Weezer is a very interesting case study in terms of who a band is and how that band is perceived. Frontman Rivers Cuomo understands this and has some thoughts regarding the “conflict” and “connection” surrounding his band.
Cuomo was previously a guest on Questlove’s podcast when this notion came up. “How do you feel about the perception of Weezer,” The Roots drummer asked, “versus what you really feel you are in your heart? You know, try to paraphrase what you guys are on surface. I’m certain you’ve read or whatever… this whole Revenge of the Nerds thing.”
“There’s definitely a lot of conflict,” Cuomo replied. “Especially when we first broke through. I think our core fans really know that there’s a lot more to us than the quirky image.”
“Whether it’s the emotional catharsis of Pinkerton or the eight-minute guitar shreddage in ‘Only in Dreams’ on the first album,” he continued. “They know there’s a ton of emotional depth there.” Cuomo added, “As long as we have that connection with that audience, I feel pretty satisfied.”
Weezer’s sophomore album, ‘Pinkerton’, turns 30 this year
Cuomo somewhat touched on Weezer’s long, complex relationship with music fans in a 2024 Men’s Health interview. “When we were coming up in L.A., we couldn’t get a buzz going because the clubs were 21 and up,” he told the outlet. “The music we were making didn’t resonate with adults.”
“It wasn’t until our songs were on the radio and the record came out that kids started hearing it—like, literally kids. 10-year-olds,” he continued. “And for some reason, that record (and maybe Weezer in general) have just always resonated with younger people. It’s never gotten much respect from the old guard, or at least from people of our generation.”
“It sounds weird,” Cuomo went on to say, “but we’ve always had this chip on our shoulder, because there are so many giant bands that came out around the same time as us and we’re trying to catch up to them, but we still have a little work to do. We want to get to stadiums, too.”
Currently, Weezer does not have any announced tour dates on the horizon
I get what Cuomo is saying. The band desires to be big enough to headline their own stadium tour, like Green Day and the Foo Fighters. But to be fair, they have played stadiums alongside Green Day (on the 2021 “Hella Mega” tour). And they are seasoned festival headliners.
I personally witnessed them shut down Bumbershoot ’25 fest, and it was one of the best rock sets I’ve ever seen. All that to say, after 30+ years, Weezer is still killing it, and doing it even harder than some of their younger contemporaries.
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