Island in the Sun

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"Island in the Sun"
Island in the Sun cover
Single by Weezer
Album Weezer (The Green Album)
Released August 28, 2001
Format CD
Recorded December 2000, Cello Studios, Los Angeles, California
Length 3:20
Label Geffen
Writer(s) Rivers Cuomo
RC# 413
COR# 109
Producer(s) Ric Ocasek
Status Officially released
Live debut February 21, 2001 in Austin, TX (Yahoo! Outloud Tour)
Stream Play on spotify.png Spotify
Weezer singles chronology
"Hash Pipe"
(2001)
"Island in the Sun"
(2001)
"Photograph"
(2001)
The Lion and the Witch track listing
"Polynesia/Dope Nose (Live)"
(1)
"Island in the Sun (Live)"
(2)
"Falling for You (Live)"
(3)
Weezer (The Green Album) track listing
"Hash Pipe"
(3)
"Island in the Sun"
(4)
"Crab"
(5)
Rivers Cuomo song chronology
""Wlid" Thing"
(RC# 412)
"Island in the Sun"
(RC# 413)
"Any Way the Wind Blows"
(RC# 414)
Alternate Cover
UK retail CD single
UK retail CD single

"Island in the Sun" is the second single and fourth track from The Green Album.

Appearances

Overview

"Island in the Sun" is one of Weezer's biggest hits. It has made many appearances in film, commercials, and television.

Rivers Cuomo wrote and first recorded a demo of the song in 1999. The original demo recording has circulated on the internet for several years.

Brian Bell originally heard the song when he went to Cuomo's home at a time when Cuomo was writing all of his demo's names on the walls. The title instantly caught his attention, as did the song. On the audio commentary for the song's music video on Video Capture Device, Bell expressed that it "might be [his] favorite Weezer song."

The song went through a number of changes during the sessions for The Green Album, and in fact was, at one time, more of an upbeat rocker. This version can be heard during the documentary footage of the making of The Green Album on Video Capture Device. Remarked Karl Koch: "'Island in the Sun', the unusual song that has always taken the most time and effort to get right. Tom worked all day and the results were wonderful! It feels great to find the "answers" for that song and say 'wow, it's finished'." Ric Ocasek reportedly made the band practice the song's chord progression for long stretches of time before they recorded it, to attain the right feel[1].

The final Green recording has a very unique and clean production. It is also the first Weezer recording to be released that has a fade-out, rather than a definite ending. However, the band uses a proper ending for the song for the live performances.

In late 2001, the band reworked the song's solo for their live show. In 2005, Rivers Cuomo would often open the band's encore by playing "Island in the Sun" alone on an acoustic guitar in the back of the venue they were playing. On some nights, he would crowd-surf back up the stage.

"Island in the Sun", along with "Hash Pipe", was performed during the band's first appearance on Saturday Night Live in May of 2001. Comedian Will Ferrell, who was a cast member at the time, joined the band on stage for the performance of "Island", adding maracas to the mix.

Known recordings

Performer(s) Title Filename Date of recording Recording location Length Appeared on Notes
Rivers Cuomo Island in the Sun 109 Island in the Sun.mp3 December 1999[1] 2:55 Alone VI: The Black Room
Weezer Island in the Sun December 3, 2000[2] 6145 Rodgerton Dr., Los Angeles, CA
Weezer Island in the Sun December 14, 2000[2] Swing House Studios, Los Angeles, CA Rehearsal with Ric Ocasek, ver. 1
Weezer Island in the Sun December 14, 2000[2] Swing House Studios, Los Angeles, CA Rehearsal with Ric Ocasek, ver. 2
Weezer Island in the Sun December 14, 2000[2] Swing House Studios, Los Angeles, CA Rehearsal with Ric Ocasek, ver. 3
Weezer Island in the Sun December 26, 2000[2] S.I.R., Los Angeles, CA
Weezer Island in the Sun December 29, 2000[3] Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Weezer Island in the Sun December 30, 2000[3] Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Weezer Island in the Sun January 1, 2001[3] Cello Studios, Los Angeles, CA 3:20
Weezer Island in the Sun June 4, 2001 Blue Horizon, Philadelphia, PA 3:29 Y100 Sonic Sessions Vol. 5 Live performance
Weezer Island in the Sun May 25, 2002 Kosei Nenkin Hall, Nagoya, Japan 3:55 The Lion and the Witch Live performance
Weezer Island in the Sun July 12, 2002 DTE Energy Center, Detroit, MI 3:55 Make Believe (Japan) Live performance
Weezer Island in the Sun April 2016 Spotify offices, New York, NY 3:44 Spotify Sessions
about this table

Music video

There are two different videos for this song.

Version 1: Mexican Wedding


Karlifyhead.png
Marcos' "Mexican Wedding" plan made for a fun day in East L.A., and a really pretty video.


- Karl Koch, Video Capture Device booklet, 2004


Directed by Marcos Siega. This video shows Weezer playing the song at a Mexican couple's wedding reception and features all four band members. This version remains the more obscure of the two, receiving less airplay than the second, though it is the version available for download on iTunes. It is one of the two Weezer music videos which includes bassist Mikey Welsh.

Version 2: Animals


Karlifyhead.png
"Weezer... with the animals!" was the only instruction given to Spike, and he knew exactly what to do. The video was all shot in one day in a 110 degree savannah up in Simi Valley somehwere. The chimp wasn't interested in joining the band.


- Karl Koch, Video Capture Device booklet, 2004


Directed by Spike Jonze. This video features Weezer playing with various wild animals on a supposedly remote hill (though it was actually filmed a short distance outside of Los Angeles, which is thought to be in the hills near Simi Valley). Only Brian Bell, Rivers Cuomo, and Pat Wilson appear in this video, as then bassist Mikey Welsh had left the band shortly before shooting. It is also rumored that original bassist Matt Sharp was approached to be in the video, though it is unclear if the offer was ever actually made. The executives at MTV disliked Siega's video, prompting the band to film Jonze's take. As a result, "Island in the Sun (Version Two)" had much wider play than the first version, and has become the standard video for the song.

Personnel

Lyrics

(Hip-hip)
(Hip-hip)
(Hip-hip)
(Hip-hip)

When you're on a holiday
You can't find the words to say
All the things that come to you
And I wanna feel it too

On an island in the sun
We'll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine I can't control my brain

(Hip-hip)
(Hip-hip)

When you're on a golden sea
You don't need no memory
Just a place to call your own
As we drift into the zone

On an island in the sun
We'll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine I can't control my brain

We'll run away together
We'll spend some time forever
We'll never feel bad anymore

(Hip-hip)
(Hip-hip)
(Hip-hip)

On an island in the sun
We'll be playing and having fun
And it makes me feel so fine I can't control my brain

We'll run away together
We'll spend some time forever
We'll never feel bad anymore

(Hip-hip)
(Hip-hip) We'll never feel bad anymore (Hip-hip)
No, no (Hip-hip)
(Hip-hip) We'll never feel bad anymore (Hip-hip)
No, no (Hip-hip)
No, no (Hip-hip)

See also

External links