Hash Pipe

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"Hash Pipe"

Single by Weezer
from the album Weezer
Released	2001
Format	CD, Cassette, Vinyl
Recorded	2001
Length	3:07
Label	DGC Records
Writer(s)	Rivers Cuomo
Producer(s)	Ric Ocasek

"Hash Pipe" is a popular single by Weezer. It came out in 2001. This is the first single off the band's long-awaited third album, Weezer, and the only one of the SS2K The Summer Sessions songs to make it onto the album, although Dope Nose and Slob were released on Maladroit. According to an interview with Weezer front man Rivers Cuomo, "Hash Pipe" was written on the same night as the hit song "Dope Nose" off Maladroit. The story goes that Rivers took "a bunch of Ritalin and had like three shots of tequila," paced around for awhile, then wrote both songs [1]. Weezer drummer Patrick Wilson is featured on the cover of the song's CD single [2]. Since late 2001, the band has played the song live with a reworked guitar solo that no longer follows the verse melody.

1 Music video
2 Censorship
3 Lyrical confusion
4 Awards and success
5 Covers and remixes
6 External links

[edit] Music video

The video for the song was directed by Marcos Siega, the first of many Weezer videos that Siega would direct. In the video, Weezer is playing while a group of sumo wrestlers are standing in the background. Sometimes they will show two sumo wrestlers wrestling and at one point in the song, the wrestlers actually appear to play and sing. In the video, guitarist Brian Bell does a move in which he bend's backwards, taking the guitar with him, then thrusts his legs in the way he's bending. This is known among Weezer fans as "the impossible bend." photo

[edit] Censorship

Hash Pipe was banned from UK airplay due to bosses at Radio One taking a stance against the drug taking culture implied in the title (hashish). The song title is sometimes displayed as "H*** Pipe" on some channels, notably MTV; the exact reason for the inconsistency of the censored song title is unclear. Geffen Records originally didn't want "Hash Pipe" to be the lead single off the album, citing the song's lurid content (it's about a transvestite prostitute) as inappropriate. They suggested that the lead single should be "Don't Let Go."

[edit] Lyrical confusion

The Green Album is the only Weezer album to not have official band-approved lyrics available and perhaps the most disputed lyric in the album is the second line of the chorus of "Hash Pipe". Frequently claims by fans have been "I got my ass wipe", "I got my eye swipe" and "I got my ass wide". The closed captioning of the live performance of the song on Saturday Night Live said "I got my ass wide", which is commonly used as an argument for that being the correct lyric. In the Weezer - Green Album guitar tablature book, it says the lyrics are "I got my eye swipe".

[edit] Awards and success

"Hash Pipe" is one of the band's biggest hits, best remembered for its driving guitar melody, offbeat lyrical content, Cuomo's falsetto vocals and the gang backup vocals of "whoa-oh-oh." The song peaked at #2 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, #24 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #16 on Billboard's Canadian Singles Chart. The video for the song was nominated for Best Rock Video at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards as well as being nominated for High Times magazine's "Pot Song of the Year" in 2001.

[edit] Covers and remixes

Two remixes of the song were released as B-sides on official releases of the song. Chris Vrenna's "Kick Me" remix was released on the "Hash Pipe" 12" single (which was Weezer's first 12" single) and Jimmy Pop's remix of the song appears on that release as well as international releases of the "Hash Pipe" single and the international "Island in the Sun" single. The song has also been covered by Phantom Planet in concert and by Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine at one of their live shows.

[edit] External links

Lyrics for "Hash Pipe"

Weezer
Brian Bell – Rivers Cuomo – Scott Shriner – Patrick Wilson
Former members: Jason Cropper – Matt Sharp – Mikey Welsh
Discography
Albums: Weezer (The Blue Album) – Pinkerton – Weezer (The Green Album) – Maladroit – Make Believe
Extended plays and live albums: The Good Life – The Lion and the Witch – Winter Weezerland