Wafting out of countless college dorms, "Undone — the Sweater Song" seemed only the latest in slacker sloth: Above an ambience of beer-bash chitchat, a sad sack wails forlornly (the title "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here" just about sums the album up).

But these four young survivors of the Los Angeles club wars can no doubt handle the mixed blessing of a novelty hit. Weezer's Rivers Cuomo is great at sketching vignettes (the Dungeons and Dragons games and Kiss posters that inspire the hapless daydreamer of "In the Garage"), and with sweet inspiration like the waltz tempo of "My Name Is Jonas" and the self-deprecating humor of lines like "I look like Buddy Holly/You're Mary Tyler Moore," his songs easily ingratiate.

“Satisfied”

Only the genius of Tom Waits could combine the subject of mortality, a reoccurring theme in his work, with wordplay that name checks both Mick and Keith, whom he calls "Mr. Jagger" and "Mr. Richards," and the title of their magnum opus, "Satisfaction." And to show just how cool Waits really is, he even got Mr. Richards to play along, one of nine guest appearances the guitarist has made on three Waits albums. "This growling roadhouse stomp is a late-breaking response to the Stones' greatest hit," Rolling Stone said of the track.