Weezer's Rivers Cuomo with drummer Patrick Wilson (not behind his kit, natch) performing at Bonnaroo last June. © Tim Mosenfelder/Corbis
Do you really want to destroy Rivers Cuomo's sweater? James Burns wants to take matters further and break up Cuomo's entire band, and he's started an an online campaign to raise $10 million to entice them to split.
In a pitch posted on his site thepoint.com, Burns, who resides in Seattle, writes, "Every year, Rivers Cuomo swears that he's changed, and that their new album is the best thing that he's done since Pinkerton, and what happens? Another pile of crap like Beverly Hills or I'm Your Daddy."
According to Burns, "This is an abusive relationship, and it needs to stop now."
Burns is seeking donations - to the tune of $10 million - that he says he will give to Weezer to "take our money and disappear." He asks all the fans who bought the band's 1996 album, Pinkerton - generally acknowledged as their finest work - to contribute at least $12 to the cause.
As of this writing, Burns has a hell of a way go, but he caught the attention of Weezer's drummer, Patrick Wilson, who tweeted that if Burns can make it to $20 million the group would do a "deluxe break-up!"
Less amused, however, was Rivers Cuomo himself, who after reading about the campaign on Pitchfork, tweeted, "They must get a lot of hits when they write crap about us," although this tweet now appears to have been deleted.
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Incidentally, at the time of writing, Pat Wilson isn't following Rivers on Twitter.
For what it's worth, Rivers, we still love ya, dude. And nobody at MusicRadar is going to be satisfied until you bring the Blue Album/Pinkerton tour to the UK...
Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.
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