May 29, 2018, Weezer, the popular rock band, released a cover of Africa by Toto in response to a 14-year-old who tweeted the lead singer Rivers Cuomo that “it’s about time you bless the rains down in Africa.” Many fans assumed this was the end of Weezer’s cover career and they would go back to creating their own content, as promised with the upcoming album Weezer (Black Album) to be released on March 1. Luckily for the fans who loved their rendition of the song, the band just released a full album of 80s covers.

The album, titled Weezer (Turquoise Album), features numerous popular songs from the 80s, and I have taken the liberty of ranking them:

10. “Paranoid” – This song is definitely the most “punk rock”, which is technically the band’s goal image, but I’m just more fond of the rest of the album’s chill pop feeling. The song is still great, but it feels out of place in the album.

9. “No Scrubs” – This song has strong sentimental value: I vividly remember my mom blasting it in the car, so it’s not that I dislike Weezer’s version, it’s just that I only have eyes (or ears) for the original. Listening to this version just feels wrong.

8. “Billie Jean” – Rivers Cuomo is not Michael Jackson. His voice, however nice it is, lacks the smoothness that all Michael Jackson fans expect from this song. The difference in vocals just makes the song sound like it was sung at Karaoke Wednesdays during flex time – not a professionally made album.

7. “Take On Me” – For this song, the issue isn’t with the vocals, it’s the music. The background music is extremely annoying. It makes the whole song feel ingenuine and like it was a joke.

6. “Happy Together” – I personally don’t like this song in the first place, but Weezer’s version is pretty ok. I’m indifferent towards it. 

5. “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” –  The roughness in Rivers Cuomo’s voice is perfect for this song, and that is what sets this recording apart from the 11 other times it has been covered.

4. “Africa” – I passed the time during several long road trips over the summer by listening to this song. It was the first song released for the album, and it definitely set a precedent of greatness.

3. “Mr. Blue Sky” – This song is super fun. I like the original better, but I love jamming to it in the car.

2. “Stand By Me” – The emotion in this song carries through to the cover. Rivers Cuomo does an excellent job with this one. My love for his version matches my adoration for the original. 

1. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” – This is honestly better than the original. No lie. I constantly quote the first line of this song, welcome to your life, and hardly anyone ever knows what I’m talking about. It’s nice to know that I didn’t imagine the song, and now it’s been revived so my friends will understand.