I haven't posted any vintage Weezer since March, so today I'm pulling this favorite out of the vault -- a '95 performance of "Say It Ain't So" on Letterman. Rivers Cuomo had lost the bowl cut of the prior year, but his charged vocal performance and the band's tight sound had gotten even better. Cuomo is active as a lead singer, jumping and moving around, but he was wearing a leg brace during this performance after undergoing a procedure to lengthen his left leg, which was more than an inch shorter than his right. (Thanks, Wikipedia!) The leg brace forced him to stay rooted in front of the microphone, which makes this one of my favorite versions of this song. It goes from quiet and understated to jarring and heart-wrenching as Cuomo speaks directly to his alcoholic father. Watching him sing the bridge at 2:28, speaking to his father -- "Dear Daddy, I write you in spite of years of silence" -- his eyes squeezed shut, drummer Patrick Wilson rocking out in the background -- "The sun is drowning in the FLOOOD!" -- that's my favorite part of this video.
This song was the third single off Weezer's very first, self-titled album back in 1994, when they'd been playing together for just two years. "Say It Ain't So" remains one of their very best songs, a solid member of my own Top 10 Songs of the '90s (and others agree). This video also appears on the live Weezer DVD Video Capture Device.
I'll be taking a long weekend to properly ring in the new year. See you in 2012!
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