Riverpedia archive - 03/07/2022

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=Future Projects=
I mentioned some upcoming projects in chat on December 7, 2020. There's Small Project, Big Project 1, Big Project 2 (on hold), VW, OKH, Next 3, Next 4, and my Barry Manilow solo album. There's the video game song. The fav band cover song. Well nowadays I just work on Next 4.
December 9, 2020; I got Jake's comments on the first draft of next three.
January 6, 2021; I just turned in the first draft of next4 to Jake. It's going to be the most difficult of all 4 albums to get right but we're off to a great start.
==Small Project==
Status: Completed
Small Project was the Space Between soundtrack.
==Next 3 & Next 4 ( SZNS).==
Status: In progress
Next 3 and Next 4 were concepts for future Weezer albums. These morphed into part of the SZN project. SZN is in the demo phase, but we hope to record in the studio in September. More info on SZN can be found here
In several separate interviews, I talk about the idea of possibly doing a collection of four seasonally-based, themed albums. In i news UK on January 21st I mention that in 2022, I want to release four seasonal albums, each with corresponding theme (“Happy, chill, stress-free for spring, lots of Elliott Smith-style loss and sadness for winter, and maybe fall could be dance-rock, like Franz Ferdinand”).
Then in NPR on January 29th, I elaborate that we're pretty sure the next idea is going to be called "Seasons," and it's a four-album collection. Each of the four albums comes out on the first day of the relevant season, and each album will have a very different musical and lyrical theme. Spring can be a very breezy, carefree acoustic-type album, whereas fall is going to be dance rock. So I've got the four folders going in Dropbox. I'm having a great time.
On February 9, 2021 in an interview in The Forty Five, I give a few more details on this project, that we're working on a four-album set right now. I think they’re going to be eight songs a piece. They’re called Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter and together they’re called Weezer Seasons; and the first one will drop on the first day of spring 2022.
February 16, 2021: Aww yeah jake loves dorothy from summer
March 25, 2021: I posted an image to my IG account showing a handwritten "SZNS", and captioned it 2022
==Big Project #1==
Status: Simmering
After SZN, Big Project #1 is my next priority. It will be a collaboration with another artist of my generation, but not one of my medium. It was originally categorized as a "project" because, like Buddha Superstar, it's not an album. Although it appears like it will now be an album first.
==Buddha Superstar (aka Big Project #2)==
Status: On Hold (As of 8.16.2021).
In that same February 9, 2021 interview in The Forty Five, I confirmed that I am working on a movie-musical called Buddha Superstar with the Broadway producer responsible for the Green Day musical. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long. I think I just needed somebody else to come along and really encourage me.
I told the user High As A Kite that Big Project #2 would make up for any unrealized conceptual projects of the past.
==Barry Manilow Solo Album==
Status: Unknown
I'd like to do a Barry Manilow type solo album. Crushing emotional ballads with and orchestra. Maybe that'll be the next next next next next next next album in 8 years or so.
I haven't brought it up to my manager.
I'm not really interested in doing a solo album of standards.
On January 30, 2021, I chatted in the hood about what the Cuomilow (Manilow-esque) album could be; it would be mostly songs about romantic relationships. And mostly ballads. More sophisticated in terms of chord progressions and key changes. Also more lush orchestra rather than Abbey road retro strings. I was thinking of it as my first solo record rather than a band record.
Further Reading:I've Thrown It All AwaySpell It OutThe Big ProjectSheila Can Do ItSZNSSolo Album
( Last edited by TragicGurl at 2022-03-07T21:41:08Z) 
=SZN=
A planned series of four albums (8 songs apiece, totaling 32 songs), set for release on the first day of each season of 2022.
July 9, 2021 - Interesting convo with JD. SZN may not come out as I originally envisioned but cool nonetheless.
August 25, 2021 - JD heard all of SZN. He said his fav was Autumn, which surprised him, he thought it would be his least fav. I was surprised too, but now that I look at it again, it is pretty immediately likeable. It's more uptempo. His fav track off of it is What Happens After You. I also just shipped off my SZN PowerPoint to everyone.
I think it's going to be five songers digitally at first. Vinyl will have all eight songs each.
Records is the single. I believe I said that before but maybe not. Think of it as the “All My Favorite Songs” of SZN. It will come out the same day that Spring is released.
You guys are going to have hundreds of demos for each song on SZN. Documenting each step of the writing process. I've learned so much writing this album.
There are hardly any co-writes on SZN.
==Inspiration:==
Each album will feature a specific emotion and musical genre, and musical themes from Vivaldi's 'Le quattro stagioni' will appear throughout. 
SZN starts out fully Pagan-Narnia in Spring, and ends up crushingly Christian in Winter (increasingly Old and New Testament into Autumn and Winter). 
Wow the Dead Sea Scrolls are pretty cool, I came across it while doing research for Angels on Vacation. It's on Spring. Gabriel and Michael take a vacay from heaven, come down to earth, Disney World etc. Halos off, baby.
I'm reading it [Ulysses] over and over until I'm done with seasons. Ulysses is one of the most influential works of art of the 20th Century. But I'm not mining it for specific quotes. More for techniques of composition and just general inspiration. It's pretty mind opening. He did things no one ever thought to do in literature before. Also I'm inspired by how he wanted to make an extremely difficult work of art (I mean difficult to understand).
Ethan says he wants to make Spring feel like optimistic sorrow. That's a bit of a shift from my original thesis happy chill.
• Spring (March 20, 2022): Happy Chill; acoustic & breezy; inspired by Island In The Sun.
• Summer (June 20, 2022): Youthful Indignation; crunchy beach boys; will be perceived as more "Classic Weezer.”
• Autumn (Sept 22, 2022): Anxiety, Fear; dance-rock; inspired by Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out and the Strokes.
• Winter (Dec 21, 2022): Sadness, grief over loss; sad-acoustic 90's singer/songwriter Elliott Smith.
==Recording:==
Each Season will have a co-producer we've never worked with before, in addition to Jake (big picture) and Suzy (vocals). Ethan Gruska is the Spring co-pro.
SZN will be the opposite of quarantine recording, as we plan to record with all musicians playing together in the same room with Jake’s version of The Wrecking Crew. We’ll also be working with Rob Mathes (LA Phil conductor we worked with on OKH) and his friends. The recording session will be in September after the Hella Mega tour.
My first deadline for SZN is Friday, May 28, 2021.
Pre-production for Spring starts on October 25th. It's the first time we've done pre-production since Make Believe, but I believe all albums need it. I think Jake's gonna work us a lot harder this time. 
September 21, 2021 - the SZN era begins. Had a meeting with Ethan and Jake today. We *might end up back at Sound City (of Pinkerton fame. And Nevermind fame...he.) Jake's talking about recording straight to tape...8 track tape.
October 22, 2021 - Good call with Jake. We're recording SZN to 24-track with no click or grid. Even vocals will be done to tape. This profoundly changes how we record. Instead infinite tracks, infinite options to sift through, we'll have 24 (half of which will be drum tracks.) Any cut and paste will have to be done with a razor blade.
October 28, 2021 - We tracked drums for 8 of 9 possible Spring songs. At the last second, OPENING NIGHT was selected in favor of GOOD MORNING, which was voted off the island. ( GOOD MORNING has been almost making =w= records since at least Hurley ).
I renamed the song LOS ANGELES to THE GARDEN OF EDEN. I recorded acoustic guitars and vocals for it today.
==Songs/Lyrics:==
There’s a song on SZN about the pilot of the Goodyear Blimp, although the specific season remains unspecified.
The opening song of SZN is a tribute to Shakespeare, called Opening Night.
Maybe Autumn is written from the perspective of an anxious android.
The verse from Hello, Concubine is currently being used as the verse for Basketball. Here's the Coach lyric from Basketball : 
"Under the bleachers
Hiding for an hour
Coach is looking for me
Cuz his job is to empower"
I’m happy that I worked the word 'triclinium' into Summer’s Cuomoville.
I’ve also mentioned possible lyrics for The Opposite Of Me (also on Summer). “Somebody's so relatable you feel as if they're your best friend. And when they begin to make a speech you wish that it would never end.”
MNF is the last song on Summer which is weird but technically football starts in Summer.
Across the Meadow is Ethan's favorite song on Spring, which surprised me. It's the most sweet, gentle song on Spring. I was wrong, Ethan's favorite is Wild at Heart.
with RECORDS being added summer, we moved ALL THIS LOVE from summer to spring. So one of the other spring songs will surely get bumped. ALL THIS LOVE is jake's fav. It's a beautiful, effortless =w= song.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BGWLEmZohpOPaLBPe132FMrHvSgyw8PHt8k93AmZ0kQ/edit#gid=0
Other songs in contention for SZN:
Spring:
Opening Night
Angels on Vacation
Wild at Heart
All this Love
Summer:
Dorothy
Cuomoville
The Opposite Of Me
Monday Night Football
Records
Autumn:
Francesca
What Happens After You
Run Raven Run
Winter:
Basketball
I Want a Dog
Tastes Like Pain
Further Reading:
Jonathan Daniel (JD)
( Last edited by Olivia at 2022-03-07T21:52:20Z) 
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