music video was released for "El Scorcho", directed by Mark Romanek,[19] who later removed his directing credit from the final version due to creative disagreements with the band (most notably Cuomo, who actually edited the final version himself). A video for "The Good Life", directed by the husband-wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, was also released. Of note are the differences in behavior of each band member in the videos. The videos show the divisive feelings growing in the band that would lead to the band's hiatus.
The title of the album comes from the character Lieutenant Pinkerton in Giacomo Puccini's opera ''Madame Butterfly''.[12] The entire album is heavily influenced by the opera's story line. Madame Butterfly is mentioned under her real name, Cio-Cio San, in "El Scorcho." The song, "Butterfly", is written from Pinkerton's point of view at the end of the opera.
The album's title sparked a legal challenge. Pinkerton Securities of Encino, Calif., filed a temporary injunction against the band and its Geffen record label for copyright infringement two days before the album was to be released on 24 September, 1996. A judge ruled against the security company, and the album was finally released. This injunction caused Geffen to hold back some of the initial advertising and promotion for the album, possibly contributing to the album's initial slow sales.
On hiatus (1997-2000)
Weezer completed their touring for ''Pinkerton'' in the summer of 1997. The members of the band took a break, with drummer Patrick Wilson returning to his home in Portland, Oregon to work on his side project, The Special Goodness; Matt Sharp left to complete the follow-up album for his group The Rentals; and Brian Bell went to work on his group, Space Twins.
Rivers Cuomo returned to Boston, Massachusetts, but took a break from Harvard to focus on songwriting. Cuomo gathered together Boston-area musicians and rehearsed unreleased material, including possible new songs for the next Weezer album. The group, referred to by fans as the Rivers Cuomo Band, had several different lineups and played several shows at local clubs, including their first show at T.T. the Bear's on 8 October, 1997. Future Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh was a constant of the group's evolving lineups. Pat Wilson eventually flew to Boston to sit in on drums. The Boston songs were later abandoned and not used on the next Weezer album, but live recordings of the Boston shows are openly traded on the internet. In February of 1998, Rivers left Boston and returned to Los Angeles.
Pat Wilson and Brian Bell joined Cuomo in L.A. to start work on the next album. Matt Sharp did not rejoin the band and officially left the group in April of 1998. The group decided on Mikey Welsh as Sharp's replacement. Weezer continued rehearsal and cut demos until the fall of 1998. Frustration and creative disagreements led to a decline in rehearsals, and in late fall of 1998, drummer Pat Wilson left for his home in Portland pending renewed productivity from Cuomo. Rivers Cuomo went into a period of admitted depression, painting the walls of his home black and putting "fiberglass insulation all over the windows and then black sheets of fiberglass so that no light could get through."
The band would not reunite until April of 2000, when the Fuji Festival in Japan offered Weezer a high-paying gig to play in August 2000. The festival served as a catalyst for Weezer's productivity, and from April to May 2000, the band rehearsed and demoed new songs in Los Angeles. The band returned to live shows in June 2000, but without the Weezer name. Instead the shows featured the group's first use of the pseudonym, 'Goat Punishment', so they could play to only longtime fans who would recognize the name.
On 23 June, 2000, the band, now back under the Weezer name, joined the Warped Tour for eight planned dates. Weezer was well received at the festival leading the band to book more tour dates for the summer.
SS2K - The summer sessions (2000)
In the summer of 2000, Weezer (now consisting of Rivers Cuomo, Mikey Welsh, Pat Wilson, and Brian Bell) went on tour (including dates on the popular Vans Warped Tour). Weezer's setlist consisted of 14 new songs that fans have labeled the ''Summer Songs of 2000'' (commonly abbreviated, ''SS2K''). When 13 of these songs did not appear on Weezer's next album, fans of the songs started a petition demanding the release of studio versions. Eventually, MP3s of live recordings of the songs were made available on the band's official website for download. Three SS2K songs, "Hash Pipe", "Dope Nose," and "Slob," have appeared on studio albums ("Hash Pipe" on the ''Green Album'' and "Dope Nose" and "Slob" appearing on ''Maladroit'').
Rebirth for Weezer, ''The Green Album'' (2001)
Eventually, the band went back into the studio to produce a third album. They chose the title, ''Weezer'' (2001), to repeat the self-titled name of their first release. This album quickly became known as ''The Green Album'' due to its distinctive bright green coloring. Shortly after the release of ''The Green Album,'' Weezer went on another American tour. They attracted a new generation of fans thanks to heavy MTV rotation for the videos of their hit singles, "Hash Pipe" and "Island in the Sun."
The video for "Hash Pipe", directed by Marcos Siega featured sumo wrestlers and was nominated for Best Rock Video at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. The drug-centric title and chorus of the song led to a "censored" version, retitled "Half Pipe", to be released to some US radio/television outlets. Two videos were recorded for "Island in the Sun." Marcos Siega directed the first, which focused on a Mexican wedding, and Spike Jonze directed the second, which involved Weezer with animals in a wildlife reserve. Their video for "Photograph" was shot and put together by Weezer friend and unofficial "5th member" Karl Koch.
As reported on 16 August, 2001, by MTV, bassist Mikey Welsh was checked into a psychiatric hospital. His whereabouts were previously unknown, as he mysteriously went missing before the filming of the second video for "Island in the Sun". Weezer was prompted to find a temporary replacement for Welsh. Through a mutual friend, Cuomo received Scott Shriner's number and asked if he was interested to fill in for Welsh. Shriner accepted the invitation. [21]
A harder edge, ''Maladroit'' (2002)
Much to the ire of their recording label, Weezer decided to forgo the industry-preferred waiting period of 2 to 3 years between albums and began recording demos for their fourth album with the hope of releasing it within a year. The band took an experimental approach for the recording process by allowing fans to download the demos from their official website in return for feedback. After the release of the album, the band subsequently stated that the process was somewhat of a failure, as the fans did not supply them with cohesive, constructive advice. Cuomo eventually delegated song selection for the album to their original A&R rep, Todd Sullivan, stating the Weezer fans chose the "wackest songs." Only the song "Slob" was included on the album due to general fan advice.
In early 2002, before the release of the fourth album, Cuomo sent out a mixed version of the song, "Dope Nose", to select radio stations, without the knowledge or consent of their record label Interscope. The song began to receive airplay. The record label, citing marketing concerns for the upcoming album, had Cuomo send out a letter to radio stations requesting the song be pulled until an official, sanctioned single was released. Interscope also briefly shutdown Weezer's audio/video download webpage, removing all the MP3 demos. Online Weezer fans staged a brief protest with several websites proclaiming "Free ''Maladroit''."
In April 2002, former bassist Matt Sharp sued the band, alleging, among several accusations, he was owed money for cowriting several Weezer songs. The suit was later settled out of court.
The fourth album, ''Maladroit'', was released on 14 May, 2002, only one year after its predecessor. The album served as a harder-edged version of their trademark catchy pop-influenced music. Although met with generally positive critical reviews, its sales were not as strong as those for ''The Green Album'', and it remains their lowest-selling album to date.
Two singles were released from the album. The "Dope Nose" music video featured an obscure Japanese motorcycle gang, and was put into regular rotation. The music video for "Keep Fishin'" combined Weezer with The Muppets, and had heavy rotation on MTV. Both videos were directed by Marcos Siega.
A video was also filmed for "Slob" and can be seen on the Enhanced track of the CD.
As soon as ''Maladroit'' had wrapped up, the band immediately began work on their fifth album, recording numerous demos between tours (often recording as many as 24 songs in a day). These songs were eventually scrapped, and Weezer took a break after the release of two albums in quick succession. During this break, Bell and Wilson released LPs from their respective Space Twins and The Special Goodness side-projects.
Weezer released their much-delayed first DVD on 23 March, 2004. The DVD chronicles the band from pre-''Blue Album'' through ''Maladroit's Enlightenment Tour. Titled ''Video Capture Device'' and compiled by Karl Koch, the DVD features home video footage, music videos, commercials, rehearsals, concert performances, television performances, and band commentary. The DVD was certified "gold" on 8 November, 2004.
Back on top, ''Make Believe'' (2003-2005)
From December 2003 to the fall of 2004, the members of Weezer recorded a large amount of material intended for a new album to be released in the spring of 2005 with producer Rick Rubin. The band's early recording efforts became available to the public through the band's website. The demos, titled the ''Album Five Demos'' (or album 4.5), were a big hit with fans but only one song, "Hold Me," was included on the finished album. That album, entitled ''Make Believe,'' was released on 10 May, 2005.
Despite commercial success, ''Make Believe'' generally got a cold reception from critics, receiving an average score of 52 on review collator Metacritic Weezer: Make Believe . Although some reviews, such as AMGs, compared it favourably to Pinkerton Make Believe - Review , others, among them Pitchfork Media's score of 0.4 out of 10, panned the album as predictable and lyrically poor. However, in later years reviews have tended to become favourable.
The album's first single, "Beverly Hills," became a hit in the U.S. and worldwide, staying on the charts for several months after its release. The video for the song, directed by Marcos Siega, featured the band and a select choice of fans interacting with Playboy Bunnies and Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion. It became the first Weezer song to hit #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. "Beverly Hills" was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, the first ever Grammy nomination for the band. The video was also nominated for Best Rock Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards.
The second single off ''Make Believe'' was "We Are All on Drugs". It was released in late summer 2005, and the music video was directed by Justin Francis.
In early 2006, it was announced that ''Make Believe'' was certified platinum, and "Beverly Hills" was the second most popular song download on iTunes for 2005, finishing just behind "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani.[22]
Also in early 2006, ''Make Believe's third single, "Perfect Situation", spent four weeks in a row at the #1 spot on the Billboard Modern Rock chart, a personal record for Weezer. The video for "Perfect Situation" starred Elisha Cuthbert and was directed by Marc Webb. "This is Such a Pity" was the band's fourth single from the album, but no music video was made for its release.
Their song, "My Best Friend", has also become a hit with many people due to the platonic loving nature of its lyrics, and was almost featured in the movie ''Shrek II''.
Hiatus, uncertain future (2006-mid-2007)
In the summer of 2006, MTV news speculated on the breakup of the band, based on statements made by Rivers Cuomo in an MTV interview.[23] Many national media outlets picked up on the headline and began announcing the breakup as fact. But subsequent statements by Cuomo in his blog pointed out that he was misquoted, the band is still together, and that he had written a lot of songs and planned on continuing to do so. Other members of the band have also announced the band is still together.[24]
The band has announced the possible release of a live DVD comprised of footage from the 2005 Japan tour. It will consist of a 2-day, 7-camera shoot of the shows in Japan, plus material that will be drawn from various behind-the-scenes footage. The DVD was announced in late 2005, but in a recent update on the band's website, Karl Koch noted it was "apparently edited, but has been put on hold for now."[25]
A Yahoo! news press release announced a greatest hits collection for Weezer for a Fall 2006 release that would feature "several new tracks". The band's website noted that this announcement was premature, as plans for a greatest hits CD have not been finalized. No further official news has been released. Weezer is still on contract with Geffen for 2 more records, and band members, although rarely interviewed on the subject, continue to talk of future Weezer plans.
In February of 2007, Rick Rubin, in an interview for MTV News, mentioned Cuomo sending in new demos, confirming that the band is still together and may be working on new material in the near future.[26]
On March 11, 2007 the band posted a Myspace Bulletin promoting Jason Schwartzman's new band, Coconut Records. In the bulletin they confirmed that Weezer was still together but "behind closed doors".
A demo called "Pig" leaked onto the internet on 9 April, 2007 [1]. It is unclear whether or not the sparse recording, which features only vocals, guitar, piano and harmonica, will be used for a future Weezer release, a solo album, or at all, for that matter.
In an interview with ''The Harvard Crimson'', published almost a year before "Pig" was made public, Cuomo gave a little insight to the song: "I'm working on a song called 'Pig,' which follows the life of a pig, from when it's just a little piglet on the farm, playing with other animals, to a point where it's grown up and married and has kids, but then it eventually [laughs], it gets slaughtered!"[27]
Album six (2007 - Future)
Rumors of a sixth Weezer album began when the URL www.albumsix.com began linking to the official Weezer site. [28]
On 25 June, 2007 Rivers Cuomo confirmed that a sixth album is due out in early 2008 with this weezer.com post:[29]
On 9 August, 2007, Karl Koch updated the progress on the sixth album with this weezer.com post:
Members
The band currently consists of the following members:
★ Rivers Cuomo — vocals, guitar
★ Brian Bell — guitar, backing vocals (1993-present)
★ Scott Shriner — bass, backing vocals (2001-present) (plays on ''Maladroit'' and ''Make Believe'')
★ Patrick Wilson — drums
Former members:
★ Jason Cropper — guitar, backing vocals (1992-93)
★ Matt Sharp — bass, backing vocals (1992-97) (plays on ''The Blue Album'' and ''Pinkerton'')
★ Mikey Welsh — bass, backing vocals (1997-2001) (plays on ''The Green Album'')
Influence
Weezer has been named as an influence by many modern bands such as Jimmy Eat World, Dashboard Confessional, Brand New, The Ataris, Ozma, The Used, Hellogoodbye, Relient K, The All-American Rejects, Motion City Soundtrack, Death Cab For Cutie, The Pink Spiders, No Doubt, The Academy Is..., Yellowcard, The Click Five, Biffy Clyro, Something Corporate, and Taking Back Sunday.
Weezer has listed several influences, among them KISS (with direct references in the song, "In The Garage") and Nirvana, who was their labelmate for a very brief time before Kurt Cobain's demise. Early Weezer demos, such as "Paperface", have very obvious ties to the Pixies and Nirvana. Also, the song, "Suzanne" originally read, "Even Kurt Cobain...", instead of "Even Izzy, Slash...", changed after Cobain's death. As a side project, Weezer also used to play Nirvana covers under the name, Goat Punishment.
Their biggest influence, however, especially earlier on in their career, seems to be the Pixies, with the band getting a chance to tour with them briefly in 2005.
The Weezer logo, often shown as =w=, was created by Pat Wilson during the mixing of ''The Blue Album''. It is a parody of the Van Halen logo. Green Day has also been said to be an influence, and there is a direct lyric about Green Day in the song, "El Scorcho"
The Weezer logo is seen in the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame.
Music sample
Discography
Main articles: Weezer Discography
★ 1994 - ''Weezer''
★ 1996 - ''Pinkerton''
★ 2001 - ''Weezer''
★ 2002 - ''Maladroit''
★ 2005 - ''Make Believe''
★ 2008 - ''Sixth Studio Album''
Weezer Fans
Sites featuring massive amounts of bootlegs from concerts[30],websites about the band's alter-ego Goat Punishment[31],bizarre Weezer fan fiction[32]and even a graveyard for fallen fan sites[33]. Many fan sites are devoted to compiling the hundreds of unreleased recordings, which span from pre-Weezer projects up to the early demos and live tour recordings for ''Make Believe''. Numerous Weezer message boards exist with large user bases. In late 2001 and early 2002, Rivers Cuomo himself frequently conversed with fans through email, messageboards and AIM. ''Maladroit'' had strong input from the weezer fanboards including the suggestion for the name and the addition of "Slob." In the "Slob" video, a brief clip of Rivers' laptop displays a message expressing the frustration that was experienced between him and the fans from disagreements over ''Maladroit's direction. [34].
One notable Weezer fan tradition is the "flying W" hand symbol, which is frequently seen at live shows [2]. The hand symbol has been used for background decoration during live show, and the band now sells an official t-shirt with the symbol on it [3]. The Van Halen-inspired "=w=" symbol (Van Halen's logo is a flying =VH=), which the band frequently plays in front of [4], is also worn and recreated in interesting ways by their fans.
Notes
1. ''Weezer RIAA Album Certifications'' at RIAA album certification searchable database;retrieved on September 18 2006
2. ''Official Weezer Biography Page'' at . /thescribblers;retrieved on September 5 2006
3. ''Weezer: Out Of The Garage'' at Rollingstone.com;retrieved on September 5, 2006
4. ''Urban Dictionary Article: Jason Cropper'' at Urbandictionary.com;retrieved on September 5 2006
5. ''Spike Jonze Biography - Yahoo! Movies'' at movies.yahoo.com;retrieved on September 5 2006
6. ''Spike Jonze Biography - Yahoo! Movies'' at movies.yahoo.com;retrieved on September 5, 2006
7. ''Pixelbox: Television "Buddy Holly" Music Video Description'' at wanadoo.typepad.com;retrieved on 5 September 2006
8. ''LA Times Past Winners Database-VMA's 1995 '' at Theenvelope.latimes.com;retrieved on 5 September, 2006
9. ''Weezer RIAA Album Certification's'' at RIAA.com;retrieved on 6 September, 2006
10. ''Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums'' at Rollingstone.com;retrieved on 6 September, 2006
11. ''"The Blue Album" Deluxe Edition Overview'' at Allmusic.com;retrieved on 6 September, 2006
12. ''Weezer Record History page 7'' at Weezer.com;retrieved on 6 September, 2006
13. ''Weezer Record History page 7'' at Weezer.com;retrieved on 6 September, 2006
14. ''Pinkerton Album Overview'' at Allmusic.com;retrieved on 6 September, 2006
15. ''Weezer Album Chart Positions'' at Billboard.com;retrieved on 6 September, 2006
16. ''Anticipated return has Weezer in the ''Green'' '' at Michigandaily.com; retrieved on 18 September, 2006
17. ''Pinkerton Album Overview'' at Allmusic.com;retrieved on 6 September, 2006
18. ''Rolling Stone:Weezer:Pinkerton:Music Reviews'' at Rollingstone.com;retrieved on 19 September, 2006
19. ''Mark Romanek Music Video's'' at Markromanek.com;retrieved on 20 September, 2006
20. ''Weezer Record History page 7'' at Weezer.com;retrieved on 6 September, 2006
21. Weezer Bios
22. breadfan, take it all away, never give an inch
23. Rivers Cuomo Says Weezer Are 'Done' For Now — Again James Montgomery
24. To the =w= fans
25. i want people to be afraid of how much they love me
26. Rubin Turns To Linkin Park, Weezer After Winning Buckets Of Grammys Corey Moss
27. Rivers' End Abe Riesman
28. Weezer: Album Six In The Works?
29. http://www.weezer.com/community/news_comment.asp?ParentAssetID=1570035&ArtistID=479&Start=&FullStory=Y
30. Weezernation
31. Goat Punishment.com
32. Mr T v.s. Weezer
33. WeezeR.I.P
34. Rivers Cuomo Correspondence Archive
★ John D. Luerssen: '' (2004), ISBN 1-55022-619-3 An unofficial history of all things Weezer up to the year 2004.
★ A.P.: ''Rivers Cuomo Says Weezer Is 'Done' (2006), New York.
External links
★ Official web site
★ Weezer at Geffen Records
★
★
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psst.. try this: add to faves
