Weezer’s biggest hit in a very long time is a Toto ‘Africa’ cover. Go figure.
It started on Twitter, as these things often do.
A Weezer fan named Mary (@weezerafrica) began a public campaign to persuade the altrock band to cover the 1982 Toto hit “Africa.” For months, she kept at it, tweeting at the band’s members: When would they bless the rains down in Africa?
Weezer eventually complied and were shocked when their cover hit No. 1 on iTunes. One of the internet’s few universally beloved comfort food songs, “Africa” is the gift that keeps giving: Weezer hasn’t had a hit this big in almost a decade.
The band is currently in the middle of a tour with the Pixies (they are co-headliners, though Weezer plays last). Bassist/ sometime vocalist Scott Shriner, who joined the band in 2001, got on the phone to talk about Weezer’s unlikely resurgence. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation:
Q: Would you have believed it, if someone told you a few years ago that you’re going to have your biggest hit of the decade, but the bad news is, it’s going to be Toto’s “Africa”?
A: It’s a great story how it started, with a fan reaching out, and us tweeting back. Then we released (a cover of Toto’s) “Rosanna,” that really confused everyone. I guess we were just kind of doing it for us, because it was fun, having no idea it was such a good story.
Q: She says she’s a 14-yearold girl, but lots of people on the internet say they’re 14-year-old girls. Has anyone actually confirmed that?
A: Yeah, I’ve seen her on the news. They went and interviewed her and confirmed that fact, that it’s not a 57-year-old guy.
Q: She just wanted the soothing unity of Toto’s “Africa”?
A: She had this idea, she thought it was about time, and we just said “yes.”
Q: “Africa” is all over the internet. There’s dancing dog memes. What is it about that song?
A: Obviously, it’s a world class hit song, so there’s that, and it’s just kind of globally relatable, somehow. I don’t know, it’s a massive song. Wasn’t it in Season 2 of “Stranger Things”? It started with that, and a lot of younger people became aware of it.
Q: Does this hit lead to more people coming to the shows?
A: We’ve had more walk-ups lately, people buying a lot of tickets at the door. I think having this little booster hasn’t hurt. What will it lead to? It will lead to harder drugs.
Q: Does part of you wonder if you’ll be tied to Toto’s “Africa” forever, and have to play it all the time?
A: Yeah, I think Rivers said as much: “OK, now we get to play this for the rest of our career. Ready? Go.” How can you be mad? The whole amphitheater lights up and sings along. No matter what I think about a particular song, to see everyone have such a great time, you can’t help but have fun.