"California Snow" | ||||
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Single by Weezer | ||||
from the album Spell (2018 film) soundtrack and Weezer (The Black Album) | ||||
Released | September 20, 2018 | |||
Recorded | 2018 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:32 | |||
Label | Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Rivers Cuomo | |||
Producer(s) | Dave Sitek | |||
Weezer singles chronology | ||||
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"California Snow" is a song by American rock band Weezer, released in September 2018 as a single from the 2018 film Spell. [1] The song also appears on their 2019 album Weezer (aka the Black Album).
"California Snow" starts with 1980's-style keyboard sound, later morphing into a more sunshine pop sound. [2] It was described by Spin as "odd juxtapositions of strange and melancholic lyrical and chordal shifts with empty trappings of modern pop production". [1] The song's overall style has been described as electronic rock, [3] electropop, [4] synth-pop, [2] and emo. [5]
Andrew Sacher at the BrooklynVegan was critical of the song, stating "'California Snow' tries to be rap in the most embarrassing way, complete with lyrics like 'this is the definition of flow' and 'nobody cold as this.' Hearing him rap it is like the musical equivalent of going out to dinner with an older relative and watching in silence as they’re a dick to the waiter all night. It’s like, I love you but please, stop." [6] The song got a similar response from Kara Bowan at The Itachan, where she opined "A stylistically flat vocal delivery and strong bassline makes it seem like “California Snow” is improving after its uncomfortable beginning. But, halfway through, unexpected piano chords and another attempt at almost-rapping take over, leading to an awkward finish." [7] However, Devon Hannan at Alternative Press stated that the song is "perfect for fans of Weezer’s latest pop direction." [8]
Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bell, and Scott Shriner. They have sold 10 million albums in the US and more than 35 million worldwide.
Emo is a music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and post-hardcore from the mid-1980s Washington, D.C. hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands Rites of Spring and Embrace, among others, pioneered the genre. In the early-to-mid 1990s, emo was adopted and reinvented by alternative rock, indie rock, punk rock, and pop-punk bands, including Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Cap'n Jazz, and Jimmy Eat World. By the mid-1990s, Braid, the Promise Ring, and the Get Up Kids emerged from Midwest emo, and several independent record labels began to specialize in the genre. Meanwhile, screamo, a more aggressive style of emo using screamed vocals, also emerged, pioneered by the San Diego bands Heroin and Antioch Arrow. Screamo achieved mainstream success in the 2000s with bands like Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, Story of the Year, Thursday, the Used, and Underoath.
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The discography of Weezer, an American rock band, consists of 15 studio albums, two compilation albums, one video album, nine extended plays, 37 singles and 40 music videos. Weezer's self-titled debut studio album, often referred to as The Blue Album, was released in May 1994 through DGC Records. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number 16 on the US Billboard 200 and spawning the singles "Undone – The Sweater Song" and "Buddy Holly", both of which were responsible for launching Weezer into mainstream success with the aid of music videos directed by Spike Jonze. It has sold 3.3 million copies in the United States and has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), becoming the band's best selling album to date. Following the success of their debut album, Weezer took a break from touring for the Christmas holidays. Lead singer Rivers Cuomo began piecing together demo material for Weezer's second studio album. Cuomo's original concept for the album was a space-themed rock opera, Songs from the Black Hole. Ultimately, the Songs from the Black Hole album concept was dropped; the band, however, continued to utilize songs from these sessions into work for their second studio album. Pinkerton was released as the band's second studio album in September 1996. Peaking at number 19 on the Billboard 200, it was considered a critical and commercial failure at the time of its release, selling far less than its triple platinum predecessor. However, in the years following its release, it has seen much critical and commercial championing.
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Emo pop is a fusion genre combining emo with pop-punk, pop music, or both. Emo pop features a musical style with more concise composition and hook-filled choruses. Emo pop has its origins in the 1990s with bands like Jimmy Eat World, the Get Up Kids, Weezer and the Promise Ring. The genre entered the mainstream in the early 2000s with Jimmy Eat World's breakthrough album Bleed American, which included its song "The Middle". Other emo pop bands that achieved mainstream success throughout the decade included Fall Out Boy, the All-American Rejects, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco and Paramore. The popularity of emo pop declined in the 2010s, with some prominent artists in the genre either disbanding or abandoning the emo pop style.
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Elsewhere, "California Snow" has an emo grandeur that sort of brings to mind Post Malone if he ever heard Pet Sounds.