Funnily enough, when I heard Weezer‘s new album would be called Hurley, my first reaction was, “Oh, like the clothing line.” I don’t watch or care about “Lost,” and it wasn’t until later that it was explained to me that “Hurley” is the name of a character on the show — and that the face on the cover of the album belongs to the guy who played the character. Ha ha…oh, Weezer!
As it turns out, it appears that my initial premonition was correct. Guitarist Brian Bell went on record explaining that the record was funded up-front by the Hurley company.
His honesty was actually kind of refreshing. I mean, the corporate involvement is aggravating, and the level of sell-out is pretty epic, but this is a band that was on a major label for 16 years — and only now is now releasing their first record via an independent label — so really, who gives a shit about Weezer’s indie integrity?
Well, somebody must. Brian Bell later posted this retraction on Weezer’s online forum:
Recently I did an interview in Denver where I was asked why we called the album Hurley. I mistakenly said that Hurley funded the album. I later found out that it wasn’t true at all. Weezer paid for every penny of this recording. The reason the record is called “Hurley” is because Hurley (Jorge Garcia) is on the cover.
Man, I wasn’t going to pass judgment before, but have a little respect for your fans. They’re not that gullible. This graphic appears on Hurley’s main page:
And if you click that image, it takes you to this URL, hurley.com/Weezer/, introducing the “Weezer Rocks You Back to School” clothing line, with this quote:
“It was swell working with the good people at Hurley on our first adventure into a clothing line. My favorite piece we’ve created is the zip up hoodie – especially for those cool fall nights.” – Pat Wilson, Weezer
So after all that lying, it appears Hurley did get into bed with Weezer, and it couldn’t be more transparent. They’ve created 10 different Weezer/Hurley cross-branded items for you to purchase, including this sharp-looking number, just in time for school — hey, wait a minute! Because of this meaningless, invented controversy regarding a band that sold out nearly two decades ago, it’s almost like Weezer and Hurley are getting shit-tons of free publicity from every fucking music-related blog on the planet and will likely sell even more t-shirts, hoodies, and vests!
Damn you, Weezer, and your nefariously spiffy, quasi-nerdy back-to-school clothing products, available for a low, low price on September 10th, only at PacSun!