Negativland
| "Negativland" | |||||
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| Demo by Rivers Cuomo | |||||
| Recorded | May 1993 | ||||
| Length | 0:59 | ||||
| Writer(s) | Rivers Cuomo | ||||
| RC# | 161 | ||||
| COR# | N/A | ||||
| Producer(s) | Rivers Cuomo | ||||
| Status | Released | ||||
| Rivers Cuomo song chronology | |||||
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| Alone III: The Pinkerton Years 1994-1997 track listing | |||||
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This song is part of the "El Scorcho" (RC# 213) lineage of songs
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"Negativland" is a song written by Rivers Cuomo in 1993. It is the fourth track on Alone III: The Pinkerton Years 1994-1997. Its lyrics address the avant-garde band of the same name.
Appearances
Overview
In 1991, experimental music band Negativland released the EP U2, featuring the title "U2" in large type and the name "Negativland" in very small type. The EP parodied the band U2 and sampled the band's music, as well as a profane rant by disc jockey Casey Kasem. Negativland was subsequently sued by U2's label, Island Records, nearly bankrupting Negativland.[1]
The Rivers Cuomo song "Negativland" was recorded in May of 1993[2] and is known best as an early prototype of another Cuomo song, "Blast Off!". Cuomo had been a fan of Negativland at the time that he first started writing material for Weezer's eponymous debut album.[3] Karl Koch described the song in a post on the Albumsix message boards in August 2009 saying: "it's lyrics were actually about the band Negativland, specifically how they got sued into oblivion by Casey Kasem and U2 for the song 'U2', which sampled U2 and Kasem's voice. It was a sad song -- commiserating with a band he'd never met about their severe problems."[4] The song was heard by fans for the first time when it appeared on the compilation CD Alone III: The Pinkerton Years 1994-1997 in 2011.
Though the song's lyrics were eventually completely rewritten when the song became "Blast Off!", elements from the lyrics from "Negativland" are still present in the earliest draft of Songs from the Black Hole ("I'm so sorry Wuan and Dondó"[...]"I'm off to the corner of the room I don't wanna face another living soul")
Lyrics
I'm so sorry, Negativland
Here's to all the times we could have had
Somebody's givin' me a whole lotta money
And I'm doin' what I know you would too
I'd pull my britches down for you
Oh, Negativland
I'm so sorry, little ???
Here's to all the plans we made yesterday
I'm off to the bottom of my world
What I'm doin' is I'm looking for an attitude
I'd pull my britches down for you
Oh, Negativland
Known recordings
| Performer(s) | Title | Filename | Date of recording | Recording location | Length | Appeared on | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rivers Cuomo | Negativland | May 1993 | 0:59 | Alone III: The Pinkerton Years 1994-1997 (CD) | |||
| Rivers Cuomo | Negativland | 01 Negativland.mp3 | May 1993 | 1:04 | Alone III: The Pinkerton Years (Alone IV) | Same as above recording + snippet of "Mykel and Carli" | |
| Rivers Cuomo | Negativland | 04 Negativland.mp3 | May 1993 | 1:03 | Alone IV: The Blue-Pinkerton Years | Same as above recording | |
| For subsequent demos, see "Blast Off!" | |||||||
See also
References
- ↑ Berry, Colin. "The Letter U and the Numeral 2" Wired. https://www.wired.com/1995/01/negativland/
- ↑ Weezer Recording History - Page 4
- ↑ Rivers Cuomo Fan Interview 2006
- ↑ File:Karlophone-080809-negativland.png
