Only in Dreams

From Weezerpedia
(Redirected from Only In Dreams)
Jump to: navigation, search
"Only in Dreams"
Only in Dreams cover
Album track by Weezer
Album Weezer (The Blue Album)
Released May 10, 1994
Recorded August-September 1993 at Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY
Length 8:00
Label Geffen
Writer(s) Rivers Cuomo
RC# 126
COR# N/A
Producer(s) Ric Ocasek
Status Circulating
Live debut May 21, 1992 in West Hollywood, CA
Weezer (The Blue Album) track listing
"Holiday"
(9)
"Only in Dreams"
(10)
Weezer (Deluxe Edition) (Disc 2) track listing
"Paperface"
(10)
"Only in Dreams (Kitchen Tape)"
(11)
"Lullaby for Wayne"
(12)
The Kitchen Tape track listing
"Say It Ain't So"
(6)
"Only in Dreams"
(7)
"The World Has Turned and Left Me Here"
(8)
Rivers Cuomo song chronology
"My Name Is Jonas"
(RC# 126)
"Only in Dreams"
(RC# 127)
"Only She Can Hold My Hand"
(RC# 128)
Spotify Canvas art
Spotify Canvas art
Spotify Canvas art

"Only in Dreams" is the tenth and final track on The Blue Album.

Appearances

Overview

"Only in Dreams" is one of the most universally loved Weezer songs among fans. At nearly eight minutes, it is currently the longest Weezer song. It is most notable for its three-minute crescendo of two guitars, bass, and drums, building up to a climactic guitar solo. The song has a prominent bass line played by Matt Sharp which does not resolve to the tonic of the key until the final note of the entire song. The song was rated #8 in Q Magazine's "20 Greatest Guitar Tracks" in September 2007.

In March of 2002, Cuomo infamously stated on the Rivers Correspondence Board that "Only In Dreams" was "GAY!GAY!GAY! DISNEYGAY!"[1][2] He also remarked how his brother, Leaves, was embarrassed by the song. Cuomo also claimed that he stole the bassline from another song and that he only put it on the album because he needed another song ("Only in Dreams" supposedly being the only song left). Cuomo was, apparently, either joking or later changed his mind. In a 2006 interview with the Harvard Crimson, Cuomo was amused when reminded of the forum post:[3]

The Harvard Crimson: Along those lines, I have to point out—the Rivers who is talking to me right now doesn’t sound like the Rivers who, posting on the Weezer message board circa 2002, said that "Only in Dreams" was "GAY! GAY! GAY! DISNEYGAY!”

Rivers: [Laughs] That’s so great that you remember that! It’s amazing that that information’s still out there!

Also, in a 2006 fan interview, Cuomo listed the song, alongside Haunt You Every Day, when asked what solos of which he was most proud:

Matt Grant, Enon, Ohio: What guitar solo are you most proud of/do you like the most, and why?

Rivers: Sheesh, so many. Maladroit, Pinkerton, much of Blue and MB. Id have to go with OID and HYED for sheer length. Epic, epic, epic. So few people play these kinds of solos anymore.

Gaming website IGN included "Only in Dreams" on their "Weezer Ultimate Mix" list, where they listed what songs they want to be compiled into a Weezer collection and called the song "the "Stairway to Heaven" for Generation X."[4] They also listed the song on their "Top 10 Ambiguously Inspiring Songs" list, where they called it one of Weezer's best songs.[5] The publication Magnet considered "Only in Dreams" to be the third most overrated Weezer song [6]. The song was rated #8 in Q Magazine's "20 Greatest Guitar Tracks" in September 2007[7]. Melissa Bobbitt at About.com ranked it as the number 1 best Weezer song, stating "This is Weezer at their finest. From the syrupy opening bass line, to the sincere guitar work and the gawking lyrics, the immense closing song on their debut best represents the band" [8]. In an article devoted to the song for the A.V. Club, Kevin McFarland described it as "Cuomo's epic masterpiece", as well as a "glorious anomaly in the Weezer canon" [9]. In a review of the deluxe edition of The Blue Album, Rolling Stone regarded the song as a "real gem."[10] PopMatters called the song a ""Bohemian Rhapsody"-worthy conclusion."[11]

Live performances

"Only in Dreams", in early years, was typically played at the end of a regular set (before the encore). An instrumental, abridged version was played during the Euro Freak Out Tour, containing only the song's slow build up and guitar solos.[12]

Often, when the song was played live at indoor arenas, a dove, made of light, was flown above the floor audience. Also, confetti marked with the Flying =W= was dropped all over the audience during this song.

Cover versions

Irish power poppers and Weezer fans Ash covered the song during a 2001 BBC session, and released that version on their "Burn Baby Burn" single that year. They performed the song almost nightly during their 2001-2002 Free All Angels tour. A live version was released on the 2001 DVD Tokyo Blitz.

Asian Kung-Fu Generation performed the song on their final show of their 2013 tour at Yokohama Stadium featuring former Weezer bassist Matt Sharp.

Known recordings

Performer(s) Title Filename Date of recording Recording location Length Appeared on Notes
Weezer Only in Dreams April 1992[13] 2226 Amherst Ave., Los Angeles, CA Rehearsal
Weezer Only in Dreams June 1992[13] 2226 Amherst Ave., Los Angeles, CA Rehearsal
Weezer Only in Dreams August 1992[13] Take 1, abandoned
Weezer Only in Dreams August 1992[13] Take 2, abandoned
Weezer Only in Dreams August 1992[13] 5:56 Take 3
Weezer Only in Dreams August 11, 1993[14] S.I.R., New York City, NY Blue Album pre-production demo. Engineered by Chris Shaw. Videotaped.
Weezer Only in Dreams August— September 1993 Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY 8:00 Weezer (The Blue Album)
about this table

Audio/Video

Album version

Rehearsal (August 11, 1993)

Lyrics

Only-in-Dreams-lyrics.jpg
Early draft of "Only in Dreams"

You can't resist her
She's in your bones
She is your marrow
And your ride home

You can't avoid her
She's in the air (in the air)
In between molecules
Of oxygen and carbon dioxide

Only in dreams
We see what it means
Reach out our hands
Hold on to hers
But when we wake
It's all been erased
And so it seems
Only in dreams

You walk up to her
Ask her to dance
She says, "Hey baby,
I just might take the chance"
You say, "It's a good thing
That you float in the air
That way there's no way
I will crush your pretty toenails
into a thousand pieces"

Only in dreams
We see what it means
Reach out our hands
Hold on to hers
But when we wake
It's all been erased
And so it seems
Only in dreams

Only in dreams
Only in dreams
Only in dreams
Only in dreams
Only in dreams
Only in dreams...

See also

External links

Teenage Victory Songs entry for "Only In Dreams"

  1. ace "you need to read this!" The Rivers Correspondence Board. 4 March 2002. https://web.archive.org/web/20120610030237/http://www.members.shaw.ca/ridd2/threads/rcb/03-04-youneedtoreadthis1.html
  2. File:Disneygay.png
  3. Riesman, Abe. "Rivers' End: The Director's Cut" The Harvard Crimson 26 April 2006. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/4/26/rivers-end-the-directors-cut-the/
  4. J.R. "Weezer Ultimate Mix" IGN. 13 June 2008. Archived by Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20160306094424/http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/06/13/weezer-ultimate-mix from the original: http://www.ign.com/articles/2008/06/13/weezer-ultimate-mix
  5. Barbapopa. "Top 10 Ambiguously Inspiring Songs" IGN. 25 April 2006. Archived by Wayback Machine: https://web.archive.org/web/20140218224456/http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/04/25/top-10-ambiguously-inspiring-songs?page=2 from the original:http://www.ign.com/articles/2006/04/25/top-10-ambiguously-inspiring-songs?page=2
  6. Tartanella, Emily. "The Over/Under: Weezer" Magnet Magazine. 30 June 2009. http://magnetmagazine.com/2009/06/30/the-overunder-weezer/
  7. Rocklist.net http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/qlistspage3.htm#Guitar%20Tracks
  8. Bobbitt, Melissa. "Top 13 Weezer Songs" Liveaboutdotcom. Updated 19 November 2017. https://www.liveabout.com/top-weezer-songs-11152
  9. McFarland, Kevin. "“Only In Dreams” is the only epic Rivers Cuomo and Weezer will ever need" AV Club. 8 April 2014. https://music.avclub.com/only-in-dreams-is-the-only-epic-rivers-cuomo-and-weez-1798267624
  10. Hoard, Christian. "Weezer (Blue Album) [Deluxe]" Rolling Stone. 19 April 2014. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/weezer-blue-album-deluxe-190117/
  11. PopMatters Staff. "Weezer: Weezer (Blue Album) [Deluxe Edition]" PopMatters. 10 May 2004. https://www.popmatters.com/weezer-bluedeluxe-2496113786.html
  12. Adam Shaw. "Weezer Live 2001!" YouTube. 1 November 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbx9xmya4pY&t=1780s
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Weezer Recording History - Page 3
  14. Weezer Recording History - Page 4