10 Weezer songs that are still total earworms decades after they first dropped
As hard as it is to fathom, it has been thirty years since the California-based rock band Weezer released their self-titled debut album on May 10, 1994. Feel old yet?
Dubbed the Blue Album due to the color of the album cover, Weezer was an instant success that launched the band’s musical career and had fans humming their “earworm” singles right away. Their pop-inspired rock sound was cultivated by Ric Ocasek of the Cars, who produced this and three subsequent Weezer albums.
In 2024, Weezer is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Blue Album with a digitally remastered special edition box set and a world tour. We’re celebrating this momentous occasion our own way; by ranking Weezer’s ten best songs of all time, from “great” to “one of the greatest rock songs ever made,” below.
10. “My Name is Jonas”
This deeply personal track is the first song on the first Weezer album. It was written by vocalist/guitarist Rivers Cuomo, drummer Patrick Wilson, and then-guitarist Jason Cropper, who was replaced before the album was released by Brian Bell. Cuomo wrote the song about his brother, who had been involved in a serious car accident and was battling insurance companies at the time. The song is nostalgic and rather deep compared to the band’s usual tunes, exploring childhood and the concept of brotherhood.
9. “The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations On a Shaker Hymn)”
In 2009, Cuomo told KROQ that this was his favorite song that he wrote for Red Album, and possibly his favorite song ever. He says he sat down to write a different kind of song; instead of the usual verse-chorus-verse song structure, he opted for a more classical structure. The song weaves in several different musical genres and styles, including Jeff Buckley, Aerosmith, and Slipknot. The result is a song bassist Scott Shriner called “a masterpiece that includes ten different styles of music based around a common theme.”
8. “Island in the Sun”
Ocasek fought to include “Island in the Sun” on Green Album, ultimately winning and watching as the single became the band’s biggest hit outside of the United States of all time. It was huge overseas, reaching number 31 in the U.K. and 17 in France. It’s the band’s most-licensed song, which is why you hear it so frequently in commercials, television, and film. It’s a catchy, easy-going song that’s almost impossible to dislike.
7. “Pork and Beans”
This song also came from Red Album, rising to the number one spot on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart and staying there for eleven weeks. The song was a hit on its own, but its music video had a pop culture moment of its own. The video premiered in 2008 when YouTube was still in its infancy, and it included clips of early and well-loved web memes like “Dramatic Chipmunk,” “Leave Britney Alone,” and “Chocolate Rain.” The video even earned a Grammy Award for Best Music Video that year.
6. “Undone (The Sweater Song)”
This is the first Weezer song to officially hit the airwaves, and it’s a winner. Cuomo set out to write an alternative song about loss, but wound up letting the band’s “metal roots” show through with the rocking, guitar-led chorus in “Sweater Song.” The song is not perfect, but it’s precisely that “undone” feeling and freewheeling style that captivated fans and set Weezer on the path to greatness.
5. “Beverly Hills”
Over the years, Cuomo has often told the press that he got the idea for the aspirational tune “Beverly Hills” while flipping through a magazine and spotting a photo of Wilson Phillips. He jotted down lyrics about how nice it would be to be a rich, carefree celebrity, and the result is one of the band’s biggest commercial hits to date.
The video for “Beverly Hills” is like a time capsule for the 2000s. Filmed at the famed Playboy Mansion, it features cameos from Hugh Hefner and the three original girlfriends from E!’s Girls Next Door.
4. “Hash Pipe”
The Green Album‘s first single was the result of a Ritalin and tequila-fueled writing session that also produced “Dope Nose” and “Slob,” which eventually landed on the Maladroit album. Cuomo originally intended to give the song to Ozzy Osbourne, but included it on Green Album when Osbourne turned it down. Ozzy’s loss is our gain, because this song really rocks.
3. “Buddy Holly”
The second single from their debut album is a catchy tune with callbacks to old-school television and musical icons Buddy Holly and Mary Tyler Moore. “Buddy Holly” was released on September 7, the real Holly’s birthday and it was inspired by Cuomo’s friends making fun of his Asian girlfriend. Cuomo didn’t plan to include it on the album, but once again Ocasek convinced him it was a hit.
2. “Only in Dreams (Kitchen Tapes)”
This lesser-known song is one of the most popular among true Weezer fans. It’s their longest tune ever, clocking in at 7 minutes and 59 seconds, and it incorporates a more “jam band” style than any of their other songs. There’s a reason for that—in a 2023 interview with Jambase, Cuomo said he was inspired by the music of Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio when writing “Only in Dreams.”
1. “Say It Ain’t So”
If you ask people to name one Weezer song, chances are “Say It Ain’t So” will spring to mind. This rock anthem is the third single from the debut album, and it’s a banger through and through. Cuomo wrote the song about a troubling memory from his teen years when he found a beer in the family fridge and worried his stepdad would succumb to alcoholism, as his biological dad did. This sad memory became one of the band’s most beloved and enduring tunes.
Happy 30th anniversary to Weezer!
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