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"url": "n/a", "version": "n/a"}, "truncated": true}, {"text": "Weezer is an
American alternative rock band. Formed in 1992, they have released eight full
length albums, six EPs, and a DVD. Their latest album, Hurley, was released
on September 14th, 2010. They have sold over 9 million records in the United
States to date. Weezer formed in Los Angeles, California by Rivers Cuomo,
Patrick Wilson, Matt Sharp, and Jason Cropper, who was later replaced by Brian
Bell. Five weeks after forming, they had their first gig, opening for Dogstar
at Raji''s Bar and Ribshack on Hollywood Boulevard. Weezer began playing clubs
to small audiences around L.A. and recording home-demos. Soon the band began
to receive attention from various A&R reps, and were signed on June 26, 1993
by Todd Sullivan, an A&R rep from Geffen Records. The band was signed onto
the DGC label (which later became Interscope). Creating \"The Blue Album\"
(1993-1994) The self-titled debut, Weezer, commonly referred to as The Blue
Album, was released May 10, 1994. \"Undone - The Sweater Song\", \"Buddy Holly\"
and \"Say It Ain''t So\" were released as singles. The album was produced
by former The Cars frontman Ric Ocasek. During the recording of the Blue Album,
Jason Cropper left the band to take care of his future wife, who was pregnant
with their first child. Jason was replaced by Brian Bell, a then bassist from
a band called Carnival Art. \"Undone - The Sweater Song\" was released as
the first single. Spike Jonze directed the music video for the track. In a
single unbroken take, it featured Weezer performing the song on a sound stage
with various amusing studio antics, including a pack of dogs swarming the
set. Jonze also later directed the band''s second video, \"Buddy Holly\".
The video featured footage of the television sitcom Happy Days spliced with
the band performing in a remade \"Arnold''s Diner\", a setting from the series.
The video had heavy rotation on MTV, and went on to win Jonze and the band
four MTV Video Music Awards, including Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative
Music Video, and two Billboard Music Video Awards. This video was also included
as a bonus on the Microsoft Windows 95 CD. The success of the video arguably
pushed the band into the mainstream spotlight. The video for Weezer''s third
single, \"Say It Ain''t So,\" was directed by Sophie Muller. It featured the
bandmates playing hacky sack and performing in the band''s original rehearsal
space in California. A photo of what the band calls the \"Garage\" is featured
on the inside cover of the album. The Blue Album is currently certified 3
times platinum, making it Weezer''s all-time best seller. It was re-released
and repackaged in 2004 as a Deluxe Edition, which included a second disc of
b-sides along with other previously unreleased rarities. Killer Record: Pinkerton(1995-1997) In
late December 1994, Weezer took a break from touring for the Christmas holidays.
Cuomo traveled back east to his home state of Connecticut, and using an eight-track
recorder, he began piecing together demo material for Weezer''s next album.
Cuomo''s original concept for Weezer''s sophomore effort was to be a space-themed
rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole. The album was intended to feature
songs that flowed together seamlessly, and ended with a special coda that
briefly revisited the major musical elements of the piece. The band began
demoing and working on Cuomo''s concept through intermittent recording sessions
in the spring and summer of 1995. Ultimately, the Songs from the Black Hole
album concept was dropped. The album would instead feature some old tunes
from before their first album (which had briefly been incorporated into the
space-opera) as well as some new ones written while Cuomo was at Harvard. After
the multi-platinum success of their debut album, Weezer''s sophomore album
was finally released on September 24, 1996. Pinkerton, which peaked at #19
in the U.S. upon its release, didn''t sell as many copies as its predecessor,
probably due to its darker, more abrasive nature. Pinkerton was labeled \"one
of the worst albums of 1996\" by a Rolling Stone reader poll. Eventually,
the album grew into a cult classic, and is viewed by some as Weezer''s greatest
album. In fact, in 2004, the magazine changed their rating to a 5-star rating
and inducted it into The Rolling Stone Hall Of Fame. This article can be found
in the Reviews sections of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time issue. Three
singles were taken from the album: \"El Scorcho\", \"The Good Life\" and \"Pink
Triangle\". The video for \"El Scorcho\" featured the band inside a darkened
room, sitting in a circle, that would be lit differently throughout parts
of the song; it was directed by Mark Romanek. The video for \"The Good Life\"
was directed by the team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (though no known
video was made for \"Pink Triangle\"). However, the singles did not receive
as much airtime as the singles from their debut album. The title of the album
comes from the character Lieutenant Pinkerton in Giacomo Puccini''s opera
Madame Butterfly. The entire album is heavily influenced by the opera''s story
line. Madame Butterfly is mentioned under her real name, Cio-Cio San, in \"El
Scorcho.\" The song \"Butterfly\" is written from Pinkerton''s point of view
at the end of the opera. The album''s title was the source of a legal challenge.
Pinkerton Securities of Encino, Calif., filed a temporary restraining order
against the band and its Geffen record label for copyright infringement two
days before the album was to be released on September 24, 1996. A judge ruled
against the security company and the album was finally released. Weezer completed
their touring for Pinkerton in the summer of 1997. The members of the band
took a break, with drummer Patrick Wilson returning to his home in Portland,
Oregon to work on his side project, The Special Goodness, Matt Sharp left
to complete the follow-up album for his group The Rentals, and Brian Bell
went to work on his group, Space Twins. Rivers Cuomo returned to Boston,
Massachusetts, but dropped out of Harvard to focus on songwriting. He eventually
went into seclusion. He painted his walls black, disconnected his phone, and
didn''t communicate with anyone. Later, he formed a solo group, The Rivers
Cuomo Band. Cuomo used the group to try out unreleased material, including
possible new songs for the next Weezer album. The band played their first
show at T.T. the Bear''s on October 8, 1997. Future Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh
was part of the solo band''s lineup. The Boston songs were later abandoned
and not used on the next Weezer album, but live recordings of the Boston shows
are openly traded on the internet. In February of 1998, Rivers left Boston
and Harvard academia behind and returned to Los Angeles. Pat Wilson and Brian
Bell joined Cuomo in L.A. to start work on the next album. Matt Sharp did
not rejoin the band and officially left the group in April of 1998. The group
decided on Mikey Welsh as Sharp''s replacement. Weezer continued rehearsal
and cut demos until the fall of 1998. Frustration and creative disagreements
led to a decline in rehearsals, and in late fall of 1998, drummer Pat Wilson
left for his home in Portland pending renewed productivity from Cuomo. The
band would not reunite until April of 2000, when the Fuji Festival in Japan
offered Weezer a high-paying gig to play in August 2000. The festival served
as a catalyst for Weezer''s productivity, and from April to May, 2000, the
band rehearsed and demoed new songs in Los Angeles. The band returned to live
shows in June 2000, but without the Weezer name. Instead the shows featured
the group''s first use of the pseudonym Goat Punishment. On June 23, 2000,
the band, now back under the Weezer name, joined the Warped Tour for eight
planned dates. Weezer was received well at the festival, leading the band
to book more tour dates for the summer. SS2K - The Summer Sessions (2000) In
the summer of 2000, Weezer (now consisting of Rivers Cuomo, Mikey Welsh, Pat
Wilson, and Brian Bell) went on tour. Weezer''s setlist consisted of 14 new
songs that fans have labeled the Summer Songs of 2000 (commonly abbreviated,
SS2K). When 13 of these songs did not appear on Weezer''s next album, fans
of the songs started a petition demanding the release of studio demos. Eventually,
mp3s were made available on the band''s official website for download. Three
SS2K songs, \"Hash Pipe\", \"Dope Nose\" and \"Slob,\" have appeared on studio
albums (\"Hash Pipe\" on the Green Album and \"Dope Nose\" and \"Slob\" appearing
on Maladroit). Green Album & Maladroit (2001-2003) Eventually, the band
went back into the studio to produce a third album. Weezer (2001) chose to
repeat the self-titled name of their first release. This album quickly became
known as The Green Album due to its distinctive bright green coloring. Shortly
after the release of The Green Album, Weezer went on another American tour.
They attracted a new generation of fans thanks to heavy MTV rotation for the
videos of their hit singles \"Hash Pipe\" and \"Island in the Sun.\" The
video for \"Hash Pipe,\" directed by Marcos Siega featured sumo wrestlers
and was nominated for Best Rock Video at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards,
but lost out to Limp Bizkit''s \"Rollin.\" Two videos were recorded for \"Island
in the Sun.\" Marcos Siega directed the first, which focused on a Mexican
wedding, and Spike Jonze directed the second, which involved Weezer with animals
in a wildlife reserve. Their video for \"Photograph\" was shot and put together
by Weezer friend and unofficial \"5th member\" Karl Koch. As reported on
August 16th, 2001, by MTV, bassist Mikey Welsh was checked into a psychiatric
hospital. His whereabouts were previously unknown, as he mysteriously went
missing before their second filming of the \"Island in the Sun\" music video,
featuring the band with various animals. Weezer was prompted to find a temporary
replacement for Welsh. Through a mutual friend, Cuomo received Scott Shriner''s
number and asked if he was interested to fill in for Welsh. Shriner, at first
believing it was a prank phone call, accepted. Much to the ire of their recording
label, Weezer decided to forgo the industry-preferred waiting period of 2
to 3 years between albums and began recording demos for their fourth album.
The band took an experimental approach for the recording process by allowing
fans to download the demos from their official website in return for feedback.
After the release of the album, the band subsequently stated that the process
was somewhat of a failure, as the fans did not supply them with cohesive constructive
advice. Only the song \"Slob\" was included on the album due to general fan
advice. The fourth album, Maladroit, was released in 2002 with Scott Shriner
replacing Mikey Welsh on the bass. The album served as a harder-edged version
of their trademark catchy pop-influenced music. Although met with generally
positive critical reviews (including making many \"Best of ''02\" lists),
its sales were not as strong as The Green Album and remains their worst-selling
album to date. Two singles were released from the album. The \"Dope Nose\"
music video featured a Japanese motorcycle gang, and was put into regular
rotation. The music video for \"Keep Fishin''\" combined Weezer with The Muppets,
and had heavy rotation on MTV. Both videos were directed by Marcos Siega. As
soon as Maladroit had wrapped up, the band immediately began work on their
fifth album, recording numerous demos between tours for Maladroit (often recording
as many as 24 songs in a day). These songs were eventually scrapped, and Weezer
took a break after the release of two albums in quick succession. Make Believe
(2003-2005) In March of 2004, Weezer released their first DVD. Titled Video
Capture Device, the DVD contains all of their then-current music videos. It
also included live concerts and homemade movies. The DVD was certified \"gold\"
on November 8, 2004. From December 2003 to the summer and early fall of 2004,
the members of Weezer recorded a large amount of material intended for a new
album to be released in the spring of 2005 with producer Rick Rubin. The band''s
early recording efforts became available to the public through the band''s
website. The demos, entitled the Album Five Demos (or album 4.5), were a big
hit with fans but only one song, \"Hold Me\", would be included on the finished
album. That album, entitled Make Believe, was released on May 10, 2005. The
album was very well received by the public. However, long-time Weezer fans
often consider it as a decline from their earlier albums, and has received
mixed reviews. The album''s first single, \"Beverly Hills,\" became a hit
in the U.S. and worldwide, staying on the charts for several months after
its release. The video for \"Beverly Hills\", directed by Marcos Siega, featured
the band and a select choice of fans interacting with Playboy Bunnies and
Hugh Hefner at the Playboy Mansion. It became the first Weezer song to hit
#1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. The song was nominated for Best Rock
Song at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, the first ever Grammy nomination for
the band. The video for the song was also nominated for Best Rock Video at
the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. During the \"Make Believe\" tour of 2005,
Cuomo allowed other members of the band to step into the spotlight of certain
songs: * Brian Bell: \"Getchoo\" and \"Why Bother?\" (from Pinkerton),
\"Smile\" (from \"The Green Album\"), and \"Keep Fishin''\" (from Maladroit) *
Scott Shriner: \"Fall Together\", and \"Dope Nose\", and \"In the Garage\"
(from \"The Blue Album\") * Patrick Wilson: \"Photograph\" (from \"The
Green Album\"), \"Song 2\" (Blur cover, whilst playing lead guitar) In late
August 2005, Weezer performed with the rock band The Pixies, which was one
of Rivers'' influences, at Summerfest and other dates. From September 8 to
October 28, 2005, Weezer set out on a tour with the Foo Fighters, which, to
many, was simply called Foozer. The Foozer tour was awarded \"Most Creative
Tour Package\" at The 17th Annual Concert Industry Awards. On December 13th,
2005, Winter Weezerland EP was released on iTunes. The EP was essentially
a re-release of the 2000 Weezer christmas CD which featured \"The Christmas
Song\" and \"Christmas Celebration\". Also, in late 2005 the band released
the second single off Make Believe, called \"We Are All on Drugs\" (for family-oriented
purposes, some releases of the song were renamed \"We Are All in Love\"),
and the music video was directed by Justin Francis. It didn''t do well as
a single, and many weezer fans hated it. In early 2006, it was announced
that Make Believe was certified platinum, and \"Beverly Hills\" was the second
most popular download on iTunes for 2005. Also in early 2006, Make Believe''s
third single, \"Perfect Situation\", spent four weeks in a row at the #1 spot
on the Billboard Modern Rock chart, a personal record for Weezer. The Perfect
Situation video starred Elisha Cuthbert and was directed by Marc Webb. The
only other Weezer track to hit #1 was \"Beverly Hills,\" for one week. \"This
is Such a Pity\" is the band''s fourth single from the album, but no music
video was made for its release. The Future (2006-) As of January, 2006,
Bell and Wilson are set to portray Velvet Underground members Lou Reed and
John Cale in Factory Girl, an upcoming film about the life of Andy Warhol
cohort Edie Sedgwick. Rivers Cuomo announced a new song called \"Piece of
the Pie\" while onstage during the band''s October 7th, 2005 show in Detroit
(but did not perform it). Cuomo has mentioned other song ideas recently, dropping
titles and ideas such as \"East Coast or West Coast,\" \"Pig\" and new songs
with lyrics he described as \"bloggy\". Rivers has commented on his myspace
blog that his recent comments to mtv.com were ''misquoted'' and said that
what he meant \"was that the soccer song, \"Our Time will Come\", certainly
won''t be on a Weezer album.\" and said \"The rest of the songs, though, are
definite contenders for a Weezer record.\" A strong hint that the band are
in fact only on a break and that a sixth album is on the card. In late 2006,
Brian Bell began work on a new project called The Relationship which fans
can follow on the band''s myspace page. Pat Wilson told Keifer Wells and Martin
Michalek in a radio interview for Andover High School that he and Scott Shriner
had been creating songs together and are trying to get Rivers to sing for
when the band has jam sessions. Pat has also been creating a few Special Goodness
songs, but said little more on the subject. Fans can currently follow the
news of the band at Rivers Cuomo''s myspace page and the official Weezer website. Weezer''s
sixth studio album will be released on June 3, 2008, just over three years
after their latest release, Make Believe. Rick Rubin produced the album[30]
and Rich Costey provided the mixing[31] for what Weezer fans are calling \"Album
Six\".[32] The record is being described as \"experimental\", and according
to Cuomo, includes longer and non-traditional songs, TR-808 drum machines,
synthesizers, Southern rap, baroque counterpoint, and band members other than
Cuomo writing, singing, and switching instruments.[33] Lead singer Rivers
Cuomo released a demo-compilation album entitled Alone: The Home Recordings
of Rivers Cuomo on December 18, 2007. The album contains demos of Cuomo''s
that span from 1992 to 2007, including songs from Weezer''s abandoned second
album, Songs from the Black Hole. Also included in Alone is a song intended
for Weezer''s upcoming 6th studio album, entitled \"This is the Way\". The
booklet of Alone tells of the band wanting the song for the album, but ultimately
choosing \"an epic, 6-minute, symphonic type of art song\" entitled \"Daydreamer\"
instead. Weezer''s \"Weezer\" (also referred to as \"The Red Album\") was
released in June 2008. Rick Rubin produced the album and Rich Costey mixed
it. The record is being described as \"experimental\", and according to Cuomo,
includes longer and non-traditional songs, TR-808 drum machines, synthesizers,
Southern rap, baroque counterpoint, and band members other than Cuomo writing,
singing, and switching instruments. Pat Wilson said that the album cost about
a million dollars to make, contrasting it with the $150,000 budget of \"The
Blue Album\". The album''s singles were produced by Jacknife Lee. Its lead
single, \"Pork and Beans\", topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks charts
for 11 weeks, and its music video won a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video.
The album''s second single, \"Troublemaker\", debuted at #39 on the Billboard
Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and peaked at #2. In October 2008, the group
announced that the third single would be \"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
(Variations on a Shaker Hymn)\". In 2009, the band announced their next album,
\"Raditude\", would be released on November 3, 2009, where it debuted as the
seventh best-selling album of the week on the Billboard 200 chart. The band
scheduled tour dates in December 2009 extending into early 2010 to coincide
with the new album''s release. On December 6, 2009, Weezer frontman Rivers
Cuomo was injured when his tour bus crashed in upstate New York due to black
ice. Cuomo suffered three broken ribs, and his assistant broke two ribs. His
wife, baby daughter, and their nanny were also on the bus; however, they escaped
injury. Weezer cancelled tour dates the following day. The band resumed touring
on January 20, 2010. In December 2009, it was revealed that the band was
no longer with Geffen Records. The band stated that they would still release
new material, but they are unsure of the means, whether it be self-released,
released online, or getting signed by another label. Eventually, the band
was signed to the independent label Epitaph. The album \"Hurley\" was released
in September 2010 through Epitaph Records. The name comes from the character
Hugo \"Hurley\" Reyes from the television show \"Lost\". Jorge Garcia, the
actor who portrayed Hurley, stated that being featured on the album cover
is \"one of the biggest honors of [his] career.\" Weezer used internet streaming
service YouTube as a way to promote the album. Weezer loaned itself to 15
amateur online video producers, \"going along with whatever plans the creator
could execute in about 30 minutes.\" They have used many of the popular channels
to promote themselves, such as Barely Political, Ray William Johnson and Fred
Figglehorn. The Gregory Brothers solicited musical and vocal contributions
from the band on one of its compositions built around speeches by Rep. Charles
Rangel and President Barack Obama. Weezer calls the promotion \"The YouTube
Invasion\" On November 2, 2010, Weezer released another studio album called
\"Death to False Metal\". This album was composed of newly re-recorded versions
of unused recordings spanning the band''s career. On October 9, 2011, the
band announced on their website that former bassist Mikey Welsh had died. The
band currently consists of the following members: * Brian Bell -- guitar,
backing vocals * Rivers Cuomo -- vocals, guitar * Scott Shriner --
bass guitar, backing vocals (2002-present) (plays on Maladroit and Make Believe) *
Patrick Wilson -- drums Former members: * Jason Cropper -- Guitar, left
the band in September 1993 (believed to have been fired by Cuomo, although
it is not clear as Cropper is forbidden from discussing the issue) * Matt
Sharp -- bass guitar, backing vocals (1992-1997) (plays on The Blue Album
and Pinkerton) * Mikey Welsh -- bass guitar, backing vocals (1998-2001)
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alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1992. The band
consists of Rivers Cuomo (lead vocals, guitar), Patrick Wilson (drums, guitar,
backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott
Shriner (bass, backing vocals, keyboards). The band''s line-up has changed
four times since its formation in 1992. They have released nine full-length
albums, six EPs, and a DVD. \nThe band is best known for their successful
singles \"Buddy Holly\", \"Undone - The Sweater Song\", \"Say It Ain''t So\",
\"Perfect Situation\", \"Island in the Sun\", \"Beverly Hills\" and \"Pork
and Beans\". The band''s eighth studio album, Hurley, was released on September
14, 2010 on Epitaph Records. Additionally, a deluxe release of their 1996
album Pinkerton and a compilation of rare and previously unreleased songs
titled Death to False Metal were released on November 2, 2010. \n\nHistory:\n\nFormation
and debut album (1992-1995):\n\nMain article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weezer_(1994_album)\nWeezer,
consisting of Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Matt Sharp, and Jason Cropper,
formed in 1992, had their first practice on February 14 of that year, and
their first gig was opening for Keanu Reeves'' band Dogstar shortly thereafter.
Weezer signed with Geffen Records on June 25, 1993 and recorded their debut
album with producer Ric Ocasek at Electric Lady Studios in New York City.
During the recording, guitarist Jason Cropper left the band and was replaced
by Brian Bell. The band released Weezer (also referred to as \"The Blue Album\")
in May 1994. The record label originally did not wish to release a single,
to see what sales could be generated by word-of-mouth alone. Soon after the
release of Weezer, DJ Marco Collins of the Seattle radio station The End started
playing \"Undone - The Sweater Song\", leading Geffen to release it as the
first single. The music video was directed by Spike Jonze. Filmed in an unbroken
take, it featured Weezer performing on a sound stage with little action, bar
a pack of dogs swarming the set. The video became an instant hit on MTV. \nJonze
also directed the band''s second video, \"Buddy Holly\". The video featured
footage from the television sitcom Happy Days spliced with the band performing
in a remade \"Arnold''s Drive-In.\" The video achieved heavy rotation on MTV
and went on to win Jonze and the band four MTV Video Music Awards, including
Breakthrough Video and Best Alternative Music Video, and two Billboard Music
Video Awards. The clip was also featured on the companion CD for the Microsoft
Windows 95 computer operating system. A third single, \"Say It Ain''t So\",
followed. Weezer is certified triple platinum in the United States, making
it Weezer''s all-time best seller. It is certified double platinum in Canada.
\n\nPinkerton (1996-1997):\n\nMain article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinkerton_(album)\nIn
late December 1994, Weezer took a break from touring for the Christmas holidays.
Cuomo traveled back east to his home state of Connecticut, and using an eight-track
recorder, he began piecing together demo material for Weezer''s next album.
The original concept for Weezer''s second album was to be a space-themed rock
opera, Songs from the Black Hole. The album was intended to feature songs
that flowed together seamlessly and end with a special coda that briefly revisited
the major musical elements of the piece. The band began demoing and working
on Cuomo''s concept through intermittent recording sessions in the spring
and summer of 1995. Ultimately, the Songs from the Black Hole album concept
was dropped. The album would instead feature songs composed before the band''s
first album (which had briefly been incorporated into the space opera) as
well as some new ones written while Cuomo was at Harvard. \nWeezer''s second
album, Pinkerton, was released on September 24, 1996. Three singles were taken
from the album: \"El Scorcho\", \"The Good Life\", and \"Pink Triangle\".
The album''s title sparked a legal challenge. Pinkerton Securities of Encino,
Calif., filed a temporary injunction against the band and its Geffen record
label for trademark infringement two days before the album was to be released
on September 24, 1996. A judge ruled for Weezer, and the album was finally
released. This injunction caused Geffen to hold back some of the initial advertising
and promotion for the album, possibly contributing to the album''s slow initial
sales. Due to initial weak sales (it peaked at No. 19 in the U.S.), the album
was, at first, viewed as a commercial failure, especially when viewed in light
of the multi-platinum success of their debut album. The album failed to gain
traction in the mainstream music world, perhaps due to its darker, more abrasive
sound.Pinkerton was labeled \"one of the worst albums of 1996\" by a Rolling
Stone reader poll. However, word of mouth kept the trickle of sales going
and eventually the record achieved cult status. In the book The ''90s (2010),
Rolling Stone ranked Pinkerton number 48 in the 100 Best Albums of the Nineties.
\n\nOn hiatus (1997-2000):\n\nWeezer completed their touring for Pinkerton
in the summer of 1997. The members of the band took a break, with drummer
Patrick Wilson returning to his home in Portland, Oregon to work on his side
project, The Special Goodness; Matt Sharp left to complete the follow-up album
for his group The Rentals; and Brian Bell went to work on his group, Space
Twins. \nRivers Cuomo returned to Boston, Massachusetts, but took a break
from Harvard to focus on songwriting. Cuomo gathered Boston-area musicians
and rehearsed new material, including possible songs for the next Weezer album.
The group, referred to by fans as the Rivers Cuomo Band, had several different
lineups and played several shows at local clubs, including their first show
at T.T. the Bear''s on October 8, 1997. Future Weezer bassist Mikey Welsh
was a constant of the group''s evolving lineups. Pat Wilson eventually flew
to Boston to sit in on drums. The Boston songs were later abandoned and not
used on the next Weezer album, but live recordings of the Boston shows are
openly traded on the internet. In February 1998, Rivers left Boston and returned
to Los Angeles. \nPat Wilson and Brian Bell joined Cuomo in Los Angeles to
start work on the next album. Matt Sharp did not rejoin the band and officially
left the group in April 1998. The group decided on Mikey Welsh as Sharp''s
replacement. Weezer continued rehearsing and cut demos until the fall of 1998.
Frustration and creative disagreements led to a decline in rehearsals, and
in late fall of 1998, drummer Pat Wilson left for his home in Portland pending
renewed productivity from Cuomo. In November 1998, the band (with a substitute
drummer) played two club shows in California under the name Goat Punishment.
The shows consisted entirely of Nirvana and Oasis cover songs, respectively.
In the months following, Rivers Cuomo went into a period of admitted depression,
painting the walls of his home black and putting \"fiberglass insulation all
over the windows and then black sheets of fiberglass so that no light could
get through. \nThe band would not reunite until April 2000, when the Fuji
Rock Festival in Japan offered Weezer a high-paying gig to play in August
2000. The festival served as a catalyst for Weezer''s productivity, and from
April to May 2000, the band rehearsed and demoed new songs in Los Angeles.
The band returned to live shows in June 2000, playing small unpromoted concerts
under the pseudonym Goat Punishment. In June 2000, the band joined the Warped
Tour for nine dates. \n\nRenewed popularity and The Green Album (2000-2001):\n\nMain
article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weezer_(2001_album)\nIn the summer of
2000, Weezer (now consisting of Rivers Cuomo, Mikey Welsh, Pat Wilson, and
Brian Bell) went on tour (including dates on the popular Vans Warped Tour).
Weezer''s set-list consisted of 14 new songs that fans have labeled the Summer
Songs of 2000 (commonly abbreviated, SS2K). When 13 of these songs did not
appear on Weezer''s next album, fans of the songs started a petition demanding
the release of studio versions. \nEventually, the band went back into the
studio to produce a third album. They chose the title, Weezer (2001), to repeat
the self-titled name of their first release. This album quickly became known
as \"The Green Album\" due to its distinctive bright green coloring. Shortly
after the release of the album, Weezer went on another American tour. They
attracted a new generation of fans thanks to heavy MTV rotation for the videos
of their hit singles \"Hash Pipe\" and \"Island in the Sun\". \nAs reported
on August 16, 2001, by MTV, bassist Mikey Welsh was checked into a psychiatric
hospital. His whereabouts were previously unknown, as he mysteriously went
missing before the filming of the second video for \"Island in the Sun\".
Weezer was prompted to find a temporary replacement for Welsh. Through a mutual
friend, Cuomo received Scott Shriner''s number and asked if he was interested
in filling in for Welsh. Shriner accepted the invitation. \n\nMaladroit (2002-2003):\n\nMain
article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maladroit\nThe band took an experimental
approach for the recording process of their fourth album by allowing fans
to download demos from their official website in return for feedback. After
the release of the album, the band said that this process was something of
a failure, as the fans did not supply them with coherent, constructive advice.
Cuomo eventually delegated song selection for the album to the band''s original
A&R rep, Todd Sullivan, saying that Weezer fans chose the \"wackest songs.\"
Only the song \"Slob\" was included on the album due to general fan advice.
\nThe recording was also done without input from Weezer''s record label, Interscope.
Cuomo had what he then described as a \"massive falling out\" with the label.
In early 2002, well before the official release of the album, the label sent
out a letter to radio stations requesting the song be pulled until an official,
sanctioned single was released. Interscope also briefly shut down Weezer''s
audio/video download webpage, removing all the MP3 demos. Online Weezer fans
staged a brief protest, with several websites proclaiming \"Free Maladroit\".
\nIn April 2002, former bassist Matt Sharp sued the band, alleging, among
several accusations, that he was owed money for cowriting several Weezer songs.
The suit was later settled out of court. \nThe fourth album, Maladroit, was
released on May 14, 2002, only one year after its predecessor. The album served
as a harder-edged version of the band''s trademark catchy pop-influenced music,
and was replete with busy 1980s-style guitar solos. Although met with generally
positive critical reviews, its sales were not as strong as those for \"The
Green Album\". Two singles were released from the album. The music video for
\"Dope Nose\" featured an obscure Japanese motorcycle gang, and was put into
regular rotation. The music video for \"Keep Fishin''\" combined Weezer with
The Muppets, and had heavy rotation on MTV. Both videos were directed by Marcos
Siega. \nAs soon as Maladroit had wrapped up, the band immediately began work
on their fifth album, recording numerous demos between tours (often recording
as many as 24 songs in a day). These songs were eventually scrapped, and Weezer
took a break after the release of two albums in quick succession. During this
break, Bell and Wilson released LPs from their respective side projects Space
Twins and The Special Goodness. \nWeezer released their much-delayed first
DVD on March 23, 2004. The Video Capture Device DVD chronicles the band from
its beginnings through Maladroit''s Enlightenment Tour. Compiled by Karl Koch,
the DVD features home video footage, music videos, commercials, rehearsals,
concert performances, television performances, and band commentary. The DVD
was certified \"gold\" on November 8, 2004. \n\nMake Believe (2003-2006):\n\nMain
article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_Believe_(Weezer_album)\nFrom December
2003 to the fall of 2004, the members of Weezer recorded a large amount of
material intended for a new album to be released in the spring of 2005 with
producer Rick Rubin. The band''s early recording efforts became available
to the public through the band''s website. The demos were a big hit, but none
of the songs recorded at this time were included on the finished album. That
album, titled Make Believe, was released on May 10, 2005. Despite commercial
success, Make Believe got a mixed reception from critics, receiving an average
score of 52 on review collator Metacritic. Although some reviews, such as
AMG''s, compared it favorably to Pinkerton, others, among them Pitchfork Media''s
score of 0.4 out of 10, panned the album as predictable and lyrically poor.
\nThe album''s first single, \"Beverly Hills\", became a hit in the U.S. and
worldwide, staying on the charts for several months after its release. It
became the first Weezer song to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.
\"Beverly Hills\" was nominated for Best Rock Song at the 48th Annual Grammy
Awards, the first ever Grammy nomination for the band. The video was also
nominated for Best Rock Video at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. The second
single off Make Believe was \"We Are All on Drugs\". MTV refused to play the
song, so Weezer re-recorded the lyrics by replacing \"on drugs\" with \"in
love\" and renaming the song \"We Are All in Love\". In early 2006, it was
announced that Make Believe was certified platinum, and \"Beverly Hills\"
was the second most popular song download on iTunes for 2005, finishing just
behind \"Hollaback Girl\" by Gwen Stefani.Make Believe''s third single, \"Perfect
Situation\", spent four weeks in a row at number one on the Billboard Modern
Rock chart. \"This Is Such a Pity\" was the band''s fourth single from the
album, but no music video was made for its release. The Make Believe tour
also found the band using additional instruments onstage, adding piano, synthesizers,
pseudophones, and guitarist Bobby Schneck. \nThe band has announced the possible
release of a live DVD composed of footage from the 2005 Japan tour. It will
consist of a two-day, seven-camera shoot of the shows in Japan, plus material
that will be drawn from various behind-the-scenes footage. The DVD was announced
in late 2005, but in a 2006 update on the band''s Web site, Karl Koch noted
it was \"apparently edited, but has been put on hold for now.\" \n\nThe Red
Album (2007-2008):\n\nMain article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weezer_(2008_album)\nWeezer
(also referred to as \"The Red Album\") was released in June 2008. Rick Rubin
produced the album and Rich Costey mixed it. The record was described as \"experimental\",
and according to Cuomo, included longer and non-traditional songs, TR-808
drum machines, synthesizers, Southern rap, baroque counterpoint, and band
members other than Cuomo writing, singing, and switching instruments. Pat
Wilson said the album cost about a million dollars to make, contrasting it
with the $150,000 budget of \"The Blue Album\". The album''s singles were
produced by Jacknife Lee. Its lead single, \"Pork and Beans\", topped the
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks charts for 11 weeks, and its music video won
a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video. The second single, \"Troublemaker\",
debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and peaked
at No. 2. In October 2008, the group announced that the third single would
be \"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)\". \nOn
May 30, 2008, the Toledo Free Press revealed in an interview with Scott Shriner
that Weezer would be unveiling the \"Hootenanny Tour\", in which fans would
be invited to bring their own instruments to play along with the band. Said
Shriner: \"They can bring whatever they want... oboes, keyboards, drums, violins,
and play the songs with us as opposed to us performing for them.\" \nThe band
performed five dates in Japan at the beginning of September and then embarked
on what was dubbed the ''Troublemaker'' tour, consisting of 21 dates around
North America, including two in Canada. Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police
Club joined them as support at each show, and Brian Bell''s ''other'' band
The Relationship also performed at a handful of dates. Shortly before the
encore at each show, the band would bring on fans with various instruments
and perform Island in the Sun and Beverly Hills with them. At a show in Austin,
after Tokyo Police Club had played their set, Rivers was wheeled out in a
box and mimed to a recording of rare Weezer demo, ''My Brain'', dressed in
pajamas and with puppets on his hands, before being wheeled off again. This
bizarre event later surfaced as the climax to a promo video for Cuomo''s second
demo album, Alone 2. \nCuomo also wrote a song with pop duo Aly & AJ, and
was very pleased with the way the girls worked. It is unknown if the song
will be made public on an album. \nOn December 4, iOS developer Tapulous released
the game Christmas With Weezer, featuring gameplay similar to Tap Tap Revenge
and six Christmas carols performed by the band. A digital EP featuring the
songs, titled \"Christmas with Weezer\", was also released on December 16,
2008. \n\nRaditude (2009-2010):\n\nMain article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raditude\nWeezer
toured with Blink-182 in 2009, including an August 30 stop at the Virgin Festival
at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Drummer Josh Freese joined
Weezer on a temporary basis to play drums on the tour, while Pat Wilson switched
to guitar. Wilson said in an interview for Yahoo! Music that Cuomo wanted
\"to be active and more free on stage and him having guitar on was an impediment.\"
Freese stated he was a Weezer fan and did not want to pass up the opportunity
to play with them. \nRaditude''s album artwork was revealed on September 11,
featuring a National Geographic contest-winning photograph of a jumping dog
named Sidney. The record''s release was pushed to November 3, 2009, where
it debuted as the seventh best-selling album of the week on the Billboard
200 chart. The band scheduled tour dates in December 2009 extending into early
2010 to coincide with the new album''s release. On December 6, 2009, Cuomo
was injured when his tour bus crashed in upstate New York due to black ice.
Cuomo suffered three broken ribs, and his assistant broke two ribs. His wife,
baby daughter, and their nanny were also on the bus, but they escaped injury.
Weezer cancelled tour dates the following day. The band resumed touring on
January 20, 2010. \nIn December 2009, it was revealed that the band was no
longer with Geffen Records. The band stated that they would still release
new material, but they were unsure of the means, whether it be self-released,
released online, or getting signed by another label. Eventually, the band
was signed to the independent label Epitaph. \nThe band also recorded a cover
of \"I''m a Believer\" for the movie Shrek Forever After. \nWeezer co-headlined
The Bamboozle in May, 2010, and performed at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival
in Manchester, Tennessee in June. In August, 2010, Weezer performed at the
Reading and Leeds Festival, and performed at the Voodoo Experience festival
in New Orleans, LA in October 2010. \nOn June 11, 2010, the band released
a new single, \"Represent\". The song was said to be an \"unofficial US anthem\"
to coincide with the 2010 FIFA World Cup. \n\nHurley and Death to False Metal
(2010-present):\n\nThe album Hurley was released in September 2010 through
Epitaph Records. The name comes from the character Hugo \"Hurley\" Reyes from
the television show Lost. Jorge Garcia, the actor who portrayed Hurley, stated
that being featured on the album cover is \"one of the biggest honors of his
career.\" Weezer used internet streaming service YouTube as a way to promote
the album. Weezer loaned itself to 15 amateur online video producers, \"going
along with whatever plans the creator could execute in about 30 minutes.\"
They have used many of the popular channels to promote themselves, such as
Barely Political, Ray William Johnson and Fred Figglehorn. The Gregory Brothers
solicited musical and vocal contributions from the band on one of its compositions
built around speeches by Rep. Charles Rangel and President Barack Obama. Weezer
calls the promotion \"The YouTube Invasion\". \nIn November 2010, Weezer released
a compilation album composed of re-recorded versions of unused recordings
spanning various years, Death to False Metal. On the same day a deluxe version
of Pinkerton, which includes \"25 demos, outtakes and live tracks\" was also
released. A third volume of Rivers Cuomo''s solo Alone series, titled Alone
III: The Pinkerton Years, consisting of demos and outtakes from the Pinkerton
sessions, was released on December 12, 2011. They also contributed a cover
of The Cars'' \"You Might Think\" for the Disney-Pixar film Cars 2. \nOn October
8, 2011 former bassist Mikey Welsh was found dead in a Chicago, Illinois hotel
room. Weezer performed in Chicago the very next day, and dedicated the concert
to Welsh (Welsh was supposed to be a surprise guest at that concert). \nThe
band began working on their tenth studio album in September 2010 with the
intent of a 2011 release, but the year ended without seeing a release. The
band headlined a four-day rock-themed Carnival Cruise from Miami to Cozumel
that set sail on January 19, 2012. \nIn May 2012, drummer Patrick Wilson released
his fourth studio album with side-project, The Special Goodness, entitled
Natural. \nIn July 2012, Weezer headlined the inaugural Bunbury Music Festival
in Cincinnati, Ohio. Also, in July they announced plans for an Australian
tour in early 2013, their first since 1996. \nOn December 25, 2012, according
to official Weezer website, assistant Karl Koch stated Weezer is looking to
record another album, but had no official information yet. He wrote, \"While
its impossible to say when the next Weezer album will come out, rest assured
the band is excited and united in their desire to make it great.\" \n\nMusical
style and influences:\n\nWhile Weezer are most commonly an alternative rock
and power pop band, they have also been associated with other genres, such
as pop punk,emo and indie rock. \nMany modern bands, such as Dinosaur Pile-Up,Cymbals
Eat Guitars and The Fall of Troy, list Weezer as an influence. Weezer themselves
have listed several influences, among them KISS (with direct references in
the song \"In the Garage\"), Nirvana (who were their labelmates at DGC for
a very brief time before Kurt Cobain''s death), The Beach Boys, Pixies (especially
early in their career), Sonic Youth, Oasis, and Wax. Early Weezer demos, such
as \"Paperface\", have obvious musical ties to the Pixies and Nirvana. Also,
the song \"Susanne\" originally contained the lyrics, \"Even Kurt Cobain and
Axl Rose\", before being changed to \"Even Izzy, Slash, and Axl Rose\" after
Cobain''s death. There is also a direct reference to Nevermind in \"Heart
Songs\", a track found on The Red Album. As a side project, Weezer briefly
played Nirvana and Oasis covers under the stage moniker \"Goat Punishment\".
In 1998, Weezer covered \"Velouria\" by the Pixies for a tribute album, and
in 2005 briefly got to tour with their idols for a few dates. Green Day has
also been said to be an influence (there is a lyric about them in \"El Scorcho\"),
and it has been acknowledged that the two bands are friends and enjoy each
other''s music. Weezer contributed the song \"Worry Rock\" to A Different
Shade of Green: Tribute to Green Day. Cuomo also covered \"Brain Stew\" in
a 2009 AOL Sessions set. \n\nSolo work:\n\nRivers Cuomo released a demo-compilation
album titled Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo on December 18, 2007.
The album contains demos of Cuomo''s that span from 1992 to 2007, including
songs from Weezer''s abandoned second album, Songs from the Black Hole. \nBrian
Bell has been working on a solo project called The Relationship, and did not
write any songs for Raditude in order to save material for his solo work.
He has also collaborated with Space Twins. \nCuomo''s second demo album, Alone
II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo, was released on November 25, 2008.
The album includes further tracks from Songs from the Black Hole, early versions
of songs later released as full-band demos, and other demo tracks. \nAlso,
Mikey Welsh played with Juliana Hatfield, The Kickovers, Heretix, Jocobono,
Slower and Left Nut; Patrick Wilson records with The Special Goodness; and
Matt Sharp is in The Rentals and performs alone under his own name. \n\nBand
members:\n\nCurrent members:\n\nRivers Cuomo - lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards,
drums, harmonica (1992-present), \nPatrick Wilson - drums, percussion, guitar,
backing vocals, keyboards (1992-present), \nBrian Bell - rhythm guitar, backing
vocals, keyboards, harmonica (1993-present), \nScott Shriner - bass guitar,
backing vocals, keyboards (2001-present), \n\nFormer members:\n\nMatt Sharp
- bass guitar, backing vocals (1992-1998), \nJason Cropper - rhythm guitar,
backing vocals (1992-1993), \nMikey Welsh - bass guitar, backing vocals (1998-2001)
(died 2011), \n\nFormer touring members:\n\nBobby Schneck - guitar, percussion
(2005), \nKarl Koch - keyboards (2008), percussion (2010-2012), \nJosh Freese
- drums, percussion (2009-2012)", "site": "wikipedia", "url": "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weezer",
"license": {"type": "cc-by-sa", "attribution": "wikipedia", "attribution-url":
"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weezer", "url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/",
"version": "3.0"}}]}}'
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recorded_at: Fri, 22 Feb 2013 20:54:34 GMT
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