OK Human: Difference between revisions
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It was released on [[January 29]], [[2021]]. Physical copies were initially exclusive to the official web store and would see wide release on [[February 12]]. | It was released on [[January 29]], [[2021]]. Physical copies were initially exclusive to the official web store and would see wide release on [[February 12]]. | ||
== | ==Production and composition== | ||
[[Rivers Cuomo]] has credited producer [[Jake Sinclair]] with planting "the seed of an idea" for ''OK Human'' in [[2017]]. "Just you and a piano, and an orchestra, and it's gonna be super-personal, quirky songs that only you could write, not worrying about commercial potential at all,<ref>Apple Music. "Weezer: ‘OK Human’ and Complexity of ‘Pinkerton’ | Apple Music" ''YouTube''. 28 January 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVsTtPSv-yw</ref> adding that Sinclair suggested he listen to the 1970 album ''[[Wikipedia:Nilsson_Sings_Newman|Nilsson Sings Newman]]'' by [[Wikipedia:Harry_Nilsson|Harry Nilsson]]. Cuomo had previously covered the Nilsson tune "[[Without You]]," originally written by members of the '70s band [[Wikipedia:Badfinger|Badfinger]]. Cuomo said that he was excited from day one of the creative process for ''OK Human'', and that the songs came quickly thereafter, with the album being "about 90% done" before he was made aware of the forthcoming [[Hella Mega Tour]]. | [[Rivers Cuomo]] has credited producer [[Jake Sinclair]] with planting "the seed of an idea" for ''OK Human'' in [[2017]]. "Just you and a piano, and an orchestra, and it's gonna be super-personal, quirky songs that only you could write, not worrying about commercial potential at all,<ref>Apple Music. "Weezer: ‘OK Human’ and Complexity of ‘Pinkerton’ | Apple Music" ''YouTube''. 28 January 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVsTtPSv-yw</ref> adding that Sinclair suggested he listen to the 1970 album ''[[Wikipedia:Nilsson_Sings_Newman|Nilsson Sings Newman]]'' by [[Wikipedia:Harry_Nilsson|Harry Nilsson]]. Cuomo had previously covered the Nilsson tune "[[Without You]]," originally written by members of the '70s band [[Wikipedia:Badfinger|Badfinger]]. Cuomo said that he was excited from day one of the creative process for ''OK Human'', and that the songs came quickly thereafter, with the album being "about 90% done" before he was made aware of the forthcoming [[Hella Mega Tour]]. | ||
===Early promotion=== | ===Early promotion=== | ||
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In a July 2019 interview with ''All Things Loud'', [[Brian Bell]] described the album as being "about technology and how it’s running our life".<ref>Morgan, Steven. "The Life of Brian – All Things Loud Meets Weezer" ''All Things Loud''. 17 July 2019. https://www.allthingsloud.com/life-brian-things-loud-meets-weezer/</ref> Said Bell:<blockquote>''OK Human is unlike anything I’ve ever heard, unlike any other type of music and unlike any Weezer music. In the bass, if you really broke it down to its common denominator, it still goes one, four, five in a major key for the most part. That’s very Weezer, that’s very Sweater Song, but it does it in more sophisticated ways.''</blockquote> | In a July 2019 interview with ''All Things Loud'', [[Brian Bell]] described the album as being "about technology and how it’s running our life".<ref>Morgan, Steven. "The Life of Brian – All Things Loud Meets Weezer" ''All Things Loud''. 17 July 2019. https://www.allthingsloud.com/life-brian-things-loud-meets-weezer/</ref> Said Bell:<blockquote>''OK Human is unlike anything I’ve ever heard, unlike any other type of music and unlike any Weezer music. In the bass, if you really broke it down to its common denominator, it still goes one, four, five in a major key for the most part. That’s very Weezer, that’s very Sweater Song, but it does it in more sophisticated ways.''</blockquote> | ||
In an interview with Spanish magazine ''Mondo Sonoro'', Bell described the basis of the album as "a string section", and that the album would also feature acoustic guitars, a Hammond organ, and would sound very "airy and open".<ref>Mondo Sonoro. "Entrevista a Weezer en Bilbao BBK Live 2019" ''Facebook''. 13 July 2019. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2172246899541125</ref> Bell also described the album as one of his favorite albums the band has made thus far. In an August 2019 interview with the Spanish blog Binaural, Bell confirmed that the album's string section was recorded before anything else, and suggested that [[Crush]] Management would prefer to release ''Van Weezer'' before ''OK Human''.<ref>Porcar, Pablo. "[Entrevista] Weezer: «Nos funciona confeccionar los discos de forma encadenada»" ''Binaural''. 6 August 2019. https://www.binaural.es/entrevista/entrevista-weezer-nos-funciona-confeccionar-los-discos-de-forma-encadenada/</ref> | In an interview with Spanish magazine ''Mondo Sonoro'', Bell described the basis of the album as "a string section", and that the album would also feature acoustic guitars, a Hammond organ, and would sound very "airy and open".<ref>Mondo Sonoro. "Entrevista a Weezer en Bilbao BBK Live 2019" ''Facebook''. 13 July 2019. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2172246899541125</ref> Bell also described the album as one of his favorite albums the band has made thus far. In an August 2019 interview with the Spanish blog Binaural, Bell confirmed that the album's string section was recorded before anything else, and suggested that [[Crush]] Management would prefer to release ''Van Weezer'' before ''OK Human''.<ref>Porcar, Pablo. "[Entrevista] Weezer: «Nos funciona confeccionar los discos de forma encadenada»" ''Binaural''. 6 August 2019. https://www.binaural.es/entrevista/entrevista-weezer-nos-funciona-confeccionar-los-discos-de-forma-encadenada/</ref> | ||
Bell, [[Patrick Wilson]], and [[Scott Shriner]] sing three-part harmonies through most of the record. Originating in Bell's backing vocal compositions, the trio singing pieces were arranged and further developed by [[Jake Sinclair]]<ref name"Bell WPFK">[Meredith, K. (2011, February 11). Kyle Meredith with… Weezer. YouTube. other. Retrieved April 2, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ-JfPVbxXk. Recording of interview between Kyle Meredith and Brian Bell, broadcast originally on 91.9 WFPK Louisville, Kentucky on February 8, 2021. Weezerpedia transcription by Lettuce]</ref>. Bell described the process in a [[February 8]], [[2021]] [[WFPK interview with Brian Bell - February 8, 2021|interview with 91.9 WFPK Louisville, Kentucky]]<ref name="Bell WPFK" />: | |||
{{Brian Bell quote|I would sing ideas, like, "here’s my ideas," and- I didn’t realize how good [Jake Sinclair] was at vocal harmonies. He would come back and three-part almost everything I did. And he wanted the other guys to sing it, meaning Scott and Pat. I’ve always wanted to get Pat to sing a lot more.}} | |||
Sinclair produced vocal tracks of all three parts which were used for the sessions. "I just really believed in this album and I wanted to push to get it done," Bell said<ref name="Bell WPFK" />. | |||
The vocals were intended to enhance the "human element" of the record, which the band emphasized in most press materials about ''OK Human''. These vocals are low in the released mix of the album and mixed in mono<ref name="Bell WPFK" />. | |||
===2020=== | ===2020=== | ||
In [[2020]], due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the [[Hella Mega Tour]] was postponed until [[2021]]. On [[April 10]], [[2020]], Cuomo [[List_of_Rivers_Cuomo_video_streams#Island_in_the_Zoom|stated on the video conferencing platform Zoom]] that, at the time, the album was 75% complete. He followed this up by stating the album would likely not be released in [[2020]]. On [[April 16]], he explained the premise to a fan as "very much a day in the life of [himself], but from a very private place." On [[May 14]], Cuomo shared a photo via Snapchat of a studio, with visible sheet music titled "[[Dead Roses]]". On [[May 15]], Cuomo confirmed in an interview with Mike Jones of the radio station DC101 that the string section was the first to be recorded for the album and that, at the time of the interview, only his piano parts were yet to be completed. | In [[2020]], due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the [[Hella Mega Tour]] was postponed until [[2021]]. On [[April 10]], [[2020]], Cuomo [[List_of_Rivers_Cuomo_video_streams#Island_in_the_Zoom|stated on the video conferencing platform Zoom]] that, at the time, the album was 75% complete. He followed this up by stating the album would likely not be released in [[2020]]. On [[April 16]], he explained the premise to a fan as "very much a day in the life of [himself], but from a very private place." On [[May 14]], Cuomo shared a photo via Snapchat of a studio, with visible sheet music titled "[[Dead Roses]]". On [[May 15]], Cuomo confirmed in an interview with Mike Jones of the radio station DC101 that the string section was the first to be recorded for the album and that, at the time of the interview, only his piano parts were yet to be completed. | ||