WEEZER (PT.1)

These photos emphasise Weezer‟s nerdy

image, with each band member dressed

uniquely in different types of clothes that

probably wouldn‟t be considered cool. Lead

singer Rivers Cuomo is clearly defined as

the front man by placing him in the

foreground of both pictures so that he

appears much bigger than the other

members. The slightly grainy look the top

picture has also plays into their style, as at

the time of the picture being taken (between

1994, the release of their debut album, and

1996, when Matt Sharp, pictured here, left

the band) they had quite a raw sound,

which they would lose on later albums.

Similarly the low lighting and dark shadows

of the bottom picture suit the mood of their

somewhat darker earlier albums. I think

these pictures work because they are

believable and honestly portray the band as

loveable losers.

WEEZER (PT.2)

Weezer‟s „new look‟ is quirky to the point of

self-parody. In a desperate attempt to adapt

to a world where garage rock just doesn‟t

sell anymore, Weezer drastically reinvented

themselves musically and stylistically,

beginning with their third album and rapidly

worsening until the release of 2009‟s

Raditude. Though not quite marketable as

pop music, The Green Album marked a

departure from the self-confessional lyrics

and raw production of Pinkerton, and

entered Weezer into a decade that would

mark their demise as a band who took

themselves seriously, and their rebirth as

cold, soulless, robotic, pop-producing

super-nerds. These pictures show a much

cleaner Weezer, who are clearly now

exaggerating their geeky-ness with

ridiculous oversized glasses, boring poses

and vacant facial expressions.

RADIOHEAD (PT.1)

Radiohead began life as an indie rock band.

As with the pictures of Weezer, I analysed

earlier, the lead singer is again in the

foreground of the two pictures so he is

clearly visible in the foreground of both

image, even though he is not in the centre

of the bottom picture. In both pictures the

lead singer has obviously bleached hair,

which fits in with the stereotype of rock

bands having dyed hair, and also makes

him look quite similar to alternative rock

icon Kurt Cobain, which, as early

Radiohead were often described as

“Nirvana-lite”, was probably a stylistic

choice made intentionally. They are all

wearing fairly mismatched clothes which

fits in with the rebellious nature of

alternative rock bands as not having a

distinct style is probably an attempt to not

allow themselves to be easily labelled.

RADIOHEAD (PT.2)

As Radiohead‟s career has so far spanned

almost 20 years, they have had to

continually reinvent themselves musically,

which has led to a change in their image

throughout their careers. After graduating

from the „alternative rock‟ genre into a

much more original and unique band with

the release of Kid A in 2000, Radiohead

have grown to be a more mature band.

These pictures show them wearing more

muted colours – black, grey, brown – that fit

in with their calmer and more respectable

music. Bleached hair and sunglasses have

been swapped for shirts, jeans, sweater

vests and blazers. Still the band are posed

in the traditional line-up formation, with the

singer Thom Yorke in the foreground of

both pictures, more so in the above picture

where he is also in the centre of the picture.