Weezer (The Blue Album): Difference between revisions
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==Recording process== | ==Recording process== | ||
The band briefly considered self-producing, but were pressured by Geffen to choose a producer. They sent tapes to three potential candidates: [[Ric Ocasek]] (Bad Brains, Iggy Pop, Suicide), {{Wiki2|Lenny_Kaye|Lenny Kaye}} (Patti Smith, Soul Asylum), and the duo of {{Wiki2|Sean_Slade|Sean Slade}} and {{Wiki2|Paul_Q._Kolderie|Paul Q. Kolderie}} ([[Radiohead]], Uncle Tupelo, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones).<ref>"[[The Story of Making the Blue Album]]." Koch, Karl. [[October 30]], [[2003]]. Text reads: "I only remember that we were sending a tape to the Cars's Ric Ocasek, based on Rivers and the band's recent love affair with The Cars' Greatest Hits album. The band were reluctant to say the least, but the die was cast. Tapes were also sent out to Sean Slade/Paul Kolderie and Lenny Kay, to round out the possibilities."</ref> They ultimately decided on Ocasek. Cuomo explained his choice: "I'd always admired The Cars and Ric Ocasek's songwriting and production skills." | The band briefly considered self-producing, but were pressured by Geffen to choose a producer. They sent tapes to three potential candidates: [[Ric Ocasek]] (Bad Brains, Iggy Pop, Suicide), {{Wiki2|Lenny_Kaye|Lenny Kaye}} (Patti Smith, Soul Asylum), and the duo of {{Wiki2|Sean_Slade|Sean Slade}} and {{Wiki2|Paul_Q._Kolderie|Paul Q. Kolderie}} ([[Radiohead]], Uncle Tupelo, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones).<ref>"[[The Story of Making the Blue Album]]." Koch, Karl. [[October 30]], [[2003]]. Text reads: "I only remember that we were sending a tape to the Cars's Ric Ocasek, based on Rivers and the band's recent love affair with The Cars' Greatest Hits album. The band were reluctant to say the least, but the die was cast. Tapes were also sent out to Sean Slade/Paul Kolderie and Lenny Kay, to round out the possibilities."</ref> They ultimately decided on Ocasek. Cuomo explained his choice: "I'd always admired The Cars and Ric Ocasek's songwriting and production skills."<ref>Stoute, Lenny. "Out of the garage, into the charts" ''The Toronto Star''. 28 November 1994 [[The Toronto Star article - November 28, 1994|Article archived on Weezerpedia]]</ref> During production, Ocasek convinced the band to change their guitar pickup from the neck pick-up to the bridge pick-up, resulting in a brighter sound. | ||
During these sessions, founding guitarist [[Jason Cropper]] left the band and was replaced by current guitarist [[Brian Bell]], leading to some speculation about how much Bell contributes to the album. While Bell's vocals are clearly audible on some tracks, Cuomo re-recorded all of Cropper's guitar parts. According to Ocasek, all ten tracks were laid down by Cuomo in one day, each in one take. Cropper's writing credit on "My Name Is Jonas" is earned by his coming up with the intro to the song. Most of the album was written by Rivers Cuomo. Exceptions are " | During these sessions, founding guitarist [[Jason Cropper]] left the band and was replaced by current guitarist [[Brian Bell]], leading to some speculation about how much Bell contributes to the album. While Bell's vocals are clearly audible on some tracks, Cuomo re-recorded all of Cropper's guitar parts. According to Ocasek, all ten tracks were laid down by Cuomo in one day, each in one take. Cropper's writing credit on "[[My Name Is Jonas]]" is earned by his coming up with the intro to the song. Most of the album was written by Rivers Cuomo. Exceptions are "My Name Is Jonas", which was co-written with Jason Cropper and Patrick Wilson and "[[The World Has Turned and Left Me Here]]" and "[[Surf Wax America]]", which both were composed and written by Cuomo and Wilson. ''Weezer'' touches upon various life experiences of Cuomo, including subjects such as his brother's car accident, heartbreak, jealousy, alcohol and former girlfriends. | ||
The single "Undone - The Sweater Song" was described by Cuomo as "the feeling you get when the train stops and the little guy comes knockin' on your door. It was supposed to be a sad song, but everyone thinks it's hilarious."<ref>[[Weezer (The Blue Album) press kit]]</ref> The video marks one of the early directorial efforts of Spike Jonze, whose pitch was simply "A blue stage, a steadicam, a pack of wild dogs." The video became an instant hit on MTV. | The single "Undone - The Sweater Song" was described by Cuomo as "the feeling you get when the train stops and the little guy comes knockin' on your door. It was supposed to be a sad song, but everyone thinks it's hilarious."<ref>[[Weezer (The Blue Album) press kit]]</ref> The video marks one of the early directorial efforts of Spike Jonze, whose pitch was simply "A blue stage, a steadicam, a pack of wild dogs." The video became an instant hit on MTV. | ||
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Both "[[No One Else]]" and "[[The World Has Turned and Left Me Here]]" are lyrically connected, with Cuomo describing the narrator of "No One Else" as "the jealous-obsessive asshole in me freaking out on my girlfriend" and claiming that "'The World has Turned and Left Me Here' is the same asshole wondering why she's gone." | Both "[[No One Else]]" and "[[The World Has Turned and Left Me Here]]" are lyrically connected, with Cuomo describing the narrator of "No One Else" as "the jealous-obsessive asshole in me freaking out on my girlfriend" and claiming that "'The World has Turned and Left Me Here' is the same asshole wondering why she's gone." | ||
The second single from the Blue Album was "Buddy Holly", whose music video was also directed by Spike Jonze. It portrayed the band performing at the original Arnold's Drive-In diner from the popular '70s television show, ''Happy Days''. The video combined contemporary footage of the band with clips from the show. ''Happy Days'' cast member Al Molinaro | The second single from the Blue Album was "Buddy Holly", whose music video was also directed by Spike Jonze. It portrayed the band performing at the original Arnold's Drive-In diner from the popular '70s television show, ''Happy Days''. The video combined contemporary footage of the band with clips from the show. ''Happy Days'' cast member Al Molinaro made a cameo appearance in the video. The video was met with great popularity and heavy rotation on MTV. The video scored four awards at the 1995 ''MTV Video Music Awards'', including prizes for Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative Video. | ||
"My Name is Jonas", deals with Cuomo's brother Leaves who had been seriously injured in a car accident while a student at Oberlin College, and was having problem with his insurance. Jason Cropper earned co-writing credit for coming up with the intro to the song. | "My Name is Jonas", deals with Cuomo's brother Leaves who had been seriously injured in a car accident while a student at Oberlin College, and was having problem with his insurance. Jason Cropper earned co-writing credit for coming up with the intro to the song. | ||
The final single, "Say | The final single, "[[Say It Ain't So]]", was inspired by Cuomo (incorrectly but sincerely) believing (as a child) that his stepfather was becoming an alcoholic, which fed Rivers' fear about losing his stepfather the same way he lost contact with his dad. The music video, which was directed by Sophie Muller, was less successful than the previous two Spike Jonze-directed videos. It featured the band performing in the garage of their former house, and the bandmates playing hacky sack in the backyard. | ||
==Artwork== | ==Artwork== | ||
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==Deluxe reissues== | ==Deluxe reissues== | ||
:''Not to be confused with [[The 30th Anniversary of Weezer]]'' | :''Not to be confused with [[The 30th Anniversary of Weezer]]'' | ||
{{main|Dusty Gems & Raw Nuggets}} | {{main|Dusty Gems & Raw Nuggets}} | ||
The first deluxe reissue of ''Weezer'' was released on [[March 23]], [[2004]] as a double CD featuring ''[[Dusty Gems & Raw Nuggets]]'', a compilation disc with recordings from Weezer's second demo ''[[The Kitchen Tape]]'', several b-sides from the album's singles, and some rehearsal tapes from [[Recording History - Page 4#8/11/93: Practice Demo recorded by Ric Ocasek|a pre-production demo]].<ref>[[Karl's Corner - 03/03/2004]]</ref> | |||
The first deluxe reissue of ''Weezer'' was released on [[March 23]], [[2004]] as a double CD featuring ''[[Dusty Gems & Raw Nuggets]]'', a compilation disc with recordings from Weezer's second demo ''[[The Kitchen Tape]]'', several b-sides from the album's singles, and some rehearsal tapes from [[Recording History - Page 4#8/11/93: Practice Demo recorded by Ric Ocasek|a pre- | |||
''Dusty Gems'' was later reissued as a unique CD entitled ''Weezer: Rarities Edition'' on [[January 5]], [[2010]]. A vinyl version under the original title was issued for Record Store Day 2019 on [[April 13]], [[2019]]. | ''Dusty Gems'' was later reissued as a unique CD entitled ''Weezer: Rarities Edition'' on [[January 5]], [[2010]]. A vinyl version under the original title was issued for Record Store Day 2019 on [[April 13]], [[2019]]. | ||