"Tell Me What You Want" | ||||
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Single by Weezer | ||||
Released | June 11, 2021 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:23 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Rivers Cuomo[3] | |||
Producer(s) | Suzy Shinn | |||
Weezer singles chronology | ||||
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"Tell Me What You Want" is a song by American band Weezer, written for the video game Wave Break. It was released as a single on June 11, 2021.
Background and release
[edit]For the song, Weezer partnered with Funktronic Labs, the indie video game developers responsible for Wave Break, "the world's first skateBOATING game, inspired by arcade skateboarding classics".[1] A "Weezy Mode" was added to the game, based around the song.[2] "Tell Me What You Want" first surfaced as a B-side cut from Weezer's fifteenth studio album, Van Weezer.[1] It was created as a "stream-safe option" so that livestreamers on platforms like Twitch would not get copyright claims while playing Wave Break.[2]
The song premiered at the 2021 Summer Game Fest on June 10, 2021, with a live performance from Weezer. It was officially released a day later,[1][2] with a vinyl release via iam8bit that was released in spring 2022.[4]
Composition
[edit]NME's Matt Doria declared the song "simmers with a sharp, metal-via-surf-rock edge",[1] while Stereogum's Chris DeVille said it "continues Van Weezer's hard-rocking, riff-driven aesthetic".[2]
The song directly criticizes the music website Pitchfork, with the lyrics: "This is a message that my manager wouldn’t approve/ After this song, he'll have a lot of cleaning up to do/ Don't be influenced by an office full of dorks/ I won't mention any names [cough cough] Pitchfork."[1][2] Wren Graves of Consequence of Sound believes the song is a response to Pitchfork's 5.9/10 review of the band previous album, Van Weezer. He noted that, since about 2005, the website always give mediocre ratings to Weezer albums.[5]
Reception
[edit]According to Josiah Hughes of Exclaim!, "dunking on Pitchfork is something that has been happening since the music site's inception, making Weezer seem a little out of touch for bringing it up now."[6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Weezer take aim at Pitchfork in punchy new single 'Tell Me What You Want'". NME. 2021-06-11. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ a b c d e f "Watch Weezer Debut The Pitchfork-Dissing "Tell Me What You Want" At Summer Game Fest". Stereogum. 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ "Weezer - Tell Me What You Want" Song Info". genius.com. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ "Weezer Officially Release New Single "Tell Me What You Want"". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ "Weezer take a shit on Pitchfork in new song for skate-boating video game: Stream". Consequence. 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ "Weezer Diss 'Pitchfork' on New Song "Tell Me What You Want"". exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2021-06-12.