10 things you didn’t know about Weezer’s Blue Album

7 September 2024, 10:00

The classic geek rock debut LP was released on 10th May 1994. But how much do you know about Buddy Holly, The Sweater Song and the rest, 30 years on?

By Radio X

@RadioX

1. There’s some Photoshop trickery on the cover

   The famous cover photo (which has influenced many a Weezer album since) isn’t just a straightforward shot of the band. Bassist Matt Sharp (third from left) didn’t like his photo, so his head is flown in from another shot in the series.

2. The video for Buddy Holly was given away free

   Well, to anyone who bought the Windows 95 upgrade. On the disc was a MOV of the video, which was pretty cool in those pre-YouTube days.

   

   Weezer - Buddy Holly

3. Buddy Holly wasn’t originally about Buddy Holly

   The original lyric for Buddy Holly was originally about the famous Hollywood dancing couple: "Oo-wee-oo you look just like Ginger Rogers, Oh, oh, I move just like Fred Astaire.”

   

4. Undone (The Sweater Song) originally opened differently

   Karl Koch (Weezer’s unofficial fifth member) notes that he created a montage of voices that included Darth Vader, Charlie Brown and Humphrey Bogart. When the samples proved too difficult to clear, they were replaced by conversations between Matt Sharp and Koch and then Koch and Mykel Allen, who ran the Weezer fan club (see below).

   

   Weezer - Undone -- The Sweater Song

5. The World Has Turned And Left Me Here is one of Weezer’s oldest songs

   It was written by Rivers Cuomo around 1991, around a year before the band actually got together.

   

   The World Has Turned And Left Me Here

6. Part of My Name is Jonas is about Rivers Cuomo’s brother

   Leaves Cuomo (those hippy parents, right?) was involved in a car accident and had an issue over the insurance, which explains the lines: “Guess what I received / In the mail today / Words of deep concern / From my little brother.”

   

7. The song Mykel And Carli was originally due to appear on the album

   However, the band weren’t happy with the take recorded at Electric Lady studios, so the track was demoted to the B-side of Undone (The Sweater Song). Mykel And Carli Allan were two of Weezer’s earliest and biggest fans and the song is a tribute to them.

   

   Weezer - Mykel And Carli (Original Version)

8. Weezer’s original guitarist left during the making of the record

   Jason Cropper, who recorded his parts at Electric Lady studios with the rest of the band, left Weezer due to unknown reasons. He signed an NDA and has never spoken about it. His contributions were re-recorded by Rivers Cuomo, but he gets a song-writing credit for My Name Is Jonas.

9. In The Garage mentions two rock legends

   The line “I got posters on the wall / My favourite rock group Kiss” then goes on to namecheck Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, guitarist and drummer respectively with the American glam metallers.

   

10. The Garage was a real place

    It was at 2226 Amherst Avenue, West Los Angeles, California, where the members of Weezer lived from 1992 until after the release of the “Blue Album”.The garage can be seen in the Say It Ain’t So video.

    

    Weezer - Say It Ain't So