Since winning our nerdy hearts in the mid '90s, Weezer have surprised us with weirdo career moves that may alienate some old-school fans but bolster their off-kilter appeal to a new generation. For example, naming and designing an album around a character from Lost. Or branding their own Snuggie. Or collaborating with Kenny G and Adam Lambert. Or "Can't Stop Partying." At Harvard Rivers Cuomo majored in shattering expectations, probably. So with this week's news about The Weezer Cruise, I thought it would be an appropriate time to compile and rank the power pop kings' varied repertoire of cover songs. I disqualified incomplete live teasers ("Hot For Teacher," "Seven Nation Army," "Tom Sawyer"), Christmas carols, and the State Farm jingle. I also included only one song from the band's poorly bootlegged Nirvana covers set as Goat Punishment many years ago. Beyond that, there's plenty to dig. Enjoy.
30. "Sliver" (Nirvana)
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29. "Morning Glory" (Oasis) *
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28. "If I Fell" (The Beatles)
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27. "Just What I Needed" (The Cars)
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26. "Time" (Pink Floyd) *
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25. "War Pigs" (Black Sabbath)
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24. "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" (The Clash)
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23. "Song 2" (Blur) [starts at 1m32s]
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22. "Better Off Alone" (Alice Deejay)
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21. "Big Me" (Foo Fighters)
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20. "I'm A Believer" (Neil Diamond)
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19. "Teenage Dirtbag" (Wheatus)
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18. "Are 'Friends' Electric?" (Gary Numan)
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17. "Creep" (Radiohead)
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16. "Don't Worry Baby" (Beach Boys) ^
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15. "Happy Together" (The Turtles)
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14. "Oddfellows Local 151" (R.E.M.)
13. "Worry Rock" (Green Day)
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12. "One Of Us" with Rainn Wilson (Joan Osbourne) ^
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11. "Kids"/"Poker Face" (MGMT/Lady Gaga)
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10. "The Weight" (The Band) #
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9. "Velouria" (The Pixies)
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8. "God Only Knows" (Beach Boys) ^
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7. "Brain Stew" (Green Day)
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6. "Love My Way" (Psychedelic Furs) *
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5. "You Might Think" (The Cars)
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4. "Viva La Vida" (Coldplay)
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3. "Un-Break My Heart" (Toni Braxton)
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2. "Life's What You Make It" (Talk Talk) *
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1. "Paranoid Android" (Radiohead)
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* Pat on vocals
# Scott on vocals
^ Rivers solo
OK, Weezerheads (is that what you're called?) -- what did I miss?
