"(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" is a song by American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

band

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...

. It was released as the first single from the band's seventh studio album '' Raditude''. Initially scheduled to be released to American rock radio on August 25, 2009, the official release of the single to radio was moved up to August 18. The single debuted at number 21 on the ''Billboard''

Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alternati ...

Chart, and in the same position on the

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. The music video features

Odette Yustman Odette Juliette Annable (; born May 10, 1985) is an American actress. She is known for various roles in film and television, including as Dr. Jessica Adams in the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox medical drama series ''House (TV series), House'', ...

. The song was first played live on August 23, 2009 in Toronto, Ontario at the

Molson Amphitheatre The Budweiser Stage, originally known as the Molson Amphitheatre, is a concert venue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the grounds of Ontario Place and hosts many diverse acts, including genres like rock, pop, country, and jazz. The ...

. The main riff of this song bears a similarity to the main riff of

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 198 ...

song "

Town Called Malice "Town Called Malice" is a song recorded by British band the Jam from the album '' The Gift''. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart in February 1982. Overview The title is a play on words of the 1950 Nevil Shute novel ''A Town Like ...

Reception

"If You're Wondering If I Want You To (I Want You To)" has received positive reviews from ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' and

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

The song reached number 36 in the

Triple J Hottest 100, 2009 The 2009 Triple J's Hottest 100 Volume 17, was announced on Australia Day 26 January 2010. It is the seventeenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J. Voting commenced ...

Music video

The music video was released on October 23. Directed by

Marc Webb Marc Preston Webb (born August 31, 1974) is an American music video director and filmmaker. Webb made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the romantic comedy ''500 Days of Summer'', and went on to direct ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' in ...

, the music video revolves around the members of the band living a normal life until a beautiful lady played by

comes to the town. Her callousness and disregard leads to multiple band members being injured while trying to impress her, leaving only frontman

Rivers Cuomo Rivers Cuomo ( ; born June 13, 1970) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and songwriter of the rock band Weezer. Cuomo was raised in a number of Buddhist communities in the Northeast U.S. until the age of 10, wh ...

unhurt, though upon seeing his injured bandmates, Cuomo rejects the woman, to their approval. "Marc Webb has created a kind of '50s small town for us to live in," Cuomo told MTV, "And basically it's just populated by the four members of Weezer. So we're just hanging out, driving around, filling up our trucks with gasoline. Basically being guys, and that's what Weezerville is like." "The idea of the video is really simple: It's a town that's made up of clones of Weezer. There are multiple versions of Brian

ell An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", and ...

and Patrick

ilson Ilson Wilians Rodrigues (born March 12, 1979) is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for América Futebol Clube (SP). His previous clubs include FC Shinnik Yaroslavl and C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Mar ...

and Scott hrinerand Rivers, and they're just going about their business, until one day, this woman shows up," Webb continued. "And after that, everything basically goes to hell."

Track listing

Digital download #"(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" – 3:28 7″ picture disc #"(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" – 3:28 #"

Should I Stay or Should I Go "Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a song by English punk rock band the Clash, from their album '' Combat Rock'', written in 1981 and featuring Mick Jones on lead vocals. It was released in 1982 as a double A-sided single alongside " Straight ...

" (live;

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

cover) – 3:07 Promo radio CD #"(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" – 3:28 Promo 7″ orange vinyl #"(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" – 3:28 #" I Woke Up in Love This Morning" (

The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from Se ...

cover) – 3:01

Chart performance

On the week ending September 12, 2009, (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 82. It fell off the following week, but on the week ending November 21, 2009 (the same week that their album ''Raditude'' debuted at number 7 on the ''Billboard'' 200), it re-entered at number 81. On the Alternative Rock Chart, it peaked at number 2 in its eighth week and stayed there for 12 consecutive weeks behind Muse's "Uprising". It is Weezer's longest charting song on the ''Billboard'' Alternative Rock Chart to date.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:If You're Wondering If I Want You To Weezer songs 2009 singles Songs written by Rivers Cuomo Songs written by Butch Walker Music videos directed by Marc Webb Song recordings produced by Butch Walker 2009 songs