Top 10 Best Songs On Weezer’s Blue Album

By: Tony

The Weezer Blue Album was very influential in my growing up process. The songs contained therein have grown to mean different things to me over the years, and ultimately became the safe bet on road trips when I wasn’t sure what type of music my fellow road trippers were into, or when I didn’t want to get into an argument about how political rap has become. I think for the most part that the songs on this album are very solid, so I present to you, my Top 10 songs on Weezer’s Blue Album:

10: No One Else

I think this song is flat and tiresome. I get the premise, a whole song built around the viewpoint of an overbearing boyfriend. I think that’s great, but overall hard to listen to without cringing. The song draws attention to a lot of negativity in dating, and the possessive nature of most humans. Satire tends to be a difficult concept for most people, and it relies on the viewer/reader/listener understanding the context surrounding the piece.

The tone is brash and abrasive, so it finds itself at number ten on this list.

9: In The Garage

This was the first song I listened to by Weezer. “They talk about X-men and D&D! It’s cool!” I almost didn’t like Weezer. The song felt like a list of nerd namedrops, and then KISS shoehorned in like it somehow belongs (Sorry, not a KISS fan). In retrospect, the list is, when ignoring KISS, referencing severely underappreciated things. The 12-sided die is largely shunned in most RPG’s, the Dungeon Master’s Guide is probably the least flashy of the Core Rulebooks, and Nightcrawler and Shadowcat both have self confidence issues that they continually struggle with. Even among nerd culture, those dull in comparison to the 20-sided die, the Player’s Handbook, and Wolverine. I don’t know if those comparisons were intentional, but I usually don’t appreciate it when artists do overt name drops, it feels cheap.

I feel the message of the song is that the singer has found a safe place, albeit extremely lonely. In an era where nerd culture is thriving, it would be a total waste to spend your entire life hiding in your safe place when your interests can be celebrated with the larger community. The internet is probably the single most important mechanism for allowing people to connect to others that share their interests. This song is almost a time capsule to a harder time for nerdy introverts.

The chorus feels like a schoolyard sing-song taunt. That is the main reason why this song comes in so low on this list.

8: The World Has Turned And Left Me Here

This is commonly thought of as the sequel to No One Else. It is what happens when someone squeezes too tight and love slips through their fingers. Taken in that context, the song almost has a smug comeuppance, as the listener is almost obligated to laugh at the singer’s sorrow.

Taken on its own, the song is a simple and sad tale of longing. I much prefer being empathetic to the singer’s woes. It feels more genuine and leaves a less gross aftertaste. The song is simple and speaks to a lack of depth of emotion by the singer. I think it has a nice message by itself, just not overly evoking or provocative. It sits comfortably at 8 because there are far better songs on the album.

7: Holiday

Holiday is a song about the lust for adventure, the drive to plunge into the unknown it has such a carefree and excited feel that it is hard not to be swept away by the catchy lyrics and the high-energy enthusiasm. The song makes you want to just jump up and go somewhere, not even bothering to pack a bag (you know, like it says in the song).

Two problems:

1. The chorus is almost impossible to sing along to unless you have savant-level memorization powers. After thousands of plays, I still don’t quite know how it goes, and it trips me up every time.
2. The bridge, as I’m told it is called. The part that goes “We will write a postcard…” This part is always a mush as you try to listen to both parts. Maybe it is trying to illustrate the manic feeling of not being able to contain excitement, and therefore leaves the listener unable to follow a single coherent thought. I like that, I think I’ll stick with that, because manic is definitely the feeling you get when you are so excited for a trip that you just say “fuck a bag, I’m just gonna get out there.”

6: Surf Wax America

This song reminds me a lot of the Beach Boys. I understand it is an obvious comparison to make, but it doesn’t remind me of the Beach Boys because it’s about surfing. It reminds me of how the Beach Boys weren’t really all about surfing and living the beach life, but they wrote and sang songs about it in order to sell records.

This song has that same surface feel about being a metaphor for more broad life lessons. Yes, the song is about surfing, but the deeper meaning is about escapism and how ultimately your carefree lifestyle can come back to bite you. The song is approachable and catchy, and hopefully by the end of it you learn something. I like that, tricking people into a life lesson. Especially when you’re not hit over the head with it.

5: Undone (The Sweater Song)

I like the ambiguity of the skits in the song. Are we supposed to get the feeling that the first one is about a friend trying to cheer someone up? Is it just some dumbass at a party that the main character silently suffers until they leave? It isn’t quite clear. The girl in the later skit could be asking for a ride because she is interested in the main character, or she might just be using the guy to get a ride to the afterparty.

This is interesting as a person who overthinks everything. My anxiety forces me to mull over every tiny interaction and comb it for subtext. What was really going on when that dude just came over and offered me a beer? Do I look sad or something? WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

The main meat and potatoes of the song shows that in order to put ourselves out there, we really have to be willing to get vulnerable. Getting on stage or just out into the world, sometimes we hand out the keys to our own destruction and just hope for the best.

4: Buddy Holly

Oddly enough, this is track four on the album.

It has a high energy and a driving beat, and it’s hard not to bob along with the song. It thumps with the mid ’90’s upbeat feel, even when the lyrics get darker. The singer talks about losing his shoe, and possibly taking cover from gunshots, but we can’t help but feel that it’s all going to be ok. The music sets the mood as firmly optimistic, and doesn’t allow for hesitation.

This is probably the most widely known and loved Weezer song, and rightly so. It is approachable, catchy, and very recognizeable. In a lot of ways, it embodies the sound that the band aims for.

In doing some google research for this article, I found that the director of the Happy Days music video was Spike Jonze. For those who don’t want to follow a random IMDB link, he wrote/directed Her, and directed Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, among other things. He also directed the iconic ‘Sabotage” music video by the Beastie Boys.

Anyway, basically, the song is great.

3: Only In Dreams

That opening bass riff gets me every time. The song slowly builds until it breaks out and crashes, then it slowly retreats back to the solitary bass riff. It is solid and beautiful musically, and has such mixed emotions in it. The happiness of a perfect moment, but the melancholy that the moment is neither lasting nor real.

It isn’t the popcorn-and-candy good feeling type song that is easily approached or listened to, but it pulls at common emotions of hope and longing that there could be a perfect moment out there, waiting for us. The depth of feeling in the song, while still playfully poking fun at itself is what makes the Blue Album work. It can be genuine and insecure, but also lightheartedly winking about how corny it can be.

2: My Name Is Jonas

As the first song on the album, it sets the tone for what is to come. It starts with a tasty guitar riff, then blasts the listener with a wall of sound. The lyrics tell the story of someone struggling in the face of adversity, and somehow trying to keep moving forward. The subject of the song keeps getting hit with problem after problem as the song continues, but the driving beat lets us know that he won’t quit so easily.

The song touches on life being simpler as a child and trying to find comfort in those memories while trying to keep from collapsing. Our fond memories will always seem like it was somehow a better world, and the future holds nothing but strife and struggles. The nostalgic reflection on childhood when hit with the unending horror of being an adult is something that all mere mortals can relate to. This song is able to resonate with us, and does so without being a complete downer, which is very impressive.

1: Say It Ain’t So

Say it Ain’t So is just a great song. In the context of the album, it sort of starts the third act in the 6th track. It pulls into a more serious tone, right after Surf Wax America. It tells a story of someone dealing with their lineage of alcoholism, and how it seems to be perpetuated generation to generation. In a raw moment, the singer writes a letter to his father, essentially as a cry for help.

The song is paced well as the raw emotion comes in waves, similar to the surges of cravings that come with addiction. The booming choruses are padded by lulls that mirror calm moments of reason where the singer contemplates his life and the lives of those close to him.

Beyond the darker tone of Say it Ain’t So, there is an amazing structure of playful guitar in the verses with singsong lines that pout along, and the opening of floodgates in the choruses. Then, the wailing guitar solos cut in and elevate the song even further.

I like the darker stuff, and I like the idea of songwriters looking at the destruction around them, and the destruction that they were destined to wreak. I like all of that, especially with a catchy tune. Regardless of personal taste, I think Say It Ain’t So is a damn good song.