Tag: Weezer

This Is All the Fault of Stranger Things …

On By kruekuttIn Rock and Roll3 Comments

So apparently, a Twitter user wanted Weezer to cover Toto’s “Africa,” after hearing the iconic 1980s yacht-rock classic on the season 1 soundtrack of Stranger Things.  After the meme went viral, in very short order:

  • Weezer tried to troll Twitter with a cover of “Rosanna.”  The masses were not appeased.
  • Four days later, the inevitable Weezer version of “Africa” dropped.  And it was a hit, scoring their first Alternative No. 1 song in 10 years.
  • Of course, Weezer now had to play “Africa” in concert; Toto synthesizer whiz Steve Porcaro even joined in the fun for the keyboard solo on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”  And last night, Weezer was joined by a very special guest for a even more very special solo:

 

  • Clearly enjoying the whole thing, Toto (currently on the US leg of their 40 Trips Around the Sun tour), have started covering a Weezer song for their encore:

 

  • And of course, Toto’s single of “Hash Pipe” will be released tomorrow.

All of which, to quote Robert Plant, makes me wonder:

  • Will Rivers Cuomo crash the stage when I see Toto live in a couple of weeks?
  • Are we witnessing the birth of a new supergroup, the likes of which the world has never seen?  Is a mashup of “Buddy Holly” and “Hold the Line” inevitable?
  • Is all this really the Upside Down’s revenge?
  • Can this astonishing turn of events be stopped before it’s too late?  Should we be frightened of this thing that it’s become?

On the other hand, perhaps we should all just relax.  And plan to tune in to season 3 of Stranger Things.  If only to see what music is hot in Sam Goody’s at … the Starcourt Mall …

 

— Rick Krueger

Weezer delivers song of the summer as next album preview

On By Time LordIn progressive rock2 Comments

The White Album was a total triumph last year from Weezer, usually a hit-and-miss kind of band. It got me excited about what every-track-is-fantastic album they might come up with next.

And then when in March of this year I heard “Feels Like Summer” as an advance preview track from their next album, well, let’s just say I couldn’t even get past the 30-second clip. It sounded so annoying and dopey. (Sort of like the new Taylor Swift single, which is much worse.)

So imagine my surprise when this month Weezer released the second preview track, “Mexican Fender,” which is truly superb and everything you want in a rockin’ summer tidal wave of power chords.

The song is so good it even got me to give “Feels Like Summer” a second chance, and it turns out now I kind of like it. (It gets better as it progresses and more power chords get mixed into the contemporary sonic novelties.)

Maybe it’s because my own Stratocaster is a Mexican Fender, but I like the lyrics to the song a lot. Really clever and catchy, it’s a perfect song about summer love.

Note that the video (thankfully) has nothing to do with the lyrics and story of the actual song. But it is nonetheless kind of a hilarious cartoon that should get people listening to the song, by way of its amusing visual tale.

Better yet, turn up the music and close your eyes to do air guitar. Who needs video when you have such great audio? Either way, I think this is the song of the summer, perfect for those convertible top-down cruises by the bay. (But keep your eyes open while driving.)

As for album of the summer, my vote goes to Lana Del Rey’s Lust for Life, which finally ascends into perfect songwriting and delivers on the previously unfulfilled promise of all her earlier albums. Every track shimmers with transcendent moments. But that’s a topic for another post. Meanwhile, enjoy Weezer’s brilliant guitar sunsets…

Top 6 Rock Albums of 2016

On By Time LordIn progressive rock2 Comments

In addition to my lists of the Top 10 Metal Albums of 2016 and the Top 6 Prog Albums of 2016 (+4 from the Metal list makes it a Top 10 Prog list), I wanted to add another 6 albums of pure Rock.

(For those of you doing the math, this makes it a total of 22 for my favorite albums of 2016. That’s the same total number of favorites that I picked last year.)

Sure, there’s a hint of prog on Space Elevator, especially on the last track, which, at the very end, recapitulates themes from most of the preceding songs on the entire album. And the recapitulation forms a conceptual part of the grand finale to the sci-fi framing sequence for the whole album. But nonetheless the album is mostly a pop-rock masterpiece that goes down smooth, so I place it on my Rock list.

Wolfmother, Weezer, and Sting all delivered perfect albums this year. They each deserve supreme recognition for doing so. Among this year’s most highly satisfying discs, I gave them all multiple spins over the weeks of 2016.

Continue reading “Top 6 Rock Albums of 2016” →

Weezer — “The Angel and the One” (6:46)

On By Time LordIn ProgarchyLeave a comment

We are the angels
and we are the ones
that are praying
Peace, shalom
Peace, shalom
Peace, peace

Epic greatness into the close of Weezer’s Red Album (2008).

Album Review: Weezer’s “White Album” ★★★★★

On By Time LordIn progressive rockLeave a comment

It’s been over twenty years since Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” temporarily entered onto your hard drive, and forever into your heart, thanks to that Windows 95 install CD. Despite a fistful of great songs and some really good albums since then, Weezer has never recreated the magical sense of joy and awe that the “Blue Album” evoked in us when we saw what a garage band could do to change the universe and blow our minds. Although 2014’s Everything Will Be Alright in the End was a surprising solidly enjoyable Weezer album from start to prog-epic finish, the “Blue Album” has never been eclipsed. Until now.

With 2016’s “White Album,” Weezer has released their finest album ever. Full stop. Every cut absolutely slays it, as the decades since the “Blue Album” yield a harvest of songwriting maturity that pairs perfect sonic sensibilities with poetically beautiful, philosopher surfer-dude lyrics.

The killer slabs of guitar, that trademark Weezer garage sound of glory, wins you over right out of the gate with “California Kids.” From there on, the abundance of non-stop outstanding tracks permits you to pick your own favorites from the panoply of richly melodic delights.

I’m partial to the fervid rap patter of “Thank God For Girls,” which reclaims stream of consciousness from the louche rap icons, to serve it up with superior musical accompaniment (drums and bass just as the California kids have ordered) and with sagely observations harkening as far back as the Sears catalogue and Adam’s rib.

“L.A. Girlz” is another favorite, thanks to that classic onslaught of the patented Weezer wall of power chords, but there are also surprising new pleasures here, like the nostalgic “(Girl We Got A) Good Thing” and the piano-driven “Jacked Up.”

Ooo-wee-hooo,  consider me pleasantly blindsided by this unexpectedly epic achievement by Weezer.  It’s a classic. Five stars!