Listosaurus Rex

Weezer is a fantastic alt-rock band that I have loved since I first heard “Buddy Holly” on the radio a decade ago.  Since then, I’ve taken the time to get to know their music.  I own every album and just about every EP and single, so I’ve observed the band’s evolution from misunderstood rockers to pop curiosity of recent years.

Though I in no way qualify as a “hardcore” Weezer follower, I am certainly a pretty big fan, and here is my opinion as to the twenty-five greatest songs they have recorded and released on major albums.

My ranking is of the studio versions, and no live tracks, B-sides, special editions, or unreleased material has been included. Particular care has been taken to judge the songs on their musical merit, and not consider them based on music videos or other factors external from the albums themselves.  Plenty of singles have been included, but some haven’t been.  Don’t be surprised to see an album track or two fighting their way up there.

Here’s a little bit of background on Weezer if you want to brush up.

Of course, these picks are just my educated opinion.  Feel free to disagree (and let me know in the comments).  Before I start, I also want to say that just about any track from Weezer’s blue album or Pinkerton could have pushed for a spot on this list.  I love both of those albums in their entirety.  And, without further ado, my picks.  Enjoy!

25. Burndt Jam (Maladroit)

The draw to this song is the catchy guitar riff that the whole melody is built around.  It’s one of a couple tracks on the album that has a distinct enough sound to stick in your head and keep you coming back.

24.  December (Maladroit)

Finally a moment of lightness — after an album of hard-hitting jams, Weezer ends their fourth album with a poppy, upbeat number.  Who can forget the chorus with the words “only love” repeated finishing off the song and album?

23. Island in the Sun (Weezer - green)

Why has this gone down as Weezer’s most popular, best-known song?  It rocks the iTunes charts and has become the dorky four’s signature song.  I always thought it was a bit overrated, though its mellowness and guitar hooks are charming.  Hep hep.

22. Thought I Knew (Weezer - red)

Penned and sung by guitarist Brian Bell, Thought I Knew gives us a different spin on Weezer.  After five albums of the usually excellent Rivers Cuomo taking the lead, his songwriting themes and vocal style have been relentlessly pounded into our heads, so the variety is nice.  Plus the song is darn good — think Fastball in their prime with a Weezer shine on it.

21. We Are All on Drugs (Make Believe)

A tireless satire of drug abuse in the vein of Afroman’s Because I Got High (though not quite as great), We Are All on Drugs is also one of the few tracks on Make Believe worth repeated listens.  Its driving guitar runs push elevate it from the shiny almost-pop that cluttered the rest of the album.

20.  Photograph (Weezer - green)

Short and succinct, but with as timeless a hook as just about any Weezer song, Photograph is a vintage example of the exciting, though somewhat insubstantial power-pop that makes Weezer’s green album such an exciting listen.  Not to be confused with the sappy Nickelback power ballad.

19. Pork and Beans (Weezer - red)

The lyrics are inane (intentially so, I hope), but the hook is so dang good you’ll still be shouting the lyrics as the song blasts from your car radio.  It’s one of the catchiest, most interesting songs since Weezer’s green album.

18. Undone (Weezer - blue)

Somewhat of a novelty, Undone would have a shot at a top five or top ten spot on this list if it had trimmed the talking, skit-like interludes between the verses and refrains.  The refrain has the sort of sunny guitar lick and melody that made Weezer so lovable and famous in the first place.  How can you not love shouting “IF YOU WANT TO DESTROY MY SWEATER….”?

17.  Space Rock  (Maladroit)

Hidden in the fourth Weezer album is a gem of an album track.  It doesn’t soar quite high enough nor have enough ambition to be a single, but it’s a delightful listen; the occasional song like this buried in album can do a lot to prove legitimacy of the talent of a band.

16. Getchoo (Pinkerton)

Perhaps the fiercest, edgiest song Weezer has released, Getchoo is unforgettable.  Its cynicism is propelled by an exciting — almost violent — tune and sonic texture.  The lyrics have a perfect rhythm and poetry to them.  “It used to be a game / now it’s a crying shame.”

15. Across the Sea (Pinkerton)

Rivers Cuomo has written about vulnerability and loneliness more times than I care to remember, but rarely as honestly or touchingly as in this excellent song off of Weezer’s second album.  A love song to a Japanese fangirl who wrote him a letter in one of his moments of isolation, Across the Sea penetrates both into a man’s rise to fame and his inner desperation.

14.  Keep Fishin’ (Maladroit)

The syncopation of the guitar, the bounciness of the refrain, and the backup vocals bring a potentially boring song into a small pop-rock masterpiece.  Though its lyrics aren’t as interesting as the stuff you find on the blue album or Pinkerton, the music might as well be straight out of Weezer’s glory days.

13.  Pink Triangle (Pinkerton)

“Everyone’s a little queer / Oh, can’t she be a little straight?”  A litte bit funny, a little bit heartbreaking, a little bit pathetic?  All of the above.  Pink Triangle is a love letter to a Lesbian and beautifully straddles the line of comedy and tragedy.

12. Beverly Hills (Make Believe)

Some Weezer fans despise it; I love it.  The first single off of Make Believe might have been a more routine affair than the band’s early hits from the mid ’90s, but it brilliantly twisted the beat-driven pop scene into something distinctly guitar driven and pure Weezer.

11. Hash Pipe (Weezer - green)

The continuous bass run complemented by almost-falsetto vocals of Rivers Cuomo might be the most distinctive, memorable sound ever constructed in a Weezer song.  The lyrics, purportedly written in the middle of night after Cuomo woke up and popped some Ritalin, are bizarre and nonsensical but memorable.

10. Butterfly (Pinkerton)

Instrumented with just an acoustic guitar, Butterfly is the closest thing Weezer ever wrote to a pure ballad.   Concealed by the innocuous sound is one of the saddest, most haunting songs I’ve ever heard.  A simple story of catching a butterfly thinly veils a tale of inner and outer destruction.  The final notes of the song — and the album — are joined by Rivers croaks “I’m sorry,” forming one of the most chilling moments in music.  Opera fans with a sharp eye might notice the parallels between this song and the end of Madame Butterfly, which only adds to the song’s intrigue.

9. The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Weezer - red)

Weezer built their career on creative hooks and charmingly insecure lyrics.  Therefore it’s strange that this song, has such a familiar tune and displays bewildering self-confidence (”I am the greatest man that ever lived”) .  Though it’s a different approach, it still feels like Weezer, in all its eclectic glory.  It’s ballsy, it’s quirky, it’s brilliant.

8. Surf Wax America (Weezer - blue)

Bubbly, sunny guitar rock fills Weezer’s first album.  However, a close listen revealed a true pathos in the lyrics of nearly every song.  The one song from the album which has breezy lyrics to match the album’s melodies was Surf Wax America (though even it has a slight air of loneliness to it).  The result is a masterful pop song, complete with a brilliant hooks and classic lines. For example:”I’m going surfing ’cause I don’t like your face.”  Might be my favorite Weezer line to date.

7. Tired of Sex (Pinkerton)

From the screeching guitars to the band’s straining voices to the sporadic shouting, the first song of Weezer’s second album shows right away that sunniness of the debut is history.  It’s as much a sonic assault as a straightforward song.  Fortunately, the more intense, more stark sound yields a more profound, fully-formed piece of musical expression.  A catchy Weezer melody is buried within a more complex sound, and the result is both bizarre and sublime.

6. Say It Ain’t So (Weezer - blue)

The brilliance of Say It Ain’t So relies on the fact that Weezer decided to take the song slow.  If they had sped it up, it would’ve been far less distinguishable from a dozen and a half other songs by the band.  As it stands, though, Say It Ain’t So is one of Weezer’s masterpieces.  With the off-beat up-strum and a cool, constant beat, Say It Ain’t So is a blend of reggae, metal, and pop brought to life by heartbreaking lyrics about the Cuomo’s youth, troubled by his father’s alcoholism.

5. The Good Life (Pinkerton)

Most of the songs on Pinkerton deal with big troubles in life — loneliness, desperation, frustration — told through metaphors and images of little things.  The Good Life ups the ante and wears its epicness on its sleeve.  Instead of stories about butterflies, Lesbians, and groupies, this song is a straight-up confessional about falling out of happiness.  “When I look in the mirror / I can’t believe what I see / Tell me who’s this funky dude / Staring back at me.”   Equally epic is the melody, soaring higher and lower more dramatically than any Weezer song to date.

4. Dope Nose (Maladroit)

The best Weezer song of the past decade is fast, simple, and short.  The guitar pounds out a peppy, high-voltage series of riffs not seen since from Weezer since Buddy Holly.  The lyrics are weightless, accompanying the timeless licks with catchy lines instead of solid substance.  Rather than a fault, the insubstantial lyrics allow to Dope Nose to rock out uninhibited. In 2:17, Weezer pumps out a tune that sounds like vintage power-pop, but faster and better.

3. Only In Dreams (Weezer - blue)

Regarded by some as one of the premier guitar tracks of the 1990s (in fact, Q Magazine picked it as the #9 guitar song of all time), Only In Dreams is a vast explosion of all the tension built up in the nine self-conscious, insecure tracks that precede it on Weezer’s debut album.  The layered guitar riffs build and coalese into a stunning three-minute crescendo that is one of the defining points of Weezer’s career.

2. Buddy Holly (Weezer - blue)

With the most infectious guitar riff since the Beatles’ Twist and Shout and a little wink of self-conscious irony, Weezer’s second single is one of the most memorable tracks of the 1990’s.  It’s silly without being annoying, it features guitar-work to lend it rock and roll legitmacy, and it’s nerdy in just right ways.  Ultimately, it’s an odd little alt-rock masterpiece, the piece that put Weezer on the map, one of my favorite songs.  And that’s for all of time.

1. El Scorcho (Pinkerton)

From the opening gurgle to the final chorus, El Scorcho is at once yanking our chains and crying tears of honest despair.  Is it truly pathetic, or is it a self-knowing twist of melodrama?  As the junky references to wrestling and snotty punk music are interwoven with opera allusions and the jangly rhythm guitar collides with a heartbreaking vocal performance, we listeners are still left hanging.  And so we keep coming back, listening to it over and over, unable to get it out of our heads, until we realize that the song is intentionally an enigma, a perfect juxtaposition of dorky earnestness and consumable junk-culture.  I rank it among my top half-dozen or so favorite songs of all time, and consider both a work of art and a guilty pleasure.

A couple weeks ago I posted about Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists.  But what good is discussion of artists without discussion of art?

Guitar World magazine put together a list of the one hundred greatest guitar solos by polling readers of their favorites and ranking the results.   Although I don’t have a copy of the issue, I managed to find the list online at about.com.  I doubt any connoisseurs of classic rock will be surprised the see some of the selections at the top.

Without further ado, the songs featuring the top ten guitar solos, the guitarists of each one, and the artist of the song featuring the solo.

1. Stairway to Heaven - Jimmy Page - Led Zeppelin
2. Eruption - Eddie Van Halen - Van Halen
3. Freebird - Allen Collins, Gary Rossington - Lynyrd Skynyrd
4. Comfortably Numb - David Gilmour - Pink Floyd
5. All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix - Jimi Hendrix Experience
6. November Rain - Slash - Guns ‘n’ Roses
7. One - Kirk Hammet - Metallica
8. Hotel California - Don Felder, Joe Walsh - The Eagles
9. Crazy Train - Randy Rhoads - Ozzy Osbourne
10. Crossroads - Eric Clapton - Cream

I think this is an excellent top ten list.  I love every one of those guitar solos and have no problem calling them some of the best I’ve ever heard.  I was especially impressed to see Hotel California, perhaps my favorite, making the top ten.

A stickler might point out that two of the songs in the top ten, along with several others in the complete one hundred, are by two guitarists and thus not solos.  However, if you listen to them, I think you will realize that they match the spirit of guitar solos; they are each improvisation-style guitar licks, usually within the context of a song (though “Eruption” and “Star-Spangled Banner,” which also made the list, are guitar solos on their own, separate from other songs).

It’s interesting how only three of Rolling Stone’s top ten guitarists, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton, landed songs in the top ten.  However, since this is a reader poll, it makes sense that songs by guitarists with less mainstream appeal and who don’t focus as much on acrobatic solos, such as Robert Johnson and B.B. King, would be less likely to earn votes from the general public.

My favorite part of this list is probably the few oddball songs scattered throughout, such as “Surfing With the Alien” at #30 and “Cult of Personality” at #80.  I don’t listen to much classic rock radio, so I might never have listened to these songs if I hadn’t stumbled across this list.  By the way, the guitar solos in both of them are mind-blowing.  Look them up on YouTube.

I don’t really have many complaints with this list.  I would have put Layla higher and would have ditched every non-”Teen Spirit” Nirvana solo.  It is impressive that I can find so little to nitpick with on such a huge list, though.  Definitely check it out.

In 2003, Rolling Stone selected and ranked the one hundred greatest guitarists of all time. Here is the top ten:

1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band
3. B.B. King
4. Eric Clapton
5. Robert Johnson
6. Chuck Berry
7. Stevie Ray Vaughan
8. Ry Cooder
9. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin
10. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones

It’s hard to argue with number one on that list — Hendrix’s playing still sounds fresh, passionate, and vibrant today. He’s the prototypical guitar legend.

I was a little bit surprised to see Duane Allman at number two, but I haven’t listened to very many Allman Brothers recordings. I’ll reserve judgment until I do so.

BB King, a great blues guitarist since the 1950’s, is highly renowned and highly influential. I think he’s a great pick at number three.

At number four is Eric Clapton, my favorite guitarist. I’ve always loved the energy Clapton brings to the table. Mostly though, it’s the songs that Clapton plays, and the amount the guitar contributes to them, that I love. Number four is a very solid spot but if I were to make any change, I’d move him even higher on the list.

Robert Johnson is considered one of the most influential musicians of all time. His twenty-nine career recordings, all from the first half of the twentieth century, are worshiped and constantly covered by blues and rock musicians. Also highly influential was rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry. Even his early recordings, like “Maybellene,” still sound good. I like them both at numbers five and six.

At number eight is Ry Cooder, an American roots musician known for his skill on the slide guitar. He’s perhaps the least celebrated of the guitarists in the top ten. I know very little about him and have never heard his music before.

At nine and ten we have two fantastic guitarists from two of the most beloved rock bands ever, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. Jimmy Page’s solo from Stairway to Heaven is widely acclaimed as one of the best — if not the best — guitar solo of the modern era. His band’s guitar-heavy sound and freewheeling guitar solos have become the template for heavy rock bands. Keith Richards, too, has been highly influential to heavy rock. Some of his guitar riffs, including the one from “Satisfaction,” are perennially stuck in my head.

Overall, it’s hard to have too many objections with that top ten. From what I know and what I’ve heard, every pick is solid.

The rest of the list is as good as the top ten. Looking closely, you see some odd picks, like Eddie Van Halen all the way down at #70 with far more tame and less beloved guitarists filling higher ranks.

One interesting pick is Les Paul at #46. Les Paul is often accredited as inventing the electric guitar. You could argue that without him, this list wouldn’t be possible.

The list is now a few years old. If the list had been made now, I wonder who else would have been included. The only person who comes to mind at having a very good shot at placing well is John Mayer. Though his first album was brushed off as Dave Matthews-wannabe, his recent recordings have impressed critics with their excellent guitar and blues-heavy songwriting and sound.

One complaint I have with the list is that I would have loved to have seen Jim Croce on the list. He only played acoustic guitar, and only released a few albums, but his guitar-work entertains and bedazzles me more than most of the guitarists on this list.

It’s hard to argue with most of the picks on this list, though. Rolling Stone has done an excellent job assembling a thorough and diverse lists of some of the many so-called “Guitar gods.” If you’re interested, check out the complete list.

Bartleby, over at AssociatedContent.com, has ranked the top thirty Ben Folds songs “with and without the Five,” by which he means he’s ranking songs both from Ben’s solo albums and albums by the trio he was in, Ben Folds Five.

Bartleby’s top ten:

1. Annie Waits
2. Evaporated
3. Brick
4. The Luckiest
5. Philosophy
6. Gone
7. Not the Same
8. Don’t Change Your Plans
9. Magic
10. Landed

Though I don’t agree with some of the picks, the list is clearly a product of love, attention, and thought. He’s got some level-headed analysis despite the fanatics who loathe “Brick” because it’s the only Ben song that got major airplay. I respect “Brick” at number three.

In fact, he picked ten very good songs for the top ten. Not a stinker among the bunch. I’m particularly surprised and impressed to see “Gone” at number six. I always thought of it as a “personal favorite,” but I’m glad to see others giving props to it.

Fan favorite “Philosophy” gets a mention pretty high up at number five. Many Ben Folds fans I talk to consider it his masterwork. It is indeed a great song.

My biggest gripe about the list is how “One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces” is down at number 28. It’s my absolute favorite Ben Folds song. It’s a bitterly funny revenge song full of some of the catchiest, craziest piano gymnastics you’ll ever hear in the song. A wonder to be heard, indeed.

But overall, I can’t complain about too much. Lots of great picks all around. If you are any sort of Ben Folds fan, I recommend you give his complete list a look, as he has a lot of great analyses and thoughts.

I was delighted to stumble across a well-written, authoritative list of the 25 Greatest Rap Albums by hilarious blogger and commentator Byron Crawford from ByronCrawford.com. Here is his complete top twenty-five:

1. N.W.A. - STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (1988)
2. SNOOP DOGGY DOGG - DOGGYSTYLE (1993)
3. 2PAC - RAP PHENOMENON II (MIX TAPE, 2003)
4. RUN-DMC - RAISING HELL (1986)
5. PHARCYDE - BIZARRE RIDE II: THE PHARCYDE (1992)
6. LL COOL J. - MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT (1990)
7. EPMD - UNFINISHED BUSINESS (1989)
8. BEASTIE BOYS - PAUL’S BOUTIQUE (1989)
9. A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - THE LOW-END THEORY (1991)
10. DE LA SOUL - BUHLOONE MINDSTATE (1993)
11. THE D.O.C. - NO ONE CAN DO IT BETTER (1989)
12. ERIC B. AND RAKIM - FOLLOW THE LEADER (1988)
13. GENIUS/GZA - LIQUID SWORDS
14. GHOSTFACE KILLAH - SUPREME CLIENTELE (2000)
15. GETO BOYS - THE RESURRECTION (1996)
16. WYCLEF JEAN - THE CARVINAL (1997)
17. ICE CUBE - AMERIKKKA’S MOST WANTED (1990)
18. SCARFACE - MR. SCARFACE IS BACK (1991)
19. JAY-Z - REASONABLE DOUBT (1996)
20. NAS - STILLMATIC (2001)
21. OUTKAST - AQUEMINI (1998)
22. PUBLIC ENEMY - IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLION TO HOLD US BACK (1988)
23. LAURYN HILL - THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL (1998)
24. DJ QUIK - WAY 2 FONKY (1992)
25. DIZZIE RASCAL - BOY IN DA CORNER (2004)

I think this list is great because he gives credit where credit is due all around, and isn’t afraid to disagree with the so-called experts and music writers. Maybe if this list was just thrown out there I wouldn’t think very much of it, but if you read what he has to say about each album, it’s obvious this cat knows what he’s talking about when it comes to rap.

I like the distribution over time: he’s got Run DMC and Eric B. & Rakim, but he also has Outkast and Lauryn Hill. He doesn’t really play favorites by loading up the list with picks from just a few rappers. There’s plenty of range.

I may not agree with every pick — for example, I liked Illmatic more than Stillmatic, and I definitely would’ve included 36 Chambers — but Byron backs up every pick with solid reasoning.

I so liked the list that I wasted a half hour delving through his archives. He’s a pretty funny guy, and if you want a good chuckle, I recommend you check out his blog. His current topic of choice is the 2008 election, particularly the race issues behind it. Very thought-provoking and funny.

In short, check out this man’s list and his blog in general, too. He’s got some good stuff to say all-around.