GutterPutter

While the four-piece Californian band sails on their commercial apex, it is the shelved cuts by Rivers Cuomo that got longtime fans savouring.

Weezer isn’t a name that needs an introduction, but a summary would let you know that they are among one of the most beloved names to come out of the 1990s. A critical part of the band’s success is that while their fanbase keeps a close tab on all four of its members, it is the songwriting of their frontman Rivers Cuomo that gets them engaged for so long. His music tends to carry a childish characteristic due to its simplistic vocabulary and samey themes of love. Yet, there is a mature undertext that turns his band’s first two albums from platonic ideals of power pop into bona-fide lyrically dissonant classics. These can come from ‘No One Else’ which deals with a toxic relationship from the abuser’s perspective in the Blue Album or especially the sexual frustrations and writer’s blocks that weave Pinkerton together.

Even as the band opted to focus on more formulaic pop tunes following Cuomo’s embarrassment with Pinkerton, fans yearn for those kinds of expression. This is given in small doses on Everything Will Be Alright in the End, that was released in October 2014 and was inspired by Cuomo’s fatherhood; the White Album a few months later, which shows itself to be more obtuse in its references than many expected; and OK Human on January 2021 in light of the Covid pandemic. These pale however in comparison to the non-exhaustive list of throwaways and demos that Cuomo kept which is available at best through compilations or mostly through leaks and b-sides. 

Many sought to create their masterpiece that stands so high in its artistic credit that they are willing to scrap anything that doesn’t match up to their standards. Cuomo would bench tunes that he found unsuitable to his mainstream focus even if they’re among the very best of Weezer’s so far. Case in point: Alone: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo are a series of compilation albums which consists of home-recorded demos by Cuomo himself where some tracks would later be included in Weezer’s works under a more polished production. While two records were officially released in the late 2000s, many other demos have since then been released digitally on Cuomo’s personal website that are organised based on their date of recording. 

This in turn means that you would stumble upon tunes where the subtitle specifies on when it’s been made like Alone III: The Pinkerton Years or Alone V: Pre-Weezer. Casual fans will remember Weezer for their infectious bops like ‘Buddy Holly’, ‘The Good Life’, or ‘Island in the Sun’. Aficionados who essentially worship them are more privy of the lo-fi rejects that both sound rawer and more punchy from its guitar dissonances than the official releases. Tunes like ‘My Name is Jonas’ from the Blue Album are lauded from its demos for its more ramshackle quality. One where Cuomo’s singing is more aggressive, for the blurring between the guitars, and the seeming energy from the drums. Other times, songs such as ‘Can’t Stop Partying’ get a dramatic reinterpretation which inverts its fun-loving impression in favour of a more self-loathing atmosphere where the vocals sound pathetic and the instrumentation is stripped down mostly to just an acoustic guitar.

In addition, songs that are sidelined in the official tracklists and are only included in deluxe editions too gets praised for their sheer emotional value or earnestness. ‘Mykel and Carli’, recorded during the Blue Album session, was a wholesome tribute to two fans who supported the band in their early years and had unknowingly contributed to the songwriting process of the song itself. ‘Always, Forever’ was subjected to popular speculation that it’s intended to serve as the intro for the oft-criticised Make Believe in 2005 due to its soaring guitar riffs and considerable grit. ‘Tragic Girl’ was inversely praised as the clear alternative to ‘Butterfly’ for capping Pinkerton off for its climatic admission of being unsuited for a relationship that’s doubled in effect by the more grungy feedback dissonances from the guitars.

And the quality of said demos tend to stand as being among the magnum opuses of Weezer. ‘Tired of Sex’ enjoys a renewal in its context which placed Cuomo’s sexual disillusions in the form of the protagonist Jonas’s regrets of sleeping with his first love interest Maria. ‘I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dream’, released as the b-side for ‘The Good Life’ stands as one of the band’s best ever materials for its potent use of synths for its futuristic atmosphere alongside the featured singing of fellow rock band That Dog’s frontwoman Rachel Haden which befits the band’s lovable whininess. Last but not least is ‘Longtime Sunshine’ where there are two versions that differ in its main subject. One is its intended role as the ending of Songs from the Black Hole which is speculated to show Jonas sacrificing himself on the doomed planet to save everyone, including his newly born child with Maria, when the escape pods are limited. Another is more open in its subtext around Cuomo’s disillusion which even hints at the possibility of committing suicide. 

Many of Weezer’s demos are often lauded by fans so much that it’s considered to be a rite of passage for an especially devoted one to lament at how many classics are shelved. Memes tend to be made about Cuomo’s seeming aversion towards realising his artistic talent as a musician and singer-songwriter that’s shown in the Blue Album and Pinkerton. Fan-made playlists are made to either picture a hypothetical record such as Unchained Melody by a YouTube user simply called Daniel or piece together drafts of their other works as is the case with Ecce Homo which was later modelled to become Everything Will Be Alright in the End. Some even gives covering their materials a go which is what another, more notable YouTuber Billy Cobbs had done for Songs for the Black Hole in 2018. Frustrating as it is that Weezer seldom puts out a song that many agree rivals that of their 1990s’ works, it is this satiable hunger that ties the fandom together across all platforms.