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Pork and Beans (song)
Encyclopedia
"Pork and Beans" is a song by the American alternative rock
band Weezer
, released on its 2008 album Weezer
. It was released in digital form on April 24, 2008. The track debuted at number 19 on Billboard
s Modern Rock chart, and spent eleven weeks at number one. Critics generally liked the song, especially its chorus
and lyrics
. Many reviewers, such as David Ritter of Cokemachineglow and Ehren Gresehover of New York Magazine, also thought the song sounded like songs from Weezer's earlier albums in particular The Blue Album (1994) and Pinkerton
(1996). The song charted in many countries such as Canada
, Ireland
and the United Kingdom
as well as the United States
and is Weezer's most successful single to date.
A music video
of the song, which incorporated many YouTube celebrities and memes with the band, was premiered first on YouTube
and was one of the most popular videos in the weeks following its release. The video won a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video
at the 51st Grammy Awards
.
, lead singer and guitarist for Weezer, wrote the song in reaction to a meeting with Geffen
executives, who told the band members that they needed to record more commercial material.
Cuomo remarked, "I came out of it pretty angry. But ironically, it inspired me to write another song." Jacknife Lee
produced the track with the band in early 2008 in what was the third and final recording session for the album. The many references to popular culture in the song are said to be a "statement of defiance" according to Internet reviewer David Ritter, who later describes it to be an "anti-anthem anthem" that opens up a "broad space for critical exploration of what it means to be an aging band in the major label system".
, of being happy with who you are". In the album notes, Cuomo compares this to Timbaland
's music, "It actually sounds like a Timbaland kind of production; he has little baby crying type of sounds." A reference is also made to Timbaland in the second verse with the line "Timbaland knows the way to reach the top of the chart". The song similarly refers to items such as Rogaine
and Oakley
sunglasses
.
(1996) albums. Pitchfork Media
writer Marc Hogan gave the song a positive review and described the song as, "a catchy, self-referential rocker, with the buzzsaw guitars and big choruses of Weezer's glory days, and that familiar, self-assured lameness." Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly
also gave the song a positive review, "That chunka-chunka guitar hook
is pure [Weezer] gold, so much so that I didn't focus on Rivers Cuomo's very clever lyrics at first." Stereogum
was also impressed with the song stating it was a "sweet, savory dose of self-referential, self-deprecating Weezer rock ... This stuff sounds very familiar in a good, good way." NME
described the song as having "[Cuomo's] best chorus in ages". However, Internet reviewer David Ritter speculated that the song was either "voided by the wholesale capitulation involved in going home and writing said commercial material" or "a calculated attempt to boost record sales by wrapping faux-defiance in pretty paper," going on to compliment its "Scorcho
-y acoustic guitar," he then said that this, along with the "keyboard
twinkles" and "squeals and squeaks", has little effect on the song and that they barely register on top of the much more noticeable lead vocals and power chord
s.
In terms of chart performance, "Pork and Beans" is one of Weezer's most successful singles in its 16-year career. The song reached number one on the Billboard
Hot Modern Rock Tracks charts in only its third week on the charts. It became its ninth Top 10 hit on this chart and third number one overall and spent 11 weeks at number one, making it one of only 17 songs to ever sit at number one on that particular chart for 10 weeks or longer and one of three songs to have spent 11 weeks at number one. It also represented its fastest rising single ever, reaching number one after a mere 11 days after release. It debuted at number 39 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, where it is peaked at number 25 and debuted in the Billboard Hot 100
at number 84 with 17,000 downloads of the song on iTunes
and peaked at number 64. "Pork and Beans" placed number one on 102.1 the Edge Top 102 Songs of 2008. This song was number 30 on Rolling Stone
The song was featured in the 2009 film trailers for Yes Man
and Whip It!, and is a playable downloadable song
for the Rock Band
video game series. It is also a featured song in Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 3
.
The music video
for "Pork and Beans" was directed by Mathew Cullen of the video production company Motion Theory and was first released on YouTube
by the band on May 23, 2008. The video features many internet phenomena
. Many YouTube celebrities joined with the band to film in the video, including Mark Allen Hicks (the "Afro Ninja"), Gary Brolsma
, Tay Zonday
, Chris Crocker
, Caitlin Upton
, Liam Kyle "Kelly" Sullivan
, Kicesie, Ryan Wieber, Michael "Dorkman" Scott
, Judson Laipply
, and Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz performing Diet Coke and Mentos eruptions. In addition, the video references other YouTube personalities such as Kevin Federline
and Lim Jeong-hyun. Other internet memes mimicked in the video include the Dramatic Chipmunk
and Mini Moni
, parodies of G.I. Joe public service announcements
, catching Raybans with one's face, "All Your Base Are Belong to Us
", the Dancing Banana, "Will It Blend?
", the Soulja Boy dance
, "Daft Hands" and "Daft Bodies"
, the Sneezing Panda, Charlie the Unicorn
, the Dancing Baby
along with poorly-done CGI versions of Donald Duck
and King Kong
, and the hoax UFO sighting in Haiti.
Dan Dzoan, former world record holder for solving a Rubik's Cube
with one hand in 17.90 seconds, was present for the shooting but does not appear in the video, though there are Rubik's Cubes in the video, and Dan is present in another video posted by Weezer to YouTube. Neil Cicierega
's Potter Puppet Pals
were slated to be in the video but were left out due to problems with shipments of props. A mock-up of the Dumbledore puppet can be seen in the video nonetheless.
The video shares some thematic similarities with the music video for the Barenaked Ladies
single "Sound of Your Voice", which also featured multiple YouTube celebrities. According to Cullen, the video was to be a "celebration of that creativity", an idea that went over well with the members of the band. In contrast to an earlier South Park
episode, "Canada on Strike" which parodied the YouTube celebrities, Cullen wanted to embrace the concept of "about being happy with who you are". Cullen hopes that the video will be "a living thing on the Internet"; as the video itself was a mash-up of Weezer's favorite stuff, Cullen hopes others will use the video to create their own mash-ups. The YouTube celebrities were flown into Los Angeles, California
to work with the band for the four-day shooting of the video. The video, which quickly became popular, reached more than four million viewers in its first week and was that week's most-watched video. It was the most popular video of the month in June, reaching 7.3 million views by June 16, 2008. It was nominated for Best Editing for the 2008 MTV
Video Music Awards and for Favorite Online Sensation at the 35th People's Choice Awards
. The video won a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video at the 51st Grammy Awards Show.
On January 12, 2009, a remix
version of the "Pork and Beans" video was released to YouTube, which included additional footage not previously used in the original video. The new video, in addition to including footage of Dan Dzoan and Potter Puppet Pals, adds in more internet memes and celebrities, including "Badger Badger Badger
", Little Superstar
, Philippine prison inmates dancing to "Thriller"
, Leeroy Jenkins
, Ronald Jenkees
, BigDog
, Ask a Ninja
, Back Dorm Boys
, Line Rider
, "I Like Turtles", Techno Viking
, and Pickle Surprise
, and ends with the viewer being rickrolled
. Liz Shannon Miller of NewTeeVee
thought the new video lacked originality, however, "We liked the original video, and the Internet famous loved you for including them. But guess what? It’s 2009 now and we’re all wondering, Weezer, what else you got?"
UK Retail CD
UK Retail 7" #1
UK Retail 7" #2
Additional personnel
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 its 2008 album Weezer
Weezer (2008 album)
Weezer, also known as "The Red Album", is the sixth studio album by the American alternative rock band Weezer, released on June 3, 2008. Rick Rubin and Jacknife Lee both helped to produce the album...
. It was released in digital form on April 24, 2008. The track debuted at number 19 on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Modern Rock chart, and spent eleven weeks at number one. Critics generally liked the song, especially its chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
and lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...
. Many reviewers, such as David Ritter of Cokemachineglow and Ehren Gresehover of New York Magazine, also thought the song sounded like songs from Weezer's earlier albums in particular The Blue Album (1994) and 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...
(1996). The song charted in many countries such as 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...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as well as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and is Weezer's most successful single to date.
A music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
of the song, which incorporated many YouTube celebrities and memes with the band, was premiered first on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and was one of the most popular videos in the weeks following its release. The video won a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video
Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
The Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos...
at the 51st Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
.
Writing and inspiration
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...
, lead singer and guitarist for Weezer, wrote the song in reaction to a meeting with Geffen
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:...
executives, who told the band members that they needed to record more commercial material.
Cuomo remarked, "I came out of it pretty angry. But ironically, it inspired me to write another song." Jacknife Lee
Jacknife Lee
Garret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
produced the track with the band in early 2008 in what was the third and final recording session for the album. The many references to popular culture in the song are said to be a "statement of defiance" according to Internet reviewer David Ritter, who later describes it to be an "anti-anthem anthem" that opens up a "broad space for critical exploration of what it means to be an aging band in the major label system".
Composition
According to the director of the video for "Pork and Beans", the song is about "the idea of being yourselfIndividualism
Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology, or social outlook that stresses "the moral worth of the individual". Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and so value independence and self-reliance while opposing most external interference upon one's own...
, of being happy with who you are". In the album notes, Cuomo compares this to Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
's music, "It actually sounds like a Timbaland kind of production; he has little baby crying type of sounds." A reference is also made to Timbaland in the second verse with the line "Timbaland knows the way to reach the top of the chart". The song similarly refers to items such as Rogaine
Minoxidil
Minoxidil is an antihypertensive vasodilator medication which also slows or stops hair loss and promotes hair regrowth. Now off-patent, it is available over-the-counter for the treatment of androgenic alopecia. Minoxidil must be used indefinitely for continued support of existing hair follicles and...
and Oakley
Oakley, Inc.
Oakley, Inc., based in Foothill Ranch, California, makes sport equipment including sunglasses, sports visors, and ski goggles, as well as watches, clothing, bags, backpacks, shoes, prescription glasses, football and hockey eyewear, Golf gear and other accessories...
sunglasses
Sunglasses
Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...
.
Reception
The song has been generally well received by critics. Many reviewers were pleased with what they saw as a return-to-form sound reminiscent of the The Blue Album (1994) and PinkertonPinkerton (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...
(1996) albums. Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
writer Marc Hogan gave the song a positive review and described the song as, "a catchy, self-referential rocker, with the buzzsaw guitars and big choruses of Weezer's glory days, and that familiar, self-assured lameness." Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
also gave the song a positive review, "That chunka-chunka guitar hook
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
is pure [Weezer] gold, so much so that I didn't focus on Rivers Cuomo's very clever lyrics at first." Stereogum
Stereogum
Stereogum was one of the first MP3 blogs. It was created by Scott Lapatine in January 2002 with a focus on independent and alternative music news, downloads, videos, and gossip. Stereogum has received several awards and citations, including the 2008 Plug Award for best music blog, Blender's...
was also impressed with the song stating it was a "sweet, savory dose of self-referential, self-deprecating Weezer rock ... This stuff sounds very familiar in a good, good way." NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
described the song as having "[Cuomo's] best chorus in ages". However, Internet reviewer David Ritter speculated that the song was either "voided by the wholesale capitulation involved in going home and writing said commercial material" or "a calculated attempt to boost record sales by wrapping faux-defiance in pretty paper," going on to compliment its "Scorcho
El Scorcho
"El Scorcho" is a song by the American alternative rock band Weezer. It is the first single from the band's second album Pinkerton, released in 1996. The music video features the band playing in an old ballroom in Los Angeles , surrounded by light fixtures of diverse origin, flashing in time to the...
-y acoustic guitar," he then said that this, along with the "keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
twinkles" and "squeals and squeaks", has little effect on the song and that they barely register on top of the much more noticeable lead vocals and power chord
Power chord
In music, a power chord is a chord consisting of only the root note of the chord and the fifth interval, usually played on electric guitar, and typically through an amplification process that imparts distortion...
s.
In terms of chart performance, "Pork and Beans" is one of Weezer's most successful singles in its 16-year career. The song reached number one on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot Modern Rock Tracks charts in only its third week on the charts. It became its ninth Top 10 hit on this chart and third number one overall and spent 11 weeks at number one, making it one of only 17 songs to ever sit at number one on that particular chart for 10 weeks or longer and one of three songs to have spent 11 weeks at number one. It also represented its fastest rising single ever, reaching number one after a mere 11 days after release. It debuted at number 39 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, where it is peaked at number 25 and debuted in the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
at number 84 with 17,000 downloads of the song on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and peaked at number 64. "Pork and Beans" placed number one on 102.1 the Edge Top 102 Songs of 2008. This song was number 30 on 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...
The song was featured in the 2009 film trailers for Yes Man
Yes Man (film)
Yes Man is a 2008 comedy film directed by Peyton Reed, written by Nicholas Stoller, Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel and starring Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, John Michael Higgins, Rhys Darby, Maile Flanagan, Danny Masterson, and Terence Stamp...
and Whip It!, and is a playable downloadable song
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
for the Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
video game series. It is also a featured song in Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 3
Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 3
Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 3 is a rhythm-based dancing game for the Nintendo Wii. It is a video game released by Konami in 2010. The game can be played using a dance pad, the classic controller, or the Wii Remote and Nunchuck combination...
.
Music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Pork and Beans" was directed by Mathew Cullen of the video production company Motion Theory and was first released on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
by the band on May 23, 2008. The video features many internet phenomena
Internet meme
The term Internet meme is used to describe a concept that spreads via the Internet. The term is a reference to the concept of memes, although the latter concept refers to a much broader category of cultural information.-Description:...
. Many YouTube celebrities joined with the band to film in the video, including Mark Allen Hicks (the "Afro Ninja"), Gary Brolsma
Gary Brolsma
Gary William Brolsma , also known as simply The Numa Numa Guy, is an American singer who gained worldwide attention after posting onto the Internet, near the end of 2004, a webcam video of himself miming to the song "Dragostea din tei" by Moldovan pop band O-Zone...
, 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,...
, Chris Crocker
Chris Crocker (Internet celebrity)
Chris Crocker is an American Internet celebrity, songwriter, blogger, and recording artist...
, Caitlin Upton
Caitlin Upton
Lauren Caitlin Upton , also credited as Caite Upton, is an American fashion model and a beauty queen from Lexington, South Carolina. While Miss South Carolina Teen USA, Upton became an Internet meme for her nonsensical response to a pageant question.-Career:Upton became Miss South Carolina Teen...
, Liam Kyle "Kelly" Sullivan
Liam Kyle Sullivan
Kelly, a cross-dressed Liam, has released an album entitled Shoes digitally through TuneCore and on rare CDs by Susan Walker's label Galleria Records, which consists of tracks recorded by herself, her ex-boyfriend, and her mom. "Shoes" is also the name of Kelly's biggest hit, which won a People's...
, Kicesie, Ryan Wieber, Michael "Dorkman" Scott
Ryan vs. Dorkman
Ryan vs. Dorkman, often abbreviated by fans as RvD, is a series of Star Wars fan films, created by Ryan Wieber and Michael "Dorkman" Scott, and first released to the internet on March 1, 2003.-Ryan vs. Dorkman:Ryan vs...
, Judson Laipply
Judson Laipply
Judson Laipply is an American motivational speaker and dancer from Bucyrus, Ohio. He is best known for his performance in the Evolution of Dance viral video clip. He has worked as a public speaker since 2000.-The Evolution of Dance:...
, and Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz performing Diet Coke and Mentos eruptions. In addition, the video references other YouTube personalities such as Kevin Federline
Kevin Federline
Kevin Earl Federline is an American dancer, rapper, fashion model, and actor. Previously engaged to actress Shar Jackson, Federline is best known for his two-year marriage to pop singer Britney Spears...
and Lim Jeong-hyun. Other internet memes mimicked in the video include the Dramatic Chipmunk
Dramatic Chipmunk
Dramatic Chipmunk, also known by the more accurate title Dramatic Prairie Dog, is a popular Internet comedy viral video. The video is a five-second clip of the "chipmunk" turning its head while the camera zooms in and dramatic music is played.-Origins:The clip became widely known through uploads...
and Mini Moni
Mini Moni
is a former subgroup of Japanese pop girl group Morning Musume, and a current group within Hello! Project. They were one of Morning Musume's most popular subgroups for their entire existence, because of the combination of their outrageous music videos and live performances, and their widely varied...
, parodies of G.I. Joe public service announcements
Fensler Films
Fensler Films is a video production company, based in Chicago, Illinois and headed by Eric Fensler. The company gained a reputation for a series of short films which parodied the public service announcement safety messages used at the end of every episode of the 1980s animated series G.I. Joe...
, catching Raybans with one's face, "All Your Base Are Belong to Us
All your base are belong to us
"All your base are belong to us" is a broken English phrase that became an Internet phenomenon or meme in 2000–2002...
", the Dancing Banana, "Will It Blend?
Will It Blend?
Will It Blend? is a viral marketing campaign consisting of a series of infomercials demonstrating the Blendtec line of blenders, especially the Total Blender. In the show, Tom Dickson, the Blendtec founder, attempts to blend various unusual items in order to show off the power of his blender...
", the Soulja Boy dance
Crank That (Soulja Boy)
"Crank That " is the debut single by American rapper Soulja Boy from his debut album souljaboytellem.com. It spent seven weeks at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 2007. The song is recognized by its looping steel pan riff. The song was originally produced on the program FL Studio before...
, "Daft Hands" and "Daft Bodies"
Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" is a song by French duo Daft Punk. The single was first released on 13 October 2001. A live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was released as a single from the album Alive 2007 on 15 October 2007. This version won a Grammy Award for Best Dance...
, the Sneezing Panda, Charlie the Unicorn
Charlie the Unicorn
Charlie the Unicorn is a Flash animated short film and viral video directed, produced, animated, and written by Jason Steele of independent film company FilmCow...
, the Dancing Baby
Dancing baby
The "Dancing Baby," also called "Baby Cha-Cha," refers to an animated 3D model of a baby and 3D-rendered video animations of that baby dancing a sort of cha-cha style of dance for several seconds...
along with poorly-done CGI versions of Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
and King Kong
King Kong
King Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
, and the hoax UFO sighting in Haiti.
Dan Dzoan, former world record holder for solving a Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
with one hand in 17.90 seconds, was present for the shooting but does not appear in the video, though there are Rubik's Cubes in the video, and Dan is present in another video posted by Weezer to YouTube. Neil Cicierega
Neil Cicierega
Neil Stephen Cicierega , is an American comedian, filmmaker and musician. He is the creator of a genre of Flash animation known as "Animutation". He has also released several albums as a musician under the stage name "Lemon Demon"....
's Potter Puppet Pals
Potter Puppet Pals
Potter Puppet Pals is a web series parodying the Harry Potter novel series by JK Rowling, created by Neil Cicierega.-Airing:The first two episodes were animated, both released in 2003 on Newgrounds. On September 26, 2006, the series was re-launched on YouTube under Cicierega's page as "Potions...
were slated to be in the video but were left out due to problems with shipments of props. A mock-up of the Dumbledore puppet can be seen in the video nonetheless.
The video shares some thematic similarities with the music video for the Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
single "Sound of Your Voice", which also featured multiple YouTube celebrities. According to Cullen, the video was to be a "celebration of that creativity", an idea that went over well with the members of the band. In contrast to an earlier South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode, "Canada on Strike" which parodied the YouTube celebrities, Cullen wanted to embrace the concept of "about being happy with who you are". Cullen hopes that the video will be "a living thing on the Internet"; as the video itself was a mash-up of Weezer's favorite stuff, Cullen hopes others will use the video to create their own mash-ups. The YouTube celebrities were flown into Los Angeles, California
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to work with the band for the four-day shooting of the video. The video, which quickly became popular, reached more than four million viewers in its first week and was that week's most-watched video. It was the most popular video of the month in June, reaching 7.3 million views by June 16, 2008. It was nominated for Best Editing for the 2008 MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
Video Music Awards and for Favorite Online Sensation at the 35th People's Choice Awards
35th People's Choice Awards
The 35th People's Choice Awards, honoring the best in popular culture for 2008, was held on January 7, 2009 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by Queen Latifah in her third straight year as host, and was broadcast on CBS...
. The video won a Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video at the 51st Grammy Awards Show.
On January 12, 2009, a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
version of the "Pork and Beans" video was released to YouTube, which included additional footage not previously used in the original video. The new video, in addition to including footage of Dan Dzoan and Potter Puppet Pals, adds in more internet memes and celebrities, including "Badger Badger Badger
Badger Badger Badger
"Badger Badger Badger" or "The Badger Song" is a Flash cartoon by British animator Jonti Picking. It consists of images of badgers doing calisthenics, a toadstool in front of a tree, and a snake in the desert...
", Little Superstar
Little Superstar
Little Superstar is a video uploaded on YouTube, which is a clip from the 1990 Indian film Adhisaya Piravi, starring Rajinikanth. The clip features the dwarf South Indian actor Thavakalai breakdancing to MC Miker G & DJ Sven's "Holiday Rap"...
, Philippine prison inmates dancing to "Thriller"
Thriller (viral video)
Thriller is a viral video featuring the dancing inmates of a high-security penitentiary. In 2007, the inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center , a maximum security prison in Cebu, Cebu, the Philippines, imitated the zombie dance featured in the music video of Michael Jackson's...
, Leeroy Jenkins
Leeroy Jenkins
Leeroy Jenkins, sometimes misspelled Leroy Jenkins and often elongated with numerous additional letters, is an Internet phenomenon named for a player character created by Ben Schulz in Blizzard Entertainment's MMORPG, World of Warcraft. The character became popular due to a video of the game that...
, Ronald Jenkees
Ronald Jenkees
Ronald Jenkees is an American composer and musician, best known for his YouTube keyboard performances, coverage on G4 TV's Attack of the Show!, and an appearance in Paste Magazine. His YouTube videos have been viewed over 50,000,000 times...
, BigDog
BigDog
BigDog is a dynamically stable quadruped robot created in 2005 by Boston Dynamics with Foster-Miller, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Harvard University Concord Field Station. BigDog is long, stands tall, and weighs , about the size of a small mule. It is capable of traversing...
, Ask a Ninja
Ask a Ninja
Ask A Ninja is a series of comedy videos about the image of ninja in popular culture available in podcast and vodcast form, as well as in mov and wmv file formats...
, Back Dorm Boys
Back Dorm Boys
The Back Dorm Boys is a Chinese duo who gained fame for their lip sync videos to songs by the Backstreet Boys and other pop stars. Their videos, captured on a low quality Web cam in their college dorm room, have been viewed by Internet users within China and around the world. Many of their videos...
, Line Rider
Line Rider
Line Rider is an internet game. Versions are available for Microsoft Silverlight and for Flash. It was originally created in September 2006 by Boštjan Čadež , a Slovenian student...
, "I Like Turtles", Techno Viking
Techno Viking
Techno Viking is an internet phenomenon or meme based on a video from the 2000 Fuckparade in Berlin.The 4-minute video shot by experimental video artist Matthias Fritsch at the Fuckparade on 8 July 2000 begins with the title "Kneecam No...
, and Pickle Surprise
Tom Rubnitz
Thomas Block Rubnitz was a video artist most often associated with the New York East Village drag queen scene of the late 1980s. His video tapes were mainly inspired by pop culture and Las Vegas style shows. A number of his works featured RuPaul and members of the B-52's...
, and ends with the viewer being rickrolled
Rickrolling
Rickrolling is an Internet meme involving the music video for the 1987 Rick Astley song "Never Gonna Give You Up". The meme is a bait and switch; a person provides a hyperlink seemingly relevant to the topic at hand, but actually leads to Astley's video...
. Liz Shannon Miller of NewTeeVee
GigaOM
GigaOM is a Web 2.0 blog started by Om Malik and published by Giga Omni Media, Inc. in San Francisco, California. According to the company website it has a monthly global audience of 500,000. It is among the top 50 blogs worldwide by Technorati Rank, and is listed on CNet's Blog 100 list...
thought the new video lacked originality, however, "We liked the original video, and the Internet famous loved you for including them. But guess what? It’s 2009 now and we’re all wondering, Weezer, what else you got?"
Tracklist
Radio Only Promo CD- "Pork and Beans" - 3:09
UK Retail CD
- "Pork and Beans" - 3:09
- "Are 'Friends' Electric?Are 'Friends' Electric?"Are 'Friends' Electric?" is a 1979 song written by Gary Numan, released under the name of his then-band Tubeway Army as a single and on the album Replicas...
" - 5:24 (Tubeway ArmyTubeway ArmyTubeway Army were a London-based punk rock and new wave band led by lead singer Gary Numan. They were the first band of the post-punk era to have a synthesizer-based hit, with their single Are 'Friends' Electric? and its parent album Replicas both topping the UK Album Chart in mid-1979.-Line-up:The...
cover)
UK Retail 7" #1
- "Pork and Beans" - 3:09
- "Love My WayLove My Way (song)"Love My Way" is a 1982 song by English band The Psychedelic Furs from their third studio album, Forever Now. Written by the four members of the group and produced by Todd Rundgren, the song reached the top 10 of the charts in New Zealand and the top 50 in the United Kingdom and United...
" (The Psychedelic Furs cover)
UK Retail 7" #2
- "Pork and Beans" - 3:09
- "Oddfellows Local 151" (R.E.M.R.E.M.R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
cover)
Personnel
Weezer- Brian BellBrian 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...
– rhythmRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backingBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Rivers CuomoRivers CuomoRivers 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...
– lead guitarist, lead vocals - Scott ShrinerScott ShrinerScott G. Shriner is the bass guitarist for the alternative rock band Weezer.-Early life:Shriner was born in Toledo, Ohio. He took up bass in high school. After being discharged from the Marine Corps, he found his high school bass teacher Mark Kieswetter, with whom he studied until moving to Los...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Patrick WilsonPatrick Wilson (musician)Patrick "Pat" George Wilson is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band Weezer. He joined the band in 1992. In addition to his work in Weezer, he also fronts his own band, The Special Goodness....
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, backing vocals
Additional personnel
- Jacknife LeeJacknife LeeGarret "Jacknife" Lee is an Irish music producer and mixer. He has worked with a variety of artists, including The Cars, U2, R.E.M., Snow Patrol, Bloc Party, AFI, The Hives, Weezer, Vega4 and Editors.-Biography:...
– productionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
29 |
| Hot Canadian Digital Singles | 25 |
| European Hot 100 | 92 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:... |
42 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
33 |
| US Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
64 |
| US Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts... |
35 |
| US Hot Digital Songs Hot Digital Songs The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of... |
47 |
| US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | 25 |
| US Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 1 |
| US Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
70 |