Don’t bother to pack your bags, or your map
Weezer‘s “Blue Album” has found its way this week from the center console of my car (where I keep a wide assortment of discs forever orphaned from their cases, if they ever had cases) and via random fumble while keeping my eyes on the road, into my CD player. I am pleased to report that this album will forever sound good to my ears. Lately “Holiday” has been on repeat (and may, actually, be a perfect song), but the whole album is a blissfully fuzz-laden slice of 1994 to me.
The Weezer camp has some new projects coming up that are on my radar.
Frontman Rivers Cuomo will be releasing Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo on December 18 via Geffen. On their website, Rivers reports, “This is a CD of my favorite home demos from ’92 to ’07 featuring a lot of never heard before songs, a few covers, a few songs from my unfinished rock musical ‘Songs From The Black Hole’ and my original demo for ‘Buddy Holly’“.
I am very excited about the Rivers solo stuff. Dude is a prolific songwriter, you can’t even keep track of what all he’s written and performed and leaked over the years, unless you have vault-like memory. This’ll give you an idea. All I know is that some of the demos and unreleased stuff that I’ve heard are as good as anything that Weezer actually released, so we should be in for a treat next month.
Then in April, Weezer’s sixth studio album will be coming out, currently untitled and also very hush hush about the content. We know it’s finished, and it’s being mixed, but other than that, we can only conjecture in hushed tones what might lie therein.
To stoke the possibly-dormant fires of your Weezer fever, here’s a handful of demos & miscellany that I’ve unearthed from my iTunes for today’s playlist.
You Gave Your Love To Me Softly (Angus soundtrack)
Lover In The Snow (demo)
Worry Rock (Green Day cover)
The Sister Song
Come To My Pod (Songs From The Black Hole)
Let’s Sew Our Pants Together (Kitchen Tape)
Thief, You’ve Taken All That Was Me (Kitchen Tape)
My Evaline (b-sides)
Mykel and Carli (b-sides)
Jamie (DGC Rarities, Vol. 1)
I also just noticed that Weezer bassist Scott Shriner guest-starred with The Scrantones at, um, The Office Convention. I don’t know about attending any convention for a TV show (as much as I love said TV show) but I’d totally join the Scrantones on a world tour. That is, if Scrantonicity II didn’t want me.
Name: Heather Browne
Cool blog, thanks for uploading these songs!
Tim — November 15, 2007 @ 11:18 am
anyone can write a million songs if they never have any sex.
firedande — November 15, 2007 @ 11:23 am
Rivers had a fair amount of sex, prior to his meditation days. It just occurred to me how upsetting it is that I know anything about the man’s sex life.
Anyway, good songs. Since switching computers, most of these songs have been misplaced, so it’s a big help being able to pick them up here. Let’s Sew Our Pants is a phenomenal song.
Matthew — November 15, 2007 @ 2:33 pm
I was at the office convetion, and when I saw Scott I knew he looked familiar. Nothing clicked until later, when I got home, and read about him being there…
Gilly — November 15, 2007 @ 3:22 pm
…ahem…
ortholomeux — November 15, 2007 @ 5:49 pm
I agree that The Blue Album is an absolute, 100% classic. Rivers can throw a lot of crap out there – I actually don’t hold out too much hope for his basement tapes record – but when he’s on, and working with a producer who will tell him “no” (I’m looking at you, Rick Rubin), there’s no one better.
Thanks.
Anonymous — November 15, 2007 @ 8:25 pm
Here, have some more B-sides/Rare shit…
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MD2KMQ64
Its a RAR file with 13 more songs, and the link won’t expire for a looooong time, so feel free to add it to your post if you want
Big Wave Rider — November 16, 2007 @ 9:30 am
Cool fact re: The Scrantones…Creed Bratton (who plays “Creed Bratton” on the The Office!) was a member of the band The Grass Roots in the late 60′s when they were having most of their big hits like “Let’s Live For Today” and “Midnight Confessions”.
Side3 — November 16, 2007 @ 4:36 pm
Cool factoid Song3. I didn’t know that, but I love how so many of them (Phyllis, Oscar, Creed, etc) use their real first names on the show. I mean, why not, right?
heather — November 16, 2007 @ 5:03 pm
Oh snap. Adam Orth just cleared his throat on your blog.
I look forward to Rivers’ solo comp. His solo work is as good, if not better, than his Weezer output. The album should be pretty decent, so long as it’s heavy on his older material.
Matthew — November 16, 2007 @ 5:12 pm
I was at the Office Convention as well and had the pleasure of meeting Scott. He was a super nice guy. I also thought how wierd it must have been for him to be performing in a show and afterward, the crazy fans were not crazy for him but for imaginary office drones.
Anonymous — November 18, 2007 @ 9:43 am
Blue Album is pretty much the awesomest thing ever. I still have “Buddy Holly” on my Bar-Mizvah video. I remember being 13 and my mom asking me, do you really think you’re going to want to hear this song in 10 years when you re-watch the video. I answered in the affirmative. 13 years later, I stand by the decision.
Passion of the Weiss — November 18, 2007 @ 6:52 pm