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Time for another installment of the Coulda-Shoulda-Woulda Files, where we raid our archives in search of a lost gem.
Artist: Weston
Albums: A Real Life Story of Teenage Rebellion (1994), Got Beat Up (1996)
What happened: We’re certainly guilty of hitting the ’90s-nostalgia button a bit too much around here (”Hey, wasn’t Faith No More awesome? And so was En Vogue!”), but we can’t help the fact that during much of the Clinton era, one of your Idolators was obsessed with this Bethlehem, Pa. outfit (it helped that they were at Penn State seemingly every other Saturday). And considering that Weston played a few reunion shows earlier this year, we can’t be alone.
Why they should have been a hit: Because of their to-the-point delivery and cheeky on-stage demeanor, Weston was often lumped in with the pop-punk movement, despite the fact that Teenage Rebellion and Got Beat Up were much more in the thoughtful, fuzzy-pop vein of Sebadoh (there were a lot of Weezer comparisons at the time, no doubt fueled in part by the fact that they often sat next to one in another in the CD bins). And while songs like “Retarded” and “Just Like Kurt” were written in a teen-frustration mindset, they’ve aged better than we ever imagined:
Weston – Retarded [MP3, link expired]
Weston – Just Like Kurt [MP3, link expired]
Weston – Dinosaur [MP3, link expired]
Weston [MySpace]
How could you leave out Heather Lewis?
Heather Lewis was my mixtape jam that year. Great band, and sadly underrated.
I once drove three hours to Jacksonville for the sole purpose of seeing Weston live. They didn’t play in their underwear that night, but the show was pretty awesome anyway.
I know this comment is dull compared to sororities. (Yes, it is!)
i think part of the weston/pop punk “lumping in” was attributable to their pop punky cover art, if i recall my college days correctly. also: pop punk was not a bad word back then.
I worked with Jesse Short at my last job!
In the porn warehouse?
Remember Weston’s song about Liz Phair? It was funny but not very good.
Nah, in the cubicle right next to his [from which he commanded inventory fluctuations in the porn warehouse.]
The magic isnt dead people! James Alex Snyder and Jesse Short are in the awesome Cordova, and Jesse also has a brilliant other band called Ar Duvall. Cordova is playing the main stage @ Bamboozle this year.
Forgive this shameless promotion but it had to be said.