Weezer - Weezer — Jamwise

Weezer’s debut album is geeky, self-aware, and completely unforgettable. Many other words came to mind, but Weezer’s press kit for the Blue Album prohibits most of them:

“All of these words are officially forbidden from use in describing Weezer. Hopefully, after studying this list, you will listen more carefully and find your own non-trendy descriptions:
Quirky
College
Retro
Fun/Funny
Goofy
Wacky
Pop/Punk (may be used separately but never together)”

So, the challenge has been laid down. I’ll do my best, but I can’t guarantee I’ll live up to Weezer’s standards for describing their debut.

Weezer’s take on the early 90’s alternative / 70’s power pop revival / guitar rock explosion / mainstream angst scene was unique in the level of self-awareness; it’s almost self-mocking at times, but at the same time there’s plenty of room to appreciate the music at face value or to listen to it with a hint of irony at the blatant power-pop sound. No matter which way you take Weezer, it’s undeniably great. And many people seemed to take Weezer at face value - to the point where the band basically seemed to say in subsequent albums, “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” and went full-tilt for the power pop sound.

I can’t say why I find it so satisfying that Weezer knew exactly what they were doing; from their look to their sound, they were cheekily recreating power pop with the intent of making fun of it, and if they made the genre even better it was entirely by accident.

Even if you totally miss the point of Weezer, there are still plenty of reasons to love Weezer. If that’s not genius, I don’t know what is.

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