Just heard an interview Rivers gave to Rick Rubin where he said that he wanted to write a song on drugs. So he took a bunch of Ritalin and drank three shots of tequila and wrote that song really fast then took a long nap.
He literally has a spreadsheet of neat phrases categorized by rhythm and syllable count so that he can word salad a song together. I love Weezer songs, but the lyrics have no meaning beyond what the listener brings with them.
Here’s the Song Exploder episode for anyone interested. The other episodes are also always really interesting even when I don’t know the band or song they break down.
So, when I first saw your comment I was pretty sure I’d heard this on a podcast, and yep, it was the episode from your edit! I’d have to listen again to see if Rivers got specific about when he started with the spreadsheet system, but I don’t think it’s something he’s always been doing.
But back when I listened to the episode, finding out about the spreadsheet made a ton of sense, because I’d low-key suspected Weezer lyrics to be jumbles of random ideas… though I don’t get that feeling from the first two albums, at least.
Just heard an interview Rivers gave to Rick Rubin where he said that he wanted to write a song on drugs. So he took a bunch of Ritalin and drank three shots of tequila and wrote that song really fast then took a long nap.
That’s just the Riversest thing I’ve ever heard.
I know, right? It is a pretty great interview. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5TW0FHEC94
He literally has a spreadsheet of neat phrases categorized by rhythm and syllable count so that he can word salad a song together. I love Weezer songs, but the lyrics have no meaning beyond what the listener brings with them.
Here’s the Song Exploder episode for anyone interested. The other episodes are also always really interesting even when I don’t know the band or song they break down.
So, when I first saw your comment I was pretty sure I’d heard this on a podcast, and yep, it was the episode from your edit! I’d have to listen again to see if Rivers got specific about when he started with the spreadsheet system, but I don’t think it’s something he’s always been doing.
But back when I listened to the episode, finding out about the spreadsheet made a ton of sense, because I’d low-key suspected Weezer lyrics to be jumbles of random ideas… though I don’t get that feeling from the first two albums, at least.