Battle of the Bands 09.01.09: Weezer vs. Creed

Posted by Adam Battagello on 09.01.2009

This week sees two brand spanking singles from the rock charts as Weezer takes on a newly reformed Creed.

Greetings ladies and gentlemen, that time of the week has rolled around once again, it's Battle of the Bands.

Before we get into our usual hostilities this week I'd like to make a comment on the sad piece of news that came to us from the music world this week, that being the essential disbanding of rock group Oasis. Sure, the guys' music was fine enough, but anyone with half a brain knows what really made the British lads entertaining was the bulldog attitude of the Gallagher brothers. Liam and Noel were always ready to lash out at anyone and everyone in the music business, nobody more so than each other, and for a writer such as myself whose article is centered on a theme of confrontation, and who relishes rock rivalries, well...you could imagine it went over well. So I say, so long to Oasis as we knew it, and thanks for the memories.



Now onto the face-off

This Week:

Weezer- (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To vs. Creed- Overcome




This week we have two fresh debuts from rather established groups on the billboard rock chart. First up we have California rock group Weezer whose newest album ‘Raditude' is due out in the later half of 2009. Today we'll be looking at the lead single from the album ‘(If You're Wonder If I Want You To) I Wand You To'. Oh Weezer, you and your titles are a mouthful…


What do you mean "sounded gay!?"

And in the other corner today we have the reforming Creed with their first single since 2002, ‘Overcome' from the forthcoming album ‘Full Circle'. It's not easy being one of the biggest selling and yet most despised bands of your time, but for years Creed managed to walk this fine line. Like Limp Bizkit and several other late 90's groups, the ability of Creed to split a musical audience right down the middle is something that hasn't really been seen in large numbers since. Will the newly reformed group win a few more fans over to the pro-Creed camp with this battle, or will they pale in comparison to the ‘Geek rock' of Weezer? Let the battle begin!

Weezer- (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To


For some time now, this particular track has been a song playing through the local radio station repeatedly that I was quite fond of, yet never managed to catch the name of. So imagine the pleasant surprise for this handsome writer when it inadvertently ended up as one of this week's combatants. Past tracks such as ‘Buddy Holly' and ‘Everybody Get Dangerous'-(the second of which you should never let a friend listen to while he has your life in his hands in a motor vehicle) are proof enough that Weezer are capable of producing catchy, accessible rock music.

‘I Want You To' essentially takes the catchy formula from these past songs and turns it up to the nth degree. Despite the poor quality of the video I was able to find (what can I say, they must like keeping their stuff under wraps) it's easy to tell that the track itself is driven largely by the powerful bass line.

In terms of lyrics, every single inch of this song is memorable and, despite only being on the charts for a short amount of time, this bodes well for the future success of the track. From the "I Want You To" chorus to the bridge and the "Right there next to me" lead in, there isn't really a word in this song that's forgettable for a music fan, certainly keep an eye on this song's chart performance in the weeks to come folks.

Moving On!
Creed- Overcome


Upon doing some initial research into why the band seems to have such a sour reputation I found a past quote that hit me like a semi. Apparently some time back the group's bassist Brian Marshall made the claim that singer Scott Stapp was a better songwriter than a Mr. Eddie Vedder. Oh Creed, if you're trying to get people on side, particularly me, that is really not an argument you wish to make. Let's just say, in order to pull out the win today, the group now have my own admittedly sour-ish opinion to ‘overcome'. Pun definitely intended.

For all the criticism that they do seem to catch, it is hard to deny that during the nineties Creed did manage to push out some catchy tunes. Songs such as ‘With Arms Wide Open' and ‘My Sacrifice' helped propel the band to 35 million albums sold. Frankly, you don't reach this kind of territory without a few people liking your music.

Despite verging a little more into the realm of hard rock then they have done in the past, the group's new single ‘Overcome' could really fit right into the mold of their previous singles, and while this may be a positive for certain bands, I honestly don't see it this way for Creed. During their initial run in the 90's Creed really were the biggest name in this pool of ‘vanilla rock' bands, nowadays however that isn't the case. The group is reuniting and coming back onto a music scene where they will face direct competition from the likes of your Nickelback's and your Daughtry's, the former of which is arguably bigger than Creed ever was. The way this writer sees it, if your going to bother with reforming at all, you really need to come back with something that is going to shoot you ahead of the groups who now fill your once precious spot, simply coming back with a track that is barely able to compete with them is going to get you nowhere.

There Can Only Be One!

Despite releasing what is, in all honesty, not a particularly bad track, the market in which Creed is situated is, I feel, simply over saturated these days with these ‘faux-hard rock songs' and it left me with the impression that, despite being on a lengthy hiatus, the group hasn't really returned with anything particularly new in ‘Overcome'.

Weezer on the other hand, with their single ‘I Want You To' released a track which is inescapably catchy, and I'm certain that the success we are bound to see it generate in the not too distant future more than justifies giving it the win here today.


Well ladies and gentlemen, that's how I split today's battle, what do you think? Until next week, happy battling.