Watch Weezer Debut The Pitchfork-Dissing “Tell Me What You Want” At Summer Game Fest
Weezer already released two full-length albums this year — the piano-powered OK Human and the hair-metal-inspired Van Weezer — and it seems like they’re going to keep cranking out new music as they prepare to finally launch the Hella Mega Tour with Green Day and Fall Out Boy. To wit: The band just debuted a new song called “Tell Me What You Want” during Summer Game Fest, the same livestreamed event where Japanese Breakfast performed “Glider” today.
“Tell Me What You Want” continues Van Weezer‘s hard-rocking, riff-driven aesthetic. It’s officially out Friday. On the same day, the independent video game Wave Break will launch a new level called “Weezy Mode” based around the song. Weezer have created “Tell Me What You Want” as a stream-safe option, meaning streamers on platforms like Twitch can use it to soundtrack their video game sessions without getting DMCA takedown requests. In the meantime, the band debuted the song today in a live performance for the Summer Game Fest kickoff event.
All of that is nice to know, but for music nerds, the most noteworthy aspect of “Tell Me What You Want” is that it takes a direct swing at Pitchfork. “This is a message that my manager wouldn’t approve/ After this song, he’ll have a lot of cleaning up to do,” Rivers Cuomo sings. “Don’t be influenced by an office full of dorks/ I won’t mention any names [cough cough] Pitchfork.” Shots fired!
Watch the performance below.