Blue at 17

It’s kind of hard to believe, but DGC records released Weezer’s first album 17 years ago today.

Although I didn’t hear it till about seven months after it’s release, it’s easily the one record/tape/CD I’ve listened to more than any other. And while Weezer has released a ton of great (and yes, a few not-so-great) songs since, the Blue Album has always been my favorite because of a combination of the songs, the way the album sounds and some other factors.

I’m not sure where I heard it, but I’ve heard musicians say that the music of their youth is the most important music to them personally (Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo even wrote one of those not-so-great songs about the music he grew up listening to and what those songs mean to him).  And I can see why.  I first heard Blue near the beginning of my senior year of high school and it’s been in my CD player (even though I don’t use that particular device on a daily basis) ever since.

Sure I know every word, but the songs still sound as fresh as the first time I heard them.  To me, Blue still rocks and is fun to listen to.  What more can you ask for out of an album?

One of the things that catapulted Weezer to music fame was their use of music videos for Undone and Buddy Holly.  Weezer has had some great official videos.  But they’ve also had some really creative fan-made videos, like this one for the most underrated song on Blue, No One Else:

May 10 is an important day for Weezer for reasons other than Blue’s release.  Their fifth album, Make Believe (which I also greatly enjoy) was released on this day in 2005. And on May 10, 2126, the crew of Betsy II will Blast Off for Nomis to save the planet from being swallowed by its sun.

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