27
Say It Ain’t So
Weezer
1994
This was a hard call to make; this was a *very* hard call to make! When I made my initial list of 850 potential songs last year (the start of this whole exercise), there were 15 Weezer songs on that list. And I love all of them like I love my 15 children (oops, didn’t tell you about my Wilt Chamberlain days. Speaking of which, how amazing is it that my parents gave me Wilt’s book for Christmas when I was 14 years old, detailing his, ahem, relationships with 20,000 women (allegedly). Oops indeed).
Anyyyyyways, Weezer has been a big part of the fabric of my life for the last 30 years. Their early stuff is undoubtedly their best, but I still think they put out some fun material even on their later albums. It’s just hard to compare to the first two albums. But I came very close to choosing (If You’re Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You To for this list. Super fun song. Or It’s Easy, the very obscure, very awesome, bonus track from the Red Album sung by rhythm guitarist Brian Bell (seriously, listen to this).
And I came thisclose to selecting El Scorcho which has long been my favorite song off Pinkerton and just a rad song altogether. But, in the end, I had to go with one of the ol’ originals. That well-known guitar riff in the chorus and sing-along nature of this one just proved too powerful to pass up. It is, most definitely, one of the 10 best songs of the 90s. Maybe even top 5.
I first saw Weezer live on September 12, 2001. Take a hard look at that date. Needless to say, that was a grim night to see a concert, and I remember very little about the show. The next time I saw them was in August 2020, where they inexplicably came on first in a three-headed headliner with Fall Out Boy and Green Day. It was fine but I began to think they weren’t all that great live. I’m happy to say that I saw them on their tour this past summer, and they were outstanding. And safe to say that this one is definitely still a crowd pleaser.
Other Songs Considered:
El Scorcho, (If You’re Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You To, It’s Easy, Buddy Holly, Undone (The Sweater Song), My Name Is Jonas, Across the Sea