Tracking the Flood, part xxix

67617 These   Things That You Do
677Untitled10_2016_3_7_11_38_50
678Cleopatra –   v19
679tearing me   apart piano 6_8
680I Don’t Feel   Enough 2
681Everybody   Waits
682I’ll Love   You Every Day – 2015-3-27 acoustic sketch
683Turn Me   Around (Take 1)
684Loveable   Loser 2 @100
685o holy night   PW demo
68605 verse
6872012-02-10_13-43
688You Test The   Water
689Ain’t Got   Nobody – v24
690No Bars – v3
691Weezer Feel
692One Second   of Weez – sketch
693The Rules Of   Life – v27
694Pretty Great   Piano Melody
69514 clean   riff development_ _ I _i
696Sweetest One   Of All – 2004-02-13
697Turn It Down
698Steamroller   Action
699you and me   together piano
700In Your Arms

Tracking the flood, part xxviii

651332.1 riff
652Bells In My   Head – v2 weezered
65308 Close   Your Eyes and Give Me a Kiss
654Cleopatra –   v10
655Special   (Diamond Rings, All My Life I Knew That)
656sleeping_pill
657Ain’t Got   Nobody – v7
658Work   3-23-2013 5h31m37s
659Blues Riff
660It’s Been So   Long – 2013-12-2 sketch 2 dup2
661dictadroid8_2014_11_20_13_40_47
662Second Best   Hugger In The World – v1
663Return To   Ithaca – v2
664Cleopatra –   v9
665Why Bother –   Don Slacks
666僕らの未来   Instrumental
667Everybody   Needs Salvation – v14
668TOO MANY   THOUGHTS – ROUGH 1 – OCT 13
66978 Ol   Backwater
670Broken   Man 2 @ 92
67114 amazing   contrary motion in 3_4
672St. George –   2012-10-23 alt verse idea
673Yahoo (No   Drums) – 2004-02-20
674Simple   Fisherman – 2004-01-09
675Bless The   Whole Wide World – v10

Tracking the Flood, Part XXVI

626Sports Team 4
627Children’s_Album 9-1-2011 8h18m45s
628I6 IV V piano
629The British Are Coming – v50
630371.2
631Where Do All The Kids Hang Out 5 in B @85
632I’ll Love You Every Day 9 verses
633There Is No Try – 2012-11-13 3
634Start Up – 2012-11-16 brief acoustic clip 1
635Awaken Early – v2 @118 melody
636Bad Girl (with overdubs)
637She’s Just A Girl – acoustic sketch verse check 3
638The British Are Coming – v14
639Say You Will
640Take It Easy (No Intro, Low Verse, Na Na Chorus) – 2004-05-18
64111 silvertone blues riff
642Best Coast Bethany Ideas 4
643Hippies – 2013-2-13 sketch 1
644Ideas 4-8-2013 9h25m14s
645Untitled3
646TKX-(between 69-70) Little Girls Don
647shangri la LOVE BEING ME 2
648Organ Rave A120
649Little Do They Know 2 piano @88 -5
650President of The United States

Tracking the Flood, Part XXV

601Ideas   7-15-2013 16h16m24s
602Broken Phone   – 2002-10-08
603I Am An   Indian – v2
604Change The   World
60507 I don’t   wanna let you go.vso.3sho
606Egos – 2003   Demos
607Our Heaven’s   Son – 2
608Don’t Bring   Me Down
60912 Tired of   Sex
610Sixth Xmas
611About Last   Night 1 @62
612dictadroid10_2015_2_10_14_48_41
613Untitled9-1
614Get Me On   The Line
615Since You   Came Around 14
616Why Am I   Getting So Upset 8 og
617ideas   11-7-2011 12h20m54s
618The Rules Of   Life – v16
619The British   Are Coming – v36
620Ain’t Got   Nobody – v3
621Work   10-26-2012 15h19m32s
622I’ll Be With   Someone Else – v2
623Saturday   Night – 2013-7-22 sketch 6
624Her Name Is   Kaylee 2 @119
625First Riff

Tracking the Flood, Part XXIV

576Drama Queen   – 2003 Demos
577Heart Of   Hearts 8 @129 vocals
57801 Peter No   No No No No – Samples an
579Evil Eye
580Hideaway –   2013-6-5 sketch 6
581I Admire You   So Much
582This Is My   Home 2002-10-06
583Good Times   1998-03
584Wagamama –   2013-2-13-13 sketch 3
585bellwether2015-Mar-09-2141
586I V    ii vi fat mouth groove
587Ideas   2-27-2013 16h7m23s
588Perfect 5Ths   Aku 2012-05-31_10-38
589VI V    i VII
590So You Sense   It’s a Sad Situation
5911998 Riff 5   (Heavy Metal)
592Here Comes   The Rain 16 impossible @112 +5
593_b2 5 1   piano 2012-05-03_08-41
594Up In The   Clouds – v29
595Something’s   Missing 3
596Cold and   Damp (edit 2 reinsert solo
597Untitled2
598toby gad   idea 1
599Everyone
600TechnoProgressions2

Tracking the flood, part XXIII

551I V  IV    cut up  @147
552Untitled1
553I Don’t Want   You To Go
554The British   Are Coming – v35
555Ideas   10-3-2013 15h38m56s
556Anonymous –   v22
557Surfer Girl   – Don Slacks
558verse_melody@208
559Ghost   2 @125 melody
560Second Best   Hugger In The World – v1
561Mixo Hop   Piano  10-5-2012 10H16M57S
562Expatriate   In LA         8
563Untitled1
564St. George –   v6
565Ideas   8-22-2013 10h17m32s
56617 I’m   Lonely on a Saturday Night
567Work   5-24-2013 12h22m39s
568clean 154   Ideas 1-11-2013 3h21m35s
56905 dissonant   riff w harmonic
570Wake Up Dry
571The Rules Of   Life – v31 – vS
572Song From   Yesterday – v2
573If I Fell –   Monterey Jack
574No Contact –   2004-06-03 Instrumental
575Drama Queen   – 2003 Demos

Tracking the Flood, Part XXII

526dictadroid5_2015_2_7_10_24_40
527President Of The United Flakes
52820 She told me once before that I.
529Work 1-2-2013 19h28m15s
530My Brain – mix 4 (16374)
531You Don’t Have To Be Perfect For Me   3 @70
532Freak Me Out – 2004-07-20
533I  IV  16th happy fast clean strum i
534Unknown Song D – 2012-11-26 vocal sketch 1
535Let Go Of Me – 2004-02-05
536beat
53703 The Weird Gate
538Superfriend Reprise – SFTBH
539Rest In Peace – v18
540All She Wants Is Money
541J Is For Joy   6 discovered @135 +4
542Sugar Daddies (Rick version) – 2002-10-15
543Elaine – v8 ghost sketch
544Ideas 1-27-2013 21h41m26s
545be my steady (be my steady)
546Does Anybody Love Anybody – v9 Bridge, Sped Up, Acoustic & Electric 
547Oh God I’m Hungry – SFTV
548Everyone Knows You Came To Get Some
54945 Disco Queen
55087 Tick Tock

Tracking the Flood, Part XXI

501@144_2015_3_26_16_28_34
502The Rules Of   Life – v19
503Butterfly –   2012-1-20 Weezer Cruise
504Shining   Star 15
505My Mind’s On   You – SFTV
506Why Am I   Getting So Upset 2
507The British   Are Coming – v16
508Me And My   Posse – 2004-05-18 Instrumental
509Bender 3 Dream House @86
510Hook Dance 1   on I piano
511Sing My   Blues Away – v3
512dictadroid1_2015_4_7_13_53_27
513411b
514Let’s Go To   The 33rd Dimension – v8 LEA
515you_are_the_one_2015_1_15_10_52_27
51609 My Bark   is Worse Than My Bite
517Second Best   Hugger In The World – v8
518Work   12-11-2012 11h30m46s
51954 yeah,   yeah, yeah
520St. George –   2012-10-1 early acoustic
521I Wish I   Could Autotune My Face – v4
522Sports Team   – v6
523I’M GETTING   FAT – ROUGH 1 – SEPT 8
52409 Delis   Pegata-Third Wall-Keek
525The Cuomo   Family

Tracking the Flood, part XX

476heavy piano groove in Gb  I  vi 1
477instrumental 1
478Flat Tire – v2
479I Won’t Let You Down – v8
480Hey, Here Comes My Love  A20
481Empty Nest – v6
48215 Why Can’t You Shut Your Mouth_
483Everybody Let’s Rock
484Ain’t Got Nobody Voice Memo
485Your Right Man
486In The Garage – Don Slacks
487June Bride   2 i know that you want me @65
48818 Beautiful Demons
489She’s Just A Girl – acoustic sketch
490The Best of Me – v9
491The Sweetest One Of All – 2004-02-20 3
492Ideas 9-25-2013 13h13m43s
493Sometimes You Never Know
494These things that you do (revised)
495Victory (I Don’t Want Your Lovin’)
496@152_2015_3_5_14_32_36
497I Want to Live in the Future
498Fast Shuffle Piano That’s Love
499Why Oh Why – 2004-02-20
500Untitled2_2016_2_26_15_6_31

Two truths about current Weezer

The past two years have been good to Weezer fans. Not only has the band released three albums (and counting), but lead singer Rivers Cuomo has shared thousands of his demos. As much as I could go on (and on and on) about Rivers’ demos, two thoughts that I’m convinced that are facts have been on my mind about the three Weezer albums we’ve gotten in the last 15 months:

  • Weezer is making some of their best music ever
  • For all those fans wanting a follow up to Pinkerton (or something like Weezer’s second album), the SZNZ project is that follow-up.

None of what I’m about to say should be construed as an attack on any other Weezer album. I love all of the band’s records, even the one that would be at the bottom of my list of albums (if I were to make such things). But there are quality differences between the albums.

Van Weezer, the second album to come out in 2021, was a solid effort featuring Weezer-brand power pop highlighted by some hair metal influences. The first 2021 album, OK Human, was a damn masterpiece. This was a bigger departure for Weezer, featuring a lot of orchestration. The songs were thematically deep and musically complex. And they sounded great.

SZNZ: Spring, which came out two months ago takes what OK Human started and continues it. The SZNZ project is pretty ambitious for Weezer: releasing four themed albums over the course of a year. This activity and the quality of the music makes it a great time to be a Weezer fan.

Twenty years ago, we were just a short time removed from a hiatus where it looked like Weezer may be finished. Weezer put out the Green Album and Maladroit, two albums that fared well commercially (well, at least Green did). But fans didn’t all get behind these two albums like they did Weezer’s first two. A lot of fans online were vocal about being let down by the band. Despite the whining of fans back then, it’s kind of funny to look back on. Because in the years since, we’ve gotten a number of albums, many of which have been proclaimed as the ‘best since Pinkerton,’ or a ‘return to form.’

The thing is (and yes, it’s easier to see now, but still); Weezer is going to do what Weezer wants to do. Or more accurately, Rivers is going to do what Rivers wants to do. Each of their albums sounds different. And that’s a good thing. Weezer can make many different types of music. And with the material they’ve released, there’s something that can make anybody happy. You just have to be okay with what doesn’t fit your taste and accept that other people do like it (a skill I hope the fans of 20 years ago have developed in this time).

These last three albums (although I’m focusing mostly on OK Human and Spring here) have contained some of the best music Weezer has ever made. These are songs that mean something. They sound great. They develop. They have structure. And yet they’re not airtight and devoid of life. Weezer fans are getting great music, and with three more SZNZ albums out this year, it looks like that’s only going to continue.

Speaking of SZNZ, it’s time I addressed something that I’m sure some will consider heresy: that it is the follow-up to Pinkerton that people have wanted.

When it came out in 1996, Pinkerton was groundbreaking. It’s this raw, emotional, rocking concept album with themes and operatic influences. Looking back on it today, it could be seen as a little too emotionally honest and chauvinistic, but it is where Rivers was at the time. People identified with Pinkerton. It meant something to them. Sure it’s natural that fans would have wanted more of the same. But we didn’t get a follow-up for a few reasons:

  1. It wasn’t commercially successful (at first); the reaction to it had Rivers questioning himself and exploring other musical directions (which is every artist’s right). Rivers immediately pursued impersonal, more structured, riff-based rock.
  2. Rivers realized (later) that to get to a place to write the type of material he did for Pinkerton, he would have had to experience pain. And no one should have to make themselves suffer for art.

Just because Rivers changed directions, does not mean the music he made after Pinkerton isn’t any good. He and Weezer have put out some incredible albums. And as a side note, some of the music he made in 1998, when he was working on the follow-up to Pinkerton, is great. Other albums contained parts of the Pinkerton formula. Make Believe and Red were a return to personal songwriting. Everything Will Be Alright in the End was kind of conceptual. But there was nothing that brought it all together until SZNZ.

SZNZ is a project with some major ideas behind it. Each Season has a theme. There are influences from classical music (the first track, Opening Night, contains a rock version of Vivaldi’s Spring) and religion. Lyrically, there’s a bending of time- the lyrics make pop culture references while being set in another time. The songs themselves contain the dynamic nature of the Pinkerton songs – there are random stops and starts and new sections. Or consider A Little Bit of Love, where the chorus changes each time. And like Pinkerton, SZNZ tells a story; the idea is about two angels who leave paradise to live with humankind. It’s an ambitious story, and so far, Rivers is pulling it off.

The one thing that SZNZ doesn’t have is the in-your-face personal nature Pinkerton had. But even then, the very first song is about Rivers’ love for Shakespeare. It might not be as emotionally honest, but that’s not a bad thing.

Weezer fans have it very good right now. We’re getting a lot of great music, both from the band and from Rivers. And those fans who wanted a follow up to Pinkerton are finally getting what they’ve wanted.