Photo Credit: Spotify.com

Weezer Album Cover

Weezer’s debut album, “Weezer” (or “the Blue Album”), is quite possibly one of the most iconic albums of all time. At the very least, its cover art is the most iconic of all time. The visual of four guys standing in front of a very specific shade of blue is somehow memorable enough that if I see a blank blue square that is even vaguely similar to the Weezer shade, I will start hearing the lick to “Buddy Holly” in my brain. Is this album still as good as people remember it being, even after thirty years? Yes, absolutely, without a question.

I first wanted to see if I could interview any of the band members about the album, but I never got a response, so I asked the next closest person to Rivers Cuomo himself: Matt Barchetto. I asked him what Weezer meant to him, expecting a joke answer. However, he responded, “Honestly, it makes me think of my dad. We listened to a bit of it and bonded over it.” Listening again to the album, the feeling of 90’s nostalgia is very obvious; songs like “Buddy Holly” and “Undone” feel so 90’s, it’s almost palpable. And yet, these songs have aged so well (well, not “No One Else,” but I have a feeling that it’s meant to be ironic).

Nine out of the ten songs on this album are perfect power pop songs that make you either feel the good times or help you through bad points in your life, all of them managing to be infectiously catchy. The best examples of these are, of course, “Buddy Holly”’s chorus and solo, as well as “My Name is Jonas”’s fun dynamic changes, the choruses on “Holiday” and “Surf Wax America” and their Beach Boys-esque whimsy, and “Say It Ain’t So”’s immortal lyrics, “Flip on the telly / Wrestle with Jimmy.” Truly timeless.

You may be wondering why I only said “nine out of the ten songs”. Well, that’s because “Only In Dreams,” the closer, is a completely different beast, in the best way imaginable. The first four minutes of the song are a really good song about being too nervous to ask someone out, perfectly accentuated by Matt Sharp’s amazing bassline and the masterful use of dynamics. The second half is one of the greatest crescendos in any song. It starts almost silently, but it slowly builds and builds until it reaches a climax of guitar and noise and euphoria. Indeed, this is Weezer’s response to “Free Bird”.

This album is so iconic and classic, it almost goes without saying. If you’ve only seen the record’s cover art and maybe listened to “Buddy Holly” or “Undone” once or twice, I highly recommend picking this album up and giving it a listen.