Weezer (Blue Album) by Weezer

In the rock and roll archives, there are rare albums that are released to the public that contain an equal amount of catchy, fun songwriting and depth and substance that make such precious records listenable for an entire lifetime. They combine the perfect mix of youthful exuberance and excitement and mature songwriting and lyrical depth that makes such a record enjoyable at any age, able to evoke feelings of the first time a listener played the album, and a gorge of memory associations are sure to ensue. Each generation has albums like this, that make an impact not only in record stores and on the Billboard Top 200, but more importantly, in the hearts and collective minds of the generation they were released to. Weezer's self-titled 1994 pop/punk/emo/alternative masterpiece (now forever dubbed 'The Blue Album', akin to similar namesakes from Metallica and The Beatles) is one of those very few, uber-enjoyable albums that has spoken to the good tastes of not merely one generation, but will be sure to be played countless times by future music fans to come.

All right, so it goes without saying that I'm not an old-school fan of Weezer by any means. I first ordered the band's debut album from Amazon.com during the fall of 2002, nearly a decade after its initial release. There are a lot of fans that have been around long before I have, with ample more amounts of trivia and dedication to the band. I wasn't around when they first debuted, and I can only scarcely remember seeing the infamous "Buddy Holly" video on MTV during the band's popularity explosion during the summer of '94. Nevertheless, I still find Weezer to be one of the most memorable, enjoyable, and downright fun albums in my entire collection, one that I don't think I'll be willing to turn away from for long anytime soon. Although concise (like all of the band's LPs, it runs just slightly over half an hour), the brevity of the album is only matched by the sheer sonic beauty. It's not like the band is some massive musical revelation to the public (Nirvana, The Beatles), or like they've completed concocted a new musical formula from scratch (The Velvet Underground, The Ramones). They're not the most vividly original band of the decade, or even of the year. However, what this band has managed to do was combine elements of many great acts that came before them (see the four listed above for a handful of influences), stir them together, and come up with a unique musical recipe that is all their own. Their sweet, oftentimes syrupy melodies combine perfectly with their trademark brand of relaying edgy, distorted and clean, melodic guitars, providing the ground floor with which Weezer front man Rivers Cuomo has constructed a plethora of beautiful, exuberant pop songs about love, heartbreak, and the yearnings of the heart. It's no guess why Weezer are often pigeonholed as the creators the relentlessly whiny music genre known as 'emo'. However, what sets Weezer far apart from the Jimmy Eats Worlds and Dashboard Confessionals to come is their unique sense of humor, and their willingness to tackle more unexpected, even oddball songwriting topics. Think of another album in the world that contains songs about teenage romance, Happy Days (yes, the television show), surfing, alcoholism, and Dungeons and Dragons? Yes, Weezer have been known to cover a wide range of topics for their songwriting fodder, and their first album is the prime example of this. But Cuomo's ability to construct astoundingly catchy songs about such diverse subjects is a blessing, not a curse, as it provides variety and a fresh feeling with each different tune on the album.

Now let's take a look at what qualities make The Blue Album so damn addictive, after all. Well, for starters, though the songwriting isn't what I'd call 'unbelievable' (after all, Rivers, while surely a talented and unique songwriter, is no Bob Dylan or John Lennon), it is more than merely 'catchy', as albums that rely entirely on catchy riffs, hooks, and melodies are quickly set aside in favor of records with more substance. Fear not, however, as The Blue Album offers enough emotional and musical depth to bear endless listens, even after the initial appeal of each song has waned, and the listener will be prone to discover the subtler, substantial (but nevertheless enjoyable) attributes of the album. For yours truly, just as soon as the first coat of poppy sing-along gloss had worn itself away from the album, I found myself going back to the album again, even more than I did the first few months I owned it, and enjoying the songs at a much deeper, more personal level. The album opens with "My Name Is Jonas", an alterna-rock ballad that is equal parts heartwarming optimism and edgy guitars. Track two, "No One Else one of the most riff-based tracks on the album, displays the band's penchant for both groovy, seemingly simplistic guitar-playing as well as their unique style of lyrical romantic desire. In the song's chorus, singer/guitarist Rivers declares, "I want a girl that will laugh for no one else/when I'm away she leaves her makeup on the shelf/when I'm away she never leaves the house/I want a girl that laughs for no one else." One of the most fascinating qualities of Weezer is their instant ability to relate to their fan base, particularly the geeky, lonesome male market that they themselves surely consisted of in their teenage years. The fourth song of the album, "Buddy Holly", is easily the band's most well known tune, and although its Fonzie-based novelty may wear away quickly, the vocal and guitar melodies of the album are undeniably great. Track six, titled "Surf Wax America", (a personal favorite of yours truly) is a catchy little ditty about, what else, Rivers' apparent love of surfing. Musically, it sounds like a combination of early Beach Boys combined with the Pixies alternative pop know-how, with a pinch of Green Day thrown in for good measure. Not an intensely deep or personal song...but I challenge any listener not to find themselves humming the song's melodies to themselves on their way to work (as the chorus declares, "You take your car to work/I'll take my board"). The next track, "Say It Ain't So" is easily one of the most personal songs the band has ever written, as the narrator seems to be struggling with his own father's alcoholism as it slowly envelops his own life. "Say It Ain't So is a perfect example at just how much emotional substance this band is able to conjure up for the appropriate song (an ability they exercised fully on their next release, 1996's Pinkerton). Immediately following the album's most ambitious song is its overall quirkiest, in the geek-rock themed "In The Garage". In a song that mentions the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons, characters from the X-Men comic book, and two members of the cartoon-metal band Kiss, "In The Garage" ultimately proves to be one of the record's most bizarre, but wholly enjoyable, songs. I personally find this to be one of the most relatable songs on the album (I've been to those D&D sessions, read those X-Men comics...), though it may confuse some listeners who are not familiar with such nerdy counter-culture references. Nevertheless, those fans who [b]are[/b] a bit more inclined to pick up the geeky lyrical content may also be able to find a message of happiness in alienation and solitude, beneath the song's egghead overtones. A similar theme is carried along with the album's closer, the eight-minute alt-rock love song, "Only In Dreams". If ever there was one single song that founded the emo music category, this is surely it. "Only In Dreams" is a song written about wanting to be able to speak and relate to a person (in this case, the protagonist is longing for a girl that is likely much more popular/attractive/accepted than he is) that you think is too far out of your reach. In the end, the song ends on a half-discouraging, half-comforting note, as Rivers exclaims, "Only in dreams, We see what it means/
Reach out our hands, Hold on to hers/But when we wake,
It's all been erased/And so it seems...Only in dreams." This chorus seems to reflect a heavy theme of rejection, loneliness, and finally personal acceptance that the band has displayed at least once on all of their albums.

I would suggest the album to fans of Green Day, Nirvana, Dashboard Confessional, Devo, The Pixies, Pavement, and White Zombie.

Bottom line, Weezer is an album that has an undeniably zesty appeal to teenage hipsters, lonely nerds, and socially awkward youths, in particular, but truly has something to offer for any music fan out there. Though this is surely their most 'juvenile' (though I use that term lightly) release, it is also one that shows us just how naive and optimistic the teenage years can be, as well as how dramatic and tumultuous they can be, sometimes all at once. The Blue Album seems to be a record consisting of little more than straightforward pop-punk upon the first couple listens, but with time (and age), any dedicated listener will begin to unravel more subtle, precious qualities about this wonderful recording. It doesn't last long (forty-one minutes in all), which is probably its most significant weakness, but it's one hell of a ride. An album good for reveling in the carefree (or tense) days of your youth, rocking-out during a rousing 1 AM AD&D session, or simply just sitting back and taking in before a mid-afternoon nap, Weezer started their career with a top-notch album, and have no signs of letting up this trend anytime soon.