The NME is awfully excited about the leaked Weezer track “Turnin’ Turnin’,” which appeared online without warning today. “The backdrop for the YouTube video shows the cover of the band’s recent self-titled album, known as The Red Album, suggesting that the new song may be recent!” Yup, and if they’d checked out Rivers Cuomo’s “Let’s Write A Sawng” Web experiment, they’d know that “Turnin’ Turnin’” is something he and his fan club have been working on for months. Almost as sad as the NME’s lack of awareness is that the song, while lyrically thumbsucky (”You say I should go to school / hey man, back up, cuz you don’t look so cool!”), is a hell of a lot more enjoyable than much of The Red Album. (Remember “Heart Songs?”) Part of its appeal is that the opening arpeggios remind me of Rooney’s “I’m Shakin’,” a song from 2003 that I still can’t believe wasn’t written by Rivers and Co.

“Turnin’ Turnin’”:

“I’m Shakin’”:

When I first heard “I’m Shakin’” on the radio in 2004, I assumed that Weezer’s Make Believe sessions with Rick Rubin had gone so well, the band (or label) had decided to leak a song well before originally planned. So imagine my disappointment when we eventually were handed “Beverly Hills.” Maybe Rivers will continue to use these amateur Desmond Children on The Yellow Album.

New Weezer Track Turnin’ Turnin’ [YouTube]
Unreleased Weezer Track Appears Online [NME]
Rooney – I’m Shakin’ [YouTube]