Weezer : A Discography Review

Now this is a serious project. Not a song review, not even an album review, but an (amateur) discography review, from a point of view of a major fan of Weezer and an erratic music enthusiast as I've always been. To start, I think I need to emphasize that this might be a kind of long post relatively  and I will start mumbling around with everything that is going on in my mind about Weezer when I type this out. So, watch out, guys...but yeah, I'll do it anyway. I think I'll divide Weezer's discography era into three phases marked with different bassist as I feel that their music changed quite radically through the changes of their bass players. Note that all these following description are my personal review so some people might disagree to some points, like we sometimes naturally do.  

 

 

 Phase I ~ An Angry Young Man 

Talking about Weezer is talking about Rivers Cuomo. He's more than just a frontman, a lead singer, and a melody guitarist of Weezer. He's the principal songwriter and composer of almost all Weezer songs so how these songs and sounds evolved within time surely has something to do with how Rivers evolved throughout his life, or at least, throughout his songwriting processes. This band started with the lineups of four young men: Rivers Cuomo (principal songwriter, lead singer, lead guitarist), Patrick Wilson (drummer), Brian Bell (background vocal, guitar), and Matt Sharp (bassist). Before I go on with the album reviews, I have to say that what I really really like from this original lineup is the fact that Matt Sharp was in the bass, and in the band too of course. Maybe he's not as monstrous as Flea or Paul McCartney as a bassist but this guy really share a perfect vibe with the rest of the band and especially with how they sounded. Each notes that he hit really fills the songs perfectly and his sarcasm and cynical manner just add to the perfection of the blend. Therefore, in my opinion, Matt Sharp is the crucial ingredient of the magic potion called Blue and Pinkerton records of Weezer.

Look at Brian's haircut! Maybe this is the only time we saw him like this...and yes, Matt was so cool!

This first phase of Weezer is probably the most favored ones for many Weezer fans. Their self-titled debut album (the so-called Blue Album) released in 1994 soon after the end of Nirvana under the same label as that Rivers' favorite band. It went platinum, the single "Buddy Holly" (funfact: this is actually how I got to know Buddy Holly for the first time although he's like as legendary as Elvis. Sorry, I was just a little 90's kid and lived in another part of this planet ><) spread their sound to the personal computers around the globe through Windows package, and this album just launched Weezer to the main stage of rock music industry. The Blue album got so many magic on its bag. In fact, I thought all songs there were amazing. Each songs give you different chills so it's like a compilation of great songs. I think they might even just had released their greatest hits on the first album, ha! You got a leveraged-version of 1970's power pop sound with "Buddy Holly", a rather depressing yet ridiculously cynical point of view of life with "Undone", a silly-but-true natural possessiveness from a man towards his girl that I bet most men do not want to confess it as brutally-honest as it is in "No One Else", and an-8-minutes-song with handsome portion of instrumental that clearly made it to just another level in "Only in Dreams". However, in my opinion, a major standout from this Blue record is "Say it Ain't So". That song is just a perfect MISFIT to the entire album. It doesn't even sound like any other Weezer songs, ever! Its musical composition is so ingeniously classic. It beats you up mercifully but never take you to the metalhead level. However, the emotion delivered in this song is so strong and vivid and I think this is the best asset of this song. The emotion is delivered perfectly through the lyrics, the way Rivers sang it, and the epic guitar solo. Just quite recently I discovered that this song is kinda autobiographical for Rivers and that he even went as far as stating the real characters' names on that song. Years later after he wrote "Say it Ain't So", I think in 2014, when he was a settled-down man, he looked back on it and said that he was an angry young man.

That angry young man seemed to be a very methodical person as each songs in Weezer's second album seemed to be very carefully chosen and ordered. I remember the first time I heard this album entirely and I was just like "Wow, did I just read a diary? Is it something personal or just a different kind of novel?". Again, only quite later that I found and realized that Rivers initially wanted to make some rock opera for Weezer second album. The abandoned rock opera concept was called "Songs From the Black Hole" but some materials from that project made their way to Pinkerton (1996), Weezer's legendary second album. Anyway, I got a sense that although Rivers abandoned the rock opera project, he might still had an "ordered" storyline concept someway at the back of his head when working on Pinkerton so that we got what we get now. Unfortunately, my first Pinkerton encounter was "The Good Life" music video I watched on MTV Alternative Nation or After School Rock or whatever in the middle of the night some time around early 2000's when I supposed to sleep because I had to wake up early to go to school...and, I don't like it (the video)! So I never really bothered that magical album until several years ago when I was maturing enough to feel sad and lonely (hiks!). I think I wrote quite a lot about how good this record was and how it meant a lot to me personally in weird way. I just want to say that I am really proud for being one of the first people in my country (I strongly predicted so) to get Pinkerton - Deluxe Edition just right after it's been released in the US. That "The Good Life" song was a perfect misfit also for the entire Pinkerton album, in my opinion, but unlike "Say it Ain't So", this one is the bad misfit. It should have been "You Gave Your Love To Me Softly" or "Devotion" or "I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams" instead (all were included in the Deluxe Edition). Anyway, this is the last album that features Matt Sharp and as I looked back to their concert way back to the Pinkerton era (thanks to Youtube), I think Matt really added some unique chemistry that completed the band in an awkward yet beautiful way. They are nerds. Cool nerds!

Phase 2 ~ Emotionless or Brainless? Beautiful nonetheless

This might be the shortest phase of Weezer discography according to my division, some kind of "One Hot Minute" version of Weezer. This second phase came after years of hiatus when Rivers, facing the commercial and critics "failure" of his whole-hearted Pinkerton album, was kinda sulking around and decided to make a Weezer record with much less emotion entailed, or even brain entailed. Due to whatever reasons (I truly don't really know the reason...why oh why?), Matt Sharp left Weezer and Mikey Welsh replaced him. The result was the one and only, their second self-titled album, the Green Album (2001). Surprisingly enough, despite the emotionless or brainless approach and the lost of Matt Sharp, this Green record came up as a very refreshing album. I think it sounds so Beatlesque and maybe this is the closest Beatles-like sound Weezer could produce as a rock band in their own right. It tastes like the pre-Revolver Beatles records with a twist of Nirvana :)). Perhaps due to the fact that I'm a major fan of early Beatles and also Nirvana, I love almost all songs in this album and Mikey did a very notable and terrific job in bass. Songs that I don't really like on this record was only "Crab", I always skip that! The album was started and ended by the plea-songs to the girl, by the way, with "Don't Let Go" and "O Girlfriend" respectively, so maybe it's not as brainless as it's campaigned to be. Maybe this album has some concept, too, hehehe (funfact: the "Thank you" section of this album contained Kyoko Ito, Rivers' future wife). The album misfit in my opinion was "Hash Pipe". That's a total brainless song with a catchy tune, in my opinion. Not really my favorite although not bad also, but no problem because that backward was totally eclipsed by one of my most favorite songs of all time, "Island in the Sun". This song makes a perfect wedding song, doesn't it? Anyway, waking up early in the morning, then praying and taking some shower, opening up my working project on my laptop screen accompanied by a cup of tea/coffee/milk/the combination of those three, putting my headset on and playing the Green album from the beginning as the background sound is really one of the perfect ways to start my day. The rain starts pouring gently outside as "Don't Let Go" plays along. Simply bliss. 

Phase 2 era: Mikey Welsh, Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson and Brian Bell 

 

Phase 2.5 ~ Sandwiches Time

Nah, I don't have any idea about the exact lineup on this era. Was Mikey still recording some stuffs with Weezer on this - at least some parts - or no? This era belongs to the abundant ridiculously cool B-Sides or bootlegs or demos or leftovers or whatever of Weezer. They seemed to be sooo productive in Green and Maladroit era that they produced bunch of songs that never made into an album. Sometimes they played in rather small gigs under the name of "Goat Punishment" but as far as I could find out, "Goat Punishment" already featured Scott Shriner on bass.  Anyway, it is said that they "release" those songs to be freely downloaded on the internet, years and years ago. Sadly, living away across the sea from Weezer and surrounded by many many people in my country that are not really into alternative rock music (they are more into "dangdut" and standard pop music, y'know what I mean? Can you guess my nationality now? Good.) as I am, I just found this news out many many years later (circa 2010) and it's no longer available on their website *cries in Bahasa*, but yeah, partly also because I was just maturing enough to put my head surfing the internet to discover more and more about many things, especially my music taste. The songs are now still floating around in the internet and with a little luck or skill or both, you can still grab them. Seriously, because many of them are so good, for me this situation makes me feel like I'm kinda sailing through the ocean and remote islands in the search of buried and hidden treasures :))

For this period, Weezer seemed to be experimental with many weirder and nerd-er sounds that made them seemed to have everything. "Souvenirs, Novelty Party Trick" was the strange song with Russian twist (?) and makes you want to laugh at it because it is ridiculously catchy. Seemed to be influenced by "Island in the Sun" (or vice versa?), "Everybody Wants a Chance To Feel All Alone" will make you wonder why this song never made into an album. As an incarnation of other B-Sides which was "We Go Together", "Little Songs" gives more layered musical arrangement with the piano background that makes you feel wanting to jive around with this marvelous song. "Lullaby" is effing good, "The Organ Player" made me tired of hitting the reply button and the demo version of "Island in the Sun" just gives me a very different feel of that song - perhaps due to Rivers' singing in this demo - but it is equally good with the studio version. "December" the demo version was waaaay better than the Maladroit version, in my opinion and if only I ever have a band, I'd play that version in many gigs and jamming sessions, no matter what instrument I'd play. "Always" was one of the most beautiful love songs ever with a very epic guitar playing...so, don't forget "Sandwiches Time". This is a very significant phase of Weezer. 

Phase 3 ~ Don't worry.......EWBAITE!

Weezer with Scott Shriner, the most rockstar-looking member of Weezer :p 

Welcome on board, Scott Shriner! The longest-time bassist of Weezer so far. Without you, in my opinion, Weezer sound will never be evolved into Weezer nowadays. With you, Weezer has recorded six studio albums so far and one compilation album titled "Death to False Metal". Did I praise you highly? Well, for me, as I wrote back previously, any Weezer records always include some "misfits", but for this phase (not even pointing into a single album), I think the biggest misfit is you! Yes, you, Scott Shriner *evil laugh*! Look at him! While other Weezer members are apparently "nerd" and laid back, Scott looks like as if he's just jumped from a heavy metal band or bodyguards club and that his diets might contain nails and screws while other Weezer members eat salad and drink water, lol (sorry, Scott, peace :p)! :))

How about the music? Hmm...they started it with Maladroit just a year after they released The Green Album. I got an impression that Maladroit is just like the "tails" of the Green as for me musically they sounded from the same "universe". However, as much as I love the Green, I have to be honest: I do not like Maladroit. Only two tracks in Maladroit that I considered as good, which are "Keep Fishin" and "Burndt Jamb". Reminding me of "Getting Better" by The Beatles - both in intro and also lyrically someway - "Keep Fishin" is a pleasant song with a pleasant music video. Meanwhile, "Burndt Jamb" is like another "Say it Ain't So". It doesn't sound like any other Weezer songs but it's so good. Other tracks on Maladroit are just "noises" without any structure or emotion that I could savor. 

However, here comes the best part of this phase...so far, in my opinion. In 2005, Weezer released their fifth studio album called Make Believe. I got to tell you, I love this record! Unlike many die-hard Weezer fans that seemed to only praise their first two albums and despise the rest, I think I am quite rational on this, hehe. Yet, I truly comprehend that if there's something new hit you hard and good, it will set some psychological bar for you that make you want to feel that "good" again - no less and no more - whenever you deal with that "something" again. Hence, although they got some very good stuffs subsequently, Weezer fans will continuously demand the "delusional-good-old-feeling" again and again. Similar things happen to many great bands, I think. The Strokes for example (more on this later, I hope :*). Nah, so, Make Believe is really good yet very different from previous albums. You can sense strong Rick Rubin's style in here. This album offers bigger and more layered sound of Weezer and I could enjoy almost all of the songs in it, with "The Damage in Your Heart" and "Haunt You Everyday" as my most favorite ones (me has kinda different choice with Julian Casablancas on this, I think, as he said he likes "This Is Such A Pity" instead, right, Julian?). Then came another self-titled album in 2008: The Red Album. Again, this album is good, with many new sounds also, and even instrument-switching. In Brian Bell's song, "Thought I Knew", Rivers played the drums and Patrick gives some melodies with electric guitar. That one is my favorite song on that album and I really think that song could become quite popular in my town had it have proper airplay in the radio as it's a perfect song to spend a time with in a car when you're stuck in the crazy traffic jam which happens daily here. "The Angel and The One" gives some very good musical chord and sound progression but I kinda disappointed with the final part - it's anti-climax. But, my most memorable ones will be "Pork and Beans" as it accompanied me writing my undergraduate thesis and whenever I felt stuck like crazy I just then singing this song with my headset on, "Imma do the things that I wanna do...I ain't got a thing to prove to you". Luckily, I was graduated safe and sound. 

After the Red, I became disappointed again and again with Weezer. Yeah, after all, I think I became a regular-mainstream-die-hard-fan-of-Weezer. Raditude is bad. Hurley is even worse. I did give it a try but I think Rivers went too far in experimenting things with Weezer here. I mean, if he wanted to explore the new sound, why didn't he produce a solo album or a side-project album and just make Weezer his creative imprint of alternative rock sound? It will be exactly the same Rivers Cuomo but with different "music personality" and it will be better psychologically for the fans rather than "distorting" the dear love of Weezer on them. I think Rivers might realize this later as he went creating "Scott and Rivers" project with Scott Murphy to display his fondness of Japanese pop culture, maybe. 

This deviation of Weezer sound might be normal for a band, though. Human being is constantly changing. Their life circumstances and feeling and everything changed overtime. However, I think what made many fans became disappointed is that Weezer seemed to lose their hooks, and I do believe that there's nothing more important hook in art creating process rather than emotional hook. There is no art without the heart, I'd say. Somehow they - maybe especially Rivers - lose the emotional hook to create some magical music. I don't say it's a bad thing. Blue record was made by an angry and confused young man, Pinkerton was created from numbers of unrequited and vain love situations, Green was created as a "sulking" sound of disappointment, Make Believe was probably made in time when Rivers tried to clean up many messes on his life and untangle the tangled things and settle down because many songs on that record talk about making peace to anything including himself and Red was made as some of the "protest" to the record label or music industry in general. But then, what can we expect from a 30 or 40-something married man with kid(s) and good financial condition? What we can expect from that kind of guy is a steady sober husband and father that is having his life journey to work on a rather "noiseless" yet precious masterpiece - relative to the music or art that he can launch and scream to the world - which is his family. I personally think that it's totally okay for Rivers or any other settled-down-artists to just stop a little while or just release "small" and totally non-ambitious side projects just to have some fun because it might be the most natural thing they can do in that situation. It's better I guess rather than pushing themselves to release another big project under their big-old-tree that surely gives them inevitable burden of success that it may force them to artificially feel emotional in order to produce some good stuffs. 

For Weezer, that situation is awkwardly seen as the irrational craving of old-Weezer-sound. They responded it with playing many Blue, Pinkerton, and Green songs on their concerts. It never sounded the same, though, with Scott in bass. I don't know why. It's not that Scott was terrible bassist. He even sometimes seemed to overplaying the bass part, in my opinion. So for me the mixture was never perfect for Scott playing the old Weezer songs, even back to early departure of Mikey from Weezer when they played in Camden for example. It's freaking good, but it's not the same, and it's getting worse as they are all aging. Scott will perfectly play his own catalog. To encounter the issue however, Weezer "desperately" release their latest album with a kinda desperate title: Everything Will be Alright in the End with "Back to the Shack" in it. I gave it some try but didn't get the hook yet. The message is clear, though, and I do agree. EWBAITE!