Yes. I always thought they were a smart, humorous, intelligent powerpop band. We did gigs together back in the early mid-nineties. Some said they were ‘geek rock’ which angered me. Of course that was coming from the has-been hair band dudes. Same dudes that thought when Cheap Trick came out it was a ‘new wave’ dork band due to Rick and Bun E’s hair. Ignorance is golden.
So yeah. I’m going with…melody+clean vocals+sarcasm+songs+chimey/ then dirty guitars+Weezer=powerpop.
'Geek Rock' can be a divisive term, for sure. I think it lost its initial bite when Weezer and many of the bands that followed in their footsteps learned to embrace it. Thanks for checking it out, and for the great comment.
Really appreciate this post thanks for sharing. Such an important band for us Xennials at a time when music could still be formative and ubiquitous without being straight-up monoculture. Glad that this piece doesn't get into the inevitable conversation around the decline of their work, but one thought- they leaned into the monoculture to survive and we lost a transcendent >55% power-pop band.
This album completely transformed the corner of the LA music scene I was part of in the '90s. I was in Ridel High, but the post-Blue Album guitar pop crowd included everybody from Shufflepuck, Size 14, Chopper One and Nerf Herder to Ozma, Rooney, Psoma and Phantom Planet—to name a few.
It was a real moment and the Blue Album was the catalyst.
Thanks for checking it out. I think Daniel's a GREAT writer and a very insightful dude.
I remember discovering Ozma in the early '00s and thinking they must have memorized everything about Weezer. So great to see Daniel writing about his heroes here, and catching up on what he's been up to since Ozma.
Thanks for checking it out! Ozma's a great band. Hard to deny the Weezer connection, but they did a ton on their own as well and really evolved. Daniel is a super talented musician. Have you check out Sanglorians? Pretty great.
Yes. I always thought they were a smart, humorous, intelligent powerpop band. We did gigs together back in the early mid-nineties. Some said they were ‘geek rock’ which angered me. Of course that was coming from the has-been hair band dudes. Same dudes that thought when Cheap Trick came out it was a ‘new wave’ dork band due to Rick and Bun E’s hair. Ignorance is golden.
So yeah. I’m going with…melody+clean vocals+sarcasm+songs+chimey/ then dirty guitars+Weezer=powerpop.
'Geek Rock' can be a divisive term, for sure. I think it lost its initial bite when Weezer and many of the bands that followed in their footsteps learned to embrace it. Thanks for checking it out, and for the great comment.
Really appreciate this post thanks for sharing. Such an important band for us Xennials at a time when music could still be formative and ubiquitous without being straight-up monoculture. Glad that this piece doesn't get into the inevitable conversation around the decline of their work, but one thought- they leaned into the monoculture to survive and we lost a transcendent >55% power-pop band.
This album completely transformed the corner of the LA music scene I was part of in the '90s. I was in Ridel High, but the post-Blue Album guitar pop crowd included everybody from Shufflepuck, Size 14, Chopper One and Nerf Herder to Ozma, Rooney, Psoma and Phantom Planet—to name a few.
It was a real moment and the Blue Album was the catalyst.
Thanks for checking it out. I think Daniel's a GREAT writer and a very insightful dude.
What a great story! So cinematic. I can totally see the Almost Famous treatment.
Daniel's a great writer—and he's done/seen some cool shit. Thanks for checking it out!
I remember discovering Ozma in the early '00s and thinking they must have memorized everything about Weezer. So great to see Daniel writing about his heroes here, and catching up on what he's been up to since Ozma.
Thanks for checking it out! Ozma's a great band. Hard to deny the Weezer connection, but they did a ton on their own as well and really evolved. Daniel is a super talented musician. Have you check out Sanglorians? Pretty great.
I have not (yet) but will now. I loved Ozma, even if their sound was a little too similar. They were like the teenaged version of Weezer!
I think they would agree!
The worst line in "Run For Your Life" was ripped directly from "Baby Let's Play House", Elvis' version. Lennon disowned the song pretty early on.