Classic and all that jazz

Frontman Rivers Cuomo to a lot of people can be a bit of an oddball. He's extremely shy, rarely saying a whole lot in interviews, has those trademark nerd-like glasses and doesn't seem like a rock star. However, like Brian Wilson, underneath all that is someone is very capable of delivering an infectious pop song with heart-on-sleeve type lyrics.



My Name is Jonas: It's probably my 2nd favorite album opener besides Where the Streets Have No Name. A simple fingerpicked acoustic intro before the band comes crashing than back again and it keeps going. Lyrically, I have no idea. 10/10



No One Else: Probably the most infectious song about a controlling boyfriend. My favorite parts oddly enough are just before the chorus where he either goes "watch her, watch her watch her watch her!" or "it's a hey hey hey hey!", I don't know, just can't help singing along to that part. 9/10



The World Has Turned and Left Me Here: A very sad lyrically song about love lost and wanting it back. Favorite part is definately the end where there's 2 vocals going on at once until they merge going "do you believe what I sing now?". 8/10



Buddy Holly: Probably Weezer's signature song, it's short, catchy and had a great video. It's quite fun to play on guitar too and there's gonna be some kind of vocal that you'll like singing too. 9/10



Undone(The Sweater Song): The other wellknown song but to be honest it's not a favorite. It starts with what's possibly the catchiest arpeggio Weezer has until a quiet verse and the chorus comes in. It's not a fav cause of the "freak out" at the end where they kind of go nuts. 7.5/10



Surf Wax America: It's quite neat looking at this: a jangly guitar line worthy of the Byrds, punky verses and choruses and a bridge with vocal harmonies all fit perfectly together. Lyrically, it's about alcoholism I hear. 8/10



Say It Ain't So: 3rd single and another great one, even if I can't really listen to it anymore due to overplayedness. Chorus is definately a highlight, bringing out the air guitarist in you. 8/10



In the Garage: To be honest, I kind of hate this song. It's probably the only song of theirs that I actually skip. Lyrically it brings out the inner nerd in people with guys jamming with Kiss posters around and playing Dungeons and Dragons. 6/10



Holiday: It's a kind of interesting song. It's certainly catchy with big riffs but it may not have that lasting appeal to some but to me it's a nice listen. Quite interesting is its bridge where like Surf Wax America they introduce this section that oddly works out even with its quirkiness, here it sounds like blues-y bass meets a barbershop quartet.



Only in Dreams: Ah, this song. Dreams of dancing with the girl of our dreams only to realize it's only dreams. A lot of people said Weezer should write another type of these and they should. After about 4-5 minutes, there's this long awesome crescendo buildup that goes into this big solo before coming back down. It's long but oh so great. 10/10



One misstep, a on-the-fence song on album with 8 others that are great listens. They haven't really matched the songcraft on future releases but they still can pull it off as this album shows.

one of the best debut albums

this is probably one of the best debut albums of any band ive heard. for most bands, it takes them a few tries before they get their music right, but weezer got it on the first try. this is overall weezers best album in my opinion. unfortunately, to me none of their other albums are as good as this one. although there are other good songs on other albums, none of their other ones can compare to this one.

The original, and still the best

In today's world of post-punk mortem, its always comforting to find a band that can still write a somewhat poppy rock song with lyrics you can actually understand. This is found in the freshman effort of Weezer on their magnifican Blue album. Their cover art tells a lot about them- simple band that just wants to make great music. Their power chords manage to be somewhat overpowering on the opening "My Name is Jonas" while still letting lead singer Rivers Cuomo spin his web of brillance with the simplistic verses that still reek of metaphoric meaning.Of course, I have no idea what he is talking about, but thats beside the point. The album then goes into "No One Else" and "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here", which Rivers has described as "an idiot being overly jealous of the boys who talk to his girlfried, and the same idiot wondering where she has gone."



Following that, the CD turns into 2 massive radio hits, "Buddy Holly" and "The Sweater Song". 20 years from now, when you mention Buddy Holly, every 30 something will immediately say "Oh yea, that song with the Happy Days video!' But this song is so much more than that. It has great guitar riffs, a simplistic drum beat that works perfectly, and of course the "Wo-woos" that punctuate the chorus. Sometimes, I get caught up in the sillyness of the Sweater Song, and start headbanging to the slow decay from a really calm and organized first verse and chorus into a minute long guitar solo at the end.

Things kind of mellow out for a few songs, with Surf Wax America being a fantastic live song (especially at the end after he screams "Lets Go!") and with Say it Ain't so showing a little darker side of Weezer that shows up in full force on Pinkerton. Then comes the albums gift to nerds with In The Garage. This song mentions Dungeons and Dragons, X-Men and Ace Freely-I mean, how trivial can you get? Still, this is the best use of the power chords on the whole CD, and is a fantastic song. Holiday has a pretty good bassline, but is probably the only weak link on the album. But it'll sure as heck get stuck in your head! Then we come to the ending Only in Dreams (I bet your dreaming that I would wrap this review up already). This song is pretty much him reading some poetry over music, and then he rants for a few minutes, and the last half of the song is like guitarapalooza, if you know what I mean. Overall, if you are planning to learn more about a fantastic band, buy this album, then buy Pinkerton, then buy Maladroit. Hopefully, Make Believe, their 5th album will be as rocking as these are, and I expect to find out on May 10th, and I think that you should too.