Let’s Talk About the “Teal Album”

Let%E2%80%99s+Talk+About+the+Teal+Album

Melissa Weinstein

Procrastination got the best of me. On January 24, 2019, Weezer came out with their twelfth studio album, and fifth self-titled album, also known as the Teal Album. Yet here we are, about three weeks later finally sitting down, ready to talk about it. I listened to the cover album this past week while waiting for the bus, because I figured why the heck not. Even as a long time Weezer fan, I wasn’t too keen on hearing 36 minutes of renditions that quite possibly wouldn’t do the original songs justice. However, as each classic hit stayed true to the original while adding a pleasing alt rock twist, I began to realize I was actually vibing hard with this Weezer cover album. Despite its mixed reviews, this is my take on the Teal Album.

It starts off with the infamous Africa by Toto, which appeared as a single this past summer, peaking at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song was the only reason I decided to listen to the cover album in the first place, as I enjoyed the fact that Weezer didn’t try to make the song entirely their own. It’s the same reason my mom hates unplugged and live versions of her favorite songs. When I want to listen to something, I want it to be as close to the original as possible so I can sit in the car by myself and sing along at the top of my lungs.

Weezer took this approach throughout the entire album, paying respect to classic songs such as Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears, Happy Together by the Turtles, and Mr. Blue Sky by ELO. However, the band still managed to incorporate those distinctive vocals and fuzzy guitar riffs that give each cover that power pop flare. Weezer even came out with a new music video for Take on Me by A-ha which portrays a young Rivers Cuomo (lead singer of Weezer) in a vintage style depiction of the original music video, featuring pencil sketch animation and the like.

The interesting thing about this album is that the whole thing is a meme. As Matt Beaumont at NME states in Weezer – ‘The Teal Album’ review, “Respectful enough to rouse any struggling family gathering but knowing enough to amuse those in on the joke, ‘The Teal Album’ at once satirizes the covers album and makes a decent stab at perfecting it.”

Even though the self titled cover album is lowkey a joke, there is nothing stopping me from listening to classic hits that are so unmistakably Weezer. “If liking the Teal Album is wrong, I don’t want to be right,” says Jennifer Bernstein, fellow Weezer fan. “The Teal Album is the only thing good in the world right now.”

That pretty much sums up my thoughts as I listen to Weezer’s cover of No Scrubs by TLC on repeat.