Tracking the flood, part xxxvii

877June Bride 15
878355
879Susanne – Don Slacks
880Untitled4 2
881Nothing Like It 7 @128
882Drama Queen – 2003 Demos
883I Wish I Could Autotune My Face – 2013-1-19 sketch 3
8843 doors down minor shuffle
885You’re Prettier Than You Think You Are
886I Won’t Let You Down – v8 1
887Anonymous – v2
888The Rules Of Life – v46
889Fall Together – v2 alt riff
890Scotty’s Pullover (tennis ball)
891East Coast or West Coast – East VocUp
892Untitled2
893Inspired 10
894Break Me – 2004-05-18
895To Infect
896Untitled8
897heart_6_love_of_life
898QB Blitz 11 music box @102
899Anonymous – v19
900Why Am I Getting So Upset 10 ozma

Tracking the flood, part xxxvi

851Hide Into   The Sun – 2
852Ideas   7-14-2013 14h28m47s
853All Around   Me, Everywhere
85410 Scat
855Does Anybody   Love Anybody – v11 meet
856The British   Are Coming – v13
857Over The   Mountain – 2004-05-18
858@120_2015_3_2_11_48_12
859Unknown Song   C – 2012-11-5 3
860Heart of   Hearts 5 @128
861The Rules Of   Life – v26
86212 Pig 2
863Groovy Piano   Melody Ii V    I Vi
864212 I Wish   You Luck
865Make Some   Noise For That 3 –1 6 3 b6 5 piano    @64
86611 Woolly   Mammoth (heavy major riff)
867I Swear It’s   True – Don Slacks
868three
869Any Friend   of Diane’s 8 welcome verse @89
870VI iv   VII v    i aku pluck
871Ideas   12-16-2012 10h7m31s
872Summer Love   Examp
873Bone On Bone   – 2013-2-28 sketch 6
874Thief You’ve   Taken All That Was Me
87501 i must   have dranken a lot more th

Tracking the flood, part xxxv

826Untitled8
827Buttafucco   374
828Sorrowful   Essence 3@118
829Rock And   Roll Cockroach – Instrumental
83008 riff
831Ideas   10-3-2013 13h23m50s
832Nice Aku   Tune – 2014-10-23
833gun it 3 @ 62.5
834Down By The   Tree – v1
83501 Track 01   3
836Smaller Than   Life – 2013-2-14 sketch 5
837Don’t Give   It up 1 beast drum AG @90
838Sandwiches   Time – v1
839Anonymous –   v13
840Untitled3
841What’s Up   With Me – pro sketch
842Bone On   Bone 5
843Codependent   – v2
844Second Best   Hugger In The World – v2
845Work   7-20-2012 9h34m45s
84620 strummy   riff
847sick   ascending chords aku
848Down By The   Tree – v3b
849I’m Such A   Little Bitch [Demo
85015 Now I   Finally See

Tracking the flood, part XXXIV

80110 Plankton   Frito–demo of Mike’s pa
802St. George –   2012-10-3 early acoustic sketch 1
803Anonymous –   v6
804There Is No   Try – 2012-11-13 2
805Codependent   – v8
806@115   Untitled5-1
807It’s A Game
808@152_2015_3_3_11_0_25
809Untitled13
810Work   2-24-2013 11h56m43s
811Come On
812Children’s_Album   10-4-2011 9h6m23s
81305 Dadddy   I’m going to sing this son
814Ideas   10-3-2013 15h38m7s
815I Saw You on   Saturday Night
816Oh Sisyphus   Voice Memo – 2014-9-28
817Johnny   Clash 6 toothpick bridge @1
818Start-Up 2
81912 I think   everybody should eat lots
820Beautiful   Lies 4 no drums @64
821Untitled2
822Longtime   Sunshine Vocals 1 – SFTBH
823I Wanna Tell   You What You’ve Been Missing – sketch
824The Rules Of   Life – v24
82580_piano

Tracking the Flood, part xxxiii

776A Little Help Here 2 @112
7771998 Riff 6 (Full Instrumental)
778come_with_me_2014_2_25_10_20_28
779dictadroid1_2014_12_4_16_24_25
780Untitled10
781Et Tu Brute D – 2003 Demos
782mixo piano groove i iii VII i 2
783Meet Up With My Maker – v3
784Untitled1 12
785Sugar Cookie – v1
786major melody bells 2012-08-03_10-24
7872015-Mar-10-1549
788Smaller Than Life – 2013-2-14 sketch 8
789Real Life Friend – v6
790toby gad idea 3
791Only Just This Once – 2004-02-20
792Ode to Whine 2
793I’m Gonna Crush You
794???
795East Coast or West Coast – 2012-9-20 sketch
796Wagamama – 2013-2-19-13 sketch 2
797Medicine 4
79803 Ain’t Got No Words
799We Are Fighters 4
800I Can’t Stop, I’m 0 for the Day

Weezer’s The Organ Player: What Rivers Was Saying All Along

When Weezer was making their fourth album Maladroit, Rivers Cuomo dropped a bad habit: he started writing songs that meant something again.

In response to the reaction to Pinkerton, Rivers decided to write songs without any personal meaning. It was a phase that lasted for a few years. And when Weezer had commercial success with the Green Album in 2001, it justified where Rivers’ head was at. But while a large number of fans liked Green, they also wanted songs with some personal meaning. So when Rivers was writing the songs for Maladroit (and songs for post-Maladroit albums written before Maladroit was even made), he started writing real again.

Some of these songs, like Private Message or 367 were literally about what was going on in Rivers’ (very online) life.

Other songs were metaphorical. Prodigy Lover and Mo Beats were about lawsuits facing the band and the ex-members that instigated them. And then there was the Organ Player.

The Organ Player is a laid-back song about a man performing music in public. He’s heckled by a bitter young man:

He can’t accept what the other ones can
That the song is greater than him
Spreading venom in the crowd
Laughing high horses are loud

The organ player keeps playing:

He won’t be swayed from the right melody
Because he knows its beauty

Things get worse when the bitter young man keeps at it:

He’s got to take on the source of his pain
At the cost of righteous thinking

Casting necromancer spells
Summoning demons from hell

But the organ player keeps playing. And the song gets better.

A perfect tune doesn’t need a disguise.

By the end of the song, the bitter young man is defeated and the organ player presumably goes off to make more music. It’s an interesting story, but it’s very autobiographical.

Rivers first wrote The Organ Player in June of 2002. The earliest demo of it was a relationship song recorded while he was in Korea for the World Cup. But sometime between then and when Weezer recorded it in early July, it took on the story.

At the time, Rivers frequented a few Weezer message boards. Both the official board on Weezer.com and a fan-run board called the Rivers Correspondence Board. As he said back then, Rivers lived a life where he was in a different city every day. Having an online community gave him stability. Although, as someone who was on both at the time, the RCB was definitely not a source of stability.

Rivers with a bunch of fans, July 2002, Columbus, Ohio.

It seemed a prerequisite for most RCB members was to be the prototypical bitter young man. There was a very anti-Green, anti-Maladroit sentiment. People wanted songs that came from real experiences. Songs that evolved. And despite derision about his newest material, Rivers remained steadfast in his belief that he was on the right path. He was confident that his new approach would lead to even more success for the band. As he posted on the RCB in the spring of 2002:

here’s something you have to understand: “classic” weezer is going to be buried by a far more popular “new” style over the next few years. those 20 songs that you guys are so attached to are going to mean nothing to the millions and millions of new fans that are coming in.

What’s more, Rivers knew that he needed to get through this phase and use it to build what was next:

5 might contain:
from pink: emotional inspiration
from green: strophic form; 2.5 min. songs
from mala: natural playing, singing, and creative input from all 4 of us.

of course, i could be wrong.

Looking back on things now, he was right.

Throughout Weezer’s career, it’s been the case where each album was a departure from what came before it. And Rivers has grown with each phase.

Back in 2002, I don’t think anyone expected Weezer’s career would last another 20 plus years. Or that some of their best albums would be in the future. But that’s what happened. Weezer’s biggest commercial successes happened after 2002.

At the time, fans wanted a return to the band’s earliest years. Maybe because we didn’t know what was to come. I won’t be silly and say Rivers knew the future. But with the Organ Player, he was telling us he was sticking with the right melody. And things worked out fine.

Tracking the Flood, Part XXXII

751whistle circle o’ 5ths
752I’ll Love You Every Day 8 @68
753Kinda Bluesy
754superstar_chorus_@162 1
75508 There is No Other One
756Work 5-29-2013 12h59m37s
75719 trampoline
758It Feels Like Summer 2 @160
759dictadroid1_2015_3_25_11_18_38
760Why Am I Getting So Upset 3
761Let’s Go To The 33rd Dimension – v9
762Wagamama – 2013-2-8-13 sketch 1
763Prodigy Lover
764The Tower Of Babel – v7
765tense desperate piano 3
766Well It’s A New Day – 2
767Anonymous – v18
768Love Canopy – v1
769I Want To Take You Home Tonight – Edi 3
770The Gift Of Gab – v4
771I’ll Think About You – Don Slacks
772Your Room
7731-5-4 @77I_want_down_time_2015_2_23_17_23_
774troublemaker feel and low bridge
775Love Me – v4

Tracking the Flood, Part XXXI

726The Good News Channel – v4
72713 My mommy said children ought to g
728Narcissus Blooming 3
729work 3-12-2013 18h37m55s
73020 Spinal Jam
731summer_elaine_5_verse
73202 tapping song
733ideas 11-7-2011 12h20m54s
734Everybody Wants A Chance To Feel All Alone – 2004-02-20
735happy_anniversary_5_verse
73619 too many thoughts in my head, now
737Sandy pants @143
738Codependent – v9
739QB Blitz 6 soft @98
740Cleopatra – v7
741Untitled11 1
742My Place – 2013-10-28 acoustic sketch 1
743Second Best Hugger in the World – 2013-2-14 sketch 3
744I Got Everything That I Need – v3 sketch
745Garbage Can
746Troublemaker
747Weapons Expert
748Real Life Friend – 2012-6-23 rough acoustic sketch 2
749Bone On Bone – 2013-2-28 sketch 4
750The British Are Coming – v23 No B

Tracking the Flood, Part XXX

701Up In The   Clouds 32
702High Hopes –   v14
70320 The Key   of E_ The Key of Bb
704work   3-12-2013 18h44m40s
705I Need Some   Touch
70603 It Holds   Me Together
707The Rules Of   Life – v35 Adolf
708What Is This   I Find – SFTBH
709The Rules Of   Life – v39 2
710Don’t Go   Hulk 1 @ 120
711The British   Are Coming – v41 Son Of Liberty
712Work   12-2-2013 14h15m45s
713@190_2015_2_14_13_51_42
714I vi    I64 IV ideas 10-5-201
715what am i   gonna do
716Posessed,   Obsessed
71760 punky   riff
718Over The   Mountain (Slower And Dist Verse) – 2004-04-23
719looking for   a fight 2011
720The   Purification of Water – Monterey Jack
721Unknown Song   C – 2012-11-5 1
722Spirit   Animal
723Don’t Show   Us Your Body – v4
724finger_pluck_blues_riff_2015_1_1_11_
7252010-07-12d

SZNZ Come and SZNZ Go, Weezer Rocks More Than Ever

Not even two years ago, Rivers Cuomo shared his plan for Weezer’s 2022.

Rivers wanted to release four albums (or EPs) in a year. Each coming out the first day of a season, with each record having a certain tone, feel and theme. Inspired by Vivaldi, the songs would (loosely) tell the stories of two angels who go to Earth for vacation and don’t go back to heaven.

Here we are, on the first day of winter 2022 and Weezer has done it. There were some stumbling blocks and things along the way that didn’t happen (a Broadway show and a Wrecking Crew-like group of backing magicians). But with the help of project producers Suzy Shinn, Jake Sinclair, the individual record producers and other musicians, engineers and technicians, Weezer has released four albums this year. That’s pretty incredible.

Even more incredible, and I don’t say this lightly, but overall, taking all four records into consideration, SZNZ is Weezer’s best album yet. I said a few months ago and stand by the fact that Weezer is making some of their best music ever. I’m not saying SZNS is perfect. There are weaknesses. Production quality varies from album to album. Because they’re EPs, each album is short. At times, you feel like there’s not enough variety or flavor on an album. But SZNZ overcomes this.

As a whole, there’s variation in SZNZ. Weezer explores different musical styles. There are songs that sound like Yacht Rock and songs that would sound like they belong on a Christmas-themed playlist. Rivers incorporates Vivaldi and other classical themes throughout the songs. These songs are clearly about something and mean something to Rivers. Most importantly, the songs are catchy with great melodies and dynamic structures.

These songs don’t replace any of Weezer’s earlier work. I’m still as big a fan of Buddy Holly, The Good Life and all their other early (and mid career) songs as I ever was. But the songs Weezer has made in these last few years stand right up there with those early favorites. In terms of songwriting and composition, this (SZNZ and OK Human from last year) material goes back to and builds on Weezer’s early albums. Rivers isn’t writing songs where the final chorus sounds cut-and-pasted from the first. These songs evolve. He’s not afraid of tempo/chord changes or even taking a song in a whole new direction. Those were things he stopped doing after the world’s reaction to Pinkerton. And he’s returned to it here and there in his songwriting since. But here he is, embracing those tactics and making the music better with them.

Twenty-one years ago, when Weezer returned from their first big hiatus with the Green Album, I was pumped that Weezer was back. I loved the album, even if it wasn’t exactly the kind of music I wanted. At the time I (and everyone else) didn’t have a clue how long Weezer’s career would be. But since then, they’ve put out more incredible music (or mostly incredible) of all different styles. They’ve had hits and misses. And they’ve grown.

Rivers has already started talking about Weezer’s next album (here’s a hint: it’s time for another color album). And some are talking about what they’d like it to sound like. As for me, I’m fine with whatever they want to do.