Byzantine

"Byzantine" is the ninth track from The Black Album.
===Appearances===
*Weezer (The Black Album) (2019)
==Overview==
Most of the lyrics were written by musician Laura Jane Grace (of the band Against Me!) via text message. Said Rivers Cuomo, "She did most of the lyrics, and she sent them to me as text messages, and I turned it into a song."Franich, Darren. "Rivers Cuomo on Weezer's Black Album and struggling with the success of covering 'Africa'" Entertainment Weekly. 27 February 2019. https://ew.com/music/2019/02/27/rivers-cuomo-weezer-black-album-interview/ Grace commented on the collaboration in December of 2019Ehrlich, Brenna. "So, How Was Your Decade, Laura Jane Grace?" Rolling Stone. 13 December 2019. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/laura-jane-grace-decade-recap-925222/, telling Rolling Stone, "Rivers one day tweeted, 'Will someone write lyrics for me?' And I responded, 'OK, I will.' And then he DM’d me. It was so fucking wild and such a cool experience. I will forever be in Rivers’ debt. [...] I find his songwriting process really interesting and to be let into that in a scientific way was really cool to see from the inside."
According to Cuomo, the bridge was taken from a 1991 Fuzz track, described as “a very early-’90s grunge Soundgarden-type of song.” In an interview with Billboard, Cuomo explained, "With 'Byzantine,' the bridge is from a pre-Weezer band that [drummer Patrick Wilson] and I were in in 1991, called Fuzz. I searched for the key and the tempo and the basic vibe I was looking for, and it popped up. All of my little bits and pieces of music will find a home eventually."Ginsberg, Gab. "Rivers Cuomo on His Data-Driven Approach to Weezer" Billboard. 1 March 2019. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8500614/weezer-rivers-cuomo-data-driven-approach-interview In November 2020, the song in question was confirmed to be "I Can't Forget The Way", after it was leaked onto Cuomo's demo storefront and subsequently sold as part of the compilation Alone V: Before Weezer.
The verse melody of "Byzantine" greatly resembles that of the song "Dancing Girl", a track previously co-written by Cuomo for the 2018 album Hometown by Japanese alt-rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation. This melody was was also previously used for the demos "There's a Bomb in the Air", "Hot Little Tramp", and "She's Just a Girl".
==Audio==
<youtube>KWzThKlk2Ac</youtube>
==Lyrics==
I want Neil Young on your phone speaker in the morning
And fuck him if he just can't see
This is how his songs are supposed to be heard
No more lectures on fidelity
I don’t believe in mysticism
Only in what science proves
Like the sex appeal of your sick dance moves
Ooh, wee, ooh, wee
Put on your red beret, baby
Moonwalk naked across the room
Do something kinda unique to me
Do something that'll make me swoon
That's how I know that I’m not pretending
I know it's not make-believe
It's only complicated if you want it to be
Do you know what I mean?
It's Byzantine
I want Hi-Chews, playlists, smoking on the roof
And I love the way you look at me
Tennessee Williams in Stuart Weitzman boots
Yeah, you're just too wild to believe
A fetish for athletic fashion
Running shoes and striped track suits
I never heard of Sparks before
But I'm so glad you shared them with me
Put on your red beret, baby
Moonwalk naked across the room
Do something kinda unique to me
Do something that'll make me swoon
That's how I know that I’m not pretending
I know it's not make-believe
It's only complicated if you want it to be
Do you know what I mean?
It's Byzantine
Rollin’, crashin', breakin', splashing
Givin', takin’, makin', breakin' promises
You got me high when I was low
Negative ions, come save my soul
Put on your red beret, baby
Moonwalk naked across the room
Do something kinda unique to me
Do something that'll make me swoon
That's how I know that I’m not pretending
I know it's not make-believe
It's only complicated if you want it to be
Do you know what I mean?
It's Byzantine, it's Byzantine
It's Byzantine, it's Byzantine
It's Byzantine
==Known recordings==
==See also==
*List of Weezer songs
*List of Rivers Cuomo songs
==References==
Category:Weezer songs
Category:Songs on Weezer (The Black Album)
Category:Weezer songs produced by Dave Sitek
Category:Rivers Cuomo songs
Category:Featured song
Category:Co-writing credit