Hurley (album)
Encyclopedia
Hurley is the eighth studio album by American alternative rock
band Weezer
, released on September 10, 2010 on Epitaph Records
. The album was produced by Rivers Cuomo
and Shawn Everett, and, similar to the band's previous studio album, Raditude
, features songs co-written with songwriters outside of the band.
Preceded by the single, "Memories
", Hurley debuted at number six on the Billboard 200
with 45,000 units sold.
. The record was released on November 3, 2009, where it debuted as the seventh best-selling album of the week on the Billboard 200
chart. The band scheduled tour dates in December 2009 extending into early 2010 to coincide with the new album's release. Compared to other Weezer albums, Raditude received a lukewarm response. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave Raditude an average
score of 57 ("mixed or average reviews"), based on 22 reviews.
In December 2009, it was revealed that the band was no longer with Geffen Records
. The band stated that they would still release new material, but they were unsure of the means, whether it be self-released, released online, or getting signed by another label. Eventually, the band was signed to the independent label Epitaph
.
said of the album, "There's definitely going to be more raw rock energy on this one." In August 2010, the tracklist was revealed.
The first track and single from the album was "Memories
", also featured in a Guitar Hero
track pack alongside "Buddy Holly
" and "(If You're Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You to
", released simultaneously with the album on September 14. The second single that was released is "Hang On
", on February 15 to U.S. Alternative radio.
The video track also features members of Jackass on backing vocals, and clips from the upcoming movie Jackass 3-D. AP magazine described the high energy track as "Andrew W.K.
covering The Killers".
The string tracks in "Memories", "Unspoken", as well as bonus tracks "All My Friends Are Insects" and "Represent" were recorded at The Banff Centre in Banff
, Alberta
, Canada
.
"Hang On", co-written by Rick Nowels
, features Canadian actor Michael Cera
on backing vocals, hurdy gurdy
and mandolin.
The album's closer, "Time Flies", co-written by country singer and songwriter Mac Davis
, features a lo-fi, folk-country sound, which has been compared to music of Led Zeppelin.
The deluxe edition's recording of Coldplay's
"Viva La Vida" was recorded live at P.C. Richard & Son Theater (iheartradio show) in New York City
on October 28, 2009. Accompanying are Sonya Lee (piano), Jane Cords-O'Hara (cello), Kiwon Nahm (violin) and Stephanie Chandra (chimes).
, who portrayed Hugo "Hurley" Reyes on the television series Lost
from 2004 to 2010. The photo itself is a small cropping of an original picture of Cuomo being embraced by Garcia, taken in the green room of Lopez Tonight
while Weezer and Jorge Garcia were taping segments for separate shows on the same day
Originally, the band was going to self title the album for a fourth time, but decided against it, since the band figured most fans would simply refer to the album with Hurley cover as the "Hurley" album. Guitarist Brian Bell
stated publicly that the record was named after clothing company Hurley International
, whose bosses he said funded the recording and provided a studio for recording sessions. Bell later claimed that he was mistaken and that the album was in fact named after the Lost character and not the clothing company. However, the group subsequently worked with the clothing manufacturer to create a Weezer-branded clothing line.
as a way to promote the album. Weezer loaned itself to 15 amateur online video producers, "going along with whatever plans the creator could execute in about 30 minutes." They have used many of the popular channels to promote themself, such as Barely Political, Tay Zonday
, Onision, Dave Days, Magic Hugs, Fred Figglehorn, Ray William Johnson, and The Annoying Orange. The Gregory Brothers
solicited musical and vocal contributions from the band on one of its signature topical compositions—built around melodically enhanced speeches by Rep. Charles Rangel and President Obama. Weezer calls the promotion "The YouTube Invasion".
website Metacritic
gave the album an average score of 68%, which indicates "generally favourable reviews". After the album was leaked to the internet, the band made it available for free streaming on their MySpace
page. Many music sites and magazines used this as an opportunity to review the album before it was tangibly released to the public. Many critics favorably compared the songs on Hurley to Weezer's first three albums. Alternative Press and Rock Sound
compared the song "Ruling Me" to the songs from the band's self-titled debut and second self-titled album. Alternative Press said that the song "is a distant cousin of both the Blue Album's 'No One Else' and the Green Album's 'Don't Let Go,' serving as a straight-ahead slab of power-pop" Rock Sound said that "The chugging guitars of the verse [of 'Ruling Me'] hearken back to Green-era Weezer, which is all very pleasant, but it's the chorus that rockets 'Ruling Me' into a different league." Rolling Stone
also compared the song "Where's My Sex" to various songs from Pinkerton
. "'Where's My Sex?' is a Pinkerton-esque song about, um, sox [sic], with the word 'sex' sung in the place of 'sox' [sic] — like, 'I can't go out without my sex/It's cold outside and my toes get wet.'"
with 45,000 units sold, making it Weezer's sixth top 10 album, as well as their sixth top 10 album in a row. Despite peaking higher than Raditude, Hurley sold 21,000 fewer units in its first week than the former. During its second week of release, the album fell to number 24, selling 11,235 copies.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
, released on September 10, 2010 on Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
. The album was produced by Rivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Weezer. Raised in an Ashram in Connecticut, Cuomo moved to Los Angeles at age 19, where he participated in a number of rock bands before founding Weezer in 1992...
and Shawn Everett, and, similar to the band's previous studio album, Raditude
Raditude
Raditude is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer, released on November 3, 2009 and is their final album on DGC Records, Geffen Records and Interscope Records...
, features songs co-written with songwriters outside of the band.
Preceded by the single, "Memories
Memories (Weezer song)
"Memories" is a song by the band Weezer. It is the opening track and first single from their 2010 album Hurley and was first released online on August 10, 2010. Following the death of Jackass member Ryan Dunn, the video became the most searched for video on YouTube.-Music video:The music video for...
", Hurley debuted at number six on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
with 45,000 units sold.
Background
In late 2009, Weezer revealed their seventh album, RaditudeRaditude
Raditude is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer, released on November 3, 2009 and is their final album on DGC Records, Geffen Records and Interscope Records...
. The record was released on November 3, 2009, where it debuted as the seventh best-selling album of the week on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart. The band scheduled tour dates in December 2009 extending into early 2010 to coincide with the new album's release. Compared to other Weezer albums, Raditude received a lukewarm response. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave Raditude an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 57 ("mixed or average reviews"), based on 22 reviews.
In December 2009, it was revealed that the band was no longer with Geffen Records
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label, owned by Universal Music Group, and operated as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-Beginnings:...
. The band stated that they would still release new material, but they were unsure of the means, whether it be self-released, released online, or getting signed by another label. Eventually, the band was signed to the independent label Epitaph
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
.
Music and lyrics
In July 2010, Weezer began recording their follow-up to Raditude. Rivers CuomoRivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Weezer. Raised in an Ashram in Connecticut, Cuomo moved to Los Angeles at age 19, where he participated in a number of rock bands before founding Weezer in 1992...
said of the album, "There's definitely going to be more raw rock energy on this one." In August 2010, the tracklist was revealed.
The first track and single from the album was "Memories
Memories (Weezer song)
"Memories" is a song by the band Weezer. It is the opening track and first single from their 2010 album Hurley and was first released online on August 10, 2010. Following the death of Jackass member Ryan Dunn, the video became the most searched for video on YouTube.-Music video:The music video for...
", also featured in a Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero (iOS)
Guitar Hero is a game in the Guitar Hero music video game series released for the iOS. The game was developed by Vicarious Visions and was published by Activision Publishing Inc...
track pack alongside "Buddy Holly
Buddy Holly (song)
"Buddy Holly" is a song by the rock group Weezer, written by Rivers Cuomo. It was released as the second single from the band's debut album Weezer in 1994. The single was released on what would have been Buddy Holly's 58th birthday. The lyrics reference the song's 1950s namesake and actress Mary...
" and "(If You're Wondering If I Want You to) I Want You to
(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
" I Want You To" is a song by American alternative rock/power pop band Weezer. It was released as the first single from the band's seventh studio album Raditude. Initially scheduled to be released to American rock radio on August 25, 2009, the official release of the single to radio was moved up to...
", released simultaneously with the album on September 14. The second single that was released is "Hang On
Hang On (Weezer song)
"Hang On" is a song by the band Weezer. It is the seventh track and second single from their 2010 album Hurley. The album version of "Hang On" is co-written by Rick Nowels and features Canadian actor Michael Cera on backing vocals, hurdy gurdy and mandolin...
", on February 15 to U.S. Alternative radio.
The video track also features members of Jackass on backing vocals, and clips from the upcoming movie Jackass 3-D. AP magazine described the high energy track as "Andrew W.K.
Andrew W.K.
Andrew W.K. is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, entertainer, and motivational speaker. He is the host of the television series Destroy Build Destroy.-Early life & career:Andrew Wilkes-Krier was born in Stanford, California, and grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan...
covering The Killers".
The string tracks in "Memories", "Unspoken", as well as bonus tracks "All My Friends Are Insects" and "Represent" were recorded at The Banff Centre in Banff
Banff, Alberta
Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
"Hang On", co-written by Rick Nowels
Rick Nowels
Richard Wright Nowels Jr. is a Grammy / Ivor Novello award-winning songwriter/producer who has worked with many of the most vibrant artists in contemporary music...
, features Canadian actor Michael Cera
Michael Cera
Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor best known for his roles in Arrested Development, Youth in Revolt, Superbad, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Juno. Cera received the 2008 Canadian Comedy Award for best male performance for his work in Superbad.-Early...
on backing vocals, hurdy gurdy
Hurdy gurdy
The hurdy gurdy or hurdy-gurdy is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin...
and mandolin.
The album's closer, "Time Flies", co-written by country singer and songwriter Mac Davis
Mac Davis
Mac Davis is a country music singer, songwriter, and actor originally from Lubbock, Texas who has enjoyed much crossover success...
, features a lo-fi, folk-country sound, which has been compared to music of Led Zeppelin.
The deluxe edition's recording of Coldplay's
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
"Viva La Vida" was recorded live at P.C. Richard & Son Theater (iheartradio show) in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on October 28, 2009. Accompanying are Sonya Lee (piano), Jane Cords-O'Hara (cello), Kiwon Nahm (violin) and Stephanie Chandra (chimes).
Artwork and title
The album's cover is simply a picture of Chilean-American actor Jorge GarciaJorge Garcia
Jorge García is a U.S. actor and comedian. He first came to public attention with his performance as Hector Lopez on the television show Becker and later for his portrayal of Hugo "Hurley" Reyes in the television series Lost. Garcia also performs as a stand-up comedian.-Early life:García was born...
, who portrayed Hugo "Hurley" Reyes on the television series Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
from 2004 to 2010. The photo itself is a small cropping of an original picture of Cuomo being embraced by Garcia, taken in the green room of Lopez Tonight
Lopez Tonight
Lopez Tonight was an American late-night television talk show hosted by comedian George Lopez. The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS. Lopez was the first Mexican American to host a late-night talk show on an English-language network in the United States. The...
while Weezer and Jorge Garcia were taping segments for separate shows on the same day
Originally, the band was going to self title the album for a fourth time, but decided against it, since the band figured most fans would simply refer to the album with Hurley cover as the "Hurley" album. Guitarist Brian Bell
Brian Bell (musician)
Brian Bell is an American guitarist and songwriter. Active since 1989, he is best known as the rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist for the American alternative rock band Weezer. Bell joined Weezer in 1993 following the departure of founding member Jason Cropper...
stated publicly that the record was named after clothing company Hurley International
Hurley International
Hurley International is a clothing company located in Costa Mesa, California founded by Bob Hurley. The company puts emphasis on skateboarding, surfing, music, and "fun"...
, whose bosses he said funded the recording and provided a studio for recording sessions. Bell later claimed that he was mistaken and that the album was in fact named after the Lost character and not the clothing company. However, the group subsequently worked with the clothing manufacturer to create a Weezer-branded clothing line.
Promotion
Weezer used internet streaming service YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
as a way to promote the album. Weezer loaned itself to 15 amateur online video producers, "going along with whatever plans the creator could execute in about 30 minutes." They have used many of the popular channels to promote themself, such as Barely Political, Tay Zonday
Tay Zonday
Adam Nyerere Bahner , better known by the pseudonym Tay Zonday, is an American musician, YouTube personality and voice actor. He is well known by listeners for his deep baritone voice whilst singing. He garnered mainstream exposure when his song "Chocolate Rain", and accompanying video on YouTube,...
, Onision, Dave Days, Magic Hugs, Fred Figglehorn, Ray William Johnson, and The Annoying Orange. The Gregory Brothers
The Gregory Brothers
The Gregory Brothers are an American musical group who characterize their music as "Country & Soul, Folk & Roll". Members include Michael Gregory on drums and vocals, Andrew Rose Gregory on guitar and vocals, Evan Gregory on keys and vocals, and Sarah Fullen Gregory on bass and vocals...
solicited musical and vocal contributions from the band on one of its signature topical compositions—built around melodically enhanced speeches by Rep. Charles Rangel and President Obama. Weezer calls the promotion "The YouTube Invasion".
Critical response
Hurley was generally well received by music critics. The review aggregatorReview aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
website Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the album an average score of 68%, which indicates "generally favourable reviews". After the album was leaked to the internet, the band made it available for free streaming on their MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page. Many music sites and magazines used this as an opportunity to review the album before it was tangibly released to the public. Many critics favorably compared the songs on Hurley to Weezer's first three albums. Alternative Press and Rock Sound
Rock Sound
Rock Sound is a British magazine which champions rock music. The magazine aims at being more "underground" and less commercial, whilst also giving coverage to more well known acts.-History:...
compared the song "Ruling Me" to the songs from the band's self-titled debut and second self-titled album. Alternative Press said that the song "is a distant cousin of both the Blue Album's 'No One Else' and the Green Album's 'Don't Let Go,' serving as a straight-ahead slab of power-pop" Rock Sound said that "The chugging guitars of the verse [of 'Ruling Me'] hearken back to Green-era Weezer, which is all very pleasant, but it's the chorus that rockets 'Ruling Me' into a different league." Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
also compared the song "Where's My Sex" to various songs from Pinkerton
Pinkerton (album)
Pinkerton is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Weezer, released on September 24, 1996. After finishing tours in promotion of their 1994 album Weezer, the band originally planned to record a space-themed rock opera entitled Songs from the Black Hole...
. "'Where's My Sex?' is a Pinkerton-esque song about, um, sox [sic], with the word 'sex' sung in the place of 'sox' [sic] — like, 'I can't go out without my sex/It's cold outside and my toes get wet.'"
Commercial performance
Hurley debuted at number six on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
with 45,000 units sold, making it Weezer's sixth top 10 album, as well as their sixth top 10 album in a row. Despite peaking higher than Raditude, Hurley sold 21,000 fewer units in its first week than the former. During its second week of release, the album fell to number 24, selling 11,235 copies.
Accolades
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drowned in Sound Drowned in Sound DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:... |
UK | Albums of the Year | 2010 | 13 |
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
11 |
| French Albums Chart | 131 |
| New Zealand Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
34 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
49 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
6 |
| Rock Albums | 3 |
| Independent Albums Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
1 |