Show and Tell: Weezer Feat. Lil Wayne "Can’t Stop Partying"
Posted on 26. Oct, 2009 by Simon in Music, Show & Tell
Imagine you fall in love with this girl in high school and share the most beautiful, intense relationship that helps define your entire notions of love, sex and women for the rest of your life. It wasn’t the best relationship necessarily, but it was the most memorable because it was the first real emotional connections you had with a girl and though things didn’t work out, you still feel linked to that person as you drift apart.
Now, imagine as you grow up, you watch that person make poor decision after poor decision. She drops out of school. Gets mixed up in the wrong crowd. Develops the wrong priorities. Abuses substances. Gets in trouble with the law.
You wonder — is this the same girl? Did she squander her potential or was this behaviour always latent and inevitable, simply masked by the environmental circumstances during that brief phase in your life you shared with her? Most pertinently, does it tarnish the good times you had and, at what point do you give up on her?
For me, Weezer is that girl. And this song with Lil Wayne is the equivalent of her contracting Syphilis for the fifth time.
It would not surprise me in the slightest if 80 per cent of the independent music press today at one point in their lives considered Weezer’s Pinkerton one of their favourite albums. Following the somewhat successful Blue album, Pinkerton was universally panned by critics but garnered incredible cult status as one of the most beloved “indie” albums of all time. Pinkerton was the foundation upon which an incredibly loyal, prolific and obsessive Weezer community was formed — keeping the band together and alive despite a hiatus that would easily have led other groups to slip into oblivion.
Years later, when the first Green album tracks were leaked online, Weezer fans were shocked by what they heard: it was all the sheen of the blue album, with none of the grit or soul. Even worse, it was the complete opposite of the self-effacing, distortion laden power ballads Pinkerton so sweetly perfected. Still, fans held out hope.
Like many devotees of the =w=, I remained optimistic as album after album subsequently came and went, each a bigger disappointment, each further extinguishing the bright flame I once carried for arguably the pinnacle of 90′s nerd rock.
I listen to Can’t stop partying and I wonder, is Cuomo even being facetious when he sings a chorus like:
I can’t stop partying, partying. I can’t stop partying, partying
I gotta have Patron, I gotta have the e. I gotta have a lot of pretty girls around me
Does Rivers think it’s funny when he sing-raps? Is he being ironic by inviting Lil Wayne on this song? Does Lil Wayne just not care who he works with? Is Jermaine Dupri spending his free time listening to Cobra Starship? Is it wrong of us to expect Weezer to be something they have proven they simply aren’t? To expect a band to take their music seriously instead of “having fun”? To replicate a miraculous product of artistic and emotional energy combined at the perfect moment in space-time?
Ultimately, it’s probably best just not to wonder — especially about what could have been.
Sadly, Weezer has taught me that lesson better than any girl ever could. I will support Weezer no matter what they do and unconditionally provide help when times are tough. But man… I can’t even stand to look.
jessekg
Oct 27th, 2009
haha. I love how Weezer can totally alienate their fans and still keep them. It’s like they’re poking fun at themselves, their fame, their fans, and just the music industry in general.
That said, Weezy’s verse on this is the best part of the whole song. At least he took it seriously.
kelly
Nov 3rd, 2009
I can feel your heart breaking along with millions of others. That Lil Wayne bit is sheer madness.
Pretty Project
Nov 3rd, 2009
I love Weezer….even if that video does leave me scratching my head. :)
http://www.theprettyproject.com
shoutabyss
Nov 3rd, 2009
Theya do the things that they wanna do
They ain’t got a thing to prove to you
They’ll eat their candy with the pork and beans
Excuse their manners if they make a scene
They ain’t gonna wear the clothes that you like
They’re fine and dandy with the them inside
One look in the mirror and they’re tickled pink
They don’t give a hoot about what you think
thethingsyousaid
Nov 3rd, 2009
Wow. Listening to that song was painful. I can only assume Cuomo is being facetious because I can’t let myself believe that this is where Weezer is at now. Maybe he’s going for the “use irony to express my disdain for everyone else” method. But even if that were the case, it’s still aggrivating because its too easy, a total cop-out for having to actually create something original/thoughtful.
But who knows, maybe even that is giving him too much credit. Maybe he really means it. Which would be really depressing.
I loved Weezer during Pinkerton. Still reminds me of Jr. High. But sometimes its better to let go. With music like this, it might actually be less painful.
Danny Kelly
Nov 3rd, 2009
I totally agree man. Weezer have always been my favourite band and, even though i disagree and actually consider Maladroit as a great album, Can’t Stop Partying and Raditude as a whole is all new low for Cuomo and co.
Pinkerton is my all time favourite record and everytime they release something like this, it’s just removes a layer or tarnish from their overall respectable reputation.
Good Blog though!
GWT
Nov 3rd, 2009
Obligatory comment about Wheezer and Wheezy on the same track here.
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jen
Nov 3rd, 2009
yeah. you have put my feelings into words.
weezer-pinkerton-blue got me into music, i think of them as pretty much a different band.
stillframedjoy
Nov 3rd, 2009
ingenius metaphor.
Paul
Nov 3rd, 2009
I got off the Weezer boat with the drop of Green album.
Danny Phee
Nov 4th, 2009
One of the only reason I think they did a song together is because their names are similar.
ג'רוזלם פוסט לייט
Nov 4th, 2009
Weezer are awesome. They were always cutting edge or a step ahead of the crowd. What I like about them the most is that they’re just so much fun. What else do you need in a band? FUN FUN FUN!
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