Riverpedia archive - 09/08/2020

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Beverly Shoenberger

My mom. Born May 8, 1947. Lived in Charlotte North Carolina until she was 8, then Atlanta, Georgia. She spent a lot of time in very rural Alabama on her grandparents' farm. Her mom had grown up on a cotton farm, and her dad was first a chemist at an ice cream company, and then a minister. His natural inclination to a spiritual path made a deep impression on her.

In high school, she won the International Science Fair (in Girl's Biochemistry) in 1965 for a project on kudzu. 6th place in Georgia for a play she wrote. 3rd place at the Emory Barclay Forum for Southeastern US for a dramatic reading. (She was assigned Hawaii.)

Then she went to New College in Florida but dropped out after two years, along with 40% of her class. The 60's hit her hard, and it took her a while to find her own way through all the cultural upheaval.

She followed a band up north. After a few months as a hippy in the East Village of NYC, she ended up at the Rochester Zen Center. Her father died suddenly of a heart attack a few days later, she married Frank a few months later, and I was born the following year. My mother says that my birth and the birth of my brother a year later, changed her life completely forever.

( Last edited by Beverly at 2020-09-08 15:02 PM utc )

Denise Cuomo

My paternal grandmother.

( Last edited by Tiffany at 2020-09-08 01:24 AM utc )

Ilizarov Procedure

The operation I had in 1995 to correct my unequal leg length. They cut my femur in half and put my leg in a steel-frame;There were two concentric circles embedded in my femur and separated by 4 or 5 inches, with rods between them. each day I would turn some screws on the rods so that they would extend and increase the space in the break in my bone. After 13 months that space filled in and my leg was longer. Two months in I was back out on the road with Weezer, stumbling around with a cane.

(from my mom, Beverly) "Of all the many concerts I have been to, the one that moved me the most was in London, when you had the Ilizarov . . . I wasn't sure you would even make it through the concert, you were in such pain. At one point you paused, Karl brought you water and a chair. You couldn't even sit properly on the chair due to the cage around your thigh. The room went completely silent. Every one was so with you . . .and when you began to sing and everyone joined in, it felt like we were sharing something way beyond a concert."

My recovery from the procedure, including the extended period I used a cane to get around, served as part of the inspiration for The Good Life.

( Last edited by Beverly at 2020-09-08 14:48 PM utc )

Lila Cuomo

My step-mom. From Alabama. African-American. Worked at Macy's for many years. An amazing singer and lively host. A wise and good person, who now is a chaplain offering support to those in crisis.

( Last edited by Beverly at 2020-09-08 14:20 PM utc )

My dad's nicknames for people and things

My dad has a fantastic ability to give people nicknames that stuck. And to coin alternate words for things.

   tissue -- "hornblowers"
   slippers -- "slinkers"
   peanut butter -- "peenter bunter"
   my uncle Michael -- "Ralphie"
   my aunt Joanne -- "Dodo"
   my mom -- "Choofie" and "Magenta"
   me -- "Weezer" and sometimes, "Botch" - the latter because the sound made me laugh as a baby

( Last edited by Beverly at 2020-09-08 14:13 PM utc )

OK Human

Beats 1 (@Beats1) January 24, 2019

"Our next album is not on a grid," I explained. "We just recorded the basic tracks, and there's no click, no grid."

When asked about a title, I said, "We don't have a real title, but the key word we have to inspire us at the moment is 'masterpiece.'"

Beats1 February 6, 2019

At the time I was listening to a lot of Nilsson Sings Newman and I said it was the biggest inspiration on our next album.

The song I chose to showcase this with was I'll Be Home:

LA TIMES. Feb 22, 2019

"Cuomo said the group is almost finished with another album, one he described as “piano-based, very eccentric, with strings already recorded at Abbey Road.” (Its working title is “OK Human,” after Radiohead’s “OK Computer,” though the singer identified his musical inspirations as George Gershwin and “Nilsson Sings Newman.”)"

KINK 1 year ago.

Brian Bell

-If he could play any album of Weezer's live he would pick OK Human. He didn't think he was supposed to talk about it but he was so excited about it.

-Played acoustic guitar, Hammond organ, and backing vocals.

-He was listening to it for a month at the time and it's all he wanted to listen to.

-His dream is to perform it with an orchestra and would like to play at places like the Hollywood Bowl.

-Management didn't hear it at the time and Brian said they were pushing for Van Weezer but he said they didn't know how powerful the album is.

-He didn't hear rough mixes at the time and had Pat's drums, Rivers vocals, and strings to work with.

-Jake didn't want the album rushed out.

-In their inner circle, they still called it "Masterpiece", and although Brian thought it was pretentious at first, he said that it was a "f*ing ... masterpiece".

Link to interview

July 17, 2019 Allthingsloud.com

Interviewer: You guys have got three albums in the pipeline whose releases are imminent, right?

Brian: There’s two. There is a third thing, but I can’t talk about it. One is more finished than the other. They’re both very interesting and I’m very excited for one of them.

Interviewer: Are these more high-concept albums?

Brian: Yeah, one of them is called OK Human which seems to be about technology and how it’s running our life.

Interviewer: Not just lyrically, but on the last few albums it feels as though you’re exploring specific musical themes, almost like an exploration into new genres.

Brian: Yeah. 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.

Link to interview

Aug 20, 2020

I posted potential lyrics to an OK Human song here on Riverchat.

Moby Dick trip on a whale. He’s kinda just like me. We’re thirsty for the deep.

And...

I’ll be there to show support for Winston Smith in 1984. Because battling Big Brother feels more meaningful than binging zombie hordes.

I referred to that one as the “audio book song” and may have given the title as “Crankin Mrs. Dalloway.” (needs clarification)

Assorted Quotes

"we recorded strings at abbey road and you can tell."

In response to a comment about the Harry Nilsson and Gershwin influences: "Bach and Beethoven sprinkled in and you've got it."

Album Cover

The album cover was created by an illustrator whose work I discovered in a comic shop/book store. He was commissioned to do an original piece for the cover.

Song Titles

1. Everything Happens For A Reason
2. Dead Roses (contains the word oubliette in the chorus and is very Gothic)
3. La Brea Tar Pits
4. Here Comes The Rain (some people said Rivers mentioned this, needs clarification)
5. Rock My Audible

The album is not slated for a October 2020 release.

( Last edited by Rivers at 2020-09-08 19:35 PM utc )

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