Hello everyone! Before we begin, I would just like to remind you that everyone is entitled to their own opinions. While I personally do not like Weezer's career choices, it's perfectly fine if you do. It's your life (and your music taste!) and I have no business telling you what to like and what not to like. This article is simply a guide to understanding some of the problems I have with Weezer (and how to dunk on their fans if they try to argue). With that said, let's get on to the article! Point One: You have to pay to meet them.Originally, this point didn't bother me that much. Bands have to make money, anyway, and what better way to make some easy money than inviting fans to a once-in-a-lifetime meet and greet experience? I didn't realize how big of a problem this was until I was reading updates on my favorite bands, like any good music journalist would, and found an enlightening Twitter session by Alex Kapranos on how VIP status can ruin the vibe of a concert or festival and is unfair to the true fans of the band. That got me thinking about the time I met Weezer. Alli and I paid 80 US dollars each to spend less than five minutes with the band and take exactly two photos with them. (We were also given signed posters, but come on.) We didn't even get to have a conversation with them or anything. When I met Maximo Park last November, we chatted about my chemistry test I had the next day and I gave frontman Paul Smith one of my Pura Vida bracelets. When I met Hippo Campus with Alli in March of 2017, they offered us Cheezits and talked about the blog with us. It was the first major recognition we had received at that point, and it meant the world to us (and still does!). When we met Franz Ferdinand a few months ago, their drummer gave us an extensive tour of his tattoos and Alli and I almost threw hands at each other over her Staten Island accent right in front of him. I then gave him the bird keychain that I had attached to my shorts that night, for some reason (godspeed, dearest bird). Those events are things that would never, ever happen in an 80 dollar photo session that lasts exactly 3 minutes and 48 seconds. Honestly, I no longer count Weezer as a band I've met. I just consider them a band I took a photo with once. When a band charges you 80 US dollars to take a photo with them, that's when you know they're just in it for money. (We did have to pay to meet Hippo Campus, but it was right before their concert and cost about $10 USD plus a free tote bag and poster and early admission, so it makes a bit more sense) When you can't even talk to a band because their security team is rushing you out as if you're not meant to be there, that's when you know there's a problem with the band-fan dynamic. You don't meet a band for the photos. You meet them for the experience. They meet you because they want to, not because they'll get an extra 80 (80!) dollars out of you. That's why meeting Weezer isn't really meeting Weezer. It's just a quick cash grab scheme to exploit their fans. "Liah, if you knew about all of this, why did you save up 80 dollars for it?" I didn't know about it. I was fourteen years old and wanted to meet my (at the time) favorite band. This brings me to my next point. Point Two: They pander to a young audience.Weezer's frontman, Rivers Cuomo, is 48 years old. One would expect that most casual Weezer fans would be around the same age. (Un?)Surprisingly, this is not the case. If you look at any Weezer social media account (besides Facebook, of course, as it's always the exception), you'll see that their comments and followers are full of middle school kids. Rivers Cuomo is known online for posting fan-made memes and Instagram photos with strange, surreal captions. This seems to be a hit among young kids getting into alternative music for the first time, so they stick around. Weezer also recently toured with Panic! At The Disco, a band whose fans are more often than not teenage girls. Rivers Cuomo even writes songs about being a teenager and getting with girls who are probably close to a third of his current age. While these moves were extremely smart in keeping Weezer on the map, they're not a new occurrence. At all. Take your sad, bewildered brain back to the great year of 2008. People were playing JellyCar and lighting digital matches on their iPhone 3Gs like it was some sort of Silicon Valley sorcery. Rihanna and Beyonce were on the radio making music that sounds nothing like what they'd put out today. No one had ever heard of a vlog, or a musical.ly, or a selfie. We can relax. Finally. But wait, do these people know what memes are? Oh god, they do. Enter: Pork and Beans. This music video utilizes the very beginnings of meme culture to its advantage. Tying in everything from Chocolate Rain to Numa Numa to Peanut Butter Jelly Time, this video managed to rack in views in the millions from the 18-29 crowd, the biggest online demographic at the time. While Weezer weren't aiming for teenage fans like they are now, they were certainly reeling in fans at least a decade and a half younger than they were. I understand that attracting different demographics is sometimes needed for a band to stay afloat into their 40s, but bands like Radiohead and Blur (argue all you want about Gorillaz attracting a younger audience to Blur's music), and even bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Smashing Pumpkins, never had to do so. It's a purely Weezer thing, which brings me to my next point: What exactly is purely Weezer? Point Three: They pander to just about any audience that cares to listen.Kids love memes. Memes love music. Wasn't it time for music to love memes? When Weezer covered Toto's Africa, they touched on three extremely important Values Of Weezer: attracting young fans, staying hip with the times, and getting media attention. The Weezer Cover Africa movement was fronted by a thirteen year old girl. Africa is a classic 80s synth song that had recently become a meme. Memes usually leak into the mainstream media after a while (hello, Yodeling Boy and Damn Daniel). What a better opportunity to cover a universally enjoyable song popular among both young people and middle-aged people that will be praised by the media and leak into the mainstream? So, Weezer covered Africa. It was a hit. Was it a brilliant cover? No, not necessarily. It was quite fine when I listened to it. A bit bland, maybe, but that's all I could find wrong with the musical aspect of it. But the truth is: Weezer's Africa cover was pandering to just about every age and media demographic that could be interested in something so barely culturally meta that they'd have to appreciate it, and appreciate Weezer. In the 1990s, guys like Thom Yorke and Kurt Cobain were stars. Rivers Cuomo matched this 90s frontman 'sad softboy' aesthetic with a nerdy, goofy, pop-culturally-aware twist. After hitting it off with the sad nerd crowd on Blue and Pinkerton, Weezer took a new direction for a new millennium on Green, trying to fit the lighter pop-rock aesthetic of the time. It was fine. After Green, Weezer tried again on Maladroit. Iffy. Make Believe was radio friendly but not a hit among the diehard fans. I still hear Beverly Hills on the radio at least once every two weeks. Red was even worse. And then Raditude happened. Raditude was the very bottom of the Downfall Of Weezer, which started with Make Believe. I personally enjoyed exactly one song on Raditude, If You're Wondering If I Want You To (I Want You To), but the goofy lyrics and missing musical talent were surely misses for other Weezer fans. The Lil Wayne collaboration on Can't Stop Partying was very, very real and not meant to be a joke. Raditude wasn't a joke. It was what Weezer had become in 2009: a sad, sad attempt to be hip with the times as an aging 90s band who couldn't find their target audience. After Raditude came Hurley, which was nearly just as bad. Four years later came Everything Will Be Alright In The End, arguably the best Weezer album since Pinkerton at that point. It was a celebration of all things serious and goofy and rock and roll and radio friendly that was Weezer's career over the past 20 years at that point. It was smart, funny, charming, and just felt like Weezer. The White Album felt the exact same way. Weezer weren't pandering to any demographic in particular with EWBAITE and White. These two albums felt like the Weezer we knew in the days of Blue and even Pinkerton: fun and charming without trying, with a hint of nerdy goofiness and sincere musical ability. Unfortunately for Weezer fans everywhere, Pacific Daydream pandered to the radio to an extent that shocked many Weezer fans who loved EWBAITE and White. After two years of making music almost worthy of the praise achieved by Blue, Weezer were back to their cycle of pandering to whatever audience was available: this time, anyone who listened to Alt Nation or watched Jimmy Kimmel. While people may enjoy Weezer's music more when they make music like Blue, Pinkerton, EWBAITE, and White, they find the most success on the radio and in the media when they pander to the tastes of the people who enjoy those platforms. ConclusionIn conclusion, there are a lot of things Weezer have done that I'm not a fan of. From charging their fans 80 (80!!!!) US dollars to take a photo with them, to pandering to a young audience, to constantly finding different target audiences, Weezer have become more of a marketing scheme than a band these days. To whoever is behind this entire scheme, I have the utmost respect for you for finding out so many different ways for a band to exploit their fans. Props to you.
This article was really fun to write because I have been wanting to discuss my problems with Weezer for a while, and what better way to do so than to show the world how to dunk on people who think 80 dollar meet and greet packages are anything other than a cash grab and that Rivers Cuomo's constant meme-ing on social media is anything other than a way to pander to the kids? If there are any other bands you would like me to dunk on (not as harsh as I've dunked on Weezer), let me know! If I agree, I'll write about it. And just to remind you again: you do not have to agree with me on any of these points. If you think everything I've dunked on is completely justifiable, that's fine. We are all different people with different opinions. Thanks for reading.
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About The AuthorLiah is a high school senior who plays guitar and loves the color yellow. She doesn't post much, but when she does, it's awesome. We promise.
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