"Photograph" 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 ...

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 is the third and final single from the band's self-titled third album, ''

''. "Photograph" was released as the first single off the album in Japan instead of "

Hash Pipe "Hash Pipe" is a song by American rock band Weezer. Released in 2001, it was the first single off the band's third album ''Weezer'' (''The Green Album''), and the only one of the Summer Songs of 2000 songs to make it onto the album, although "D ...

". The song enjoyed only modest success on the radio, peaking at #17 on Billboard's

Modern Rock Tracks 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. During many live shows in 2005, the band would close out their first set by having Weezer drummer

Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor and director. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty'' (2000–2001) and ''Oklahoma ...

take lead vocals and guitar on "Photograph" while 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 ...

played drums.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song was directed by Weezer.com webmaster and longtime friend of the band Karl Koch. It consists of footage shot while the band was touring for ''The Green Album''. Among the notable footage is

playing soccer,

Brian Bell Brian Lane Bell (born December 9, 1968) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and occasional lead vocalist of the rock band Weezer, with whom he has recorded fi ...

attempting to skateboard and juggle (not at the same time),

riding a Razor Scooter, a brief clip of the duo from

Tenacious D Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 1994. It was founded by actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass, who were members of The Actors' Gang theater company at the time. The duo's name is derived from "tenacio ...

running onstage during a Weezer show and a scene with Rivers playing a prank on new bassist

Scott Shriner Scott Gardner Shriner (born July 11, 1965) is an American musician best known as a member of the rock band Weezer, with whom he has recorded twelve studio albums. Joining the band in 2001, Shriner is the band's longest serving bass guitarist. Prio ...

. Although

Mikey Welsh Michael Edward Welsh (April 20, 1971 – October 8, 2011) was an American artist and musician who played bass for several bands, including the rock band Weezer. During Weezer's hiatus, he played with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo in the band Homie ...

plays bass and sings backup vocals on the studio recording, Shriner is in the video, as Welsh had left the band at that point. During the very end of the video, when Cuomo is playing the prank on Shriner, a demo of "Death & Destruction" can be heard in the background. This song would later surface on the band's next album ''

Maladroit ''Maladroit'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Weezer, released on May 14, 2002, by Geffen Records. Produced by the band, it was their first album to feature bassist Scott Shriner, following the departure of former bassist Mikey We ...

''. The video is featured on

Video Capture Device Video capture is the process of converting an analog video signal—such as that produced by a video camera, DVD player, or television tuner—to digital video and sending it to local storage or to external circuitry. The resulting digital data a ...

, the band's DVD.

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

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 ...

thought that "Photograph" was one of the 4 highlights on the album. ''

Drowned in Sound ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...

'' writer Terry Bezer wrote: "'Photograph' is all 1950's happiness and brings back shades of 94's outstanding '

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

'. AXS thought that "Photograph" was the band's eighth best song.

In other media

The song was played during the end credits for the 2008 comedy film, ''

Drillbit Taylor ''Drillbit Taylor'' is a 2008 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Steven Brill, produced by Judd Apatow, Susan Arnold and Donna Arkoff Roth with screenplay by Kristofor Brown and Seth Rogen based on an original story by John Hughes ( ...

''. The song was played in the ''

Hung Hung may refer to: People * Hung (surname), various Chinese surnames * Hùng king, a king of Vietnam People with the given name Hung include: * Hung Huynh, Vietnamese-American chef, winner of the third season of the television show ''Top Chef'' ...

'' episode "A Man, a Plan".

Track list

Radio Only Promo CD # "Photograph" (Radio Edit) – 2:12 # "Photograph" (Video) – 2:20 Japan Retail CD # "Photograph" – 2:19 # "Christmas Celebration" – 2:22

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Photograph (Weezer Song) 2001 singles Weezer songs Songs written by Rivers Cuomo 2001 songs Geffen Records singles Song recordings produced by Ric Ocasek