Quick, Before It Melts.

I still remember the day I bought Weezer the first time. I was in my second year of university, and I had seen it's captivating blue cover on the shelf of the local music emporium on my weekly visit to the local music emporium (okay, I went to the store more than once a week, but I always went on new release Tuesdays when they opened the doors for the day). There was this catchy song I'd heard at the pub a few times, except I didn't know who sang it; what a coincidence then that when the funny little blue CD went up on a listening post, I decided to give it a spin. Lo and behold! There was the catchy song! Turns out it was called "Buddy Holly." Living in residence, I didn't really bother with television much, so I didn't know about the snappy "Buddy Holly" video that everyone else was gawking over (I loved Happy Days back in the day). That was an especially good day at the music emporium.

I don't remember the day that I bought Weezer for the second time, but I have a feeling it was a week or so prior to the release date, and it ended up coming to me in the mail in a corrugated cardboard box. I think I downloaded "Hash Pipe" from Napster more out of curiosity as to what the band would sound like after a lengthy hiatus. I hadn't really gotten into Pinkerton even though my friend Krista really pushed it on me, so my love affair with the blue album waned after awhile. This new green version held some promise, but other than "Island In The Sun" none of the other tracks really stayed with me.

And so now it's come to pass that I can buy Weezer for the third time, and, I have to admit, my curiosity is peaked once again. It probably has more to do with Rivers Cuomo's bitchin' moustache on the album's cherry red cover, but "Pork & Beans" is a pretty classic Weezer track, and there are some other interesting moments like the multiple-name checking "Heart Songs," "Troublemaker," the beautifully complex "The Angel and the One," and the gorgeously epic "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn)." That Cumo shares songwriting duties with his fellow Weezerites is a huge step forward. "Thought I Knew" is a cover of sorts, as it's a reworking of a song by bass player Brian Bell's other band, The Relationship. it sounds decidedly unWeezer-like, but is right at home along with contributions from the other members.

The moral of this post? While some of the players and the title remain the same, this Weezer is most definitely a Weezer of another colour.