A LANDMARK indie album, a much loved collection of songs, a source of inspiration to young, alternative, musicians, Weezer’s 1994 debut is all of these.
With its irresistible pop hooks, thunderous riffs, indie-alternative sensibilities, and perfect distillation of teen angst and aspirations, Weezer, more commonly known as ‘The Blue Album’, had enough top tunes, heavy guitars, and emotional depth to reach a wide audience.
That it could do so in the year of Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain; Live Through This; Vauxhall and I; Parklife; and Definitely Maybe was further testament to its brilliance. Also significant were the inspired videos for ‘Undone (The Sweater Song )’ and the genius of ‘Buddy Holly’ which situated the band seamlessly within an episode of Happy Days:
To mark the 20th anniversary of ‘The Blue Album’, the Róisín Dubh will hold Only In Dreams, a celebration of Weezer and their music on Friday September 19 at 9pm. Irish indie bands Windings, Dott, Oh Boland, boyfights, and New Pope, will play songs from Weezer, and the 1996 follow-up Pinkerton (which, for some fans is even better than the debut! ).Despite being 20 years old, Weezer is still a touchstone for contemporary indie bands and this month American quintet You Blew It! released a five-track EP featuring covers of ‘My Name Is Jonas’ (Weezer’s original opening track ), ‘Surf Wax America’, ‘In the Garage’, ‘Only In Dreams’, and ‘Susanne’ (from 2008’s ‘The Red Album’ ).
Commenting on the project, You Blew It! singer-guitarist Tanner Jones said:
“To say ‘My Name Is Jonas’ is an imperfect song would be the biggest lie of all time and is probably the easiest way to out yourself as a clear poseur. This made covering it very tough. After hours of pulling our hair out, we realised that altering it just for the sake of change might be borderline sacrilegious. For good conscience, we decided to keep the song as is, and bow our heads in respect for a song that begs nothing but tribute.”
Tickets are available at www.roisindubh.net, the Ticket Desk at OMG Zhivago, Shop Street, and The Róisín Dubh.