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Blast Off!: Difference between revisions
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At the studio, I recorded "Blast Off" which I had re-worked and expanded from a 1993 songlet "Negativland". The song was to be sung by the four male lead characters in the musical, Jonas (me), Wuan (Brian), Dondó (Matt), and our mechanoid M1 (Karl). MI's part I sang with a vocoder. The song expresses the characters' different feelings about heading out on space mission, or, in other words, my different feelings about heading out on tour and up the charts with a rock band.|''[[Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]'', [[Alone liner notes|liner notes]]}} | At the studio, I recorded "Blast Off" which I had re-worked and expanded from a 1993 songlet "Negativland". The song was to be sung by the four male lead characters in the musical, Jonas (me), Wuan (Brian), Dondó (Matt), and our mechanoid M1 (Karl). MI's part I sang with a vocoder. The song expresses the characters' different feelings about heading out on space mission, or, in other words, my different feelings about heading out on tour and up the charts with a rock band.|''[[Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]'', [[Alone liner notes|liner notes]]}} | ||
The melody for "Blast Off!" can be traced to at least two earlier songs composed by Rivers Cuomo: "[[Simply State | The melody for "Blast Off!" can be traced to at least two earlier songs composed by Rivers Cuomo: "[[Simply State]]," demoed in the spring of [[1992]],<ref>[[Recording_History_-_Page_3#March-_May_1992:_various_8_track_recordings|Weezer Recording History - Page 3]]</ref> and "[[Negativland]]", recorded in May of [[1993]] about the experimental music [[Wikipedia:Negativland|band of the same name]]. In [[1994]], influenced by musical works such as [[Wikipedia:Jesus Christ Superstar|''Jesus Christ Superstar'']], [[Wikipedia:Les Misérables (musical)|''Les Misérables'']], ''[[Madama Butterfly]]'', Cuomo began conceiving a new-wave-influenced rock musical for {{PN|Weezer}} sophomore album, dubbed ''[[Songs from the Black Hole]]'', to explore his own feelings about relationships and his newfound stardom with his band.<ref name="alonelinernotes">''[[Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo]]'' [[Alone liner notes|liner notes]]</ref> | ||
An [[Songs from the Black Hole, draft 1|early draft]] of ''Songs from the Black Hole'' retained some lyrical elements from "Negativland" for the song that would later be named "Blast Off!". This version consisted of a conversation between band members [[Jonas]], [[Wuan]], and [[Dondó]] following a performance at the club The Black Hole.<ref>Cuomo, Rivers. ''[[The Pinkerton Diaries]]''. 2011. Self-published</ref> | An [[Songs from the Black Hole, draft 1|early draft]] of ''Songs from the Black Hole'' retained some lyrical elements from "Negativland" for the song that would later be named "Blast Off!". This version consisted of a conversation between band members [[Jonas]], [[Wuan]], and [[Dondó]] following a performance at the club The Black Hole.<ref>Cuomo, Rivers. ''[[The Pinkerton Diaries]]''. 2011. Self-published</ref> | ||
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In February of 1995, during Weezer's tour of Europe, the band resolved to remain in Germany (to cut costs) to allow bassist [[Matt Sharp]] to fly back to the United States after his father suffered a stroke.<ref>[[Recording_History_-_Page_7|Weezer Recording History - Page 7]]</ref><ref>[[AIM chat with Rivers Cuomo excerpts - January 11, 2002]]</ref> Cuomo and drummer [[Patrick Wilson]] rented a recording studio in Hamburg to record demos, among them a solo demo of "Blast Off!" The lead-off track (Act 1, Scene 1) for ''Songs from the Black Hole'' takes place on the main deck of the spaceship [[Betsy II]] on May 10, 2126 (referencing [[Betsy]], Weezer's tour van, and the [[May 10]] release of ''[[Weezer (The Blue Album)|the Blue Album]]''). The lyrics are a conversation between the main character, [[Jonas]], and his shipmates, [[Wuan]] and [[Dondó]]. Jonas is excited yet reserved about the prospect of doing what he thinks is his dream job, that is, going out into space to save [[Nomis]] from being swallowed by it's sun. Wuan and Dondó are much more upbeat about the experience. In the middle of the song, [[M1]] interjects via vocoder to remind them of the task at hand. In the last verse we learn that a female character, [[Maria]] (the ship's cook), has entered the scene and that Jonas has a history with her from the Star Corps Academy. | In February of 1995, during Weezer's tour of Europe, the band resolved to remain in Germany (to cut costs) to allow bassist [[Matt Sharp]] to fly back to the United States after his father suffered a stroke.<ref>[[Recording_History_-_Page_7|Weezer Recording History - Page 7]]</ref><ref>[[AIM chat with Rivers Cuomo excerpts - January 11, 2002]]</ref> Cuomo and drummer [[Patrick Wilson]] rented a recording studio in Hamburg to record demos, among them a solo demo of "Blast Off!" The lead-off track (Act 1, Scene 1) for ''Songs from the Black Hole'' takes place on the main deck of the spaceship [[Betsy II]] on May 10, 2126 (referencing [[Betsy]], Weezer's tour van, and the [[May 10]] release of ''[[Weezer (The Blue Album)|the Blue Album]]''). The lyrics are a conversation between the main character, [[Jonas]], and his shipmates, [[Wuan]] and [[Dondó]]. Jonas is excited yet reserved about the prospect of doing what he thinks is his dream job, that is, going out into space to save [[Nomis]] from being swallowed by it's sun. Wuan and Dondó are much more upbeat about the experience. In the middle of the song, [[M1]] interjects via vocoder to remind them of the task at hand. In the last verse we learn that a female character, [[Maria]] (the ship's cook), has entered the scene and that Jonas has a history with her from the Star Corps Academy. | ||
Although the ''Songs from the Black Hole'' album concept would eventually be scrapped in favor of that of ''[[Pinkerton]]'', elements from "[[ | Although the ''Songs from the Black Hole'' album concept would eventually be scrapped in favor of that of ''[[Pinkerton]]'', elements from "[[Simply State]]," "[[Negativland]]," and "Blast Off!" would be integrated into the ''Pinkerton'' single "[[El Scorcho]]." | ||
===Release history=== | ===Release history=== | ||
The song was initially released to fans online by Cuomo in [[2002]]. In response to a thread on the [[Rivers Correspondence Board]] analyzing the song alongside "[[Death and Destruction]]," Cuomo (posting under the moniker "[[Ace Frehley|ace]]") called the song "one of the greatest melodies ANYONE'S ever written. pure [[Billy Joel|billy joel]]."<ref>''Rivers Correspondence Board''. 14 March 2002. Archived by ''Wayback Machine'': https://web.archive.org/web/20110817071209/http://www.members.shaw.ca/ridd2/threads/rcb/03-14-victory1.html</ref> | The song was initially released to fans online by Cuomo in [[2002]]. In response to a thread on the [[Rivers Correspondence Board]] analyzing the song alongside "[[Death and Destruction]]," Cuomo (posting under the moniker "[[Ace Frehley|ace]]") called the song "one of the greatest melodies ANYONE'S ever written. pure [[Billy Joel|billy joel]]."<ref>''Rivers Correspondence Board''. 14 March 2002. Archived by ''Wayback Machine'': https://web.archive.org/web/20110817071209/http://www.members.shaw.ca/ridd2/threads/rcb/03-14-victory1.html</ref> | ||