Weezer, Rubin Get to Work

After a false start last year, Weezer are back on track to record their fifth album and have tapped producer Rick Rubin (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys) to oversee matters. "Right now we're just playing acoustically," guitarist Brian Bell says. "There might be more textures to this record."

Last spring, just as promotional efforts for their fourth album Maladroit were getting underway, the band posted nearly twenty new songs on its official Web site, including Rivers Cuomo originals like "Private Message," "Prodigy Lover" and "The Victor," as well as the Bell-penned "Yellow Camaro." But after last summer's Enlightenment Tour, Weezer decided to scrap plans to properly record the new songs in favor of some time off.

According to Bell, the 2002 demo-ed songs are no longer strong contenders for the upcoming album. "It's all new stuff," he says. "We're still open to suggestions -- especially if Rick says, 'I want you to have a second look at this song you did last year.' It's not likely, but nothing's out of bounds at this point."

Weezer and Rubin are in the pre-production stage, but Bell expects them to hit the studio in the coming weeks. "We have so many songs to choose from," he says, "and it shouldn't be too much longer before we actually start making the new album."

The band is also putting the finishing touches on its first DVD for a fall release.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“Tonight's the Night”

The Shirelles | 1960

The lead cut and title track from this girl group's debut album, "Tonight's the Night" was written by 19-year-old bandmember Shirley Owens, who sings lead, and producer Luther Dixon. The band from Passaic, New Jersey met in high school, first calling themselves the Pequellos. The song's frank thoughts about sexual and emotional surrender was racy for the time, but that didn't stop the Chiffons from cutting a similar version immediately after the original came out. "We were the first female group to write some of our own material," band member Beverly Lee recalls. "We did have some say-so in our writing."

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter