NME article - February 11, 1995

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Publication	NME (Link)
Interviewer	Garry Mulholland
Date	February 11, 1995
Title	Nerd Up!
Format	Print
Associated concert	Weezer concert: 01/30/1995
References	See where this interview is referenced on Weezerpedia

Nerd Up! Author: Garry Mulholland (NME) Published: February 11, 1995 Weezer London Kings Cross Splash Club WE HAD been warned. You won't like them, the experts said. They are insufferably twee. They are self-consciously alternative. They are The Corporate Breeders. We had the sneering put-downs poised on the starting blocks... the poor bastards wouldn't stand a chance. Then Weezer went and spoilt it all by being something stupid like... well, bloody marvellous actually. Gits. There's plenty who have already sussed this out. The Splash back-room is a seething mass of curious and committed, teetering on lighting boxes and hanging from light fittings in order to catch out first glimpse of Geffen's bright new hopes. And what all this neck-straining reveals are four men intent on re-defining the word 'nerd'. Thin, crewcut, badly-dressed guys fronted by a short-arse with black-rimmed specs, an acrylic blue snorkel parka (with sleeve pockets for leaking Biros) and... earplugs. The whole bleedin' band are wearing earplugs! Jesus -- what's next? Winceyette jim-jams and Horlicks on the rider?! Must we fling this common sense at our pop kids? Of course we must. Rivers Cuomo is one geek who can pen a tune. A great, loud, tumbling tune that subverts slacker whining and turns it into cheesy-grin surf-punk with attitude. OK, they sound uncomfortably like the Pixies sometimes, but there's something bittersweet and sincere amongst the falsetto harmonies and quiet bit/loud bit dynamics. Weezer are kind of soulful. This makes a big difference. It's there in "Buddy Holly," the bouncy Ramones-like US hit that makes being bullied sound romantic. It hovers stirringly over "In the Garage," a suburban mid-west rewrite of The Clash's "Garageland," where Cuomo croons "I got an electric guitar/I sing my stoopid song/I write these stoopid words/And I love everyone" with a gaucheness even Jonathan Richman would be proud of. So let's get this straight: Weezer are not twee, alternative, or The Corporate Breeders. They are four crap-looking geezers who write and play top crunchy pop songs. So they wear earplugs. D'you wanna make something of it?

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