Rarely does a man come along, so full of optimism and energy like that of James Burns. Mr. Burns is trying to raise 10 million dollars in order to get Weezer to call it quits. Many have talked of the mediocrity of latter day Weezer, but few have channeled that passion into a fund raiser dedicated to gaining enough to let them call it quits. Apparently he never enjoyed Weezer, and would like them to quit the abusive relationship it has with its friends, where it talks about another great new album (like best stuff since Pinkerton) only to come up with stuff like “Hurley”.
I’m a bit saddened that this guy has gotten death threats from Weezer fans. Their fans consist of those so out of the musical loop that they consider Weezer’s new material ‘good’. Reading the posts of various Weezer fans/trolls is hilarious, along with the pro-breakup crowd. Some of these are pure gold. One cites the fact that James Burns doesn’t have enough music criticism credentials to ask for such a thing, as stated by Chris Condry. Other complaints include how you will hurt Weezer’s and the fans’ feelings. Well, to that, Weezer hasn’t been very nice to its fans of late, excluding their new tour. Plus, I don’t think that actually raising $10 million will convince them to break up. Probably the only (legitimate) argument has been that $10 million can be spent on something better than spoiled brat rock stars. James countered this though, by stating in the rare event this actually raises enough money and Weezer refuse to take it, he’ll donate it to charity.
Below are some of the gems out of the posts:
“You are willingly and collectively giving 10mil dollars to this “Mr. Burns”.
“Our world is brimming with Cunts like “Anonymous” above me who lack both the sense of humor and the cognitive ability to understand and appreciate a statement (We will offer Weezer $10 million to break up) that is clearly not meant to be taken seriously. The mere fact that it has provoked his ire is, I should think; reason enough to justify this campaign’s existence.”
The fact that he’s only raised about $96 dollars kind of hurts as well. You’d think there would be enough former fans online willing to chip in a few dollars to make this a thing. Each additional album of theirs sort of adds additional chinks to their armor. Not only is Weezer a band, but they used to actually have some insight into being young and disappointed. Maybe if they channeled some of that genuine emotion, they might not get sniped at as much by various music snobs.
Weezer at least acknowledges this, with their “Memories Tour”. The Memories tour will be only material from their two acclaimed albums “The Blue Album” and “Pinkerton”. By having a nostalgia themed tour, they’ve basically admitted that “Nobody gives a hoot or a holler about our suffering from hair loss, etc.” So the tour may be a reason why there isn’t more support for James Burn’s idea. Also, Weezer has so many colors left to names its albums after.
But for creating a campaign so absolutely brilliant, bizarre and attention grabbing, you rank among the best of internet performance artists. I’m absolutely astounded as the amount of attention being paid to an otherwise completely ignored problem.Thank you James Burns from Seattle, you're an American Hero!