Why is Weezer’s ‘Islands in the Sun’ guitar solo so good?
Perhaps it’s the millennial in me, but surely Weezer’s ‘Islands in the Sun’ is one of the top tracks added to user-generated content across TikTok and Instagram each and every summer? At least, I’d like to think it is among the 28–40-year-old age range. And let there be no shame in that – it’s a great summer tune to soundtrack your journey through the airport, packed bags in hand with shoulders dropped an inch or two, as you head towards sunnier destinations for some mid-year recess.
With an infectious groove that makes us involuntarily sway and smile while its middle eight packs a fuzzy guitar punch, it’s the perfect dose of nostalgia those born before 1996 crave and gravitate towards.
The track was released as the second single from the Californian band’s self-titled album, aka The Green Album, in 2001 – a release that came six years on from their previous titled Pinkerton. At the turn of the millennium, not many people were predicting a Weezer comeback. But The Green Album saw the band reunite with former Cars frontman Rik Ocasek, who produced their multi-platinum debut way back in 1994. He helped them craft a group of sunny songs with ‘Islands in the Sun’ at the helm, which not only spoke to older Weezer fans but attracted a new and younger audience too.
‘Islands in the Sun’ became one of the band’s most well-known outside of the US. As summery as its title suggests, you can’t ignore the relaxed Southern Californian spirit it encapsulates. A side-step from the heavier guitars on some of the surrounding tracks on The Green Album, it dreams up a fantasy of running away to a sunny island with special someone.
Alongside the track’s lyrics, instrumentation, and groove, what can’t be dismissed is Rivers Cuomo’s guitar solo – simple but effective as it is. Not only a great example of utilising major scale patterns on the guitar, the lead guitarist and vocalist also – quite effortlessly – decided to simply follow the vocal melody. Why fix a thing that isn’t broken, eh?
Digging into Cuomo’s development as a guitarist, it’s interesting to learn that quite early on, he found himself at a junction that saw flourishes of pop meet with, perhaps the most opposite of genres, heavy metal.
In his early teens, he was surprised but excited to hear classmates perform ‘Metal Health’ by Quiet Riot. “I couldn’t believe I was listening to kids my age with guitars, drums, and bass playing this song that I loved so much, ‘Bang Your Head’. I just knew that’s what I had to do.”
Simultaneously, he reflects fondly on having guitar teachers who showed him a broad spectrum of what music could be. Pop tunes from the likes of Madonna led him to exploring how the guitar could be used melodically rather than an opportunity to vaunt intricacy and speed – all the while knowing that he had those chops in his wheelhouse if they were ever called upon.
