fmgreen:

FMGreen - Nadine

10 years ago today we recorded this song.

“next we attempted nadine a couple more times to no avail.  finally, on the 11th full take of nadine, we nailed it.  the one break before the solo that had been screwing up every previous take came out perfect and no one made any mistakes that were worth redoing the whole song for.”

-Steve’s Yellow #5 recording log - September 3, 2001

I can’t believe it took us 11 takes to get this simple song done right, but that’s what happens when a young band enters a professional studio for the first time and tracks their songs live to ADAT. Overdubs and punch-ins become a last resort and if any one aspect of the song lacks the necessary feeling, the entire take is scrapped and you try it again.

I can tell you the exact night I first met Nadine: May 15, 2001. I was MCing a party at a local record store to celebrate the release of weezer’s green album that night. It was the first and only time I can say I’ve ever had a “love at first sight” kind of experience. I wrote this song just a few days later after we’d hung out for the first time. I’d probably listened to the green album 25 times over the course of those few days and clearly this song was inspired by the mood of that album.

All the stars seemed to be aligning for me, but unfortunately she never felt the same way. Flash forward exactly 10 years - Nadine’s wedding took place on May 14, 2011. They’re an infinitely better couple than she and I ever would have been and I offer my full congratulations to both of them.

Moral of the story: writing a song for a girl you really like rarely works out in your favor romantically, but at least sometimes you’ll still end up with a pretty good song.