Weezer turns 30!
Celebrating the album’s 30th Anniversary
Weezer’s self-titled debut album was released on May 10, 1994.
This is the cover of the album “Weezer” (1994) by Weezer.
1994 has an argument to be one of the greatest years in music history and Weezer made their contribution. The album was produced by the late Ric Ocasek, former lead singer and songwriter of the Cars. Like that of the Cars, the music of Weezer is upbeat, somewhat geeky, a little rebellious, and brings back good memories.
“The Summer of 1994 was a crazy, fun time in my life. Work hard, play hard... It was a time filled with parties, concerts, and stories, stories that still make me smile and sometimes also think, ‘I can’t believe I did that...’”
- Woodard, Anthony. “Driving with binoculars...”. Mar. 16, 2023
“Weezer” was supported by the singles "Undone – The Sweater Song", "Buddy Holly", and "Say It Ain't So". It is said that the album’s producer, Ric Ocasek, first started playing guitar after hearing the legendary musician Buddy Holly; Ric’s “hiccup” vocals were also strikingly reminiscent of Buddy Holly. Weezer co-foudner and “Buddy Holly” songwriter Rivers Cuomo originally planned to exclude the song from the album; he felt it was "cheesy" and perhaps did not represent the sound he was pursuing for Weezer. Ocasek persuaded him to include it. The rest is history…
And, like the Cars, Weezer also had some memorable music videos, including for the song “Buddy Holly”. At the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, the video won “Best Alternative Video”, “Breakthrough Video”, “Best Direction” and “Best Editing” [I had a copy of the memorable video which was included on my Microsoft Windows 95 installation CD-ROM…]. Eleven years before, the video for “You Might Think” by the Cars won the first MTV Video Music Award for “Video of the Year”. Was this all synchronicity?
“And, what are we to make of those unexpected and seemingly unexplained, often brief, interactions and interchanges with others, or of “meaningful coincidences”, which Carl Jung defined as “synchronicity”? Are such items and events glimpses of a higher order or a greater plan? Are they the result of confirmation bias? Are they gentle nudges or unconscious reminders from the universe, ourselves, or both, that guide us from one place to another? Are you experienced?”
- Woodard, Anthony. “For Those About to Rock…”. Feb. 16, 2023