Weezer Postmodernism

2. Weezer is an American band made up of four members; Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bell and Scott Shriner, formed in 1992, in Los Angeles, California. The band are most commonly classed as ‘alternative rock’ due to their incorporation of several different genres within their music. ‘What made them special was their uncanny ability to put a harmony-filled power-pop spin on hard rock.’

3. Weezer(The Blue Album) (1994) Pinkerton (1996) Weezer (The Green Album) (2001) Maladroit (2002) Make Believe(2005) Weezer (The Red Album) (2008) Raditude(2009) Hurley (2010) Death to False Metal (2010)

4. Pissing in plastic cups before we went on stagePlaying hackey sack back when Audioslave was still RageWatching all the freaky Dutch kids vomit then have sexListening to techno music on the bus while we earned our checks[Chorus]Memories make me want to go back there, back thereAll the memories make me want to go back there, back thereAll the memories, how can we make it back there, back thereI want be there againMessing with the journalists and telling stupid liesThey had a feeling that something was upBecause of the look in our eyesIn fact we didn't know what we were doing half of the timeWe were so sure of ourselves and sure of our way through lifeMemories make me want to go back there, back thereAll the memories make me want to go back there, back thereAll the memories, how can we make it back there, back thereI want be there againNow I got so many people that I got to look out forNever know when I'll become awake and buy some food at the storehttp://www.elyricsworld.com/memories_lyrics_weezer.htmlI can hear them babies crying and the lawn needs to be mowedI gotta get my groove on because I'm freakin bored!Memories make me want to go back there, back thereAll the memories make me want to go back there, back thereAll the memories, how can we make it back there, back thereI want be there again The lyrics to Weezer’s song ‘Memories’ are a reference to themselves and based upon the bands own experiences, a postmodern element to their music. The song is used in the film ‘Jackass 3D’ and the cast of the film are in the music video with the band themselves, something commonly used within Weezer’s videos.

5. In 2010, Weezer released a new album, titled ‘Hurley’, based upon a character from American TV show, ‘Lost’. The actor who plays Hurley, Jorge Garcia is even featured on the band’s album cover. The band used internet site, YouTube, in order to advertise the new album, taking an unconventional way to do so as it is usually done through TV advertisements and posters etc.

6. In 2010, Weezer released another album, entitled ‘Death To False Metal’ which was a compilation album combined of unused songs throughout the band’s career. Cuomo stated that these were previously unused as “they were either too weird or too pop or too metal or too punk.“ – emphasising the changing nature of the genre of their music.

7. The music videos to Weezer’s songs often contain other famous figures, who audience’s will easily recognise. In their song ‘Beverly Hills’, the opening features Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and three of his ‘playmates’ Holly, Bridget and Kendra.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HL_WvOly7mY And, as fore mentioned, the cast of Jackass 3D star in the video for the song ‘Memories’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5Fq3U_FjYc The song ‘Perfect Situation’ stars actress Elisha Cuthbert as the lead female in the narrative of the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwv-iRvyDZg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kemivUKb4f4 The video for ‘Buddy Holly’, shows Weezer performing in a diner made famous from popular 70’s TV show ‘Happy Days.’ Original cast members from the show also feature in the music video itself.

8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIbnlvjF5PY This video is a clear example of a ‘pastiche’ by Weezer.A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre that is a "hodge-podge" or an imitation. It is now seen as a part of Postmodernism. On the ‘Hurley’ album – Jackass cast members feature on gang vocals on the track ‘Memories’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-dj-VXLkRQ Actor Michael Cera features on the backing vocals and also plays mandolin in the track, ‘Hang On.’

9. Weezer regularly list the bands of KISS, Nirvana, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Oasis and Wax as their influences. This is a postmodern feature already as the bands are all from different time eras and vary on genre. In the song ‘In The Garage’, Weezer directly reference KISS. ‘I've got posters on the wall,My favorite rock group, KISS.’ The song ‘Susanne’ also originally referenced Kurt Cobain, the frontman of Nirvana, until they changed the lyrics after his death. ‘Even Kurt Cobain and AxlRose.’ They also reference Nirvana’s second album ‘Nevermind’ in their song ‘Heart Songs’, a song which has many intertextual references to a number of other artists. Weezer also performed Oasis and Nirvana tracks under a stage name of ‘Goat Punishment.’ They also covered ‘Velouria’ by Pixies in order to produce a Pixies cover album.