Weezer Release Japanese Bonus Track, Interview With Tay Zonday, Details On Hootenanny Tour
For the Japanese version of Red, Rivers puts his heart into a cover of Korean-born j- and k-pop star BoA's "メリクリ," or "Meri Kuri." It's not very good. It helps if you've heard the original, too. But it's still not very good.
Elsewhere, "Pork And Beans" video star Tay Zonday is moonlighting: Not only has he literally covered Weezer (with Weezer), he's now covered them as a journalist, too. Can you guess which song is based on the sonata form? Me neither. Also, Rivers discusses the band's interactive, fan-friendly "Hootenanny Tour."
Via MTV:
Tay Zonday: What is your favorite moment of the "Pork and Beans" video?Scott Shriner, bass: Probably today, when we were in the middle of the room, and there were all the YouTube people doing their thing at the same time. It was unbelievable. I couldn't really look at anything because it was really super-distracting and extraordinary.
Brian Bell, guitar: And the part with the Diet Coke explosions. Evidently when you put Mentos in Diet Coke, it explodes, and so basically it was fireworks of Diet Coke everywhere.
Zonday: What was your approach to making this new album?
Rivers Cuomo, guitars/vocals: Our approach was to get into the studio and try to blow our minds with whatever we wanted to do. To just have fun, so that when we pressed play and listened back to what we did, our minds were just blown. That was the goal.
Zonday: And what song are you most proud of on the album?
Bell: There's a song called "Dreamin' " that's pretty fantastic. And it's actually based on the sonata form. I have a section called "The Dream Sequence," which I sing.
Cuomo: Yeah. It's got chunky guitars and beautiful sing-along melodies. And there's some amazing timpani-like drumrolls that Pat [Wilson] plays.
Zonday: And when can Weezer fans expect you out on the road in support of the album?
Shriner: We're going to be doing some promo soon, some ...
Cuomo: Promo? We're going to go on a tour. It's called the Hootenanny Tour, and it's coming to your town in June. We're gonna bring ourselves and invite a bunch of Weezer fans down to bring their instruments and, uh, jam with us. I don't know, 100, 200 people, whatever. Everyone come down and bring an instrument -- whatever you can play -- and we'll jam out on our songs. [Editor's note: A spokesperson for Weezer's label, DGC, confirmed this to MTV News.] Then, in September, we're touring Japan, and in October we'll be touring the U.S., probably in the big rock arenas.
Start learning how to play, or at least play along to, Red, Weezer fans. Something else interesting in that Q&A: When Zonday asks about the approach for the new album, Cuomo responds, "Our approach was to get into the studio and try to blow our minds with whatever we wanted to do. To just have fun..." See that: "Our" minds, not "our fans's minds."
Posted at 10:01 AM by brandon in Video
Tags: Tay Zonday | Weezer
I think it's safe to say Weezer have officially passed the point of return.
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NO return...
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Def. no return!!
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Still love them and the red album kicks ass. Sorry, but I just can't get over them.
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What the hell is this? I tried to come up with more supporting commentary after that but, uh, what the hell is this?
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the bit about blown minds -- as an artist that's the way it is and should be. (blowing your own mind first and foremost) if you get into second guessing your audience and what they want instead letting your own creativity guide you you're just a salesperson and no longer an artist. i like red so far, come on, pork and beans was awesome and there's other gems on there too. support these guys. they're awesome.
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i'll never know why stereogum & pitchfork can't report any weezer story without a snide remark
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Maybe because they've been goofy as hell, for the last few albums? This isn't really that out-of-character, though. Rivers has been obsessed with Japan since Pinkerton. I'm surprised he hasn't covered a Japanese song before now, actually. I'm glad to hear him use a harmonica again but, yeah, this isn't very good. They probably love it in Japan though, which is kind of the point of putting it on the Japanese version of the album. Don'tcha think?
I'm still waiting for the switch to all-anime music videos.
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I think a lot of the snark comes from a good portion of one-time fans of Weezer's first two albums (who all have obviously become bloggers and internet journalists) feeling like anything post-Pinkerton is selling out for Weezer. Rivers squashed any potential of becoming a pre-emo, heart-on-his-sleeve songwriter by becoming goofy to the point of parody. They just seem like they're not into making quality songs like anything the put to tape on their first two discs. They had a chance to become soul-baring & confessionally honest in tone, only to go the opposite way and churn out mindless radio pop-rock.
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I'm not an outright Weezer basher. There is a place for lighthearted pop-rock, but this doesn't feel that way. It feels half-hearted and knocked out. "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" seems like it's supposed to be a "Good Vibrations" type of genre-hop, but it just gets tedious. And for all the albums they've made, the line "If you hate me, then shove it. If you like me, then you love it" is cringe-inducing.
Cuomo can tweak the audience all he wants if it feels like he has a reason. This just feels like trash talking with guitars.
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I usually loathe J-pop and K-pop, so when my favorite band does a cover, my eyebrows are surely raised. Before hearing the track, I could understand why Rivers would want to do it, what with his affinity/obsession over Asian culture. And I'm probably biased, but I think this was pretty good, for what it seems to be: a nod to Rivers' newly-adopted culture..
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Fuck you, Stereogum.
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Fuck you stereogum...Weezer still kicks ass. <3 them
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Fuck you stereogum...Weezer still kicks ass. <3 them
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Golly gee, even more snarky comments from everyone. I forgot that Rivers wasn't allowed to write radio-friendly music. "Weezer has passed the point of no return" -- what the hell do you know?
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the new album has some solid songs on it, and i'll still be going to their show. if you don't like it don't listen!!
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the new album has some solid songs on it, and i'll still be going to their show. if you don't like it don't listen!!
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