Weezer is a rock band from Los Angeles, California that formed in 1992. They’ve put out 15 albums in their near 30 year run, with more on the way. I listened to one album every day for 17 days (including one rarities album and one unreleased album).
Here’s how I’d rate them and some thoughts on each album!
Blue - 8.5/10
- My Name Is Jonas: 10/10
- No One Else: 5/10
- The World Has Turned And Left Me Here: 9/10
- Buddy Holly: 10/10
- Undone - The Sweater Song: 10/10
- Surf Wax America: 7/10
- Say It Ain't So: 10/10
- In the Garage: 8/10
- Holiday: 7/10
- Only In Dreams: 9/10
Thoughts
Blue is an effortlessly fun album from a band with no expectations on them. It's a shame we'll never get to hear them without that pressure again, cause this is great.
Pinkerton - 8.8/10
- Tired Of Sex: 9/10
- Getchoo: 8/10
- No One Other: 9/10
- Why Bother? 8/10
- Across The Sea: 8/10
- The Good Life: 8/10
- El Scorcho: 10/10
- Pink Triangle: 9/10
- Falling For You: 10/10
- Butterfly: 9/10
Thoughts
A raw look at Rivers dealing with isolation and loneliness from starting college and recovering from a painful surgery. It's problematic lyrically, but it's a phenomenal album - definitely my favorite.
Green - 7/10
- Don't Let Go: 6/10
- Photograph: 7/10
- Hash pipe: 10/10
- Island in the sun: 9/10
- Crab: 7/10
- Knockout Dragout: 5/10
- Smile: 6/10
- Simple Pages: 7/10
- Glorious Day: 8/10
- O Girlfriend: 5/10
Thoughts
This album is too polished, too guarded, and rarely takes any chances. It's the unfortunate effect of the massive backlash from Pinkerton. Rivers famously said "everyone hated it," which helps contextualize why the next decade of Weezer happened.
Maladroit - 5/10
- American Gigolo: 6/10
- Dope Nose: 4/10
- Keep Fishin: 4/10
- Take Control: 7/10
- Death And Destruction: 6/10
- Slob: 7/10
- Burndt Jamb: 4/10
- Space rock: 3/10
- Slave: 6/10
- Fall Together: 6/10
- Possibilities: 4/10
- Love Explosion: 3/10
- December: 3/10
Thoughts
A messy, unfocused album that certainly didn't benefit from Rivers being hyper aware of what fans were thinking and duking it out with them on message boards. I guess it's not all bad, because fans convinced him to add one of the best songs (Slob) to the album.
Make Believe - 3.1/10
- Beverly Hills: 4/10
- Perfect Situation: 2/10
- This Is Such A Pity: 3/10
- Hold Me: 5/10
- Peace: 5/10
- We Are All On Drugs: 1/10
- The Damage In Your Heart: 2/10
- Pardon me: 3/10
- My Best Friend: 2/10
- The Other Way: 2/10
- Freak Me Out: 4/10
- Haunt You Every Day: 4/10
Thoughts
Easily the worst Weezer album - commercial and bland in the worst ways. In an “anxious” letter to their producer, Rivers said:
Rick, no. I cannot get into meditation because it will rob me of the angst that’s necessary to being an artist
Rivers went on to try meditation anyway. Now I can only wonder what Make Believe would have sounded like without meditation
Red - 4.6/10
- Troublemaker: 7/10
- The Greatest Man That Ever Lived: 6/10
- Pork And Beans: 8/10
- Heart Songs: 8/10
- Everybody Get Dangerous: 4/10
- Dreamin': 5/10
- Thought I Knew: 3/10
- Cold Dark World: 4/10
- Automatic: 4/10
- The Angel And The One: 5/10
- Miss Sweeney: 2/10
- Pig: 3/10
- The Spider: 4/10
- King: 2/10
Thoughts
Red marks a gradual return to form for the band, but loses steam halfway through. The first few songs are so long, but it's nice to hear the band let loose a bit.
Raditude - 3.5
- If You're Wondering: 5/10
- I'm Your Daddy: 2/10
- The Girl Got Hot: 2/10
- Can't Stop Partying: 3/10
- Put Me Back Together: 7/10
- Tripping Down The Freeway: 4/10
- Love Is The Answer: 4/10
- Let It All Hang Out: 5/10
- In The Mall: 3/10
- I Don't Want To Let You Go: 4/10
- Get Me Some: 5/10
- Run Over By A Truck: 4/10
- The Prettiest Girl: 3/10
- Underdogs: 4/10
Thoughts
A bit of a detour on Weezer's Redemption Arc™, but not as embarrassing as Make Believe. There's one good song on here. Oof.
Hurley - 6/10
- Memories: 9/10
- Ruling me: 8/10
- Trainwrecks: 7/10
- Unspoken: 7/10:
- Where's My Sex?: 6/10
- Run Away: 7/10
- Hang On: 6/10
- Smart Girls: 4/10
- Brave New World: 4/10
- Time Flies: 3/10
Thoughts
The redemption arc continues! Hurley is a fun album that's missing most of the embarrassing missteps from the last couple albums. During the recording process the band scrapped, re-worked, and wrote songs at a chaotic pace, which seems to have worked for them.
Everything Will Be Alright In The End - 7.2/10
- Ain't Got Nobody: 8/10
- Back To The Shack: 8/10
- Eulogy For A Rock Band: 6/10
- Lonely Girl: 7/10
- I've Had It Up To Here: 7/10
- British: 6/10
- Da Vinci: 5/10
- Go Away: 6/10
- Cleopatra: 8/10
- Foolish Father: --
- I. The Wasteland: 8/10
- II. Anonymous: 9/10
- III. Return To Ithaka: 8/10
Thoughts
A confident album that maintains its quality throughout the entire run. The album title comes from the passing of a dark time in Rivers life. That’s a nice thought.
White - 8.1/10
- California kids: 10/10
- Wind In Our Sail: 8/10
- Thank God For Girls: 7/10
- Girl We Got A Good Thing: 7/10
- Do You Want To Get High: 9/10
- King Of The World: 8/10
- Summer Elaine And Drunk Dori: 6/10
- LA Girlz: 8/10
- Jacked Up: 9/10
- Endless Bummer: 9/10
Thoughts
White is an excellent album that captures the fun and introspection of old Weezer, while still managing to experiment too*. Rivers mentioned the producer pushed for a more classic sound instead of experimenting, but that [Rivers] would win next time. I wonder how that's going to turn out :thinking:
Pacific Daydream - 5.3/10
- Mexican Fender: 6/10
- Beach Boys: 6/10
- Feels Like Summer: 6/10
- Happy Hour: 7/10
- Weekend Woman: 3/10
- QB Blitz: 6/10
- Sweet Mary: 3/10
- Get Right: 5/10 -La Mancha Screwjob: 7/10
- Any Friend Of Diane: 4/10
Thoughts
An oddly poppy and safe album that kind of sounds like something you'd hear while you're shopping in a mall. Kind of fun, though?
Black - 5.8/10
- Can't Knock The Hustle: 6/10
- Zombie Bastards: 9/10
- High As A Kite: 6/10
- Living In LA: 4/10
- Piece Of Cake: 5/10
- I'm Just Being Honest: 6/10
- Too Many Thoughts In My Head: 6/10
- The Prince Who Wanted Everything: 4/10
- Byzantine: 3/10
- California Snow: 9/10
Thoughts
During the recording process, Rivers mentioned this album is going to “feel like an urban environment, night-time and gritty.” Awkwardly channeling this vibe makes for some fun songs, but it’s weighed down too much by inconsistency.
OK Human - 8/10
OK Human:
- All My Favorite Songs: 8/10
- Aloo Gobi: 9/10
- Grapes Of Wrath: 8/10
- Numbers: 8/10
- Playing My Piano: 8/10
- Mirror Image: 7/10
- Screens: 6/10
- Bird With A Broken Wing: 8/10
- Dead Roses: 9/10
- Everything Happens For A Reason: (interlude)
- Here Comes The Rain: 7/10
- La Brea Tar Pits: 10/10
Thoughts
Notable for being piano driven, using no electric guitar, and utilizing a 38-piece orchestra - the result is the most open and vulnerable album since Pinkerton.
Van Weezer - 6.9/10 (nice)
- Hero: 8/10
- All The Good Ones: 8/10
- The End Of The Game: 7/10
- I Need Some Of That: 9/10
- Beginning Of The End: 7/10
- Blue Dream: 8/10
- 1 More Hit: 4/10
- Sheila Can Do It: 5/10
- She Needs Me: 5/10
- Precious Metal Girl: 6/10
Thoughts
This album feels more like Weezer songs kind of inspired by Van Halen, rather than Weezer writing Van Halen songs. It's inconsistent and a bit embarrassing lyrically.
Bonus!
In an effort to save space, I've condensed my thoughts on these non-official albums:
Songs From The Black Hole - 8/10
This is an unreleased album, available via demos leaked/released over the years. It would have come after Blue, but Rivers scrapped it. It's really great and sad that Rivers didn't have more confidence in the album. Sound wise, it's a mix of Blue and Pinkerton and even includes some demos that would become songs on Pinkerton.
Stream here (youtube)
Death To False Metal - 4.7/10
This is a collection of unreleased songs that Rivers felt was ready to release right after Hurley. It's a mixed bag and only two songs (Turn Up The Radio, Trampoline) are actually good.
Teal - 6.2/10
The covers album. It's alright, nothing special. Some songs they really make their own, some songs are too close to the originals. Mostly forgettable tbh.
That wraps up my thoughts on Weezer. I've grown quite fond of this band over the last couple weeks. This is like two weeks later than I wanted it to be, because I wrote too much and it didn't fit the limit. Naturally, I needed a week or two to pout before I stopped being a baby and edited it
If you have any questions about Weezer (lmao) please ask away
:cat-vibing: :penguin-dance: :duck-dance: :spongebob-party: :meow-bounce: :snom:
You should check out Cuomo's demo tapes, which he released hundreds of and are most of his best songs.
https://www.weezerpedia.com/wiki/Alone_(series)
A few months ago, I went through basically his entire discography. My very specific goal was to create a playlist of about 20 songs I could listen to on a rainy day while sitting in a cafe looking out the window. Took me about a month....
Haunt You Every Day
Time Flies
Ain't Got Nobody
Cleopatra
King of the World
Any Friend of Diane's
Grapes of Wrath
Precious Metal Girl
Trampoline
Lover in the Snow
Paperface
Softies
Why Bother?
Bless the Whole Wide World
Codependent
Pacific Sunset
The Ivory Telephone
Up in the Clouds
Burning Sun
I Can Love
Aloo Gobi
These are not necessarily his best songs (Buddy Holly isn't even on there), in fact, some are rather mundane, just those who'd fit the mood. The playlist is not sorted, the order is random. You can find them all on Youtube, if you're interested.
Also, if you want, I've got a list of another 50 or so songs which I liked but didn't make the cut.
I'm slowly going through them too! Haven't listened to much yet, since I was taking a bit of a Weezer break for a week or so lol. I appreciate that list. I have heard his version of Haunt You Every Day and it's so much better than the album version
Oh my God, trying to keep track of all the different versions of songs he released like 20 years ago is the worst. For example, there's a great accoustic version of "King of the World".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76aeb4136ug
This was for a one off Spotify session they did a few years ago, but I like it more than the original. There's also a great accoustic version of "Ain't got nobody".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4e3vLODztw
Just some random one off thing they did, but it's so good.
So, I know it's kinda weird to hijack a thread like this, and nobody asked for it, but fuck it, here's the rest of the entire list (minus 25 or so songs which I've cut on my first listen). Maybe there's 5 people on hexbear who'd appreciate it. This should last you for weeks.
Smile
We Are All on Drugs
King
Go Away
Thank God for Girls
Beginning of the End/Rock and roll cockroach
Mykel And Carli
The Purification Of Water
Let's Go to the 33rd Dimension
Such a Long Way to Heaven
The Rules of Life
Wagamama
Buddy Holly
I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams
Perfect Situation
I'm Your Daddy
Put Me Back Together
Ruling Me
Here Comes the Rain
All the Good Ones
Yellow Camaro
The Good Life
El Scorcho
Hash Pipe
Island in the Sun
O Girlfriend
Always
Mrs. Young
Living Without You
Beverly Hills
Hold Me
Pardon Me
My Best Friend
Freak Me Out
Miss Sweeney
Pig
(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
Da Vinci
Jacked Up
Prom Night
QB Blitz
Get Right
High As A Kite
Byzantine
Blowing My Stack
Outta Here
Blast Off!
My Day Is Coming
Two Broken Hearts
Susanne
There Is No Other One
Sports Team
The Unofficials
Again, nothing's sorted, just those at the top were usually cut last.
I'm starting to realize this haha
I appreciate all the recs!! I've saved your comments to come back to later. I'll let you know what I think 😎
edit: question for you - is there a version of la brea tar pits you like better than the original? that's becoming one of my fav weezer songs
Good question. I don't think there's one I like "better", but there's a bunch of different versions on youtube I like similarly, but for different reasons, if that makes sense. I'm sure you've already heard the version with the LA Philharmonic.
There's a cute accoustic cover by some random kid
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PFt1XKsIsI
and one with the center channel cut out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QszAE5eOlTM
Kinda like that one to sing along to, since it is not as overloaded as other versions.
You should check out this channel, though:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJkEyujaVwM1hTnC66oWI2g/videos
It's the entire OK Human album but rearranged to sound like old Weezer.
o7 will check these out