"Undone-The Sweater Song" - Weezer

Nerd Rock was born in 1994. The song and appropriately nerdy music video that introduced sensitive dorks everywhere to the band that they would indeed worship, Weezer is the guilty party in question, and Rivers Cuomo is the man that millions of scrawny geeks the world over would try their very utmost to emulate, right down to the bloody Buddy Holly glasses. All superficial prejudices aside, Cuomo and his band of merry dorks essentially put an end to the Nirvana era in a great many respects, and what can only be referred to as Post-Grunge was born. Weezer's music was no rallying cry for a generation, it was about getting dumped ten times in a row and curing your pain with a box of pizza and a Captain America comic book. I can't think of a single contemporary band that has tackled the unabashed sounds of Power Pop better than Weezer, and indeed "Undone-The Sweater Song" is a prime example of the genre.

Rivers Cuomo can shred a lead guitar just as thoroughly as his Heavy Metal heroes, that's right; because no one ever did accuse Weezer of being Punk, did they? Just leave that nonsense to Green Day. Vintage shirt wearing dweeb-sneezes magically created one of the great Pop singles of the decade, and while the later "Buddy Holly" single may have been more out and out commercial, and the final single on the epic Blue Album debut "Say It Ain't So" may have very well been more out and out personal, it was the vagueness and bizarre fun displayed on "Undone-The Sweater Song" that made this particular number Weezer's signature song to this very day. Fun backing vocals by rhythm guitarist Brian Bell and original bassist Matt Sharp really give the song an enhanced sense of melody, and keep in mind that this tune is already catchy as hell to begin with.

Pat Wilson is clearly the music video's comic relief, along with the various dogs...all the while, super genius Rivers Cuomo tries his best to play it relatively straight. It is unfortunate that Weezer never really played it free and easy on any of their future singles, as you essentially have the seriousness of Pinkerton and bland Pop by numbers of all that followed, of course, I am generalizing to an extent, but the exhilaration Weezer created with "Undone-The Sweater Song" was ultimately, and unfortunately, short-lived...



Ric Ocasek produced a gem, no?