Weezer – Musicians.com
Weezer, a kickback to the alternative rock music explosion of the early nineties, were admitted geeks, and even used that nerdy look of thick-rimmed glasses and plaid shirts, despite the grunge clothing styles of the time.
Like most bands, Weezer started in a garage with Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Matt Sharp, and Jason Cropper. The band played many gigs across Los Angeles before signing a record deal with DGC (later Inerscope).
It was during their recording of their self-titled album (often known by fans as The Blue Album due to its blue background), Cropper left the band and was replaced by Brian Bell. Their first album was a huge success, with hits including “Undone” and “Buddy Holly”. Both had videos directed by the now-popular filmmaker Spike Jonze (Adaptation), which helped catapult them to stardom.
Unfortunately, the next album, Pinkerton, did not achieve anywhere near the sales of the first one. Many of the group’s members went to do other projects. Matt Sharp, for example, had his group The Rentals, which had the hit song “Friends of P”. Brian Bell worked with Space Twins. Rivers Cuomo went into a period of depression.
The group reassembled at a festival in Japan, and began to tour and produce albums once again. The third album was oddly self-titled, but its green background led fans to name it The Green Album. This album featured the song “Hash Pipe”, whose drug-centric lyric led to some censorship. Their follow-up album, Maladroit, unfortunately had the same negative reaction as Pinkerton.
Their comeback album, Make Believe, contained the mega-hit “Beverly Hills”. The future of the bad is still in question, since they have taken a break from promotion and touring. Most believe that a 6th album is in the works, but hopefully will not have the “even-numbered curse”.
