New Weezer Video Starring Inadvertent YouTube Celebrities

My feelings for the band Weezer have been hot and cold throughout the years. When the “Blue Album” came out in 1994, I was headbanging to Say it Ain’t So with the rest of ‘em. I thought it was borderline hubris when they held off on a new album between 1996’s Pinkerton and the “Green Album” in 2001. Somewhere during that hiatus, I happened upon an interview in a reputable music magazine (don’t remember which one) where the interviewer poked at the astounding similarities between their Blue Album cover and the Feelies’ cover for Crazy Rhythms (a phenomenal album from 1990). I don’t remember the exact syntax, but lead singer Mr. Cuomo’s rebuttal was not much different than “this is a Weezer interview, we don’t have to talk about that shit.” Yikes! That attitude sullied my perception of the band and haven’t paid much attention to them since.

Until right now! NotCot posted their video for Pork and Beans, which is dense with references to popular YouTube content like Mentos & Diet Coke explosions, as well as guest appearances by the likes of the sissy Brittany Spears fan with the eye makeup, Peanut Butter Jelly Time banana, dramatic chipmunk, “Chocolate Rain” singer, Daft Punk hand and body text girls, and many more that I’m embarrassed to be familiar with.

So let’s see… Blue Album stems from the Feelies’ Crazy Rhythms. Pinkerton is exactly Hiroshige’s 19th century print Kambara yoru no yuki /”Night Snow at Kambara”. Their music video is just a compilation of available material. Maybe it’s all an homage to Marcel Duchamp’s readymades, or perhaps it’s like the saying, “if you’re going to steal, steal from the best.”