I think Conan's tone is so appropriate in this interview. It seems to set Rivers at ease, and there's clearly a mutual respect between them. I can't wait to listen to the entire interview. Rivers and Conan (edit: not 'Cuomo'!) are two of my favorite creatives - inspiring me in different ways since the 90s!
Had no idea the Blue Album was big with little kids. I was 17 when that came out, and listened to 99% industrial music, and we still used to blast the hell out of that record and learned how to play the songs because it was so good.
I'll never forget staying up listening to the Blue Album with headphones on every night before school for weeks. It was one night in particular where I distinctly remember listening to the guitar solo in Only In Dreams and thinking "That sounds cool. I want to learn how to play guitar." That was over twenty years ago and I'm still playing guitar but never did get around to learning that solo 😂
People forget. Before the internet really took off, you didn’t see people’s faces/images plastered everywhere, even with some of the “bigger” bands. You’d catch a video from time to time, and perhaps the album had a picture of the band. But otherwise you wouldn’t ready have any idea what Rivers looked like on a day to day basis like you would now a days where you can follow pretty much any celebrity’s entire life online.
@@latinolawdog5067 Buddy Holly came with Win95 by default. Granted, PCs weren't nearly as abundant as today but anyone who opened the media player back then saw Weezer front and center.
I was one of those kids who was a fan when I was 11 years old. The first album I bought with money I earned doing chores for people in my neighborhood was The Blue Album on CD. I still listen to it 30 years later.
The first time I heard their first album (I was 18) my friends and I were on an acid trip. The album had come out that week and we played “Say it ain’t so” on repeat and every once in a while start the album over until it played the intro to “My name is Jonas” just until it said the title we would switch it back to “Say it ain’t so” on repeat. Good times!
As interesting as the stories were about Cuomo being at Harvard and riding the student buses around Weezer fans while they were oblivious to who he was, it's also mind-boggling to me to hear that the front man and singer/guitar player for a multi-platinum rock band who's had great success and toured the nation, is taking music class in college. It's like, he might should be teaching the class.....
He should be teaching the class just because he was in a successful band? I'm guessing you didn't get accepted to an Ivy League school with that logic.
Playing the same songs over and over for 10 year olds literally made Rivers come undone. Hold this thread as I walk awaaaay Weezer was on my Winamp playlist all the time
I like the Conan/Gorley music idea. I don't think the audience would bolt. Conan isn't a bad guitar player but he's better heard than seen while playing because he looks terrified when playing.
I was wrong about that band when they were popular with Buddy Holly. I thought they were a goofy sort of band because of that song and video. It wasnt until I heard the entire album did I know how wrong I was, but that initial showing of the band... it messed with me and I didnt give them a fair shot until months after.
Hey, same over here! I saw that video when MTV was still a thing and went like okay that's cute, then i heard "The world has turned" for the first time in our local indie disco waaaay later and was blown away. The blue album will be in my top ten for forever. Also "I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams" might be my favorite b-side ever.
I’ve always looked up to Rivers since I was really little. Big reason why I started playing guitar and writing songs. Love you Rivers long live Weezer ❤
Saw them way back on the Pinkerton tour. Front row at the Grenada in Lawrence. Matt Sharp stole the show lol. Some chick through her bra at him and he wore it the rest of the show! 😂
something similar happened to me at UC Irvine, on our last year I was talking to a classmate who was talking about eating expensive sushi and expensive places in Japan, and I said "dude, how'd you afford all that as a student", and he then said "Oh I played in this band a few years ago, Reel Big Fish, our label paid for it". Was pretty crazy - just a normal dude that was in my classes for 4 years, until we worked on a project together and got talking. Another funny thing... I remember as a kid seeing No Doubt play live, it was my first concert, and I was super stoked. I remember Weezer opening for them, and thinking "who is this band with this huge W on the stage" and not understanding what an opener was and waiting for No Doubt. I guess that was the tour he mentioned in the interview.
I was part of an anonymous program and had moved to a new area. As soon as I found a meeting I knew I needed to ask someone to be my next sponsor. A man came forward and said he would be honored, but we only had a few months before I had to find a more permanent solution because he had a "summer gig". We worked together for a few weeks before I finally asked him what he did. He was reluctant to answer my question because, well... it's an anonymous program. When he told me I nearly fell off my chair. Let's just say that whenever you ask Alexa to play "'80's hair metal", you will eventually hear him playing guitar.
@@maxonmendel5757 Cooper wasn't a guitarist but if the answer is Quiet Riot then that's wild because that was the band that got Rivers wanting to play in the first place.
I am a longtime customer of of record/music store in Long Beach, Ca. Since 1988. In 2014, I was given a invitation to see Weezer at Fingerprints Music in 2014.
This guy looks like Johnny Knoxville's nerdy younger brother. "What's that, Wheezey? Don't throw firecrackers at your face? Ok..." *pop, pop, pop* *maniacal laughter*
I suppose the zenith of hipsterdom is ironically living the ideal square life, going to college, getting a job and starting a family. Reminds me of that Mr Show sketch “I’ll marry your ass!”. Anyways nice to see these two achieve the dream.
This is so charming. Funny to think of the hum-drum workaday life of the rockstar, but it must be how a lot of people feel doing jobs that they wish provided more stimulation.
I like how he thinks his whole audience was 10-year-olds and nobody knew who he was. They were huge and everybody knew who they were. In college radio play them nonstop.
What amazes me is how we all miss our collective understanding of what it means to be an animal. Do you have a permit for your minkey 🐒 ? We all wanna keep the fun coming. Solitude is boring but the older we get and the more we know our TREASURED loved ones in our work family or home, the more we pine 🎍 for the novel and exciting. Speaking of rewards, the Sweater Song beckons. Jeez Louise do I love me Mr. Cuomo's work. The Musical Northerner
98 we went to a concert i thought was going to be a punk show, bridges to brazil, it sucked. weezer was next door and their PA system broke so most of those people went outide thinking it was over, then they just let everyone in with no tickets, I of course chose their 2nd set to finish my night. like other bands id seen pull off the connection with the audience of everyone on the same page doing it correctly, loud fast intense fun.
@PeteManic no if already famous or have some interesting back story (like refugee from Timbuktu who made a backyard particle accelerator) very easy to get into ivy league that's how bubblehead like Brooke shield or actress from silence of lambs go to ivy league. Of course if minority super easy. Or kid of some rich family that donates or child of foreign dignatry etc- For Asian and white and the rest of us plebs not easy get into Harvard ok thank you
Harvard is not unlike other schools in that if they see someone is famous from the information on the application (I have a band called Weezer that has top hits on the radio and famous videos) and wants to get in, they will say yes.
Everyone at my highschool was into Weezer. Loved the songs. Not sure what he’s talking about with 10 year olds being the entire fan base. That would be depressing
He wrote Pinkerton while at Harvard, then dropped out… and went back - twice - before actually graduating. I remember hearing the same back his Wikipedia clarifies things.
I can see getting bored playing the same songs night after night...but do you realize how many unknowns would kill for that level of success? Rivers was fortunate to have the skills to take a break and come back to it later...
Sona has essentially taken up the same role that Robin plays in the Howard Stern show She contributes nothing to these podcast interviews apart from being seated next to Conan and giggling like a high school girl.........
Was a huge Weezer fan growing up. Still blows my mind the guy was a garage rock icon and then just went to college as an unrecognizable dude.
It's one of the most Weezer things ever imo
I don't understand why it blew your mind. It's actually the most sane thing a popular artist could do
Rivers has become more physically recognizable with age, circa 1995 he was literally just some dude
@@romeohio19 Weezer members are just dudes, they're not that easily recognizable. It's kind of their appeal.
Kurt cobain
I think Conan's tone is so appropriate in this interview. It seems to set Rivers at ease, and there's clearly a mutual respect between them. I can't wait to listen to the entire interview. Rivers and Conan (edit: not 'Cuomo'!) are two of my favorite creatives - inspiring me in different ways since the 90s!
Rivers and Cuomo? 😄 You mean Rivers and Conan, right? Or is this like a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde situation lol
@@Howitchewstofeel5gum haha yep!
Two successful creative Harvard guys. They might have a similar wavelength to their vibe.
So true! I just watched the interview Rivers had with Kelly Clarkson and wow ….the energy was not a match. 😂
Conan has always been a great interviewer. Watch the one he did not too long ago with Neil Young.
Had no idea the Blue Album was big with little kids. I was 17 when that came out, and listened to 99% industrial music, and we still used to blast the hell out of that record and learned how to play the songs because it was so good.
I used to listen to the hell out of the Blue Album when I was an angsty teenager.
Can confirm. I was 11 when Blue album came out. We all loved it
This makes me want to watch the SNL Weezer skit again. "Bitch, Rivers don't understand what Rivers is going through!"
Omg literally just did that because of this interview 😂
Drink my blood. 🩸
"I'm ride or die!"
- "For Weezer??"
".. I understand Rivers better than he understands himself!!"
- Queen Leslie Jones
That skit caught me off guard in both it's existence and accuracy
It is absolutely amazing how low key Rivers is. Seems to be as modest as can be.
He’s been humbled
Rivers is such a nice, humble guy. I’m happy for him and the bands success.
Just like Kurt Cobain
I'll never forget staying up listening to the Blue Album with headphones on every night before school for weeks. It was one night in particular where I distinctly remember listening to the guitar solo in Only In Dreams and thinking "That sounds cool. I want to learn how to play guitar." That was over twenty years ago and I'm still playing guitar but never did get around to learning that solo 😂
Dudee learn it nowww lol
Such an underrated song off that album.
@@christopherperkins1733 it's the only weezer song that i know how to play on bass XD
I was 10 years old when the first weezer album came out and it was, and still is, one of my favorite albums.
I can attest to what he said. At that time, Rivers Cuomo was not a famous name; Weezer was. (And Thom Yorke was not a famous name; Radiohead was.)
People forget. Before the internet really took off, you didn’t see people’s faces/images plastered everywhere, even with some of the “bigger” bands. You’d catch a video from time to time, and perhaps the album had a picture of the band. But otherwise you wouldn’t ready have any idea what Rivers looked like on a day to day basis like you would now a days where you can follow pretty much any celebrity’s entire life online.
@@latinolawdog5067 Buddy Holly came with Win95 by default. Granted, PCs weren't nearly as abundant as today but anyone who opened the media player back then saw Weezer front and center.
I was one of those kids who was a fan when I was 11 years old. The first album I bought with money I earned doing chores for people in my neighborhood was The Blue Album on CD. I still listen to it 30 years later.
The first time I heard their first album (I was 18) my friends and I were on an acid trip. The album had come out that week and we played “Say it ain’t so” on repeat and every once in a while start the album over until it played the intro to “My name is Jonas” just until it said the title we would switch it back to “Say it ain’t so” on repeat. Good times!
Literally the most quiet Cuomo on earth.
This is curt Cobain
Such a cool guest: these guys made rock n roll fun in the 90s 🙂
I was one of those 10 year olds at the time and wasn't even a fan at the time but somehow really fondly remember their music. Big Windows 95 energy.
bot
That's so weird he said his fans were like 10 years old at the time. I was literally 10/11 when I got their album in 1995 or so.
No way most Weezer fans were 10 years old.
Rivers reminds me of Steve Young, since #8 was an NFL quarterback when he decides to go to - and finish - law school. Some of the greats!
Or Kurt Cobain
I love you Conan, you’ve saved me more times than I can imagine
Lots of love to you and lisa from halfway around the world
Think it's Liza
"In my music class"
He was like Andy from Parks and Rec in there.
“I’m just a beginner, I barely haven’t even never seen a *gortar*” - Rivers Cuomo
He looks just like Buddy Holly. And Conan is Mary Tyler Moore.
Love your vids Mr. Beat!
I don't care what you said about them anyway
Sona laughing in the background is so precious. :))
*foreground
As interesting as the stories were about Cuomo being at Harvard and riding the student buses around Weezer fans while they were oblivious to who he was, it's also mind-boggling to me to hear that the front man and singer/guitar player for a multi-platinum rock band who's had great success and toured the nation, is taking music class in college. It's like, he might should be teaching the class.....
It's an interesting interview because Rivers almost comes off as the anti-Conan. The man seems allergic to being the focus of attention.
He should be teaching the class just because he was in a successful band? I'm guessing you didn't get accepted to an Ivy League school with that logic.
What a midwit comment
Im not sure if they knew music theory so maybe he was trying to understand that
He was studying classical composition.
College reunion? 2 of my most favorite person ever in 1 video. I am so happy.
Just back from a Weezer gig in Dublin Absolutely fantastic live
I’m still grinning like a madman after it
"You're the bus driver for Weezer?"
"The cook?"
"The masseuse??"
I was 10 years old when my dad bought me the blue album. My mind is blown that Rivers knew that his fans were 10 years old. Super cool!
This is awesome! Way to go Conan. Love this
Playing the same songs over and over for 10 year olds literally made Rivers come undone.
Hold this thread as I walk awaaaay
Weezer was on my Winamp playlist all the time
It really did whip the llama's ass, didn't it?
I was 11 when the blue album came out. 💕
Thats crazy, Rivers is spot on saying they connected with like 10 year old kids at the time. I was 11 when Blue Album came out and I fking loved it.
I like the Conan/Gorley music idea. I don't think the audience would bolt.
Conan isn't a bad guitar player but he's better heard than seen while playing because he looks terrified when playing.
I was wrong about that band when they were popular with Buddy Holly. I thought they were a goofy sort of band because of that song and video. It wasnt until I heard the entire album did I know how wrong I was, but that initial showing of the band... it messed with me and I didnt give them a fair shot until months after.
Hey, same over here! I saw that video when MTV was still a thing and went like okay that's cute, then i heard "The world has turned" for the first time in our local indie disco waaaay later and was blown away. The blue album will be in my top ten for forever. Also "I Just Threw Out The Love Of My Dreams" might be my favorite b-side ever.
I mean, they are goofy, that was a big part of their image, being goofy nerds.
They are a goofy band! In the best way
Best podcast ever
I’ve always looked up to Rivers since I was really little. Big reason why I started playing guitar and writing songs. Love you Rivers long live Weezer ❤
it's funny to think that mark zuckerberg and natalie portman also attended around the same time and she was briefly referred to in the social network
Saw them way back on the Pinkerton tour. Front row at the Grenada in Lawrence. Matt Sharp stole the show lol. Some chick through her bra at him and he wore it the rest of the show! 😂
*Threw
something similar happened to me at UC Irvine, on our last year I was talking to a classmate who was talking about eating expensive sushi and expensive places in Japan, and I said "dude, how'd you afford all that as a student", and he then said "Oh I played in this band a few years ago, Reel Big Fish, our label paid for it". Was pretty crazy - just a normal dude that was in my classes for 4 years, until we worked on a project together and got talking.
Another funny thing... I remember as a kid seeing No Doubt play live, it was my first concert, and I was super stoked. I remember Weezer opening for them, and thinking "who is this band with this huge W on the stage" and not understanding what an opener was and waiting for No Doubt. I guess that was the tour he mentioned in the interview.
I was part of an anonymous program and had moved to a new area. As soon as I found a meeting I knew I needed to ask someone to be my next sponsor. A man came forward and said he would be honored, but we only had a few months before I had to find a more permanent solution because he had a "summer gig". We worked together for a few weeks before I finally asked him what he did. He was reluctant to answer my question because, well... it's an anonymous program. When he told me I nearly fell off my chair. Let's just say that whenever you ask Alexa to play "'80's hair metal", you will eventually hear him playing guitar.
Alice Cooper?
@@maxonmendel5757 Cooper wasn't a guitarist but if the answer is Quiet Riot then that's wild because that was the band that got Rivers wanting to play in the first place.
I am a longtime customer of of record/music store in Long Beach, Ca. Since 1988. In 2014, I was given a invitation to see Weezer at Fingerprints Music in 2014.
This guy looks like Johnny Knoxville's nerdy younger brother.
"What's that, Wheezey? Don't throw firecrackers at your face? Ok..." *pop, pop, pop* *maniacal laughter*
Matt is in such awe he cant even move. The granddad of hipsters is right next to him... 🤓
I suppose the zenith of hipsterdom is ironically living the ideal square life, going to college, getting a job and starting a family. Reminds me of that Mr Show sketch “I’ll marry your ass!”. Anyways nice to see these two achieve the dream.
@@BasilicaUlpia are you sure it isnt a bigger lunch box collection?
I love how Conan asked him whether the success made him miserable when Pinkerton exists
what
@@maxonmendel5757 You heard the woman.
Jerry Harrison from Talking Heads was on Marc Maron's podcast recently. He went to Harvard the same time Bonnie Raitt did.
This is so charming. Funny to think of the hum-drum workaday life of the rockstar, but it must be how a lot of people feel doing jobs that they wish provided more stimulation.
Guys in the 90s had Blue and Pinkerton. Me in the 2010s had White and OK Computer.
I like how he thinks his whole audience was 10-year-olds and nobody knew who he was. They were huge and everybody knew who they were. In college radio play them nonstop.
What amazes me is how we all miss our collective understanding of what it means to be an animal.
Do you have a permit for your minkey 🐒 ?
We all wanna keep the fun coming. Solitude is boring but the older we get and the more we know our TREASURED loved ones in our work family or home, the more we pine 🎍 for the novel and exciting.
Speaking of rewards, the Sweater Song beckons. Jeez Louise do I love me Mr. Cuomo's work.
The Musical Northerner
Are we ignoring the fact that Rivers looks like Gourley? Hum, ok...
Ahaha você tem razão :D !!!
30 years baby!
Man I'm old
I remember the Weezer video being on the Windows 95 disk. That alone tells you how long ago that was.
more pleeeease!!
The fact weezer performed in the conan show since 1994
98 we went to a concert i thought was going to be a punk show, bridges to brazil, it sucked. weezer was next door and their PA system broke so most of those people went outide thinking it was over, then they just let everyone in with no tickets, I of course chose their 2nd set to finish my night. like other bands id seen pull off the connection with the audience of everyone on the same page doing it correctly, loud fast intense fun.
I loved this episode
Get Julian Casablancas next time!
Sometimes I wanna go back to school
An east coast college with some history
I'd be satisfied, I know
In the simple things
rivers facial expressions in their music videos says it all.
Oh man, I thought that was Gourley for a second.
Kurt lives!
My niece just turned 15 and LOVES Weezer and the Blue record.
Prof. Rivers... Humbled
Love Rivers! Such a great story.
Instead of undercover boss, it was undercover artist 😂
Huh
I thought more people knew this lol
A lot of Pinkerton was about his time at Harvard lmao
Rivers seems like a chill guy
My name is Rivers!!!!! Give my books back. - ok, but i want your guitar. -Ok, i dont need it.
I love weezer a lot!! :)
Of course they accepted him lol he’s a rockstar. That’s like Paul Mcartney applying to work a guitar center.
Think I read about this in Rolling Stone of all places back then
I think he got in because he was celeb and these ivy league schools like giving easy admission to celebs makes their alumni list look "interesting"
@PeteManic no if already famous or have some interesting back story (like refugee from Timbuktu who made a backyard particle accelerator) very easy to get into ivy league that's how bubblehead like Brooke shield or actress from silence of lambs go to ivy league. Of course if minority super easy. Or kid of some rich family that donates or child of foreign dignatry etc- For Asian and white and the rest of us plebs not easy get into Harvard ok thank you
Just two normal guys "who went to college in Boston" chatting it up and reminiscing about old times! 😄
Harvard is not unlike other schools in that if they see someone is famous from the information on the application (I have a band called Weezer that has top hits on the radio and famous videos) and wants to get in, they will say yes.
Put a blonde wig on him and he becomes Dana Carvey's character in Wayne's World. I love Weezer.
I'm binge watching this podcast, is way better than Rogan, of course, but where can I find the full interviews?
I mean Rogan and Conan have kinda different approaches to their interviews, so wouldnt really pit them against each other.
It was either rock star or finding the mystery behind Dark Energy.
It's always a pleasure to hear Conan generally laugh.
Generally?
@@lomarsweed6604its not always a pleasure, but generally it is
That's insane
Reminds me of a Decedents record.
They do share a lot of the nerdiness with Descendents.
captions are terrifying
Rivers Cuomo has big Gourley energy
Please invite Stephen Malkmus.
He looks kinda like Johnny Knoxville mixed with Jon Hamm.
@1:50 lol
I would bet a lot of those 10 year old fans discovered Weezer on the Windows 95 CD
Who loves the drum sound on Pinkerton?
Rivers looks like a humble version of steven colbert
I'm sick of people calling this interview pretentious.
Hello Kurt
Everyone at my highschool was into Weezer. Loved the songs. Not sure what he’s talking about with 10 year olds being the entire fan base. That would be depressing
Who is this internal auditor?
Clearly rivers’ love language is “words of affirmation”. And physical touch too I guess
Weezer is singlehandedly responsible for modern hipster fashion
"Sing the same songs over and over again."
He's been doing that for the better part of 30 years now. Got to "play the greatest hits".
He also shared a house with a couple of other dudes and just lived like a regular college kid.
Wasn't Weezer the name of one of the Alley Kids? That's where I thought they got the name
@@mothpig you should listen to this full podcast. Rivers says his dad Nicknsmed him Weezer over a little rascal character.
at first i thought it was johnny knoxville
Can attest, the 11 year old girls on my school buss in 5th grade used to swing The Sweater song daily
Did he graduate or just go there ?
Love Weezer albums.. their live shows are boring imho
Didn’t he go after their 2nd record, Pinkerton? Which honestly is there best record.
He wrote Pinkerton while at Harvard, then dropped out… and went back - twice - before actually graduating. I remember hearing the same back his Wikipedia clarifies things.
I can see getting bored playing the same songs night after night...but do you realize how many unknowns would kill for that level of success? Rivers was fortunate to have the skills to take a break and come back to it later...
Sona has essentially taken up the same role that Robin plays in the Howard Stern show
She contributes nothing to these podcast interviews apart from being seated next to Conan and giggling like a high school girl.........
So what did he study exactly?
Classical composition.