DEEP DISCOG DIVE: Weezer 

Blue is a High School album, Pinkerton is a college album, and the rest are what happens when you believe you peaked in high school

an essential element of being a Weezer fan is regularly hating half of their stuff

i'll never forget a classmate who found out the historical significance of the pink triangle because of that one weezer song…

Your videos are good enough to watch while eating. You don’t just throw something on willy nilly & waste the food on it

you're not even gonna mention their 2018 masterpiece "twin fantasy?" damn.

You claim there is no depth to Raditude, yet this is entirely false. You have to have a very high IQ to understand songs like Can’t Stop Partying and Love Is The Answer. There are so many interesting layers that Raditude fans are still dissecting and analyzing to this very day. Lil’ Wayne’s verse on Can’t Stop Partying contains many fascinating statements about human existence and the meaning of life as a whole. This album is pure genius, and clearly the band’s magnum opus. It reaches new heights that Blue and Pinkerton never could, just like how I reached new heights with my epic jump that I never could before. Some people just don’t understand art. P.S. I am most definitely a funny doggo.

8:40 The “goddamn you half Japanese girls…” line on El Scorcho, and most of the rest of the song (and much of the rest of the album) is a direct reference to Madame Butterfly. Basically, a play about a Japanese woman who falls in love with, and is eventually driven to suicide by, a heartless American man. The woman protagonist is named “Cho Cho San”, and the American man is named “Pinkerton”.

Pinkerton’s lyrics are extremely disturbing to me. But in a way... that’s exactly why I love them. It’s emotionally open to the point of extreme discomfort, making it a real and accurate depiction of a human with all its flaws and insecurities. It’s not trying to look good, it’s just real and I find it fascinating

"raditude is one of the Weezer albums of all time" lol

Weezer is like the Sonic of rock bands. Peaked in the 90s, passionate fans argue about what releases afterward are good/bad, a couple returns-to-form in the 2010s that people really like, and outsiders just think it all sucks no matter what and was possibly never good to begin with (wrong).

Let's start a petition to call the next album Weezens. Also, way to sneak in the Billy Cobb Carl Weezer Say It Ain't So Cover there.

"Pump it up into me" is the most catchy part of Van Weezer, actually

Holy shit, I can’t believe it took this long to do a deep discog dive on the greatest band in virgin history.

Mic, I think a 'The Cure' DDD would be amazing for you and your viewers. Thank you for this one in the meanwhile!

Weezer's Raditude had the best album cover of all time, and it's not even close. That jump took years for that dog to master, and it had finally paid off he's not only a National Geographic spotlight, but also an iconic role on the front cover of Weezer's masterpiece. i guess you could say it put the dogs confidence back together, and he got hot and started tripping down the freeway. And to this day he's still jumping and still partying!!!

Are you planning to do one of these for, like, ABBA or something and call it "Deep Disco Dive"? Or have you already used that joke?

I swear I’ve voted for Weezer every DDDD, so happy to see it finally

this guy is the Scott the Woz of music

Honestly, the lyrics on Pinkerton are my favorite part of the album. They're dark, gross, creepy, and unflattering, and I think that kind of blunt honesty is what I like the most in Weezer. Pinkerton shows you every part of Rivers, especially the dark corners of his mind. Everyone has darkness in them that we try to ignore, so it's interesting to see it almost embraced in this strange, nervous way. That's why my least favorite Weezer albums are the ones that feel less authentic, like Green and Raditude. Even though the other material is a mixed bag, I like that Rivers can unapologetically be himself and write what he wants to write. That all being said, White is their best album

Rivers yelling KEVIN GREENE is one of the most entertaining things I’ve seen in a while

Captions are still being worked, they'll be added sometime this weekend. Thanks for being patient while I moved! EDIT: Captions are now available!

Pinkerton is not only my favorite Weezer album, it’s one of my favorite albums of all time

Wow, I can’t believe you suggested that Weezer is the best band of all time. You’re 100% correct btw.

Bold of you to tackle Weezer after Pat Finnerty’s legendary video

Just my 2 cents as a guy who first listened to Pinkerton two years ago in college: I love this album precisely because it's so willing to make Rivers look so pathetic and resentful. It's not a pleasant listen, and it's embarrassing, but it knows that and leans into it. There's no ego here, no desire to present a positive image to the listener. It's callous and bitter in a way that feels very lucid and insightful to me, even though I don't "relate" to it in the way that word is usually used. I find it cathartic because it's such a great portrait of pure, isolated id.

As someone who had my own deep dive into Weezer in January of this year after OK Human, I guess I can comment on the Pinkerton thing. I had listened to Blue and Pinkerton during the last of my high school years, and I really treasured the songs off of Blue on my drive to and from high school. Pinkerton was never that sort of thing that I really grasped onto in the same way, it felt so foreign that I didn't really know what to make of it, but I would still say I liked it enough. Fast-forward to OK Human's release, and I started going through Weezer's back-catalogue and found upon revisiting as a college student that Pinkerton is one of my favorite albums of all time, and possibly my favorite of the 90s. I love how relistenable it is, how progressive and complex it is, and how embarrassing and heartfelt it is. That fact that an album can have such good hooks, such delectable noise, and such cutting lyrics, to me, shows tremendous artistry. So yes, I would start a cult over this album, but the cult already exists, and I'm a member of it.

I think you should do a DDD on Kid Cudi. He's such an influential figure in modern rap and I would love to see your take on speedin bullet 2 heaven.

I'm 29 yo. Listened to Pinkerton for the first time february this year and I would start a cult over this album. Pinkerton is so disgusting, raw and weird that makes It a unique experience. Rivers was really brave to put himself in such a bad light, because the content of those lyrics are embarassing to say the least (and he knew that). It isn't an easy listening, but there aren't many album like Pinkerton out there. I think Its a special work

White Album was a sleeper hit for me. First I was like "This is pretty good!" and now it's my second favorite Weezer album. Nothing in my life will ever be as thematically linked to music ever again as when I spent 6 months living by the beach in San Francisco during the pandemic and moved right after the summer ended; that album legit felt like the soundtrack to my life, closer "Endless Bummer" in particular.

This was maybe the best Weezer take I've seen in a long, long time.

As you said, there is a certain abrasiveness to Pinkerton. Raw energy mixed with raw emotion, unfiltered through the mixing really stuck to me. The desperation of some tracks resonates the feeling of being an emotionally depraved teenager, some great examples of this is No Other One or Butterfly. Pinkerton can also be fun and light hearted sometimes. I feel like El Scorcho and The Good Life is a fun song to play and sing along to. In a sense, Pinkerton defined my teenage years: confused, deprived, tired and just want to find happiness. I know there are other ways to cope with the previous mentioned, but the roughness of Pinkerton just WORKED for me.

Weezer are just so, weird, nerdy, inconsistent, and are basically the ultimate meme band. And that's exactly why I love them so much. They're one of my favorite bands of all time, warts and all. Blue and EWBAITE are their best albums, I've really grown to admire Pinkerton (it's an album that takes a while for you to like or get into, but it's worth it), Red I think is underrated (Dreamin' and Angel and the One are top tier tracks), and overall, there's just so much mythos and content to love and explore with this band.

I didn’t hear Pinkerton back when it came out. I was way too young. However, I discovered it in like 2005 or so when I was an awkward, nerdy teen, insecure with mental illness. It hit me incredibly hard in a way that none of their other albums ever did. I also played Blue to death. I remember feeling so let down by the Beverly Hill single and super angsty about it getting popular. Haha, god I was cringe. It’s still a bad album though.

Just like his idol, Scott the Woz, Mic commits Arson when he moves house

I'm slightly devastated you passed over 'All My Friends Are Insects' that they recorded for Yo Gabba Gabba. It is genuinely my favourite weezer track from post 2010

I didn't think it was my personal situation that made me fall in love with Pinkerton, but then I realised I was in a situation with unrequited love, frustration, feeling aimless... so yeah. I was 21. I still love the album but it's definitely not personally relatable to me anymore. What I respect the most is Rivers just putting himself unabashedly out there with no pretense.

Adult who got into Pinkerton fairly recently here: I've been into Weezer, particularly the blue album, since I was a teen, but Pinkerton was always one with a few songs I enjoyed, but overall didn't get into, until the pandemic hit. I was a regularly touring musician, and just like that, the industry I had spent my life working in was essentially gone, and instead of doing what I loved, I spent a year stuck at home without a single other person. All the loneliness and insanity of the record spoke to me more and more with every listen. I can relate to the apathy of Tired Of Sex and Why Bother, the longing for human connection of Across The Sea and Pink Triangle (without the creepy aspects), and most of all the desire of to be able to go back to the good life of... El Scorcho.

I'd love to see blink-182 covered on here. For the face of goofy pop punk in the early 2000's, their discography is incredibly varied, from mid-90's skate punk, to classic 2000's pop punk, and even some pretty experimental albums. Their untitled record from 2003 is my favorite album of all time, and I'd love to hear your opinion on the band.

Blows my mind how much the quality of these videos has improved over the last 2 years. Need a deep discog dive on deep discog dive

I can't believe Mic skipped over the Statefarm jingle cover, it's unironically one of the best things Weezer has ever done

I won't accept that "Trippin' Down the Freeway" diss. Song is insanely catchy, as is "Let It All Hang Out". I was 14 when the album came out and thought "Can't Stop Partying" was dark and bleak at the time, so take this with a grain of salt. (I really hate "Love is the Answer" and "In The Mall" though, the former might just be their worst ever). Really great video, you nailed nearly everything and your humor is sharp as always. Only missed the b-sides and deluxe songs, I mean, Red Album's bonus tracks are top-tier.

Would love to see Cocteau Twins and Pinback added to the poll. Iconic and deeply influential groups that often aren’t given the proper recognition IMO. Fantastic, hilarious, brilliantly written and edited as always. Thank you for being the only god-tier music RU-vidr with a consistent upload schedule (RIP rickthelai)

I left the radio playing on accident while I went to sleep once. During this epic, cinematic dream, "Hero" was playing the whole time. I developed a new found appreciation for Weezer after that.

Not a big Weezer fan but I love their hits. There is something very charming about their music

I got into Weezer and fell in love with Pinkerton in Uni, so I fell in love with it without that nostalgic perspective. The music itself is amazing of course, with Falling for you as a highlight. And this might also be the most important song for explaining my love for the album at a later age. It is the realisation that you still haven't overcome the demons of a previous you. You are still afraid of being vulnerable again after thinking you've left that behind in the past (The Good Life, Pink Triangle and to an extent El Scorcho), but instead you feel like you are hitting that wall again. But before returning to that old place and thinking you are just a simple 3-chord loser, you think to yourself, fuck it, "I'm ready lets do it". With this, you can appreciate the journey before Falling for you, with Across the Sea as a clear low point: "So you send me your love from all around the world As if I could live on Words and dreams and a million screams Oh, how I need a hand in mine to feel" It inspires to have an honest look back at your lows in order to explain the insecurities you are still having, of which you used to think that you would grow out of them somehow. I would still rank Blue over Pinkerton, but it is a clear #2 for me. Oh btw, Everybody get Dangerous is an amazing song and your trash opinion about it deserves to be burned as well.

"In conclusion, Raditude is one of the Weezer albums of all time." -Mic the Snare

I listened to Weezer’s new stuff first, starting with none other than Pacific Daydream. Knowing nothing about them, I thought the music was cool and that was it. With the release of the Black Album, I thought I’d give them a try and ended up falling in love with Rivers and the crew. I dig deeper, and though my tastes wouldn’t initially allow me to listen to their older stuff, I appreciated the band enough that I started listening to it. Honestly the more I learn about this band the more I love it. They are relatable to me in some sense, and I got every reference on their latest album Van Weezer. I think that I come from a different “backwards” perspective if you will on Weezer. As a result, I am one of the few fans that truly loves ALL their music (if not every song, at least every album). I love the phases Rivers has gone through and I have lots of love for everything about this band. I will also note that, unsurprisingly, more than the Blue Album, Pacific Daydream, Everything Will be Alright, and the Black Album, are the most nostalgic to me.

I marathoned the entire discography of this band, amde a tierlist and wrote pocket size reviews for my friends in 12 hours befroe watching this video. I MADE MY HOMEWORK, MIC.

See, the key is to have gotten really into Raditude and Hurley when you’re young so then everything else sounds GREAT after

Raditude is a fantastic record. It's super original, fun to listen to, and asks some deep questions we have to ponder for ourselves. I didn't understand its beauty until years after discovering it, but now it's all clear and I've become enlightened

“I don’t wanna let you go” is my favorite from Raditude, it’s gorgeous

Didn’t get into Pinkerton until I was an adult, and it’s slowly become my favorite album in general. I appreciate the production, composition, and honesty the most. None of the criticisms of the lyrics ever made sense to me as they are clearly self aware and never attempt to glorify Rivers’ thoughts. It just seems like low having fruit to criticize something like across the sea for instance, as if you’re intentionally missing the point.

Being a Weezer fan is a constant cycle of fleeting optimism and crushing disappointment.

Now that you’ve covered Weezer, I can finally start voting for King Gizzard in every single DDDD. Hooray.

DUDEE YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!! I asked you to do this last week and you ACTUALLY DID IT!! I love weezer

I don't know why but I love their take of Lost In The Woods from the Frozen 2 soundtrack. It's just a fantastic song

I found OK Human to be Rivers’ most personal album next to Pinkerton. Listening to it made me feel that he really poured his heart and soul into this as well as what he learned from his depression era in the mid to late nineties.

"I hope the dog is getting lots of pets" Who's gonna tell him...

The only centrist Weezer review

perfect situation will forever hold a special place in my heart because that was the first song I listened to after my first breakup... lots of bitter-sweet memories lie in that opening guitar solo...

Cant wait for your speech on Raditude, the greatest work of art in musical history.

what is a weezer

Found this years later as an adult. I loved it and STILL love it. One of my all time favorite albums. Great songs, and the recording is great. Granted, I'm not much of a person for paying attention to lyrics so maybe that's it.

you know what I'm gonna play at my wedding? 'Crab'!"

Pinkerton(and blue album) changed my life, I got into it after my first breakup, my ex cheated on me after 5 years,which caused me to drop out of college and move back into my parents house. I had never had experienced this much failure and sorrow at once in my life at this point. I listened to Pinkerton in the shower in the morning before I went to work, sobbing and singing along from the pain I felt. All I had known had gone to nothing, my potential dream career gone, my supposed best friends all gone and my ex who was my first kiss, first time and first girlfriend. A real turning point in my life and I felt the deep parts of Pinkerton because of this. Blue Album also contributed to this but Pinkerton really brought out the pain in my heart at the time and helped me cope with it.

24:00 I'm glad you agree 17:00 I dont know but riff is pretty damn crunchy 34:25 I was disappointed Rivers didn't do that rap verse

as a massive fan of weezer, this was a great in depth video to watch. fantastic job

I can't hate Beverly Hills, it was the first music video I ever bought for my ipod video and I watched it over and over. I also related to the lyrics. I grew up very religious in a dull town, and romanticized California and teenage party culture bc I had none of that. And it was around when I started playing guitar and it introduced me to what a voice box was. Though as an adult I find the image of Californian culture to be shallow and off-putting and realizing this is a very simple song, I still have a soft spot for it.

I believe an interesting band to do a DDD on would be U2. They have a lot of material to cover, especially from Unforgettable Fire to Pop

Probably just recency bias, but OK Human is my currently favorite Weezer record. I’m glad out turned around on it!

I thought I knew a lot about Weezer. Nope. Loved the video, thanks for all the work putting it together!

Mic, A FOB DDD would be a great one to see you do. Plus you now have the other Hella Mega bands. Great stuff man

I love Weezer. Thank you for doing this one!! It would be cool if you did a Fall Out Boy one since they just did a tour with Green Day and Weezer recently

This series is really enjoyable especially the more “out there” artists. I think a deep dive on the Smashing Pumpkins or the Flaming Lips would be great!

It was nice to hear you mention (Girl We Got A) Good Thing. It is one of my favorite Weezer songs and basically the soundtrack to one of my family’s summer vacation.

I personally think that both California Kids and Wind in our Sails is my personal favorite weezer songs of all the albums. For me, I really was trying to get though highschool at the time and I found this album. I was driving home in the winter and it made me feel important. While I think that all the other songs can be better, I really think this is a really good opener for a weezer album and I always come back to this song during those cold winter nights. I know its a little dramatic, but that's I feel.

The year is 3021 and the spoon ddd still hasn’t dropped

I think I saw a post on the Weezer subreddit that confirmed that Sidney the dog passed away in November 2019, but he was indeed a very good boy. Sidney actually “interviewed” Rivers as part of the album’s rollout.

I’m so glad you mentioned the opening line of “El Scorcho” because I and every other half-Japanese person I know hates it

There’s nothing more satisfying than finishing an artist’s entire discography and watching these videos when your finished. I did it with AJR, Green Day and now Weezer.

OK Human is probably one of my favorite Weezer albums since I guess The Blue Album and Pinkerton. Just a total change of pace, from out of nowhere. Rivers is really at his songwriting best in my opinion.

Man I haven't listened to Weezer since High School, but I do have fond memories of their first 2 albums plus plenty of nostalgia. So it's nice to think about. Personally I'd recommend you check out the deluxe version of Pinkerton, there's a lot of excellent stuff on there.

the green record is one of the most perfect pop/rock records ever recorded.

I'm going to the Hella Mega Tour in Paris and I needed a recap about Weezer's discography. Thanks for your work ❤

I never really listened to Weezer. Sure, I was familiar with like Buddy Holly and My Name is Jonas, but that was really about it. When I heard OK Human for the first time last year, I instantly fell in love with it and then decided to start further looking into the band. I first heard "Pinkerton" when I was 28 years old. It's my second favorite weezer album right behind OK Human now.

I didn't hear Pinkerton in it's entirety until last year (I'm 22). I actually prefer it to Blue because of it's abrasive nature. It's honest, nasty, weird and even creepy in some places. But that's how human emotion is, isn't it?

I'm just here feeling down and rewatching your DDDs as my comfort show.

I'm pretty sure the "you wanted arts and crafts" line is about fans hoping that they were gonna sign to that more indie and experimental label

Green Album for me. I hadn't really heard of Weezer before, but my college freshman roommate was a fan. He got me to go to a Weezer show the next Spring while they were promoting Maladroit. They opened the show with Dope Nose, and I've f'n loved them ever since.

I became a huge fan of Pinkerton after I turned 26 and got my first apartment all alone. I had just faced painful rejection from someone I really cared about and slept around with a lot of people and hung got into some drugs I’m glad I don’t do anymore. That album was a way for me to wallow in self pity but also sort of remind me that I wasn’t living the life I was meant to live. I remember starting the album right after sex in a car with someone I was getting sick of, and it was like a movie moment. TMI, but that’s my story. It will always be nostalgic to me for these reasons.

Literally just went through this same project, looks like someone beat me to it. Great video!

Hi Mic the Snare, your probably not reading this but I've been having some really terrible days october so far and watching your videos has made the good times after school so much better, thanks for everything you do.

I commemorate Rivers for writing those lyrics for Pinkerton especially for “Across The Sea”. 90% or more of people experience intrusive thoughts and when you’re in such a state as rivers was, you can go multiple ways but the ways that I think about it is. I think he might’ve consciously or unconsciously made the decision of not being a cynical asshole across Pinkerton. It can be real easy to be cynical when you’re in a state that he was in. I’d say it’s Alice In Chains type of honesty

as I get older I actually grow to enjoy Pinkerton more, no clue why I always thoughts I just grew to like the compositions more and more but I think as I get older I grow more and more desperate feeling or at lest being able to understand and relate to those types of emotions more

I went to one of the 2000 shows and it was absolutely incredible. There were 4 unknown songs (none of them were on the green album), but the rest was from the Blue album or Pinkerton. The energy in the crowd was incredible. Seemed that almost all of us were huge fans and were so incredibly excited the band hadn't broken up.

Stumbled upon one of the videos in this series and now I've watched 3 or 4 of them. Great job putting together entertaining breakdowns and analyzing discographies. You aren't overly critical of the music or songwriting and give a great insight to the overall enjoyment of each album. Also insight to what led to each album gaining its individual sound. A really refreshing style of analyzing the artists. It would be awesome to see you do one for Fall Out Boy. I think Take this to your grave, from under the cork tree, and Infinity on High are the most unique and well made pop punk / emo albums. Take this to your grave was the most energetic and aggressive music they made. From under the cork tree transitioned slightly with less of an aggressive sound. They became more pop than punk but held the emo rock lyrics. The choruses were catchier and the vocals were more melodic than the previous album. Infinity on High followed suit and traded even more punk for pop. It still had influences of the earlier sound with some punk sounding energetic tracks but majority of the album strayed. Some more traditional sounding love songs and melody focused pop tracks. I'd consider the album as a whole pop rock or alt rock rather than pop punk or emo, but still held some of their original sound. Those three are some of my favorite albums of all time. The first one is definitely the most consistent front to back. The second was similar in that regard just poppier. While the 3rd varied more from track to track. I enjoy folie a deux as well but this is the album where the sound had totally abandoned its pop punk roots. Really was an alternative rock album with an emo twist on some of the songs. Still a very good album throughout that had just enough of their unique flavor to make it interesting. Save rock n roll was decent but felt bland to me. It had none of the original energy or vibe they once had. Just more pop songs that felt like sing along radio tracks. There are a few incredibly well written tracks on it though that really showed off the talent the band has always had. Lost most of my interest after this one and haven't really listened any of the next albums in entirety to give a good opinion on them.

I’VE BEEN VOTING FOR WEEZER FOR SO LONG

Damn, you didn't listen to Van Weezer on vinyl because you didn't mention "I've Thrown It All Away", the hidden track after "Precious Metal Girl". What a great return to form for Weezer despite it being an unreleased song from the Blue Album days.

Absolutely love your videos. You should do more classic rock and the evolvement of rock itself. Maybe cover the relationships between bands and societal impact too? I haven’t seen a lot on RU-vid on this and would LOVE to learn more

Finally a Weezer take that isn't just the "Blue good, Pinkerton bad, oh and the rest of the albums don't exist" kind. Great video man!