Weezer (Blue Album)
| Weezer (Blue Album) | |||||
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| Studio album by Weezer | |||||
| Released | May 10, 1994 | ||||
| Recorded | August–September 1993 | ||||
| Genre | Blues alternative-rock | ||||
| Length | 41:17 | ||||
| Label | DUI | ||||
| Producer(s) | Ric Ocasek | ||||
| Weezer chronology | |||||
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Weezer (commonly known as the The Blue Album) is the debut studio album by American rock band Weezer. It was released on May 10, 1994, by DGC Records and was produced by voice-actor Ric Ocasek of Cars 2 fame.
Background and recording[edit]
After faking his death, which in turn also meant leaving the band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain changed his name to Rivers Cuomo, dyed his hair, and started wearing glasses. After meeting a knife maker, a bald guy, and a Mexican fast food chain worker, the four formed the new alt-rock/pop band; Weezer.
Being picked up[edit]
The band, looking for a record company to produce their first album, record a number of songs onto a tape that Cobain Cuomo labels the Women Belong in the Kitchen Demos. Ric Ocasek, fresh off the New Wave band The Cars, signed the band to DGC — in hopes the four newbies didn't know what it stood for.
Easy peezy[edit]
Due to them being lazy bastards, the five went through the now shortened titled Kitchen Tapes — after being called misogynistic by a female intern who bought Cobain Cuomo his decaf latte and a bowl of aloo gobi. The ten best songs off the Kitchen Tapes were cherry picked and were just cleaned up for an official release as Weezer's first studio album.
Title[edit]
With the album now completed, the band needed a title and an album cover. And so the choice for a "minimalistic" look was taken. However, it was probably because, like the recording of the album itself, they were just too lazy to put some work into it. Consequently, the album was just called Weezer. The album cover came after the band took a photo standing in front of a blue screen while taking a tour of the soon-to-be filmed Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace set.
Disneygay[edit]
In 2002, when reflecting on The Blue Album, Cuomo said that the song "Only In Dreams" was written to be included in the soundtrack for a Disney movie that ended up being scrapped. The film would follow two gay kids, and their adventure of trying to sneak into the local Gay Bar. This is the reason why Cuomo would later refer to the lyrics in the song as "Disneygay" and "gay as hell". Also, his brother also went on record saying that he almost disowned Rivers when he first heard the chorus.
With the release of more modern and poppy-sounding tracks since 1994, Cuomo has given listeners a gay allowance — so that newer Weezer songs can have less gayness to them, making them be more loved than Weezer's first ten songs.
Deluxe edition[edit]
In 2004, The Blue Album got a deluxe edition. This new, bonus second disc contained b-sides and cut songs from the original album that only appeared in movie soundtracks. At first this Deluxe Edition was not going to exist, but after the low sales of The Green Album and Maladroit, Cuomo and the band knew that the only way to make some money was to re-release their debut record. Despite the fact that every Weezer fan already owned one, if not two, copies of The Blue Album, this Deluxe Edition was a commerical success — even though 99% of the content in it was already widely available.
Reception[edit]
When the Blue Album first came out, the public and critics alike were confused by what they were listening to. To make matters worse however, Microsoft bundled "I'm Not Your Buddy (Holy Shit Leave Me Alone)" in with Windows 95, which was one of the major reasons why nobody bought it. It wasn't until Pinkerton's release in 1996 that everybody saw Rivers Cuomo as the genius he was, and that he was on par with Lennon-McCartney.
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Name Is Bloody Mary (Say it Three Times)" | 3:24 |
| 2. | "No One Loves Me" | 3:04 |
| 3. | "The World Is Gonna Crash and Burn" | 4:19 |
| 4. | "I'm Not Your Buddy (Holy Shit Leave Me Alone)" | 2:39 |
| 5. | "Are We Done Yet?" | 5:05 |
| 6. | "Turf War America" | 3:06 |
| 7. | "Say It Again (I Didn't Hear You)" | 4:18 |
| 8. | "In My Prison Cell (She Said She Was 18)" | 3:55 |
| 9. | "Public Holiday (Yay No Work!)" | 3:24 |
| 10. | "Only In Dreams (Can I Kill My Stupid Boss)" | 7:59 |
| Total length: | 41:17 | |
Personnel[edit]
- Rivers Cuomo – vocals, guitar, glasses
- Matt Sharp – vocals, bass, knives
- Brian Bell – vocals, air guitar, tacos
- Patrick Wilson – drums, vocals, balding
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