(Single from album, "Weezer (The Blue Album)")
This band are, again, a bit new - so I'm expanding my horizons, Ok? Calm it...
On first hearing it, this song was been added straight to my mental 'classics of the early 90s' playlist...its a good song...
For me, at least, it bridges the gap between the edgy, teen indie-rock music of the 90s and songs like Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag" and Fountains Of Wayne's "Stacey's Mom", inextricably linked by their odd, out of place, teenage awkwardness, the latter, musically personifying the comedy of adolescent pain as bizarre, laughable scenarios. "Buddy Holly" doesn't take itself too seriously, but the narrator isn't as cheesy as to be baying for 'Iron Maiden tickets baby' or waiting for his girlfriend's mother to come out with 'just a towel on'; the fun is still there though.
The very reference to dressing like Buddy Holly is a great way of explaining the character as an outsider; a geek. There's some romance to the hilarity of the situation in the "Hand In Glove" style connection to the love interest; she dresses like Mary Tyler Moore, and they 'don't care what [others] say about [them] anyway"...Its all old territory, rehashed in a 1990s American post-grunge, pop explosion of energy drinks and CD singles; but hey, it still works, however much like a frozen moment in time, it sounds. And just look at that single cover. Wow. That is why pop music is so beautiful...
Which brings us nicely to the guitars. This is a very dated sound now, but that adds to the charm of the record. The other noticeable quality is that, in comparison to the lighter hearted, near-novelty singles previously described, the sound is accomplished and more mature. The guitars are heavy and sound like a pop incarnation of the later-to-be Radiohead; comparing this track to future tracks is so easy to do, and the sound does feel like a precursor to tracks which were yet to come, but, it is firmly stuck in a post-grunge rut because of the sheer weight of guitars and drumming; its just a little too heavy to be proper American pop like those other songs...
But enough of those other songs already! This article is about "Buddy Holly"! The bass is running at a nice, kind of indie/garage speed, and is fairly nondescript. The guitars are slightly harder ti properly analyse, because they're in so many layers. This is just one of those tracks where you're best off having you own listen to establish an opinion; the lead however is pretty cool and the whiney, "Iron Lung" style weep at 2:15, is perfection.
Also, an additional note - the vocal is quite distinctive; relatively raspy, but with some double tracked depth. Interesting to say the least, and sounding somewhat like the drugged up lovechild of David Bowie and Kurt Cobain.
So, with it's wannabe-grown-up-but-not-quite lyrics, its thick wall of sound, and its general atmosphere of evolving American pop sound, "Buddy Holly" represents a real step for pop music, and hey - I love it...
★★★★★
Versions of “Buddy Holly”
Album/Single Version - 2:40