Buddy Holly

I don't care what they say about us anyway

SONG: Buddy Holly

ARTIST: Weezer

ALBUM: Weezer (The Blue Album)

YEAR: 1994

I HATED Buddy Holly when it first came out. I was too cool, you understand, to tolerate happy pop like this. Angst, depression, rage aimed at the rigged machine—this was the type of music I craved. In the words of an ancient poet from Minnesota, “I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now.”

Now would be 30 crazy years later, which is exactly how many years have passed since Weezer’s debut album dropped. Three hits sprung from that memorable record, though it’s Buddy Holly that represents today’s entry in the Gen X Jukebox.

Buddy Holly was the album’s second single (Undone – The Sweater Song was first). It was released on September 7, 1994, which would have marked Buddy Holly’s 58^th birthday. The song reached #2 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks and #18 on their Hot 100. You heard the catchy chorus and those Beach Boys-esque harmonies everywhere you went that fall: in shopping malls and student bars, restaurants and dorm rooms. One time the song got stuck in my head and drove me crazy for an entire week.

Then there’s the music video: which is funny and awesome and unforgettable. It was directed by Spike Jonze, who’s responsible for two of my favorite movies (Being John Malkovich and Adaptation), as well as tons of amazing videos, including Sabotage, Praise You, and Drop.

In Buddy Holly, Weezer performs at Arnold’s Drive-In, the infamous hangout from 1970’s sitcom smash Happy Days. The video combines clips of the show with footage of the band performing, and features none other than the Fonz himself.

The video went on to become even more popular than the song itself. It won Best Alternative Video at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, as well as Breakthrough Video, Best Direction, and Best Editing. It was also nominated for Video of the Year, but lost to Waterfalls by TLC.

And here’s something you may have forgotten: the video was included on the Windows 95 installation CD-ROM. Reckon that gave the song a boost in popularity?

"I was furious because at the time I was like, 'How are they allowed to do this without permission?' Turns out it was one of the greatest things that could have happened to us. Can you imagine that happening today? It's like, there's one video on YouTube, and it's your video."

Pat Wilson (Drummer)

Watching the video after all these years, I remain impressed with the startling fact that zero special effects were used; nothing but good old-fashioned camera wizardry.

Listening to the song today also conjures a special magic: the astonishing feat of traveling back in time, all the way back to 1994, when Tonya Harding attacked Nancy Kerrigan, when Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa, when OJ Simpson took his Bronco out for a casual spin.

I’m blasting the song now, as a matter of fact: bathed in the rays of an encroaching summer, thinking of you, my fellow Gen Xer, hoping you’ll join me on our virtual dance floor, where we can sing and shake our happy, sappy little guts out.

Who cares if the haters are dissing our girl and always acting like they gotta front? We don’t care what they say about us anyway. We don’t care about that.