Artist Profile: Weezer

Today's Artist Profile is on one of the bands that I grew up listening to, Weezer. Weezer were formed in 1992 in Los Angeles, CA and the band consists of Rivers Cuomo on lead vocals and guitar, Brian Bell on backup guitar and backup vocals, Scott Shriner on bass, and Pat Wilson on drums. Weezer got their first gig opening up for Dogstar (Keanu Reeves' band). Shortly thereafter, the group was signed to Geffen Records and immediately began work on their debut with The Cars frontman Ric Ocasek behind the boards producing. Their self-titled debut release (The Blue Album) came out in 1994 and immediately made an impact upon its release, producing career spanning tracks like "Buddy Holly", "My Name Is Jonas", "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here", "Undone - The Sweater Song", and "Say It Ain't So". The album went triple platinum in the process and has since become an instant hallmark both in their catalog and within the alternative rock genre as well. The group embarked on a lengthy tour schedule before settling down to begin work on their next effort Pinkerton, released in 1996. The album was initially met with skepticism as the album had a decidedly darker sound than its predecessor and received harsh criticism from the press, but it quickly acheived a cult following producing solid tracks like "El Scorcho" and "Pink Triangle". The band went out on tour shortly afterwards, then took an extended hiatus so that Rivers could attend classes at Harvard University where he was going for his bachelors degree in English.

Weezer finally returned after a five year hiatus in 2001 with their self-titled album (known as The Green Album). The album was an immediate return to form effort for the group, producing incredible tracks like "Hash Pipe" and my personal favorite Weezer track, "Island in the Sun". The band wasted no time in releasing a follow up effort Maladroit, which came out the next year. This album took a more experimental approach and relied on fan participation in creating the album by having them download demos from the band's official website in exchange for feedback on each track. The process was considered to be a failure as the fans chose the worst songs to make up the album, and instead had their A&R rep choose the songs for the release. The album wasn't as successful as The Green Album but still produced some terrific tracks like "Dope Nose" and "Keep Fishin'". The band took their time creating their next release Make Believe, which eventually saw the light of day in 2005. The album was a much more commercially catered album, receiving mixed reviews from the press but went platinum in spite of that, producing standout tracks like the monster hit, "Beverly Hills", "We Are All On Drugs", and "Perfect Situation". The band returned to the color scheme for their next disc titled The Red Album, which came out in 2008. This release had tracks such as "Pork and Beans", "Troublemaker", and "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived". The band embarked on some tour dates following its release, and took some downtime after the conclusion of those dates to commence work on their next release, Hurley which came out just last year. The album received poor reviews much like their last few releases, producing a decent track in the form of "Memories". The band is in the process of writing new material for their next release, which doesn't have a firm timetable for release as of yet. While I'm not a avid fan of these guys anymore, I still respect the work that they have put out to date and what they have done for music, especially in the early stages of their career.