Gods of GEEK ROCK/ Against the odds, Weezer remains a driving force

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), May 3, 2002 | by Bill Reed

Weezer SHOULD be a footnote in rock's Big Book of Flameouts. The early 1990s pop-punk band should be a trivia question by now. Gen Xers should be able to whip out references to "The Sweater Song" and "El Scorcho" like a secret handshake at parties.

Instead, the band enters 2002 at the top of their game. After putting out one of the most addictive CDs of 2001 - the "Green Album" - Weezer is set to drop "Maladroit" this month. The first single off the album, "Dope Nose," is already No. 10 on modern rock charts.

They also are kicking up dust on the Dusty West Tour that brings them to Colorado Springs' City Auditorium on Wednesday, along with the legion of young and loyal fans who can't get enough of the Weez.

The Los Angeles geek rockers have followed exactly zero of the music industry's rules on their strange climb up the ladder.

They stepped into the post-Nirvana alternative glory days with a multi-platinum debut in 1994, riding the strength of "Undone (The Sweater Song)" and "Buddy Holly" set to clever Spike Jonze videos (remember seeing them spliced into "Happy Days"?). Most critics yawned and declared them a one-trick pony.

Quixotic frontman Rivers Cuomo studied creative writing at Harvard in his downtime, took the critics a little too seriously and decided that the next album shouldn't rely on videos at all.

"Pinkerton" came out in 1996. Rolling Stone tagged it the worst album of the year. Sales tanked. Guitar-driven punk pop seemed over. And even Cuomo said he didn't care for "Pinkerton."

This is where the Weezer story should have ended and the "Best of Weezer" collections should have begun.

Then a bizarre thing happened. As Weezer's members started side projects and moved on with their lives, a crowd of rabid teen fans discovered "Pinkerton" and declared it pure genius. The band wasn't producing anything new, yet their fan base was growing.

Weezer returned from oblivion for the 2000 Warped Tour and proved they still had it. Then the "Green Album" debuted at No. 4 on Billboard last May, five years after the commercial failure of "Pinkerton." Wha?

To celebrate their comeback, Weezer has been tirelessly touring, and they've already recorded about half of a fifth album.

"I don't want to be like 50 years old saying 'I could have worked more,'" says Weezer drummer Pat Wilson from a tour stop in Calgary. "We're just ready. A lot of bands buy into the whole thing of take six months to make a record and then tour on it for two years. That's a drag. It works out conveniently for the record companies, because you'll never fulfill your contract.

"It'll be 20 years later and you're on album five. It's stupid."

Besides a good old-fashioned work ethic, here are eight other really cool things about Weezer.

1. They're good at ticking off their label, Interscope. They ticked off the suits something fierce by sending out advance copies of "Maladroit" months ago, and it hit radio stations way before the official release. Then the band and label started fighting over the master tapes. And now Weezer seems hell-bent on fulfilling their record contract and buying back their souls.

"If you're a popular band," explains Wilson in that Cali-boy accent that makes him sound like he doesn't really care about anything, "you should be able to do some things that you want to do.

2. Drummer Patrick Wilson's axiom, which states, "Less computers equals more classic rock."

In a world where computer blenders turn most pop into something perfect and bland, "Maladroit" sounds a little more real. Wilson and bassist Scott Shriner are the anti-computer coalition in the band.

3. Deep down, Weezer is kickin' it old school. Weezer has developed a distinctive sound, but they are also great students of rock history. Kiss, Black Sabbath, Sex Pistols, Nirvana, Pixies, Beach Boys, Beatles - you'll hear it all in Weezer's tunes.

4. Weezer often ends concerts with the song "Buddy Holly," an homage to the granddaddy of all geek rockers.

Weezer's image is a lack of image. They wear thick glasses. They aren't scene-sters. Cuomo says nerdy things to the crowd like "You guys are retarded."

"I can be no other way," says Wilson. "I don't know what I would do if I wasn't just being me." It's enough to give hope to geeks everywhere.

5. Weezer is not afraid of aural pleasure. Above all, Weezer's pop sounds good. Hooks, catchy choruses, sweet melodies, nice beats - without descending into schlock. Why don't all bands do this?

"It's hard, first of all," Wilson says. "It sounds so simple, but it's not as easy as just writing a riff that's really fun to play."

6. Weezer keeps it short. The 10 songs on the "Green Album" run only 28 minutes. Weezer's show in Denver last fall lasted only an hour.

7. Weezer revolves bassists like Spinal Tap revolved drummers. They've been through three so far, including one who checked himself into a psychiatric hospital. The new guy, Scott Shriner, came from the obscure metal band Bomber, and his arms are meatier than Cuomo's thighs.

8. The Glowing =W=

Weezer's concerts kick into high gear when the enormous glowing =W= is unveiled and confetti falls on the crowd. One gets the feeling that Weezer is making fun of the rock star image rather than buying into it.