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A Teal-Tinged Surprise from Weezer

I am seriously starting to think 2019 is going to be the Year of Weez. By that I am of course referring to =W=eezer, everyone’s fave nerd-rockers.

If you weren’t already aware that The Black Album is on its way March 1st, Rivers Cuomo and his band of a merry men dropped the music equivalent of a bombshell in the form of The Teal Album. It is comprised entirely of cover versions ranging from their chart-topping “Africa” to a super-soulful take on “Stand by Me” that would make Corey Feldman from the 1986 movie of the same cute to go, “Whoa!” The quasi-metal guitar flourish that they added to feminine anthem “No Scrubs”, however, is making them a watercooler-worthy trending topic.

Part of me is more surprised it’s taken this long for Weezer to come out with a full covers album, given how they’ve always incorporated others’ songs into their own sets. In the last ten or so years alone I’ve personally seen Weezer give a power-pop sheen to Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” and “Paranoid Android” by Radiohead. Alan Cross himself even seems to remember them twangin’ The Dukes of Hazzard theme of all things back when they would have been promoting their debut at CFNY 102.1 The Edge. The Blue Album, released in 1994, will celebrate its 25th anniversary on May 10th. Where does the time $#@%ing go, I ask…

Weezer’s hourlong hurlyburly of a show I reviewed last year was one of the most fun times I’ve had at a concert in a long time, a tour the alt-rock veterans are continuing with Pixies (who just announced a forthcoming new album of their own). All this and a bond font appearance at Coachella in between may very well culminate in a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination for Weezer before 2019 is out. At the very least, I’ll make them a “best of” playlist…with your help. Let me know in the comments below which Weezer songs in their extensive catalog deserve to be on; they can be as recent as these new covers, so long as you remember they’ve done a lot of good stuff since Pinkerton!

Gilles LeBlanc

Gilles LeBlanc literally fell into “alternative rock” wayyy back at Lollapalooza 1992, where he got caught in his first mosh pit watching some band named Pearl Jam. Since then, he’s spent the better part of his life looking for music to match the liberating rush he felt that day, with a particular chest-beating emphasis on stuff coming out of his native Canada. It took him awhile, but Gilles now writes feverishly about all things that rock (and or roll) through his ROCKthusiast alter ego.

Gilles LeBlanc has 104 posts and counting. See all posts by Gilles LeBlanc

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