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Weezer (Green Album)

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Untitled

Weezer (also known as The Green Album) is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer, released on May 15, 2001. Produced by Ric Ocasek, it was the band's third studio album released on Geffen Records. The musical style of Weezer is grounded in the power pop genre, featuring strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, and prominent guitar riffs.

Peaking at number four on the Billboard 200, the album has sold over one million copies in the United States. Weezer produced an array of hit singles including "Hash Pipe", "Island in the Sun", and "Photograph". Before the release of the album, long-time bassist Matt Sharp quit the band, to be replaced by Mikey Welsh. This is the first, and only, Weezer release to feature Welsh on bass. Weezer is recognized as a rebirth for the band after a long hiatus following their 1996 album, Pinkerton and a as transition for them into the early 2000s.

Background

Following the commercial and critical failure of Pinkerton, frontman Rivers Cuomo placed the band on hiatus.[citation needed] He returned to Harvard University, but eventually dropped out to focus on songwriting.[1] During this time, he played with a different rotation of musicians in Boston called Homie.[2] One of the members of Homie was Mikey Welsh, who would eventually be asked to replace Matt Sharp in Weezer.[3]

By February 1998, Cuomo had quietly disbanded Homie and headed to Los Angeles to begin work on Weezer demos with Brian Bell and Patrick Wilson.[4] At this point, bassist Matt Sharp was absent from numerous Weezer rehearsals and becoming very estranged from the band.[5][6] On April 8, 1998, Matt Sharp announced his official exit from Weezer to devote all his energies to his band, The Rentals.[7] It was quickly announced that former Homie member Mikey Welsh would take over on bass for Weezer.[8][9] Weezer continued rehearsal and cut demos until the fall of 1998.[10] Frustration and creative disagreements led to a decline in rehearsals, and in late fall of 1998, drummer Patrick Wilson left for his home in Portland pending renewed productivity from Cuomo.[11] Rivers Cuomo went into a period of admitted depression,[12] during which he painted the walls of his home black and put "fiberglass insulation all over the windows and then black sheets of fiberglass so that no light could get through."[11]

By the beginning of 1999, Weezer had gone their separate ways. Drummer Patrick Wilson resumed his efforts with his side-band The Special Goodness, guitarist Brian Bell worked on his band Space Twins[13] and Mikey Welsh toured with Juliana Hatfield.[13] Meanwhile, Cuomo focused deeply on songwriting, crafting 121 songs, nearly half of which would become demos.[13] During this time, he had isolated himself, having very little contact with the outside world,[14][15] and also received braces on his teeth, further damaging his self-esteem.[16] Brian Bell would occasionally visit Cuomo and play songs with him and Cuomo would eventually reveal songs he was working on to Bell.[15]

Unbeknownst to the band, their fanbase was connecting on the internet,[16][17] where word-of-mouth helped boost the reputation and sales of Pinkerton.[18] This expanding internet activity would later set the stage for the band's 2001 comeback.[17]

Renewed interaction between band members took place when Weezer was offered an extremely lucrative offer to perform in Japan in August 2000 for the Summer Sonic Festival.[19] 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.[citation needed] Rehearsals for the show reinvigorated the band into talking about making a new album.[20] The band returned to performing in June 2000, playing low-key shows around Los Angeles under the pseudonym Goat Punishment, ensuring that Weezer would only perform for longtime fans who would recognize the name.[20]

Eventually, the band started performing at higher profile gigs such as the Warped Tour.[21] Cuomo later remarked, "We went in there fully expecting to be booed and to have things thrown at us. But it was exactly the opposite, people were singing along to all the songs and just going crazy, giving us the best support. And I think that gave us the confidence we needed."[22] The positive response to the Warped Tour performances led to further shows being scheduled.[23][24]

When touring began to wind down, MP3 demos captured live on the band's mobile unit and sound checks began to surface on file-sharing services and eventually for downloading on the band's official website.[25] These songs were often referred to as Summer Songs of 2000 (commonly abbreviated as SS2K).[17]

Recording process

On October 23, Cuomo announced that the band would start recording material "with or without" a producer.[26] However, the band's record label opted to have the band employ a record producer due to the commercial failure of their self-produced album Pinkerton.[26] The band began rehearsing and arranging both the Summer Songs of 2000 and newer material Cuomo had written at his home with engineer Chad Bamford.[26] The band eventually decided to hire Ric Ocasek--who had also produced their debut album—as producer,[24][27] and began sending demos to Ocasek during the summer of 2000.[28] There was much debate among the band members as to whether they should record in Los Angeles or Ocasek's New York home, with the band eventually deciding to record in Los Angeles at Cello Studios.[27][28] The band continued to demo new music daily and started to weed through more than seventy-five demos, eventually homing in on twenty-five potential album tracks in anticipation of Ocasek's arrival.[29] Ocasek worked with the band to trim these down further to eighteen songs.[30]

Recording sessions for the album began in early December, with Ocasek providing creative feedback to the band by telephone.[27] On December 27, the band embarked on what would be close to six weeks of studio work by playing songs repetitively in order to track the bass and drums parts.[31] They also did "scratch takes" of the vocals and guitar, designed to get accurate rhythm tracks before being redone more efficiently later in the recording process.[31] While recording the album, the band continued to performed gigs under the pseudonym Goat Punishment.[31][32]

During the recording sessions, an executive at the band's label, Geffen Records, visited to observe the band's progress and expressed dissatisfaction with several tracks.[33] This feedback eventually forced the band to discard a few of the album's possible songs.[33] The band then relocated for three weeks to a smaller studio in another part of Cello Studios where Cuomo and Bell worked on guitar takes while the entire band recorded vocal tracks.[34] Ocasek remarked, "Rivers always does his guitar parts in one take."[34]

Mixing for the album began on January 31 by Tom Lord-Alge at South Beach Studios.[35][36] Drummer Patrick Wilson was absent from the mixing process because he had returned home to Portland to work on material for his band The Special Goodness.[37] Brian Bell was also absent from the mixing process.[37]

Artwork and liner notes

The art direction of the album was handled by Chris Bilheimer with photography from Marina Chavez and Karl Koch.[38] The album cover was shot between band practices and featured Mikey Welsh, Rivers Cuomo, Brian Bell and Patrick Wilson standing left to right in front of a plain, lime-green backdrop in a manner similar to the band's debut album. This was done as a tribute to Ric Ocasek, who had also produced their first album,[39] and also to symbolize the band's back-to-basics approach they took while recording the album.[39] This approach is alluded to in a quote in the liner notes of the album: "Torniamo all'antico e sarà un progresso",[38][40][41] from Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi that means "Let us return to old times and that will be progress."[42] Cuomo remarked on the artwork:

I set out to design the package exactly how I would want it, and it just turns out that it's very similar to the first album. I'm the same person as I was then, pretty much. I have the same taste so I don't see why it should be different.[39]

The picture inside of the compact disc booklet is a photo of Weezer playing live, featuring (in the lower right hand corner) an overlay of the silhouettes of Mike Nelson, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot from the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. (Hence the liner note citation "MST3K silhouette appears courtesy of Best Brains, Inc." [38]

This was Weezer's first album to feature a transparent CD tray. Under the CD tray of the album, the word "No" can be found on the back of the spine.[43] Some fans speculate that this is a response to the inside tray of Radiohead's album OK Computer which contains the text "I like you. I like you. You are a wonderful person. I'm full of enthusiasm. I'm going places. I'll be happy to help you. I am an important person, would you like to come home with me?"[44] Weezer's official explanation was vague, with webmaster Karl Koch stating "No means no."[45]

The album contains the dedication "In loving memory of Mykel and Carli." Mykel and Carli Allan were sisters devoted to developing fan clubs for up-and-coming bands.[46] The sisters had been influential in starting and developing Weezer's official fan club in the 1990s and, along with their young sister Trysta, died in a car accident in 1997.[47]

Release

The album was met with enthusiasm from the record label.[48] "They had nothing but supportive and excited things to say about it," remarked Karl Koch.[48] However, the album's original release date of April 17 was postponed due to executives not liking Cuomo's choice of "Hash Pipe" as the first single. Citing the song's lurid content about a transvestite prostitute as inappropriate, they suggested that "Don't Let Go" be chosen as the first single.[49] However, Cuomo continued to fight and "Hash Pipe" eventually became the album's first single.[49] The label again tried to postpone the release date further until June, but the band convinced them to adhere to the original May 15 release date.[50]

The album was finally released on May 15, 2001, debuting overseas at #31 on the UK Top 40[51], and in Canada, the album performed even better, debuting at #2.[52] In two weeks the album had sold 215,000 copies.[53] It was certified platinum on September 13, 2001.[54] As of December 2007, the album has sold 1,600,000 copies.[55]

The video for "Hash Pipe" was directed by Marcos Siega and was the first of many Weezer videos that Siega would direct.[citation needed] In the video, Weezer performs in an arena while a group of sumo wrestlers are fighting in the background.[50] The song title was often censored as "H*** Pipe" (the title employed on the music video's title card) or "Half Pipe."[56][57] The song became a huge hit on the MTV show Total Request Live,[58] and also received heavy rotation on radio,[41] eventually peaking at #2 on the US Modern Rock Charts.[59] The song even landed the band a nomination for High Times magazine's "Pot Song of the Year."[60][61]

The next single, "Island in the Sun", was a successful radio hit and perhaps the band's biggest hit overseas.[citation needed] It peaked at #11 on the US Modern Rock Charts[62] and at #31 on the UK Top 40.[51] Two music videos were created for the song: the first video, directed by Marcos Siega, shows Weezer playing the song at a Mexican couple's wedding reception and features all four band members.[63] This version remains the more obscure of the two, receiving less airplay than the second. The executives at MTV disliked Siega's video, prompting the band to film a second video.[64] This second version was directed by Spike Jonze and featured the band playing with various wild animals on a supposedly remote hill (although it was actually filmed a short distance outside of Los Angeles, possibly near Simi Valley).[65][66] Only Brian Bell, Rivers Cuomo and Patrick Wilson appear in this video, as then bassist Mikey Welsh had left the band shortly before shooting.[64][65][67][68] It is also rumored that original bassist Matt Sharp was approached to be in the video, though it is unclear if the offer was ever actually made.[69] The second video received much wider airplay than the original and has become the standard video for the song.[64]

The third and final single from the album was "Photograph", which was released to radio in early November.[70] The single peaked at #17 on the US Modern Rock Charts.[59] In Japan it was released as the first single instead of "Hash Pipe."[71] The band felt the song didn't have the staying power of the previous singles,[72] and thus decided to pass on a big-name director for the music video, opting instead to have Karl Koch shoot and edit a video from on-the-road footage.[72]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(73/100)[73]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [74]
IGN(7/10) [75]
NME(5/10) [76]
Pitchfork Media(4/10) [77]
Rolling Stone [78]
Q magazine [79]

The Green Album received generally favourable reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73 out of 100.[73] Allmusic senior writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who gave the album a near-perfect rating of four and a half stars, stated that "this may seem like nothing special -- it's just punk-pop, delivered without much dynamic range but with a whole lot of hooks -- but nobody else does it this [sic] so well, no matter how many bands try."[74] Popmatters' writer Jason Thompson also gave the album a positive review, praising the decision of the band to have Ric Ocasek produce them again: "The guitar solos ring out as joyful as the words. And even the songs' lengths are nice and compact. Weezer comes in, plays the song, and exits. No overkill makes for many moments where you want to hear these songs again and again. Perhaps having producer Ric Ocasek back on board was one of the best ideas the band had, as The Green Album is certainly water tight all around."[80]

Spin placed The Green Album as the ninth best album of 2001.[81]

Track listing

All songs were written by Rivers Cuomo.[38]

No.TitleLength
1."Don't Let Go"2:59
2."Photograph"2:19
3."Hash Pipe"3:06
4."Island in the Sun"3:20
5."Crab"2:34
6."Knock-down Drag-out"2:08
7."Smile"2:38
8."Simple Pages"2:56
9."Glorious Day"2:40
10."O Girlfriend"3:49
Total length:28:20
Bonus tracks

The UK and Japan versions of the album came with an additional bonus track, "I Do," which was previously a B-side that appeared on the "Hash Pipe" single.[82] The Japanese version also featured "The Christmas Song," one of the two tracks that had appeared on Weezer's promotional Christmas CD single in 2000 and, subsequently, on the Winter Weezerland EP in 2005.[83]

Chart positions

Album

Chart Peak position
US Billboard 200 4[84]
UK Albums Chart 31[51]
Sweden 8[85]
Norway 7[86]
Austria 15[87]
New Zealand 25[88]

Singles

Year Song Peak positions
US Modern Rock
[59] 		US
Main-
stream Rock
[59] 		UK
Top 40
[51] 		Norway
[89]
2001 "Hash Pipe" 2 24 21 74
2001 "Island in the Sun" 11 – 31 –
2002 "Photograph" 17 – – –

Personnel

Notes

  • Luerssen, John D. (2004), Rivers' Edge: The Weezer Story, Ecw Press, ISBN 1550226193

References

  1. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 241
  2. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 242
  3. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 243
  4. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 252
  5. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 255
  6. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 256
  7. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 257
  8. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 259
  9. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 264
  10. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 265
  11. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 266
  12. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 267
  13. ^ a b c Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 269
  14. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 270
  15. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 272
  16. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 280
  17. ^ a b c Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 307
  18. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 281
  19. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 285
  20. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 286
  21. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 292
  22. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 293
  23. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 295
  24. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 304
  25. ^ "Weezer's Summer Songs of 2000". everything2.com. Retrieved 2008-02-07.
  26. ^ a b c Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 308
  27. ^ a b c Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 310
  28. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 309
  29. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 311
  30. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 313
  31. ^ a b c Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 314
  32. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 312
  33. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 315
  34. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 316
  35. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 318
  36. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 321
  37. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 319
  38. ^ a b c d e f Weezer (Media notes). Geffen Records. 2001. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "booklet" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  39. ^ a b c Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 326
  40. ^ Field, Thalia. "The Grass Is Always Greener For Rivers Cuomo". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  41. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 343
  42. ^ "Torniamo all antico, e sarà un progresso". Everything2.com. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  43. ^ Weezer (Media notes). Geffen Records. 2001. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help)
  44. ^ OK Computer (Media notes). Parlophone. 1997. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |albumlink= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help)
  45. ^ Koch, Karl. "Frequently Asked Questions". Weezer.com. Archived from the original on 2010-08-15. Retrieved 2007-12-17. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2008-04-14 suggested (help)
  46. ^ "Weezer Discography - Weezer (Green)". Music Discography Central. Archived from the original on 2010-08-15. Retrieved 2007-10-29. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; 2007-09-29 suggested (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  47. ^ Koch, Karl. "In Loving Memory of Mykel & Carli". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  48. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 324
  49. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 325
  50. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 335
  51. ^ a b c d "UK album chart archives". everyhit.com. Retrieved 2007-11-26. Cite error: The named reference "everyhit" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  52. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 350
  53. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 351
  54. ^ "Gold & Platinum - Search Results: Weezer". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2010/09/15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  55. ^ "Album Sales". MetalSludge.tv. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
  56. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 338
  57. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 355
  58. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 339
  59. ^ a b c d "Hash Pipe - Weezer". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-08-16. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  60. ^ Weiss, Neal. "Weezer, Staind, Afroman Spark The 'Doobies'". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  61. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 375
  62. ^ "Island in the Sun - Weezer". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  63. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 356
  64. ^ a b c Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 363
  65. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 362
  66. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 365
  67. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 364
  68. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 366
  69. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 423
  70. ^ Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 388
  71. ^ "Green Album era releases (2000-2001)". Weezer.com. Retrieved 2007-10-29. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  72. ^ a b Luerssen D., John, 2004 p. 392
  73. ^ a b "Weezer: Weezer (2001): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
  74. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Weezer (Green Album) > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
  75. ^ JR (2007-12-21). "Weezer - Weezer (Green Album) Review". IGN. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  76. ^ "- Weezer : The Green Album -Album Reviews". 2001-05-24. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  77. ^ Owen, Spencer (2001-05-14). "Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Weezer (Green Album)". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  78. ^ "Weezer: Weezer (2001) : Music Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
  79. ^ Q magazine (p.142). August 2001. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  80. ^ Thompson, Jason. "Weezer: Weezer ("The Green Album") - PopMatters Music Review". Popmatters. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  81. ^ Spin staff (2002). "Albums of the Year". Spin. 18: 76. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  82. ^ Hash Pipe CD single (CD liner) (Media notes). Geffen Records. 2001. {{cite AV media notes}}: Unknown parameter |albumlink= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help)
  83. ^ Winter Weezerland (CD liner) (Media notes). Geffen Records. 2005. {{cite AV media notes}}: Unknown parameter |albumlink= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help)
  84. ^ "Weezer > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-08-31. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  85. ^ "Sweden Chart Archives". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  86. ^ "Norway Chart Archives". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  87. ^ "Austrian Chart Archives". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  88. ^ "New Zealand album chart archives". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  89. ^ "Norwegian album chart archives". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
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