undone.

"it’s been a while man, life’s so rad! 

this band’s my favorite man, don’t ya love ‘em?"

So I like Weezer, quite a lot. They’re easily among my top ~10 bands*. Is everyone on my list equivalent greats? Of course not. But when it comes to my preference of consistent music enjoyment, I always come back to them (there’s actually an 'in-drafts' post there). 

This amusing SNL sketch came out a few weeks ago, resulting in a LOT of renewed chatter about the band, and messages from friends asking what I thought. The premise is Leslie Jones and Matt Damon arguing about which is better - the band’s old or new stuff. For me this purports a false, binary choice (reflective of our current society?), which for reasons I’ll get into, I don’t fundamentally agree with.

Am I a “ride-or-die” fan (like Matt)? Goodness, no. Have I seen the band live 10+ times - in multiple countries, including their first cruise. Certainly. I simply enjoy listening to them, and seeing what they come out with next. 

Is the Blue Album one of the best rock albums ever? Yes. Is Pinkerton the band's best album (defining 'emo' before it was a thing)? Hell yes. And while that presents its own conundrum, once you’ve heard both albums, you just kind of accept it.

Some say the band peaked early with Blue and Pinkerton, and never got 'it' back. I slightly disagree with the latter premise. Those first two albums ARE excellent — despite my dismissive first album listen in 9th grade, and the critics' panning of their second album. I would agree that the band hit 2 amazing peaks early on, and while they’ve not since they’ve not made a truly excellent album (a big deal for me), they continue to make some really good (sometimes great) music, which I can’t same for most other bands.

I think many people’s dismissiveness/hate of Weezer as a viable band anymore is telling of our society. It's bandwagon-ism, seeing history through “rose-tinted glasses”, MAGA, and the like…which is a dangerous path. Sure, the band made amazing stuff early on. And for many, nothing can live up to it. Which sets people’s expectations up for failure, VS simply allowing themselves to enjoy something for what it is, and being more present, in the moment. 

There’s a parallel point to be made about another one of my nerdly passions - Star Wars. While the prequels were an empirically pretty bad, all-too-literal CGI-spectacle, the more recent films (esp the Last Jedi) are not. And these newer entries into the canon continue to face the interwebs' ire. I frankly think it’s all based on false ownerships, built-up expectations that the years have only made steeper. some of these sentiments are well-explained in this excellent film essay, and this slightly less highbrow one (spoilers). 

So sure, some of Weezer's new stuff has been not-so-good (I’m looking at you Raditude). But why must our judgement of an artist be a standard of excellence VS enjoyment? Are any of us as excellent as our best days? I’m reminded of Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech. Get with it pop culture!

For me, quite a bit of 'new' Weezer has been pretty good…in fact, downright enjoyable. And I’m not talking about popcorn radio nothingness - while there is some of that - the new stuff some genuinely well-made stuff, despite how you may feel about Rivers' confessed meticulous/OCD song-writing process (though seriously, much respect for the strong spreadsheet game!). Through the effort of new albums, the band continues to unearth a a few gems*** for all of us to enjoy. We'll likely never get another Blue or Pinkerton - and need to be OK with that.

Weezer is a band I came of age to (15 into my 30s). Sure there were other bands I enjoyed equally as much over the years** - but all made a few good albums, a few so-so albums, and then kind of stopped. And not in the 'stop while you’re ahead' way - they just gave up. Weezer hasn’t given up. They've grown up, and continued to make good music that pushes and remains relevant. Some are hits, some are misses. But they’re still around doing what they like doing (and having fun), which is something we should all aspire to. 

"watch me unravel...lying on the floor, I've come undone."

=

*Among my Top 10 bands: the Beatles, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Radiohead, Miles Davis, Elliott Smith, the Dandy Warhols, the White Stripes, the Beastie Boys

**Bands that came...and went (for me): Toad the Wet Sprocket, the Gin Blossoms, MXPX, Goldfinger, the Strokes, the Shins, Muse, Interpol, the Postal Service, the National, Brendon Benson, Broken Bells, Portugal the Man, Andrew Bird

***Here are some really good Weezer songs on every album since their dynamic duo. Enjoy.

• the Green Album (2001): Photograph, Hash Pipe, Oh Girlfriend
• Maladroit (2002): Dope Nose, Keep Fishin, Slob
• Make Believe (2005): This is Such a Pity, We Are All on Drugs, the Damage in Your Heart
• the Red Album (2008): Troublemaker, The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, Pork & Beans
• Raditude (2009): If You’re Wondering, Can’t Stop Party…ok this album is terrible. But everyone gets one lemon
• Hurley (2010): Trainwrecks, Smart Girls, Where’s my Sex (hilarious when you find out it was originally about socks), Smart Girls
• Everything Will Be Alright in the End (2014): Ain’t Got Nobody, Eulogy for a Rock Band, Foolish Father
• the White Album (2016): Thank God for Girls, Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori
• Pacific Daydream (2017): Mexican Fender, Beach Boys, Weekend Woman
• the Teal Album (2019): Scrubs? 
• the Black Album (2019): ???

storybook.

earlier last year, in the span of just a few months, my grandfather and my wife's grandmother passed away. they were the eldest remaining member of their generation in each of our families.

my daughter knew of them, but never really knew them. she knows little or nothing of her heritage, and the refugee's journey each of these immigrants took to start their live over again here.

there is lots of noise going around immigrants about refugees. whether in the Middle East or our own border. it's humbling, paralyzing, infuriating, and heartbreaking. i see my daughter. i see my grandparents.

=
when our daughter was born, the one universal thing we heard was "read to her" - which is a consistent tradition. 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 books nightly. it's usually the best part of our day. as most people know about me, i have strong opinions about content creators - books, comics, films (Chabon, Eggers, Horby / Bendis, Moore, Waid, / Anderson, Scorsese, Nolan)

reading to my daughter each night, i slowly formed the same preferences - Beatty, Boyton, Carle, Lim, Muth, Lim, Willems.

then it hit me.

on a crowded commute into the city, I decided to do the same for my daughter.

i would write about my grandparents journey. from India to Africa, as migrants. from Africa to England (as refugees). from England to America, as immigrants. I would not be here if it were not for their journey.

i started writing. 
first an outline, then some art direction, then some words, then some rhymes.

then i started drawing.
pencils, inks, colors, layout. late nights and long weekends with a lamp, sketchbook, pencils, and sharpener. i filled with"easter eggs" - family and cultural touchstones that mark things that the words could not. the UK phone number or MGM address here, the Beatles reference there.

 

then i printed it. 

10 copies - for my daughter, my mom, my sister (and her kids). and finally the remaining family who shared my maternal grandparents. a couple extras as "thank yous" to the children's authors that inspired me.

now we read it regularly. and my daughter asks lots of questions. the story is hers now.

the next book? about my wife's family journey (China to Jamaica to Canada to America). it will definitely take more research and more effort. i'd better get started.