Rivers Cuomo wishes he could go back in time to stop Weezer from releasing so much music

Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo has admitted that if he had the option to go back in time, he probably would have stopped his band from releasing so much music.

Since their formation in 1992, the alt-rockers have released 15 albums, which works out as one record every two years. In the year 2022 alone, they released four projects, one for each season. 

While in conversation with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea on the This Little Light (opens in new tab) podcast, Cuomo admits that he thinks Weezer may have “too much quantity”, adding that he believes their high volume of releases may have lessened their impact as a band.

“I think, if I were to go back and plan out an ideal artist’s career, I don’t know — maybe there’s too much quantity” he explains.

“Maybe the whole thing would be more impactful if we could go back in time and just release the very best stuff. Cherry-pick and release it in a very strategic way. But hindsight is 20/20, and hopefully future generations will sort it all out and they’ll focus on the best stuff.”

In the future, Cuomo reveals that he’s trying to pay more attention to fans to work out what they would actually like to hear from the band.

“I really want to listen and see where their [fans’] heads are at, and what they’re reacting to, and sometimes it’s not exactly where I would have gone on my own,” he adds.

“Specifically, they seem to like changes to happen more slowly. I would just say, ‘It’s a new day. Let’s throw out the recipe book and let’s start over from scratch with something totally new.’ For whatever reason, they want to hang onto what they loved about the past. That doesn’t mean I can’t do anything new — I just need to mix it in a little more gradually.”

In the mean time, Cuomo is currently crowdsourcing ideas for Weezer’s next studio album, which is apparently set to be a musical. 

Source: loudersound.com