Weezer is an American rock band formed in 1992. They are always heard. Managed to release 12 full-length albums, 1 cover album, six EPs and one DVD. Their latest album titled "Weezer (Black Album)" was released on March 1, 2019.
To date, over nine million records have been sold in the United States. Playing music influenced by alternative bands and influential pop artists, they are sometimes seen as part of the indie movement of the 90s.
Weezer began their career in Los Angeles, California. Rivers Cuomo joined Patrick Wilson, Matt Sharp and Jason Cropper. The latter was later replaced by Brian Bell.
Five weeks after they formed, they had their first gig. It took place for Dogstar at Raji's Bar and Ribshack on Hollywood Boulevard. Weezer began playing in small audience clubs around Los Angeles. Recorded cover versions of various songs.
The band soon caught the attention of A&R representatives. And already on June 26, 1993, the guys signed a contract with Todd Sullivan from Geffen Records. The band became part of the DGC label (which later became Interscope).
'THE BLUE ALBUM' (1993-1995)
'The Blue Album' was released on May 10, 1994 and is the band's debut album. The album was produced by former frontman Ric Okazek. "Undone" (The Sweater Song) was released as the first single.
Spike Jones directed the music video created for the track. In it, the group performed on stage, where various moments from the recording studio were shown. But the most remarkable moment was at the end of the clip. Then a lot of dogs filled the entire set.
Jones also directed the band's second video "Buddy Holly". The video depicted the band's interactions with episodes of the television comedy series Happy Days. This, perhaps, pushed the group to success.
In July 2002, the album sold over 300 copies in the US. It peaked at number 6 in February 1995. The Blue Album is currently certified 90x platinum. This makes it Weezer's best-selling album and one of the most popular rock albums of the early XNUMXs.
It was re-released in 2004 as the "Deluxe Edition". This version of the album included the second disc along with other previously unreleased material.
WEEZER-PINKERTON (1995-1997)
At the end of December 1994, the band took a break from touring for the Christmas holidays. At that time, Cuomo traveled back to his home state of Connecticut. There he began to collect material for the next album.
After the multi-platinum success of their debut album, Weezer returned to the studio together to record something special, namely the Pinkerton album.
The title of the album comes from the character Lieutenant Pinkerton from Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly. The album was based entirely on the opera, which featured a boy drafted into the war and sent to Japan, where he meets a girl. He has to leave Japan suddenly and promises that he will return, but his departure breaks her heart.
The album was released on September 24, 1996. Pinkerton peaked at number 19 in the US. However, it did not sell as many copies as its predecessor. Perhaps because of its darker and more depressing theme.
But later on, this album turned into a cult classic. Now it is even considered the best Weezer album.
Weezer: tipping point
After a short break, the band played their first gig at TT the Bear on October 8, 1997. Future bassist Mikey Welsh was a member of a solo band. In February 1998, Rivers left the academies of Boston and Harvard and returned to Los Angeles.
Pat Wilson and Brian Bell joined Cuomo in Los Angeles to begin work on their next album. Matt Sharp did not return and officially left the band in April 1998.
They tried to rehearse and not give up, but frustration and creative differences cut rehearsals short, and in the late fall of 1998, drummer Pat Wilson went to his home in Portland for a hiatus, but the band didn't reunite until April 2000.
It wasn't until Fuji offered Weezer a high-paying concert in Japan at the festival that any progress was made. The band started again from April to May 2000 to rehearse the old songs and demo versions of the new ones. The band returned to the show in June 2000, but without the Weezer name.
It wasn't until June 23, 2000 that the band returned under the name Weezer and joined the Warped Tour for eight scheduled shows. Weezer were well received at the festival, leading to more tour dates being booked for the summer.
SUMMER SESSION (2000)
In the summer of 2000, Weezer (then consisting of Rivers Cuomo, Mikey Welsh, Pat Wilson and Brian Bell) returned to their musical path. The set list consisted of 14 new songs, and 13 of them were later replaced with those that were supposed to be released on the last album.
Fans have called these songs the 'Summer Session 2000' (commonly abbreviated as SS2k). Three SS2k songs, "Hash Pipe", "Dope Nose" and "Slob", have been properly recorded for studio albums (with "Hash Pipe" appearing on the Green Album and "Dope Nose" and "Slob" appearing on Maladroid ).
THE GREEN ALBUM & MALADROID (2001-2003)
The band eventually returned to the studio to release their third album. Weezer decided to repeat the eponymous title of his first release. This album quickly became known as the 'Green Album' due to its distinctive bright green coloration.
Shortly after the release of 'The Green Album', the band embarked on another US tour, attracting many new fans along the way thanks to the power of the hit singles 'Hash Pipe' and 'Island In The Sun', both of which had videos that received regular exposure. on MTV.
They soon began recording demos for their fourth album. The band took an experimental approach to the recording process, allowing fans to download demos from their official website in exchange for feedback.
After the release of the album, the band subsequently stated that the process was somewhat unsuccessful, as they were not given cohesive, constructive advice from the fans. Only the song "Slob" was included on the album at the discretion of the fans.
As reported on August 16, 2001 by MTV, bassist Mikey Welsh has been admitted to a psychiatric hospital. His whereabouts were previously unknown, as he mysteriously went missing prior to the second filming of the "Island In The Sun" music video, which featured the band with various animals. Through a mutual friend Cuomo, they got Scott Shriner's number and asked if he wanted to replace Wales.
The fourth album, Maladroit, was released in 2002 with Scott Shriner replacing Welsh on bass. While this album was met with generally positive reviews from critics, sales were not as strong as The Green Album.
After the fourth album, Wither immediately began work on their fifth album, recording numerous demos between tours for Maladroit. These songs were eventually canceled and Wither took a well deserved break after these two albums.
The rise and fall of the Wither group
From December 2003 through the summer and early fall of 2004, the members of Weezer recorded a large amount of material for a new album, which was released in the spring of 2005 with producer Rick Rubin. 'Make Believe' was released on May 10, 2005. The album's first single, "Beverly Hills", became a hit in the US, remaining on the charts many months after its release.
In early 2006, Make Believe was announced to be certified platinum, with Beverly Hills being the second most popular download on iTunes in 2005. Also, in early 2006, Make Believe's third single, "Perfect Situation", spent four consecutive weeks at number five on the Billboard Modern Rock chart, Weezer's personal best.
Weezer's sixth studio album was released on June 3, 2008, just over three years after their last release, Make Believe.
This time the recording is described as "experimental". According to Cuomo, includes more unconventional songs.
In 2009, the band announced their next album, "Raditude", which was released on November 3, 2009, and debuted as the week's seventh bestseller on the Billboard 200. In December 2009, it was revealed that the band no longer had contact with the Geffen label.
The band has stated that they will continue to release new material, but they are unsure of the means. Eventually, the band was signed to the independent label Epitaph.
The album "Hurley" was released in September 2010 on the label Epitaph. Weezer used YouTube to promote the album. That same year, Weezer released another studio album on November 2, 2010 titled "Death to False Metal". This album was compiled from newly re-recorded versions of unused recordings spanning the band's career.
On October 9, 2011, the band announced on their website that former bassist Mikey Welsh had died.
Weezer today
The group did not stop there. Releasing new work almost every year. Sometimes listeners liked everything madly, and sometimes, of course, there were failures. Most recently, on January 23, 2019, Weezer released a cover album titled "The Teal Album". In the spring of 2019, the album “Black Album” appeared.
At the end of January 2021, the musicians of the band delighted fans with the release of a new LP. The record was called OK Human. Recall that this is the 14th studio album of the band.
The release of the new album "fans" became known last year. The musicians said that they spent the quarantine period for the benefit of themselves and admirers of creativity. When recording the LP, they used exclusively analog technology.
The good news for the fans of the team did not end there. They also announced that the new Van Weezer LP will be released on May 7, 2021.
