Weezer in the Sun

I’m not exactly sure how it happened, but the first music that had a major influence on me was surf rock mainly coming from the Beach Boys. My first of many concerts was, in fact, a Beach Boys outdoor concert. Looking back at this time in my life, I find it amusing that I was so devoted to a band that would produce such happy-go-lucky songs as ‘California Girls,’ ‘Little Deuce Coup,’ and ‘Fun, Fun, Fun.’ I think I was extremely committed to this fun-in-the-sun attitude because I remember wearing Hawaiian shirts many times and shorts called ‘baggies’ mentioned in the song ‘Surfin’ U.S.A.’—sans huarache sandals unfortunately.

By the time I reached high school there was a new rock movement taking over called grunge. One of the bands that came out of this rock renaissance was Weezer. While I wouldn’t really place them in that specific genre, the band surfaced at the same time as grunge staples Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and Smashing Pumpkins. I remember hearing them for the first time and was irresistibly addicted to their rock harmonizing, catchy hooks, and nerds-are-cool image. But, I never really put all the similarities of these two iconic bands together until I saw this website, which analyzes the bands’ eerily extensive parallels.

Even if most of them are probably more heavily-researched coincidences than actual hard-fact similarities, I found them oddly entertaining. And now it makes sense that I would be totally into Weezer since they probably broke into my childhood self-conscience with music videos that mimicked happier days of early 60s sunshine pop, accentuated by their doo-wop harmonies, lively hand claps, and almost giggly backing vocals. From the classic Weezer song, 'Surf Wax America,' to the Pet Soundsy 'Island in the Sun' music video—that oddly looks and feels like the cover to this Beach Boys landmark album—Weezer definitely owes more than a little to these eternally youthful geriatrics.