My Brain Is Working Overtime

"My Brain Is Working Overtime," (originally titled "My Brain", later reworked into "Do You Really Want Me Down?"), is a song that was demoed in 1999 by Rivers Cuomo and performed live by Weezer in the Summer of 2000. It was released officially on Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo in 2008. A reworking of the track titled "Losing My Mind" was considered for Make Believe in 2004 but was unreleased until it was included on the compilation album Death to False Metal in 2010.
===Appearances===
*Summer Songs 2000 ("official" album, 2001)
*Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo (2008)
*Alone VI: The Black Room (2020)
*Alone IX: The Make Believe Years (2020)
*Alone X: The Red-Raditude-Hurley Years (2020)
==Overview==
The lyrics for "My Brain" were originally written by Rivers Cuomo in 1999, and finished the following January. The song is first known to have been demoed by Weezer on May 3, 2000 at Cole Rehearsal Studios, and was performed live a handful of times by the band throughout the following summer, though it did not appear on the band's subsequent album, The Green Album.
"My Brain" was resurrected in early winter of 2004, when Cuomo demoed it again as a potential song for the band's planned fifth album (that would eventually result in Make Believe). The song, in various forms, remained on Cuomo's "A-list"Weezer Recording History - Page 15 of song's in contention through the following summer during the album's pre-production, being re-titled "Do You Really Want Me Down?" in April. This iteration of the song, which wouldn't be heard by fans until it was leaked online in November of 2020, featured a wholly new chorus ("Do you really want me down? / Do you really want me?") which would later become the bridge heard in the final version of "My Brain Is Working Overtime" on Alone II. The song was subsequently reworked again with a new chorus by June of 2004, under the new title "Losing My Mind". "Losing My Mind" was completed in October, sans a final mix, but went unused on the final album. By this point the song featured wholly different verse lyrics, making it an entirely distinct song from "My Brain". "Losing My Mind" would not see release until it appeared on the compilation Death to False Metal in 2010. A version of "Losing My Mind" featuring the verse lyrics from "My Brain" appeared on the digital compilation Alone IX: The Make Believe Years in November of 2020.
A demo for "My Brain Is Working Overtime" was released on the album Alone II: The Home Recordings of Rivers Cuomo in November of 2008. There remained confusion for some time as to when this demo was recorded, however. Months prior to the CD's release, the song title appeared on a spreadsheet posted to riverscuomo.com titled The 4 and 5 Star Demos of Rivers Cuomo. This spreadsheet dated the demo as coming from 2004, and the Weezer Recording History mentioned that the demo recorded from that year featured a "totally new bridge" (Indeed, the version on Alone II featured a bridge not present in live performances from 2000). The new bridge also featured the lyric "Do you really want me down?", and "My Brain Is Working Overtime" was briefly re-titled "Do You Really Want Me Down?" in 2004. However, the chronological order of the songs in the liner notes for Alone II implied that the demo originated in 2000, which Karl Koch stated that he believed to be the casekarlophone. All Things Weezer. 11 November 2008. Screenshot::File:Mybrain2008comment.png. Cuomo himself clarified when asked about it via his chat application, Riverchat, on November 10, 2020, stating that the demo was originally from 2000, but featured new tracks from 2004, a fact corroborated by the subsequent release of the demo compilations Alone VI: The Black Room and Alone IX: The Make Believe Years. 
The "SS2K" version of the song is notable for its use of the word "fuck," which hadn't been used in a Weezer song previously and wouldn't appear again until spoken by Lil' Wayne on "Can't Stop Partying" in 2009 (Cuomo would not use the word in a song until "I Love the USA" in 2016).
"My Brain is Working Overtime" was streamed by several music websites and Cuomo's official music Myspace on November 11, 2008. In 2009, the isolated vocal, instrumental, and background tracks were shared online to allow fans to remix them for a contest on Indaba Music.
==Personnel==
=== Alone II version: ===
*Rivers Cuomo – lead guitar, lead vocals, drums, rhythm guitar, bass guitar, piano
=== SS2K version: ===
*Rivers Cuomo – lead guitar, lead vocals
*Patrick Wilson – drums
*Brian Bell – rhythm guitar
*Mikey Welsh – bass guitar, backing vocals
==Live performances==
*Weezer concert: 06/16/2000
*Weezer concert: 06/17/2000
*Weezer concert: 06/20/2000
*Weezer concert: 06/21/2000
*Weezer concert: 07/04/2000
==Audio/Video==
===Music video===
During two shows on the Troublemaker Tour, the song was performed solo by Cuomo, in the audience in-between sets of the opening bands. It was revealed later that Cuomo was being filmed for the song's music video. The video features multiple audience recordings of this performance.
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===Video Capture Device===
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===Audio===
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==Lyrics==
<tabber>
|-|'Alone II' version=
My brain is working overtime
I need something to ease my mind
And as my thoughts go manic
I reel and start to panic
There’s no place to hide behind
I freak and then hallucinate
I go at lights when I should wait
My parents think I’m lazy
But damn, I’m going crazy
I can’t help my mental state
Pick it up y'all, pick it up
Oh-la-la (he’s trippin’)
La-dee-dah (mental slippin’)
Take these brains out of my way
I work into a frenzied clip
I bite the corners of my lip
I’m losin’ my appetite
My pants don’t even fit right
Take away the month-old dip
My hair could start a bowl cut fad
The state of my attire is sad
And if I was run over
By a brand new Range Rover
Hey, I'd actually be glad
Pick it up y'all, pick it up
Oh-la-la (he’s trippin’)
La-dee-dah (mental slippin’)
Take these brains out of my way
Do you really want me down?
Do you really want me?
Do you really want me down?
'Cuz I'm waiting to see
My brain is working overtime
I need something to ease my mind
And as my thoughts go manic
I reel and start to panic
There’s no place to hide behind
Pick it up y'all, pick it up
Oh-la-la (he’s trippin’)
La-dee-dah (mental slippin’)
Take these brains out of my way
Oh-la-la (he’s trippin’)
La-dee-dah (mental slippin’)
Take these brains out of my way
|-|Do You Really Want Me Down?=
My brain is working overtime
I need something to ease my mind
Cause as my thoughts go manic
I reel and start to panic
There’s no place to hide behind
I freak and then hallucinate
I go at lights when I should wait
My parents think I’m lazy
But damn, I’m going crazy
I can’t help my mental state
Do you really want me down?
Do you really want me?
Do you really want me down?
'Cuz I'm waiting to see
I work into a frenzied clip
I bite the corners of my lip
I’m losin’ my appetite
My pants don’t even fit right
Take away the month-old dip
My hair could start a bowl cut fad
The state of my attire is sad
And if I was run over
By a brand new Range Rover
Hey, I'd actually be glad
Do you really want me down?
Do you really want me?
Do you really want me down?
'Cuz I'm waiting to see
Oh-la-la (he’s trippin’)
La-dee-dah (mental slippin’)
Take this world out of my way
Do you really want me down?
Do you really want me?
Do you really want me down?
'Cuz I'm waiting to see
Do you really want me down?
Do you really want me down?
Do you really want me down?
Do you really want me down?
Do you really want me down?
|-|Live version=
My brain is working overtime
I need something to ease my mind
‘Cuz as my thoughts go manic
I reel and start to panic
There’s no place to hide behind
I freak and then hallucinate
I go at lights when I should wait
My parents think I’m lazy
But damn, I’m going crazy
I can’t help my mental state
No
Oh-la-la (he’s trippin’)
Shainty-da (mental slippin’)
Take these brains out of my way
I work into a frenzied clip
I bite the corners of my lip
I’m losin’ my appetite
My pants don’t even fit right
Take away the month-old dip
Give me something for my hair
A fresher pair of underwear
‘Cuz if I was run over
By a brand new Range Rover
Ah, just skip it, I don’t care
No
Oh-la-la (he’s trippin’)
Shainty-da (mental slippin’)
Take these brains out of my way
I tell the world to fuck itself
‘Cuz who decides what’s sick or health?
And all the people I see
That’s bankin’ lots of Benjies
Make me want to puke myself
Start a brand new fashion trend
For those off of the deeper end
Sedatives and No-Doz
And edible pantyhose
On your plate, so dig right in
No
Oh-la-la (he’s trippin’)
Shainty-da (mental slippin’)
Take these brains out of my way, no, no, no
Oh-la-la (he’s trippin’)
Shainty-da (mental slippin’)
Take these brains out of my way
|-|My Brain (original demo)=
My brain is working overtime
I need something to ease my mind
And as my thoughts go manic
I reel and start to panic
There’s no place to hide behind
I freak and then hallucinate
I go at lights when I should wait
My parents think I’m lazy
But damn, I’m going crazy
I can’t help my mental state
Oh-la-la (he’s trippin’)
La-dee-dah (mental slippin’)
Take these brains out of my way
I work into a frenzy clip
Bite the corners of my lip
I’m losin’ my appetite
My pants don’t even fit right
Take away the fucking dip
My hair could start a bowl cut fad
The state of my attire is sad
And if I was run over
By a brand new Range Rover
???
Oh-la-la (he’s trippin’)
La-dee-dah (mental slippin’)
Take these brains out of my way
Fever comes to make me sick
Bite the corner of my lip
I’m losin’ my appetite
My pants don’t even fit right
Take away the fucking dip</tabber>
==Known recordings==
== See also ==
*List of Rivers Cuomo songs
*List of Weezer songs
==References==
Category:Weezer songs
Category:Rivers Cuomo songs
Category:Songs that appeared on the 4 and 5 Star Demos of Rivers Cuomo list
Category:Summer Songs of 2000
Category:Music videos directed by Karl Koch
Category:Music videos that feature Karl Koch
Category:Songs on Alone IICategory:Songs on Alone VI: The Black RoomCategory:Songs on Alone IX: The Make Believe YearsCategory:Songs on Alone X: The Red-Raditude-Hurley Years
Category:Self-produced Rivers Cuomo songs
Category:Alone series
Category:Catalog o' Riffs
Category:Known recordings table