The Good Life =w=

Greetings.

I realize that the last couple of blogs have been kinda heavy and or serious, so today, seeing as I don’t have much to say, I thought I would present you with something interesting, or not interesting depending on who you ask. Today I am going to reveal the history of my love affair with the band known as Weezer. “What brought this urge on?” you might ask, well this urge to talk about the band Weezer coincides with the impending release of their fifth studio album “Make Believe” on May 10th 2005. So sit back, relax, and read the truth about my relationship with the band called Weezer.

(Just so you know, I am going to listen to all of Weezer’s albums in a row as I write this, so I better hope I can finish it before I get to Maladroit!)

So, as well as I can remember it was the fall of 1994, and I was in grade six. When I was in grade six, I was in a split class of grade six and sevens. One particularly fine day, the grade sixes and sevens had a field trip to the local skating rink, and we took a school bus. This particular school bus will be now and forever etched into my memory as the bus that introduced me to Weezer. We were riding the bus, and some of the kids in seventh grade that I didn’t like convinced the bus driver to play a local radio station called Z-95. It was the most popular radio station cause it played all the coolest-hippest new tunes in the world of music. Unfortunately, I was neither hip, nor aware of the coolness of music at the time. Anyway, the song “Cotton Eye Joe” by and group called Rednex, had just finished playing, and all the kids were loving it. I was pretending to love it, and sing, but to be honest I had never heard it before in my life, I had just heard people talk about it. As “Cotton Eye Joe” faded into obscurity, a new song began to play over the speakers…something about homies, and buddy holly, and Mary Tyler Moore…I don’t know, I didn’t get it, but everyone on the bus was loving it again, singing at the top of their lungs and there I was again, sitting trying to figure out the words so I could fake singing it a little bit. I wish I could tell you that I loved Weezer from the very first instant I heard them, but it is not the truth. I was intriueged by the music I heard on the bus, but I then associated it with people I didn’t like, so I forgot all about the little band called Weezer.

From there we jump all the way to 1998. I was in grade nine, and in the summer previous my church had hired a new Youth Pastor, Dave Sattler. Dave began a youth group and I went every week. Now, you’d think that Youth Group would be a place that you could go and have fun and not be judged or have enemies, but this was not the case. Many of the guys in my church who were a year or two older then me were not people that I liked, mostly because they had treated me like crap in years previous as we grew up. Well, guess who one of their favorite bands was? That’s right Weezer! There was one particular guy who I knew who was like their ringleader as far as Weezer went and everywhere they went it was Weezer this and Weezer that, and from that moment I made a silent vow to not listen to or enjoy the music of Weezer. One of the trademarks of these guys was to play the intro for what I came to know as “Undone – The Sweater Song” for one of our worship songs at Youth Group. I really hated it at the time. This went on for two years, my silent hate for Weezer and those people who appreciated it growing at a slow and tedious pace.
Then came Grade 11. By now, I was in the Youth Group Worship team, and I had grown a bit of friendship with some of these guys who I had previously despised. So much so that four of us put together a band, in which I was the lead singer. Our band “Crimson” began writing songs and sharing musical influences, which led us to want to do some cover songs. (note – cover songs are when one band plays a song written and made famous by a different band. Example – “All Along the Watchtower” – by Dave Matthews Band, was made famous by Jimi Hendrix, and was actually written by Bob Dylan. Do you get the idea?) Anyway, seeing as three members of the band had already played in another band together, and was really in to Weezer, they suggested we play “Say it Ain’t So” by the aforementioned Weezer. I at this moment had to confess that I was mostly unfamiliar with the song and band. So, they sent me into the rec. room with a blue CD, and told me to listen to track seven while they put the music together and printed me some lyrics. From this experience came two things. Crimson’s best loved Cover song, and Mike Schalin’s first true Weezer moment. As I listed in the headphones to “Say it Ain’t So” my life was forever changed. Everything I had previously known about Music changed and I was converted to Weezeranity. This was now the spring of 2000, and summer was coming fast. Crimson got together and played our only real gig ever, and our cover of “Say it Ain’t So” was one of the best in our repertoire.

So I waited until the summer to buy the Blue Album, which is Weezer’s first full length album which was released in 1994 and contained the song “Buddy Holly” which was the mystery song on my Bus ride in grade six. From there, my love for Weezer only intensified. In my grade 12 year, a particularly difficult year, I bought Weezer’s second album “Pinkerton” which was originally released in 1996, and I took to it, like a duck takes to water. The emotion expressed by Lead Singer and song-writer Rivers Cuomo hit me right where I was, I related to him (well except for being in love with a girl who turned out to be a lesbian…but I got the idea) and I made that album something that became very personal to my life. Songs like “Why Bother” “Tired of Sex” “No Other One” and “Across the Sea” became the stories with which I related my life to. I was so immersed in the Weezer music that I couldn’t tell how it was causing me to enter my second huge life depression and my entrance into the world of Emo Music. For it was in that same year, that through my listening to the “Blue Album” I met Shannon. A girl who I would come to love, and I girl who would come to teach me so much about life, love and music, which are all related anyway. I met Shannon whilst traveling on the bus, and she noticed, as I was changing my CD in my discman that I was putting in “The Blue Album” by Weezer, which caused her to comment to me about my quality selection in music, because you see, Shannon also loved Weezer. Less then a month later, Shannon and I (though not immediately remembering where we had seen each other before) found ourselves co-workers at a place called Wrap Zone.

But I’m getting off track.

My affections for Shannon were hidden for quite a while, because she had a boyfriend and I was in love with a girl named Chloe, who also began to enjoy the rock and or roll of the band known as Weezer. Whoa, I forgot to mention, when I broke up with my first girlfriend Denielle, all I listened to was the Blue Album, and the songs “The World has Turned and Left me Here” and “In The Garage” were incredibly important in my process of dealing with the situation. So much Weezer, so much connection to Women!

Ok, I just popped in “Pinkerton” here we go.

Anyway, I became obsessive about Weezer and it was mostly all I listened to, and this trend continued into my freshman year at College. This is where I met Matt Kinniburgh. Matt and I met on the first day of registration, and I wearing my famous black Weezer t-shirt, which is now semi retired due to the many holes, and anyway, he commented on my t-shirt, about how Weezer was awesome and I agreed. If only I would’ve known the relationship that would spawn from that original conversation. So Matt and I became good friends, and our friendship was built on our mutual love and admiration for the band Weezer. Whoa, I forgot to mention that in the spring of my Grade 12 year, Weezer released a new album – “The Green Album” and despite its short length, it found a special place in my heart, though not to the extent of the previous two albums. Matt and I agreed on many things like the importance of the Pinkerton, and we would spend many days sitting in his room, downloading music, singing Weezer songs, having conversations completely in Weezer song titles, and eagerly anticipating the release of their fourth album, due out in May of 2002. Yeah, we were nerds, still are, him more then me though, but then again, he is getting married, whose got the last laugh now!?

During my time at CBC I was able to share my love for Weezer with many other people on my floor and in my dorm. My passion for Weezer was unquenchable. Then they released Maladroit, and the thing about Maladroit was, before they released the album, they had released all of the songs on the album over the course on months on their website, so I had heard all the songs. Summer 2002 was when I actually got my chance to see Weezer live in concert and it was truly a spiritual experience, I do not doubt for a second that God wanted me there, so much so that he made me win a random draw to upgrade me and my sister and Adam’s tickets to be on the floor! Can you imagine anything better then going to the Weezer concert and getting upgraded to the floor, ok yes, I could’ve met Rivers and the boys, but that’s just being greedy. So I took my sister, and my friend Adam, and we went down on the floor for the most amazing show I have ever seen. The energy was amazing, the song selection was perfect, the actual music itself was played to perfection, it was one of the highlights of my absolute life!

From then the last Weezer song that I really fell in love with was a song called Jamie…go figure huh? I figured it was the perfect fit, Weezer had a song called Jamie, I wanted to date a girl named Jamie, how could it not work out? Well, despite my best efforts, and Colin Turner taking her to Christmas banquet and singing her the song “Jamie” with the help of my backstabbing friend Matt (no I’m not talking about Troy) it didn’t work out, no matter how bad Rivers Cuomo and I wanted it to, and he wanted it bad!

Since then (my 2nd year of College) I released that Music was having an effect on me that was quite negative, it was sending into deep spirals of depression and self loathing and I was letting it, I was almost forcing it to at times, and that was not a good scene, ask anyone. Part of that was Weezer, and since I really didn’t like “Maladroit” I kinda let go of listening to Weezer and all the painful memories that went along with it.

But recently I re-discovered my original and passionate love for this band, because I have had enough space to let the memories of that music fade into obscurity like the song “Cotton Eye Joe.” Ok, well obviously the memories haven’t faded, but the pain of them has, and I no longer dwell on them. Anyway, with Weezer’s upcoming release I have become giddy like a school girl. I almost feel like I am setting myself up for disappointment though, because I know that nothing can ever be as good as those first two albums, but by gum, I am going to let Weezer try and prove me wrong. All reports indicate that this is a really great album and the Rivers actually writes about real life, rather then things like “Hash Pipes” and “American Gigolo’s” and “Simple Pages” and Dope Noses.”

Anyway, that’s about it. I love Weezer again, I can’t say I ever didn’t love them, but there was a time when I was tired of them, but not anymore, they rule!

Ok, Quickly, I realize that I used a Weezer song earlier in the month for song of the day, but if I didn’t use on today, people would think I am on crack. So, what I am going to do is give you my two, ah crap three favorite Weezer songs and you can choose which one you like the best. 1. Only in Dreams – amazing song, epic ballad and they played it last at the concert before the encore, and they had all this blue light and smoke and confetti, it was amazing. 2. Across the Sea – this was my Weezer theme song in my first year of college cause I was still in love with Shannon and we would talk on the phone for like 2 hours at least twice a week (it’s true ask Tim Houghton) and I would always wonder why she was “So for away from me” which is a key lyric in the song. Anyway, I said three, but I brought it down to two. I love you all, I hope you found this at least informative, sorry it was so long, there was nothing I could do; you gotta write what you gotta write. So if you have the means and or the desire, check out either or both of “Only in Dreams” and or “Across the Sea.” “Across the Sea” might really connect with some of you Onsite Folks, but it also might depress you, so be careful.

Ps. Ultra Huge Props to Jenica Wilson for writing a response to my last blog almost as long as this one, and a billion times more wise. Thank you Jenica I appreciated your encouragement and your wise words, they made a bigger impact then you might ever know.