Does Weezer get the middle finger or the devil's horns? Depends on the song.
In today's paper, I profiled alt-rock staple Weezer, who co-headlines Sunday's Virgin Mobile FreeFest with Blink-182.
According to bassist Scott Shriner, Weezer fans are generally split into two camps: Fans of "The Blue Album" and "Pinkerton" and fans of the more recent hit single "Beverly Hills."
"I have fun watching people have a good time listening to ["Beverly Hills"] and be totally confused by something off "Pinkerton," Shriner said.
"But I'm just as happy when I see all the "Pinkerton" fans light up and the "Beverly Hills" fans scratch their heads. That's fine. I think we're going to mix it up even more."
But wait, fans' reactions to various songs can get a bit wilder than that ...
Bringing the rock to such a wide-ranging fan base can have its rocky moments, though, Shriner says. Sometimes, the audience gets split between love and hatred for certain songs.
"I can focus on the guy that's flipping me off the whole show or I can focus on the dude that's throwing metal horns and having a good time," Shriner said. "I tend to go more for the metal horns then the finger - although I'm not scared of the finger."
Geez!
(Handout photo)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
I remember when I was one of 100 people to win tickets to their backstage show at the HFStival at RFK. Afterward they told us we could take the posters off the walls, etc. and they'd sign everything. Of course we were all thanking them profusely as we filed by them to have our stuff signed. They didn't bother to acknowledge, or even look at us. At all. So I give the finger.
Posted by: Matt | August 27, 2009 4:00 PM
Considering Weezer has not made a worthy album SINCE Pinkerton, I've been wanting to give them the middle finger since the Green Album. I am one of those fans that is a Blue Album and Pinkerton fanatic, those albums are timeless and never get old. The funny thing is, Scott had nothing to do with ANY of those records so he really should have no say in any of this. Weezer needs the genius of Matt Sharp back badly. The new single is god awful.
Posted by: Jake | August 31, 2009 11:39 AM
You can definitely hear Matt Sharp's influence on the Blue Album and Pinkerton and while Weezer's sound has changed since his departure - Rivers is still a bad ass. I'm a Weezer fan for life... to me they can't do no wrong.
Posted by: Erick | September 1, 2009 1:17 PM