If Democrats Want to Win in 2022, They Must Focus on Weezer: An Op-Ed by the President of the Weezer Appreciation Society – The New Yorker

Last year, election results in New Jersey and Virginia left Democrats disappointed, like Weezer fans in 1998 upon hearing the news that Matt Sharp had departed the band. If progressives want a better outcome in this Novembers crucial midterms, they need to take a hard look in the reflective surface of their 2017 Pacific Daydream CD and realize that the problem is their out-of-touch messaging. Its plain to see that Americans perceive Democrats as a party that simply could not care less about Weezer.

In my conversations with the citizens of this great nationwhether they are Weezer Appreciation Society members from the East Coast, Midwest, or West Coast; people in the front row at Weezer concerts; or strangers on Weezer message boardsI encounter the same refrain, one that is spreading faster than the chorus of Weezers first-ever No. 1 single, 2005s Beverly Hills. What I hear is, What about Weezer?

The chasm between politicians and those they serve has become as wide as the gap between the raw emotional shriek of Pinkerton and the polished power-pop of the Green Album. But try explaining that to lites who have spent so much time in their bubbles that they no longer have the slightest clue what normal folks worry about. Everyday Americans dont want to talk about divisive political issues; they want to talk about Weezer. How can any politician claim to understand ordinary citizens but not know that their concerns are not some side project, like Pat Wilsons Special Goodness or Brian Bells Space Twins?

There is hope. When Weezer released Hurley, it seemed like they might have taken a permanent wrong turn into scattershot experimentationbut Everything Will Be Alright in the End showed that the band could return to form with a straightforward alternative LP that fans loved. As Rivers Cuomo sang on the hit single Back to the Shack, Maybe I should play the lead guitar and Pat should play the drums.

Democratic politicians need to keep their audience in mind, much as Weezer does when performing crowd-pleasing cuts such as Say It Aint So and Buddy Holly night after night. Liberal politicians cant afford to speak the esoteric language of graduate students and policy wonks. If they want to get more votes than their opponents in the heartland, they instead must get back to the basics: months-long discussions about every detail of Weezers history, discography, and live-set lists.

As the classic Weezer T-shirt says, If its too loud, turn it down. Democrats non-Weezer obsessions have been drowning out the sound of the musical phenomenon that has sold thirty-five million albums worldwide. Voters are hungry for leaders who recognize that there is not a Blue Album America and a Red Album America. There is only one united Weezer America. Now thats the kind of slogan that belongs on a bumper sticker.

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If Democrats Want to Win in 2022, They Must Focus on Weezer: An Op-Ed by the President of the Weezer Appreciation Society - The New Yorker