Albums2010 Revisited: The Blue Album

Shockingly, I've been through the complete archives of the original run of Albums2010, and I don't know if this Album made the cut. It's possible that The Blue Album was lost in the unfortunate WordPress experiment (#68-#80), but it is a glaring omission from the original run of Albums2010 and one that I will have to rectify, and there's no better time than right now.

Weezer's self-titled debut dropped in 1994 and I don't consider this a particularly spicy take, but if you do, that's fine, but I'm going to go ahead and say it: this is one of the best albums of the 1990s and apparently Rolling Stone ranked it at 294 on it's list of 500 Greatest Albums of all time, which is probably about right in the grand scheme of things. But for the 1990s- and I know there's a lot of good music that dropped in the 90s, you would have to put this in the Top 25 at least for me to take your list seriously. Probably higher, if I'm being honest. (Doesn't make the cut for Rolling Stones Top 100 Albums of the 90s, which is ridiculous.)

Obviously, 'Buddy Holly' is the one that everyone knows from this album. But that does a disservice to the rest of the album, and I hate the use to the term 'nothing but bangers', but honestly, that's kind of true. Clocking in with a run time of 41:36, this feels like a very taut album that doesn't waste a second of your time. The album opens with 'My Name Is Jonas', which launches you with a nice sunny intro that turns into a wicked hook for a great song. (I honestly have no idea what this song is actually about-- the lyrics aren't completely abstract, but 'The workers are going home/the workers are going home' makes it seem like an ode to getting off work at the end of shift on Friday? (The internet doesn't give you much of an explanation either-- only that it was inspired by some financial troubles that Cuomo's brother was having at the time following a serious car crash while at college.)

'No One Else' puts a boppy, almost sunny vibe to a very controlling relationship. ("I want a girl, who will laugh for no one else. When I'm away she puts her make up on the shelf.") 

'The World Has Turned And Left Me Here' and 'Only In Dreams' are good examples of Weezer's ability to keep the same 'sound' while experimenting with moods. Melancholy and chill vibes for the latter and more bleak melancholy for the former. 

'Surf Wax America' and 'Holiday' kind of have a touch of The Beach Boys about them. (And really, you can argue that this whole album does in many ways-- the sound is the same, but you can interpret a lot of the lyrics in very different ways.)

My favorite track from this album by far has to be 'Undone (The Sweater Song)'...the lyrics are great: "If you want to destroy my sweater, pull this thread as I walk away, watch it unravel, I'll soon by naked, lying on the floor, I've come undone.' There's just so much there, and that's essentially the chorus of the song. Unpack those lines: is it about an actual sweater? Is it a metaphor? What's it's saying? Is the singer the sweater? So much to digest-- you could fall down whole rabbit holes about this song alone. (In general, I tend not to get lost too much in textual analysis on anything-- there's a tendency to end up getting your head stuck up your own ass, but you could have some fun with analysing this song.) 

But really, it's the sort of chill/college party vibe that lurks in the background of this song that does it for me-- you hear it in the background as the song opens. People talking to each other, the murmurs of chattering people, the sound of glasses clinking, etc. I've always liked this song, but as I get older and listen to this album, I love this song for one simple reason: I've been to a party like that. Instant nostalgia for those late nights of just hanging out and drinking with your friends-- no bars, no clubs, no loud music, no agenda... just hanging out and being 20-something and letting the stress and worries of life wait for tomorrow. Plus, it's fun to imagine unravelling a sweater.

I'm going to restate my original take: this is one of the Best Albums of the 1990s. I don't care what all the music journalism lists say. If you know, you already know, but if you don't: go find The Blue Album and listen to it today. Get your mind blown.