Rivers Cuomo's fixation on Japanese culture is unfortunately well-documented, and now he's seemingly taking his obsession to the next level, since his band Weezer appear to be teasing The Kawaii Album.
In typical Weezer style, it's not totally clear if this is a joke or actually happening. Over the weekend (November 27), the band posted what appears to be an album cover on Instagram, featuring Cuomo's face nightmarishly Photoshopped into some kawaii imagery. The caption reads, "Next record concept. Taking submissions now." As of this writing, Weezer's Instagram Story is filled with similar images.
For those unfamiliar with the term, "kawaii" refers to cuteness within Japanese culture. Kawaii imagery tends to be synonymous with soft-focus filters, shades of pink and baby animals.
It remains to be seen whether Weezer are actually making a kawaii album — but it's not that far off from what Cuomo has already done. He and Scott Murphy have collaborated under the name Scott & Rivers to release albums in Japanese.
Earlier this month, Cuomo released a solo cover of Indonesian pop star Chrisye's 1986 single "Anak Sekolah" — which isn't Japanese, of course, but reflects Cuomo's interest in Asian cultures, and features him singing in Bahasa Indonesia. The new release coincides with the band's live dates in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Weezer will release the Winter instalment of their very uneven SZNZ project next month. Given how bizarre the SZNZ concept has been, The Kawaii Album honestly wouldn't be that much of a stretch.
In typical Weezer style, it's not totally clear if this is a joke or actually happening. Over the weekend (November 27), the band posted what appears to be an album cover on Instagram, featuring Cuomo's face nightmarishly Photoshopped into some kawaii imagery. The caption reads, "Next record concept. Taking submissions now." As of this writing, Weezer's Instagram Story is filled with similar images.
For those unfamiliar with the term, "kawaii" refers to cuteness within Japanese culture. Kawaii imagery tends to be synonymous with soft-focus filters, shades of pink and baby animals.
It remains to be seen whether Weezer are actually making a kawaii album — but it's not that far off from what Cuomo has already done. He and Scott Murphy have collaborated under the name Scott & Rivers to release albums in Japanese.
Earlier this month, Cuomo released a solo cover of Indonesian pop star Chrisye's 1986 single "Anak Sekolah" — which isn't Japanese, of course, but reflects Cuomo's interest in Asian cultures, and features him singing in Bahasa Indonesia. The new release coincides with the band's live dates in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Weezer will release the Winter instalment of their very uneven SZNZ project next month. Given how bizarre the SZNZ concept has been, The Kawaii Album honestly wouldn't be that much of a stretch.