Karl's Corner - 02/28/2005

02/28/05 why should they I ain't nobody

...even more euro tour dates confirmed (US tour info pending)

06/13/05 - Birmingham, UK - Birmingham Academy
06/14/05 - London, UK - Brixton Academy
3/1 new:06/17/05 - Glasgow, Scotland - Carling Academy

...WIN VIP COACHELLA TICKETS!
Enter to win a pair of 2-day VIP Coachella tickets plus cool Coachella gear and music from Weezer, Coldplay, The Bravery, Secret Machines, The Prodigy, Bright Eyes and The Faint. Check out these bands and many others at Coachella April 30 & May 1.

...Today was a long day of work on the "Beverly Hills" video over at the Playboy Mansion (yes, you heard correctly), where the very odd mixture of real weezer fans, weezer, and Playboy playmates resulted in a fun, weird, hilarious, and oddly unified experience. Fans from all over LA and SoCal, and from as far away as Utah (!) converged at a 'base camp' parking lot in (where else) Beverly Hills, following the instructions given by the production staff. They were then shuttled up to the mansion, having no idea where they were going. The first batch of fans looked positively befuddled when they stepped out of the vans and were greeted by the Playboy bunnies. They still didnt even know where they were, and the reactions were priceless, and captured on film. More vanloads of fans arrived over the course of the day, and Marcos has cameras going everywhere, catching the wide range of 'oil and water' mixtures as they unfolded, on the rolling lawns, the miniature zoo filled with huge birds and monkeys, by the pool, around the hot tub 'grotto' cave, in the video arcade/pool table/blackjack table equipped 'game room', and even playing a rather jaw-dropping round of soccer.

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The idea of juxtaposing real weezer fans with such an unlikely fantasy environment came from "Beverly Hills" basically being about the sense of alienation that many people get when they dont feel like they belong. The song speculates about living the life of movers and shakers, but concludes that theres no way to cross over from the 'real world' to the 'fantasy world' (even if one who is 'normal' has indeed become 'famous'.) But for a few minutes the idea is tossed about, taken to the level of longing for a life of extreme celebrity.

click on photos for large size versions

The fans did an AWESOME job, and huge thanks goes out to them for their willingness to be kept in the dark and accept the surreal circumstances that greeted them once they stepped onto the grounds. They get the 'good sportsmanship' award, big-time. Director Marcos Siega and the whole production crew kicked major ass as well, as did the playmates and a certain swinging patriarch who lent a hand in the proceedings! Oh, and weezer rocked out in style, as they are known to do.

"Beverly Hills" is a pretty catchy track and was practically begging to be a single, but its important to know that its but one piece of a fairly complex album pie, and to any concerned that Album 5 is just a collection of 'fun' songs, fear not - theres many flavors to come.