I've been thinking about Weezer a lot lately. Not sure why, maybe it's this lousy time of year, what with all the grey skies and the freezing cold, it's got me looking for music with a bit more of an upbeat sound to drown out the wailing of the wind. And you can't get much more upbeat than pop rock made by a bunch of nerds from the 90s. Weezer's discography has fascinated me as of late, where else can you find a band (relatively) stylistically consistent yet critically and commercially disjointed? Their career has been bumpier than a cheese grater full of potholes. But through it all I still give Weezer a chance every now and then, just because Blue Album really is that good of a record.

Everything about Blue Album personifies innocence and confidence. It's a album full of simple 4 chord pop rock songs, with the occasionally clunky lyrics or vocal delivery and I find that spirit so charming. Even the cover art, which has been memed into oblivion still has a cute, awkward energy to it. It's the album art equivalent of a high school year book photo you're still kinda embarrassed about. When you used to wear nothing but dorky golf shirts and jeans, and you thought growing your hair out was a good idea.

This innocence and sweetness is all over the album's songs. Buddy Holly is probably the stand out example. The big guitars gently gliding across the simple garage rock melody, with the lyrics really driving everything home. "ha ha yeah I do look like the generic 1950s nerd stereotype, wanna be my generic 1950s traditionally attractive woman stereotype? :)". In The Garage stands out as well, though its subject matter stems more from anxiety. "Hell yeah I got my X-Men comics and my KISS posters in my garage (more importantly no one can judge me and make fun of me in here :/) yay my happy place!" It's pure nerd rock cheese and I'm here for it.

And while the album is simple, stylistically, I didn't use the word confident for no reason, earlier. There's some really interesting and clever songwriting choices here. I am of the opinion that little moments add up to a lot, especially when it comes to writing straightforward pop rock songs, and Blue Album is chock full of these little moments. I mentioned Buddy Holly earlier, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that bridge absolutely kicks ass. The thick, chunky riff, punctuated by those harmonic notes, and of course that wonderful little lick that caps it off. Pure garage rock bliss, bet some of yall wish you could write something that well executed. The main riff of The World Has Turned And Left Me Here sticks out to me as well, with its fat guitar leads being backed up by these gentle acoustic notes that add so much texture to the sound. Are those arpeggios? I dunno, but whatever they are they're great.

Yes sir, Blue is an album of all killer no filler if you ask me. Which makes Weezer's later discography all that more upsetting. This is a story for another time but Pinkerton is just not as good as Blue, and from there the group just spiraled out of control, making everything from generic 2000s pop rock, to whatever the hell Raditude and Pacific Daydream and Van Weezer are. I guess that's the final lesson we learn from Blue. Art is a snapshot of who you were at the time of its creation, and Weezer was just never the same after Blue album became a surprise hit. The high school photo metaphor I mentioned earlier fits rather well, from that perspective. What's past is past. Just like Wolfe said "You can't go home again".