Why Do Weezer Fans Hate Weezer So Much?

Why do Weezer fans hate Weezer so much?

If you've ever come into the orbit of the long-running Los Angeles alt-rock band and its fanbase, you might have asked yourself the same loaded question.

At this point, for those even slightly studied in '90s rock, it's no secret that seasoned Weezer fans have developed a penchant for hating on the Rivers Cuomo-led nerd rock titans, even if they still enjoy the band in whole or in part.

It's become such a prevalent feeling among weary Weezer listeners that the question of Why do Weezer fans hate Weezer? has become a meme in and of itself, as conversation on Reddit can evidence.

Therefore, if you're asking why Weezer fans hate Weezer, you must first decide whether you're asking the question earnestly or not.

So Why Do Weezer Fans Hate Weezer?

To earnestly understand why a longtime Weezer fan may "hate" Weezer — from the standpoint of the band's material — you have to look at the creative chasm that exists between the group's first two albums with their original bassist and co-vocalist, Matt Sharp, and their entire catalog after.

At this point, post-Sharp Weezer material is almost all Weezer — what with the band's 10-plus studio albums and other projects that have come out since Weezer's hit 1994 "Blue Album" debut and '96's emo-scene-fuel follow-up, Pinkerton.

Weezer in 1994 (Jim Steinfeldt, Getty Images)

Cuomo, Weezer's lead singer, lead guitarist and primary songwriter, found himself in a bit of a "lost era" after Pinkerton, finishing off the '90s in seclusion before Weezer returned to the live stage in 2000 and on record with 2001's "Green Album."

READ MORE: 10 Best Weezer Songs

But for early diehards, no subsequent Weezer album has ever reached the heights of those first two. And it's been over two decades of more material. (By 2018, to illustrate a garish juxtaposition, Weezer covered Toto's 1982 soft-rock hit "Africa.")

Rivers Cuomo (Jamie McCarthy, Getty Images)

Discussing the evident glut of Weezer's discography on Flea's This Little Light podcast, even Cuomo himself mused, "I think, if I were to go back and plan out an ideal artist's career, I don't know — maybe there's too much quantity" among Weezer LPs.

In an understatement for the self-flagellating fan, Cuomo added, "Maybe the whole thing would be more impactful if we could go back in time and just release the very best stuff. Cherry-pick and release it in a very strategic way." Yet he hoped future generations would "focus on the best stuff."

Layers of Weezery Irony

Still, even with the inconsistent quality out of the way — and with the band's primary creator practically admitting the error — we're only seeing one part of why a Weezer fan might hate Weezer.

They may just do it ironically. You know — shitposting. For the lulz. Even Loudwire has participated in this practice. Weezer has become an easy target for knowing rock fans.

This far into the 21st century, hating Weezer as a Weezer fan has become par for the course. Especially when it comes to online communication, much in the same way that hating on anything has become a daily pastime for the frequently online. (Cuomo himself, ever the nerd, was an early social media adopter and meme-maker — his continued online activity likely bolsters the "extremely online" brand of Weezer internet sarcasm.)

"Yeah it seriously is just multiple layers of irony," one Redditor replied when someone asked, perhaps with no irony, why Weezer fans hate Weezer so much.

"Originally it was a joke but you eventually realize that they are bad but you can't hate [them] 'cause you [love] them," another on the thread added.

Maybe that last thought sums it up the best. Even when Weezer are bad, Weezer fans can't truly hate Weezer — because they love them, right? But they still kinda hate them, too. Get it?