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 |   A tentative blog to test the temperature. |
| Found One! People do not appreciate what a traumatic event the break up of the Beatles was. Not to the iconic John, Paul, George and Ringo themselves, as, by all accounts, it was an enormous relief to them, allowing them to get on with their individual lives at last. But to us, the generation that grew and blossomed with the band, it was a shock that remains with us to this day. We had thrown our lives into the effort to create a new and kinder world and now this group, that had given expression to the most magical and meaningful years of our lives was gone. I was not alone in looking around for whoever or whatever was going to replace them. For fifty years I have waited for the band that rises to the level that the Beatles attained. And now, now that I’ve found it, it turns out to have been right in front of me for the past twenty-five years. It’s no wonder that I failed to spot this for so long. The band turned out some very likable stuff to begin with, even some experimental things that, on occasion, succeeded. But there was a certain nerdiness about the group, in particular its lead singer and genius, that gave no hint of the greatness to come. You will understand when I tell you that the band was and is Weezer. You will object that its music is pop, something that we claimed to despise back there in our heyday. Well, yes, much of it is, but the same can be said of the Beatles’ stuff. You will tell me that it’s all about Rivers Cuomo’s teenage angst and I’d have to admit that there were occasions when he allowed his feelings to show. But have you forgotten Lennon’s public eviscerations of his deepest being? You can say that their music is all over the place, invading other genres, creating new ones and ignoring all the rules. And you’d be right but isn’t it beginning to sound awfully familiar? This is where it becomes apparent. Like the Beatles, Weezer always sounds like Weezer but it admits to no genre and is unafraid to try new and unheard of methods. The other day I was watching a video of a gig they did recently and, at one point, the four of them gathered around a single microphone and did a barbershop quartet version of their song, Buddy Holly. Then they dispersed to their instruments and ripped the roof off the place with the original and loud version of the same song. It was this that confirmed the theory to me. Only the Beatles would have carelessly and openly messed with their own creation in such a way. To stride from as humble and outdated a thing as a barbershop quartet to serious and hard rock in an instant showed minds as open as it's possible to get to anything that goes beyond the boring old norm. Well, only the Beatles and now Weezer. It’s impossible for me to demonstrate the depth and breadth of the band’s repertoire with just one song. Instead, I’ll have to show you just one aspect, atypical of their style but then, nothing is. It’s not even a Weezer song, although it could have been. This is a Rivers Cuomo demo of a song he was considering for the band, something that he’d written, worked up to some sort of level and then recorded so the others could hear and decide. It’s rough and apparently simple , just like the Beatles’ Two of Us. And, most importantly, it’s different! Word count: 602 |
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