Weezer (The Green Album)

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Weezer
Studio album by Weezer
Released	May 15, 2001
Recorded	Cello Studios December 2000 Los Angeles, California
Genre	Alternative Rock
Length	28:34
Label	Geffen
Producer(s)	Ric Ocasek
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Pitchfork link PopMatters (Favorable) link
Weezer chronology
The Good Life EP (1997)	Weezer (2001)	Maladroit (2002)

Weezer, almost always referred to as The Green Album, is a 2001 album by the band Weezer. The album was seen as a rebirth for Weezer, following a 5-year hiatus since their 1996 album, Pinkerton, which was initially a commercial and critical failure[1], but later gained much popularity among both fans and critics.

Fans of the band generally have varying opinions about whether or not the songwriting and short disc length of this recording are a step backward from Pinkerton, which enjoyed belated critical acclaim, and is considered to be the band's most complex album. The Green Album brought Weezer renewed critical and commercial success, with the singles "Hash Pipe" and "Island in the Sun" receiving heavy airplay and was on over thirty critics' "Best of 2001" lists [2].

The Green Album also was the band's first release without longtime bassist Matt Sharp, who would end up suing the band before the release of their fourth album, Maladroit, seeking compensation and songwriting credit for songs such as "Undone (The Sweater Song)," "El Scorcho" and "The Good Life". This album featured Mikey Welsh on bass, although he was replaced by their next album.

As of October 2005, the album had sold 1,549,531 copies. It is currently certified platinum. The Green Album entered and peaked in the U.S. charts at #4, making it Weezer's first Top 10 album.

Recent reprints of the album have been slightly altered. The song "Hash Pipe" now cuts out the last two lines of the first chorus.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 B-Sides 3 Import Tracks 4 Miscellanea 5 Album singles 6 External links

[edit] Track listing

All songs by Rivers Cuomo.

1. "Don't Let Go" – 2:59
2. "Photograph" – 2:19
3. "Hash Pipe" – 3:06
4. "Island in the Sun" – 3:20
5. "Crab" – 2:34
6. "Knock-down Drag-out" – 2:08
7. "Smile" – 2:38
8. "Simple Pages" – 2:56
9. "Glorious Day" – 2:40
10. "O Girlfriend" – 2:49

[edit] B-Sides

• "I Do"
• "Starlight"
• "Teenage Victory Song"
• "O Lisa"
• "Always"
• "Sugar Booger"
• "Brightening Day"
• "Christmas Celebration"

[edit] Import Tracks

• "I Do"
• "The Christmas Song"

[edit] Miscellanea

• The album is dedicated "In loving memory of Mykel and Carli" for Mykel and Carli Allan, sisters devoted to developing fan clubs for up-and-coming bands. The two, who had been influential in starting Weezer's fan club, died in a car crash in 1997. They are also the subject of "Mykel and Carli," a lesser-known Weezer B-side. Mykel Allen is featured on the studio recording of Undone (The Sweater Song).

• Throughout the summer of 2000, the band was demoing and performing fourteen new songs in concert. Yet only one of these songs, "Hash Pipe," made the band's third album. The other thirteen songs were eventually heard and are referred to by Weezer fans are The Summer 2000 Songs or ss2k songs for short. Two of these songs, "Slob" and "Dope Nose" appeared on the band's fourth album Maladroit.

- More about the ss2k songs

• The hit songs "Hash Pipe" and "Dope Nose" (off Maladroit) were both written using the same method on the same night. The story goes that Rivers woke up very early in the morning, took "a bunch of Ritalin and had like three shots of tequila," paced around for awhile, and then quickly wrote the song. [3]

• "Island in the Sun" was not planned to be on the album, yet producer Ric Ocasek fought for the song and it ended up on the final product. It was a successful radio single and perhaps the band's biggest hit overseas.

• Inside the liner notes of the album is the quote "Torniamo all antico e sara un progresso." This is a quote from Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi that roughly translates in English to "Let us return to old times and that will be progress." Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is of Italian descent and is a noted fan of opera.

• The only Weezer album to not have official band-approved lyrics available. The Blue Album and Pinkerton have official band-approved lyrics on weezer.com and Maladroit and Make Believe have them in the liner notes. The most disputed lyric is the second line of the chorus of "Hash Pipe." Frequently claims by fans have been "I got my ass wipe," "I got my eye swipe" and "I got my ass wide." The closed captioning of the live performance of the song on Saturday Night Live said "I got my ass wide," which is commonly used as an argument for that being the correct lyric.

• While touring in 2002, the band premiered some reworked versions of songs from The Green Album. Notable changes include a key change in "Don't Let Go," some reworked solos (most notably in "Hash Pipe" and "Island in the Sun"), tweaks of the backup vocals in "Crab" and various other changes. Live bootlegs of the reworked versions were released on the band's website in MP3 form.

• Geffen Records didn't want "Hash Pipe" to be the lead single off the album, citing the song's lurid content (it's about a transvestite prostitute) as inappropriate. They suggested that the lead single should be "Don't Let Go." Yet they lost out and "Hash Pipe" was the lead single, although it was sometimes played as "H*** Pipe" (the title employed on the music video's title card) or "Half Pipe." The song landed the band a nomination for High Times magazine's "Pot Song of the Year" in 2001.

• "Photograph" was released as the first single in Japan instead of "Hash Pipe." [4]

• Under the CD tray of The Green Album on the white paper's edge the word "No" can be found. Rumor is that it is a response to Radiohead's CD "OK Computer" which has the text "I like you. I like you. You are a wonderful person. I'm full of enthusiasm. I'm going places. I'll be happy to help you. I am an important person, would you like to come home with me?" The band's official explanation is that "No means no."

• The inside picture of Weezer playing live features (in the lower right hand corner) the shadows of Mike Nelson, Tom Servo and Crow from the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000. Hence the citing in the liner notes that says "MST3k silhouette appears courtesy of Best Brains, Inc." Best Brains is the production company that produced MST3k.

• In the liner notes, Kyoko Ito (now Kyoko Cuomo - Rivers' Wife) is the first person thanked by the band. [5]

[edit] Album singles

Single cover	Single information
	"Hash Pipe" Released: 2001
	"Island in the Sun" Released: 2001
	"Photograph" Released: 2001

[edit] External links

• Weezer (Green Album) at MusicBrainz — United States
• Weezer (Green Album) at MusicBrainz — United Kingdom
• Weezer (Green Album) at MusicBrainz — Japan

Weezer
Brian Bell • Rivers Cuomo • Scott Shriner • Patrick Wilson
Former members: Jason Cropper • Matt Sharp • Mikey Welsh
Discography
Albums: Weezer (The Blue Album) • Pinkerton • Weezer (The Green Album) • Maladroit • Make Believe
Extended plays and live albums: The Good Life • The Lion and the Witch • Winter Weezerland