Weezer - Buddy Holly
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- Duration: 4:01
- Published: 2009-06-17
- Uploaded: 2011-02-23
- Author: WeezerVEVO
Music video by Weezer performing Buddy Holly. (C) 1994 Geffen Records
| Name | Weezer |
|---|---|
| Img width | 250 |
| Landscape | Yes |
| Background | group_or_band |
| Associated acts | Avant Garde, Lil Wayne, Space Twins, Goat Punishment, The Special Goodness, The Relationship, The Rentals, Ozma| Origin = Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genre | Alternative rock Power pop Pop punk Emo Indie rock |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Label | DGC/Interscope (1993-2009) Epitaph (2010-present) |
| Url | www.weezer.com |
| Current members | Rivers Cuomo Brian Bell Scott Shriner Patrick Wilson |
| Past members | Jason Cropper Matt Sharp Mikey Welsh |
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band consists of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar), Patrick Wilson (drums, guitar, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals, keyboards). The band has changed lineups several times since its formation in 1992. They have released nine full-length albums, six EPs, and a DVD. Weezer has sold over nine million records in the US to date.
The band is best known for their successful singles "Buddy Holly", "Undone - The Sweater Song", "Island in the Sun", "Beverly Hills" and "Pork and Beans". The band's eighth studio album, Hurley, was released on September 14, 2010 on Epitaph Records. Additionally, a deluxe release of their 1996 album Pinkerton and a compilation of rare and unreleased songs titled Death to False Metal were released on November 2, 2010. They also plan to release a new studio album in 2011.
Jonze also directed the band's second video, for "Buddy Holly". The video achieved heavy rotation on MTV and went on to win Jonze and the band four MTV Video Music Awards, including Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative Music Video, and two Billboard Music Video Awards. The clip was also featured on the companion CD for the Microsoft Windows 95 computer operating system. A third single, "Say It Ain't So", followed. Weezer is currently certified triple platinum in the United States, Cuomo traveled back east to his home state of Connecticut, and using an eight-track recorder, he began piecing together demo material for Weezer's next album. Cuomo's original concept for Weezer's second album was to be a space-themed rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole. The album was intended to feature songs that flowed together seamlessly and end with a special coda that briefly revisited the major musical elements of the piece. Ultimately, the Songs from the Black Hole album concept was dropped. Three singles were taken from the album: "El Scorcho", "The Good Life", and "Pink Triangle". The album's title sparked a legal challenge. Pinkerton Securities of Encino, Calif., filed a temporary injunction against the band and its Geffen record label for trademark infringement two days before the album was to be released on September 24, 1996. A judge ruled for Weezer, and the album was finally released. This injunction caused Geffen to hold back some of the initial advertising and promotion for the album, possibly contributing to the album's slow initial sales. Due to initial weak sales (it peaked at #19 in the U.S.), the album was, at first, viewed as a commercial failure, especially when viewed in light of the multi-platinum success of their debut album. The album failed to gain traction in the mainstream music world, perhaps due to its darker, more abrasive sound. However, word of mouth kept the trickle of sales going and eventually the record achieved cult status.
The band would not reunite until April 2000, when the Fuji Festival in Japan offered Weezer a high-paying gig to play in August 2000. The festival served as a catalyst for Weezer's productivity, and from April to May 2000, the band rehearsed and demoed new songs in Los Angeles. The band returned to live shows in June 2000, playing small unpromoted concerts under the pseudonym Goat Punishment. In June 2000, the band joined the Warped Tour for eight dates.
Eventually, the band went back into the studio to produce a third album. They chose the title, Weezer (2001), to repeat the self-titled name of their first release. This album quickly became known as "The Green Album" due to its distinctive bright green coloring. Shortly after the release of the album, Weezer went on another American tour. They attracted a new generation of fans thanks to heavy MTV rotation for the videos of their hit singles "Hash Pipe" and "Island in the Sun".
As reported on August 16, 2001, by MTV, bassist Mikey Welsh was checked into a psychiatric hospital. His whereabouts were previously unknown, as he mysteriously went missing before the filming of the second video for "Island in the Sun". Weezer was prompted to find a temporary replacement for Welsh. Through a mutual friend, Cuomo received Scott Shriner's number and asked if he was interested in filling in for Welsh. Shriner accepted the invitation.
The recording was also done without input from Weezer's record label, Interscope. Cuomo had recently had what he then described as a "massive falling out" with the label. In early 2002, well before the official release of the album, the label sent out a letter to radio stations requesting the song be pulled until an official, sanctioned single was released. Interscope also briefly shut down Weezer's audio/video download webpage, removing all the MP3 demos. Online Weezer fans staged a brief protest, with several websites proclaiming "Free Maladroit".
In April 2002, former bassist Matt Sharp sued the band, alleging, among several accusations, that he was owed money for cowriting several Weezer songs. The suit was later settled out of court.
The fourth album, Maladroit, was released on May 14, 2002, only one year after its predecessor. The album served as a harder-edged version of the band's trademark catchy pop-influenced music, and was replete with busy 1980s-style guitar solos. Although met with generally positive critical reviews, its sales were not as strong as those for "The Green Album". Two singles were released from the album. The music video for "Dope Nose" featured an obscure Japanese motorcycle gang, and was put into regular rotation. The music video for "Keep Fishin'" combined Weezer with The Muppets, and had heavy rotation on MTV. Both videos were directed by Marcos Siega.
As soon as Maladroit had wrapped up, the band immediately began work on their fifth album, recording numerous demos between tours (often recording as many as 24 songs in a day). These songs were eventually scrapped, and Weezer took a break after the release of two albums in quick succession. During this break, Bell and Wilson released LPs from their respective side projects Space Twins and The Special Goodness.
Weezer released their much-delayed first DVD on March 23, 2004. The Video Capture Device DVD chronicles the band from its beginnings through Maladroit's Enlightenment Tour. Compiled by Karl Koch, the DVD features home video footage, music videos, commercials, rehearsals, concert performances, television performances, and band commentary. The DVD was certified "gold" on November 8, 2004.
The album's first single, "Beverly Hills", became a hit in the U.S. and worldwide, staying on the charts for several months after its release. It became the first Weezer song to hit #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. "Beverly Hills" was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, the first ever Grammy nomination for the band. The video was also nominated for Best Rock Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. The second single off Make Believe was "We Are All on Drugs". MTV refused to play the song, so Weezer re-recorded the lyrics by replacing "on drugs" with "in love" and renaming the song "We Are All in Love". In early 2006, it was announced that Make Believe was certified platinum, and "Beverly Hills" was the second most popular song download on iTunes for 2005, finishing just behind "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani. Make Believe's third single, "Perfect Situation", spent four weeks in a row at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. "This Is Such a Pity" was the band's fourth single from the album, but no music video was made for its release. The Make Believe tour also found the band using additional instruments onstage, adding piano, synthesizers, pseudophones, and guitarist Bobby Schneck.
The band has announced the possible release of a live DVD composed of footage from the 2005 Japan tour. It will consist of a two-day, seven-camera shoot of the shows in Japan, plus material that will be drawn from various behind-the-scenes footage. The DVD was announced in late 2005, but in a 2006 update on the band's website, Karl Koch noted it was "apparently edited, but has been put on hold for now."
On May 30, 2008, the Toledo Free Press revealed in an interview with Scott Shriner that Weezer would be unveiling the "Hootenanny Tour", in which fans would be invited to bring their own instruments to play along with the band. Said Shriner: "They can bring whatever they want...Oboes, keyboards, drums, violins, and play the songs with us as opposed to us performing for them."
The band performed five dates in Japan at the beginning of September and then embarked on what was dubbed the 'Troublemaker' tour, consisting of 21 dates around North America, including two in Canada. Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club joined them as support at each show and Brian Bell's 'other' band The Relationship also performed at a handful of dates. Shortly before the encore at each show, the band would bring on fans with various instruments and perform Island in the Sun and Beverly Hills with them. At a show in Austin, after Tokyo Police Club had played their set, Rivers was wheeled out in a box and mimed to a recording of rare Weezer demo, 'My Brain', dressed in pajamas and with puppets on his hands, before being wheeled off again. This bizarre event later surfaced as the climax to a promo video for Cuomo's second demo album, Alone 2.
Rivers Cuomo also wrote a song with pop duo Aly & AJ, and was very pleased with the way the girls worked. It is unknown if the song will be made public on an album.
On December 4, iPhone OS developer Tapulous released the game Christmas With Weezer, featuring gameplay similar to Tap Tap Revenge and six Christmas carols performed by the band. A digital EP featuring the songs, entitled "Christmas with Weezer", was also released on December 16, 2008.
Raditude's album artwork was revealed on September 11, featuring a National Geographic contest-winning photograph of a jumping dog named Sidney. The record's release was pushed to November 3, 2009, where it debuted as the seventh best-selling album of the week on the Billboard 200 chart. The band scheduled tour dates in December 2009 extending into early 2010 to coincide with the new album's release. On December 6, 2009, Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo was injured when his tour bus crashed in upstate New York due to black ice. Cuomo suffered three broken ribs, and his assistant broke two ribs. His wife, baby daughter, and their nanny were also on the bus; however, they escaped injury. Weezer cancelled tour dates the following day. The band resumed touring on January 20, 2010.
In December 2009, it was revealed that the band was no longer with Geffen Records. The band stated that they would still release new material, but they are unsure of the means, whether it be self-released, released online, or getting signed by another label. Eventually, the band was signed to the independent label Epitaph.
Weezer co-headlined The Bamboozle in May, 2010, and performed at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, Tennessee in June. In August, 2010, Weezer performed at the Reading and Leeds Festival, and performed at the Voodoo Experience festival in New Orleans, LA in October 2010.
On June 11, 2010, the band released a new single, "Represent". The song is said to be an "unofficial US anthem" to coincide with the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
On November 2, Weezer released their 9th album, Death to False Metal (formerly titled Odds and Ends), a compilation of previously unreleased Weezer recordings. Cuomo stated that the album consists of, "songs that didn't make the first seven Weezer records because they were either too weird or too pop or too metal or too punk." In describing the album, Cuomo said, ""With ‘Death to False Metal,’ none of those songs had been heard before. It’s not a standard rarities collection, in that these songs were not actually B-sides or released anywhere. They’re just songs that we had started recording at one point, but for one reason or another couldn’t finish up, or we finished them but they just didn’t belong on a record. So in a sense, it was extremely fun and easy because there’s all this material that I love, and it felt like the bulk of the work was already done. I get to go in now, in some cases, years after having started the songs and with a totally fresh perspective and tons of energy. It’s so easy to figure out — oh, obviously there’s supposed to be a solo here, so I’ll just edit that in. Or that lyric was all wrong. Let me fix that. Or let me put a harmony here, and it very quickly came together and it was quite a lot of fun."
On November 2, 2010, the band released a deluxe version of Pinkerton, which includes "25 demos, outtakes and live tracks." A third volume of Rivers Cuomo's solo series, entitled The Pinkerton Years is also planned for release.
Brian Bell has been working on a solo project called The Relationship, and did not write any songs for Raditude in order to save more material for his solo work.
Cuomo's second demo album, , was released on November 25, 2008. The album includes further tracks from the scrapped Songs from the Black Hole, early versions of songs later released as full-band demos, amongst various other demo tracks.Many members of Weezer have bands of their own. Brian Bell has collaborated with Space Twins and The Relationship, Mikey Welsh was in Juliana Hatfield, The Kickovers and The Heretix, Patrick Wilson was in The Special Goodness, and Matt Sharp was in The Rentals as well as performing alone under his own name.
;Former members
;Touring members
Category:1990s music groups Category:2000s music groups Category:2010s music groups Category:American alternative rock groups Category:American power pop musical groups Category:Grammy Award winners
Category:Musical groups established in 1992 Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles, California Category:Musical quartets
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