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Posts tagged Matt Sharp
Great Lost Weezer Songs: 2009 Edition Part 3
42 years ago
Another Sunday, another batch of “lost” Weezer songs. So lost in fact that I’m posting them up here. On a personal level, this set is about my favourite. While it contains a few weak links, the triple-P header of Preacher’s Son, Private Message and Prodigy Lover more than make up for them. Enjoy!
The least interesting of the songs here, Mr. Taxman was a song that appeared on the Weezer site once back in the album five demo era and then never again. I assume it was abandoned at an early stage. Probably for the best as it’s just a little too silly compared to some of the others.
This has to be one of the shortest Weezer songs ever. That isn’t really fair to it though as it was never intended to be a full song. It’s another one of the fabled Songs From The Black Hole that would have been an interlude that slotted in just before Tired of Sex. I’d love to be able to hear the entire SFTBH, but it seems odd songs and fragments is all we’ll ever get to hear.
I think this one dates back to somewhere around 2000 as a demo for The Green Album, but it never progressed further than this version. It’s on the same kind of level as Green when it comes to lyrical quality (”Go out to the movies / Tell my girl she’s groovy”). The only real appeal from this song comes the fun timeshifting and harmonising that’s thrown into it.
I’ve never been able to quite work out the meaning behind this one. Some seem to think Rivers is singing about himself as the “bitter man” in the third person, but I’m not entirely convinced. I mostly just like it for it’s sound. Certainly one of the most mellow songs Weezer has ever recorded. It’s also nice to see Rivers employ something of a storyline into the song, even if I don’t have a clue what it’s supposed to all mean.
Preacher’s Son is one of the songs that was recorded back in the summer of 2000 as a demo for The Green Album. This was the first period of the band recording together in a few years, and they sound pretty good. The song is solid enough, yet was dumped so classic songs like Crab could make it onto the album. What a good decision that was.
This was one of the album five demos, and one of the best of them. Essentially the story of an internet relationship forming (”When you are reading the words I write / You think that I’m just some dumb horny guy”), and how quickly they discover it just doesn’t work. There are several versions of this song floating around it, including the acoustic version that’s entirely different in it’s sound. The electric one actually has the classic kind of Weezer sound to it.
This song comes from the same set as Private Message did, and it’s interesting mostly because of the subject matter. I have no idea how accurate this theory is, but I think this was Rivers’ response to Matt Sharp quitting the band. It has the feeling of something changing in the band (”Something is different / Something has changed / You write me your letters / They’re not the same”) and then seems to take on a slightly more bitter stance (”Uncomprehending / I’m stupified / I wrote the rule book / You can’t abide”). Now I may be reading far more into all this than is actually there, but that’s what I’ve always assumed it was about as it seems to fit so well. It’s also another chance to hear piano on a Weezer song, which is always good.
Not a great song, but an interesting one for being one of the few songs where computer trickery is employed on Rivers’ voice, giving it a slightly more robotic sound. There isn’t a great deal to the song itself beyond “be with me because I don’t want to be alone”, but it’s always fun to hear Weezer experimenting with entirely different sounds. It’s just a shame that they never try and do this on their actual albums.
Another song sung in the third person, this time all about a perfectionist who tries to control every little aspect of his life. Obviously, this isn’t really an achievable thing to do. Anyone want to start taking bets on whether or not Rivers is actually singing about himself despite the repeated “he’s not me” line?
Join us again next Sunday for the final collection of songs. You could join us any other day too. We post great music all week you know!
The Rentals return to the past for songs about time
02 years ago
in MP3s
It’s been a couple of years since The Band Of That Guy Who Was In Weezer appeared again with a new EP, following Matt Sharp’s misstep into the solo arena. Now they are back with their first full-length project in ten years, a collection of three EPs that will be collected as an album at the end of the year. It’s an interesting way to go, even if I’m not entirely convinced by it. The releasing of the EPs is fine, releasing them only as downloads and making us wait for physical copies is a tad annoying. Especially when the physical copies come with a long wait time and a ludicrously high price tag.
None of that should get in the way of the music though, and it’s good to hear The Rentals back at doing what they do best. Like the best songs from their previous release, Story of a Thousand Seasons Past sounds as though it would feel right at home on their original Return of the Rentals album. The song remains even handed throughout, never really getting it’s big rise or succinct statement. This style is one that a lot of bands struggle with, but here it manages to suit both Sharp’s voice and songwriting. Certainly it’s more rounded than any of their previous material, even if it doesn’t quite become the perfect song. It’s still good enough to win over new ears to the band, rather than having the band still ride along on the goodwill toward the previous band.
Chapter One of Songs About Time is available now as a digital download for $6. The next two volumes should appear in July and October respectively. Physical releases will follow in December and will cost, depending on which version you go for, either $125 or $275. I shit you not.
