ELECTRIC DREAM MACHINE

1/21/09

The WTF blog entry signifies that I will post about whatever the fudge I want to on Wednesday. It adds spontaniety and a spark to my blog, in case this format becomes a bit too monotonous. This week, for the WTF entry, I decided to take the WTF acronym and create a more positive meaning for it.

WEEZER'S TOP FIVE

5. Across The Sea (Pinkerton, 1996)
An ode to fanmail from Japanese school-girls. The song is sung with enough honesty and emotion to make you feel slightly uncomfortable. The lyrics are personal enough to the point where I actually feel like I shouldn't be listening ("I wonder how you touch yourself at night" Rivers confesses). A page from Rivers' diary with a big rock band soundscape, the focal point of which is a rusty, but show-stealing selection of guitar melodies, solos and effects.

4. No One Else (Blue, 1994)
Rivers has been known  to research what it is that makes the perfect pop-rock song. His findings sure have given him plenty of hits, even in 2008. One absolutely faultless pop-rocking tune slipped under the radar and was never given a single release. That tune is "No One Else", the catchy track about Rivers' old girl who he does not have the courage to face. "And if you see her, tell her it's over now". The guitar cries with emotion during the solo section, saying everything that Rivers is too reserved too. One of those songs with the perfect structure and arrangement for what they're trying to accomplish. 

3. Perfect Situation (Make Believe, 2003) FIRST VERSION
The Rivers Cuomo from Pinkerton is not dead, he's just sleeping. That is what this song from the controversial Make Believe album seeks to prove from the opening guitar solo. The production is devoid of any "live" feel and feels very desolate and empty.This only serves to strengthen the song even further. Rivers opts not to add any vocals over the chorus, instead adding a cry of desperation and sorrow. Probably the most lyrically relatable song Weezer's ever made for me.

2. Pink Triangle (Pinkerton, 1996)
The story of a boy who falls in love with a girl who is, in fact, a lesbian. Been there, bro. Well, no I haven't. But this song's lyrical, vocal, and all other execution is just perfect enough to make me feel like I have. I love everything about this song, but the guitar is the star throughout the whole thing, not just during the solo or chorus like some Weezer songs. It moans along with Rivers as he cries "When I think I've found a good old fashioned girl, then she put me in my place" The highlight of the song, and the album, is the triple tracked guitar solo, which continues to blow my mind every time I listen to it. 

1. Only In Dreams (Blue, 1994)