1994 In Review: Weezer - S/T

Long before they'd flamed themselves out creatively to the point of embarrassment, Weezer were a scrappy group of book smart rockers who channelled what it was like to be young and awkward in '90s America and went on to strike a chord with disaffected teens the world over. That this album was successful as it was owes an tremendous debt to Spike Jonze, who directed the Happy Days-augmenting Buddy Holly video that was revolutionary and mind blowing in late '94; its charming use of tech fit perfectly with the sweet n' chunky rock of the hit song. It portrayed Weezer as funny, charming guys, a far cry from the barrage of angry, dangerous men in heavy rotation on MTV.

The "blue album" is soaked with the awkward charm that Rivers Cuomo would later sprinkle anguish into on the almost disaster then/universally hailed now Pinkerton. That album is the true creative pinnacle for Weezer, but it's often suffocatingly dark and isolated, whereas Weezer is bright, open, and welcoming. This yin and yang at work make Weezer's first two albums their undisputed champion back-to-back. Weezer is a shy introduction, whereas Pinkerton a pained withdrawl.

I don't want to bring Pinkerton too far into this (we'll have plenty of time to talk about that on its 20th birthday a couple years from now), as this is all about blue. A sugary dose of power pop, the tracks presented here don't vary as much as tracklists on later albums, but it does make for a listening experience that's nice and concise. When the mood does change slightly, as it does on Say It Ain't So and closer Only In Dreams, it's more an exercise in catharsis than mopey angst. It's not that they don't have problems on Weezer, it's just that they prefer to blow them off with a blast of riffage rather than dwell on them and allow them to shroud the songs in darkness.

Twenty years on, it's not a perfect specimen by any means; hell, Pinkerton rendered this album inferior in 1996. The rest of Weezer's discography has only served to periodically remind us they're still around, and that they're not nearly as good as they used to be. Still, they once were the band all us music geeks pulled for, the band who succeeded without dumbing it down or yelling really loud. A band who didn't care if they didn't have the look, and didn't change for the sake of a trend. At the end of the day, if we don't herald Weezer as an essential classic, we can at least credit it for that.

May 10, 1994 • DGC/Universal

Highlights Buddy Holly • Undone (The Sweater Song) • Say It Ain't So