Link:/question/2373551/answer /26 196 1 15.
Source: Zhihu.
The copyright belongs to the author. Please contact the author for authorization for commercial reprinting, and please indicate the source for non-commercial reprinting.
Weezer is the least punk-like band in the punk revival wave in the 1990s. I mean, "punk" always talks about words like rebellion and resistance. Many punk band members come from the grassroots, have low education level and dress antisocial, which leads to the stereotype of "punk youth". Cuomo Rivers, the lead singer and creative core, is from Harvard. Dressed as a college nerd when she debuted, she had a campus rock style. The lyrics of the band don't follow the hard-working route, so they are quite different from stereotypes. If you have to use one word to describe Weiser, "geek" is a very suitable word.
However, Weezer did learn from the famous punk band Pixies, and their iconic "Big Tone Guitar Sweeping the Noise Wall" influenced many bands, including Nirvana. The band said that they were also influenced by Nirvana-before Kurt Cobain's death, the two bands briefly belonged to the same brand Geffen Records. Cuomo Rivers is also a metal fan and loves Kiss. Therefore, in Weiser's first album "Blue Album", the noise wall created a manic and violent atmosphere, and combined with beautiful melody, it established Weiser's unique style-combining venting and soothing in a strange way. As I mentioned before, my favorite Japanese punk band ELLEGARDEN is deeply influenced by Weezer, which is shown in the album "Bring Your Board! ! This is especially obvious in the book. Sammi Samurai also wrote a song called Cuomo, dedicated to his idol Cuomo Rivers. In other words, you can post my comments to ELLEGARDEN on Blue Album. ...
In order to illustrate the similarities between the two, two songs are posted for comparison:
My name is Jonasson (also known as "My name is Jonah" ...) by Weiser.
ELLEGARDEN's crazy song
Incredibly, it took me many years to realize that the Japanese punk band Asian Kung Fu Generation is also a band with Weiser characteristics, although I'm not sure whether the former is influenced by the latter.
The Blue Album made Weiser a rock star as soon as she made her debut. In addition to her distinctive style, her melody is also very good. From the first song "My name is Jonas" to the last song "Only in Dreams", her melody creation is remarkable, not to mention her contribution to several popular songs on the list. Cuomo Rivers, the lead singer and creative core, has a thin voice, but it is interesting to hear him roar in the high notes. "Blue Album" has been selected in a large number of "Best xx Album in History" lists, which can be described as a romantic film. Sadly, Weezer has been going downhill since then, and no album has reached the position of blue album in word of mouth or sales. Ah, the starting point is too high ~ ~ ~
Weiser's lyrics have a cynical sense of humor, but they are not cynical. In addition, it also likes to shoot some funny love stories, which also reflects the values of the band members that are different from the "punk spirit"-the short story: Spike Jonze, who is famous for his whimsy, directed the early love stories for the band. Pinkerton, released by 1996, is an ambitious work by Como Rivers. The band participated in the production without a producer, which can be described as a full release of Como Rivers' musical ideas. However, its market reaction is very bad, and it is said that its sales volume is less than half that of Blue Album. This has two effects on the band: it almost broke up and didn't resume its activities until 2000; The Como River has suffered a sharp decline, and it has not been in the state since the 1990s.
Pinkerton has changed a lot, which is weirder than "Blue Album": twisted and screaming guitar, banging drums, strange and twisted melody; Cuomo Rivers' lyrics changed from "black humor" to "obscure": it has a beautiful life; There is a mockery of competitors ("I asked you to go to the Green Day concert, but you said you had never heard of them", but Weezer has a good relationship with Green Day); There is even "love lace (! ! ) "pink triangle. Cuomo Rivers' singing method is more extreme, or roar or groan, which is seamlessly combined in one song, making Pinkerton's popularity plummet. Therefore, Weiser was even labeled as "EMO". However, even though Pinkerton's business performance is not ideal, his reputation is still good. When it was released, it won a lot of praise from the media. 20 10 Pinkerton reprinted deluxe edition, and all the media including Pitchfork scored full marks. Rolling Stone called it "a cult classic" and "the womb of sexual fruit"-even the lovelorn song, Pinkerton was depressed because he couldn't keep the appointment. This kind of "explicit" smells like a freak; Prefix magazine compared its text with Gareth Campesino! Analogy-Gareth Campesino! It's my favorite band, Campesino! The lead singer and lyricist, whose lyrics are famous for their obscure introspection and self-confession.
Just kidding, Pinkerton is a person's name and the name of Pinkerton security consulting company. Allan pinkerton was a legend during the American Civil War. He founded the first private detective agency in America. So I once saw a Chinese translation of this album called Private Detective. When the album was released, the title of the album did cause legal disputes, which may also be the reason for the sluggish album sales.
The release of 200 1 green album announced Weezer's official return (Christmas EP is a test work, which is omitted here). This time, the band invited Ric Ocasek, the producer of the first album, so the overall style is close to Blue Album, and the melody is smooth and pleasant. Each song is not long and has a tight rhythm. Compared with Pinkerton, it is no longer dark and introspective, but "small and fresh", lacking thickness and depth.
In the next few years, Weiser released albums steadily. Maladroit is like a demo collection: it contains 13 songs, the length is just over half an hour, and each song is within three minutes; Many songs use metal riffs; In the main song; The style is quite different from before. It lacks a hit single. Make Believe contributed to the hit singles Beverly Hills and Perfect Situation, but this album was particularly unpopular. Pitchfork can't get away with 0.4 points-even the opening of 10 is too scary. ! And Weiser hasn't been criticized since Make Believe. ...
I came into contact with Weiser from Make Believe and Red Album. At that time, I heard Weezer's name for a long time, but after listening to it, I felt that my reputation was unbearable: "Samurai Samurai is actually a fan of this band? ! What a difference! ! "-At that time, I was a fanatic of ELLEGARDEN (emphasis here), so it was inevitable to compare: to say" fashion ",melody was no match for ELLEGARDEN; If we say "art", it smells like "triad pop punk"-I have never been a fan of pop punk. To be honest, several albums before the Green Day transition, including Ducky, were boring. By the time of Make been, Weezer had already broken away from the famous "big timbre block guitar string-sweeping noise wall", so it was naturally difficult to find the inheritance relationship with ELLEGARDEN. In 2009, Raditude was so bad that I was surprised. This album is really big! Disaster! Difficult! Not bad, because the band is playing the electronic dance music R&; The muddy water of "B" is not because there is no bright spot from melody to lyrics to orchestration, but-at least the band has been out for more than ten years. Why does the image revealed from the music still risk the stupidity of a 20-year-old punk? Pitchfork criticized the band "forever 13 years old". If you don't regard it as a shortcoming, you can also describe the characteristics of the band appropriately.
How bad is Raditude? A little joke: A fan felt that the band had been depressed for many years and was so angry with Raditude that he vomited blood, so he organized a crowdfunding activity: fans raised money 1 10,000 dollars to let Como Rivers retire. "Don't ruin Weiser's reputation again!" Crowdfunding was unsuccessful, but the anger of fans can be seen.
However, it is precisely because I heard the blue album and Pinkerton from the back that I got a kind of "(crossed out) Laotan sauerkraut beef noodles (crossed out), which is the taste!" This feeling. Let's put it this way, ELLEGARDEN can crush all the albums after Green Ablum with any LP album, but a Pinkerton is enough to make ELLEGARDEN "small and fresh".
Weiser's debut image has always been very complicated. If the image in Blue Album and Pinkerton is Sheldon, then the subsequent album is Joey: Sheldon is eccentric, but not stupid; Joey is really stupid. Weiser is not without glory. Pinkerton proved that Weiser is not a superficial punk band that only entertains the audience. Many punk or hardcore bands often take "on the high side" as the transformation direction, such as Green Day, My Chemical Romance and Fuck, which have tossed out "rock epics" one by one. On the other hand, Weiser chose another way-a more introspective and self-centered style. Unfortunately, the feedback from this transformation is not ideal. Imagine, if Pinkerton's transformation is recognized by the market, then Weiser may become a master of "geek rock" just like a liar who becomes the spokesman of wizard rock. Therefore, Weiser has a strange sense of tragedy.
One last joke and digression. Friend Zhou Zuo mentioned that Como Rivers once released a Japanese album "スコットとリバースコッとㄈス." _ & River)
Weiser has always been popular in Japan. Not to mention the Japanese band influenced by Weezer, nor "you semi-Japanese girls" in the lyrics of Weezer's early album, the Fuji Music Festival in Japan in 2000 provided the opportunity for the band to return. Although everyone only knows the AKB family when it comes to J-POP, many underground bands in Japan are punk or even hardcore bands. Of course, only a few people can enter the mainstream market. I remember that the Asian Kung Fu generation also sang anime (like Huo Ying? ) The theme song is famous.