There’s not much to say about this one, really. Say It Ain’t So by Weezer is easily my favorite rock and roll song of all time:
The Blue Album is the first CD I ever bought of my own accord. As a fourth grader, a lot of my musical preferences were shaped largely by my brother: he liked Nirvana, so I liked Nirvana. He liked Green Day, so I liked Green Day. But after seeing the music video for Buddy Holly on MTV, I knew that I liked Weezer without Bill’s help.
It must have been around Christmastime in 1995 that I finally picked up the eponymous “Blue Album”; I can’t think of any other scenario in which my dad would have driven 11-year-old me to Best Buy simply for the sake of buying a CD. I paid for it with my own money, and as it turns out, my first music purchase has proven to be one of the best music purchases of my life.
Weezer remains charmingly unpredictable and weird. Sometimes I’ll whine about their new stuff going too far off the beaten path, but at least they’re having fun and keeping things interesting. Plus, Rivers Cuomo is the quintessential anti-frontman, for which I’m eternally grateful.
Thanks, Weez, for Say It Ain’t So. I’ll still be rocking out to this one when I’m an old man.
Bonus: Here’s the demo version. Both guitar and Matt Sharp enthusiasts should get a kick out of it.