Weezer - Island In The Sun

MAY 15 2001 · 12:00

Weezer - Island In The Sun (2001) Director: Marcos Siega Era: Post-Grunge / Early 2000s Alt-Rock Pop Crossover (2001) - Peak era of Weezer's Green Album cycle; MTV TRL culture, alternative rock achieving mainstream pop saturation, and the wedding-set music video as a communal warmth signifier. High curatorial value as the lesser-seen but historically significant Version 1 of one of Weezer's most culturally enduring singles. The video is a primary document of Marcos Siega's early-2000s music video aesthetic, East L.A. location production, and the internal MTV/label dynamics that shaped which videos defined an era. Its warm, grounded realism stands in direct contrast to the Spike Jonze version, making the pair an invaluable comparative artifact for music video studies. Context: Released in July 2001 as the second single from Weezer's self-titled 'Green Album,' 'Island in the Sun' arrived at the apex of the band's commercial breakthrough after a five-year hiatus. The video's Mexican wedding setting in East L.A. grounds the song's escapist warmth in a specific, multicultural community context, an unusual choice for alt-rock of the era. The song became Weezer's biggest international hit and their most-licensed track, reflecting the early-2000s appetite for melodic, emotionally uncomplicated alternative pop. The video's behind-the-scenes history, being rejected by MTV in favor of Spike Jonze's animal-centric Version 2, is itself a document of MTV's programming gatekeeping power at the height of TRL culture in 2001. Director notes: This is Version 1 ('Official Music Video') of two videos produced for 'Island in the Sun' in 2001. Confirmed directed by Marcos Siega, produced by Palomar Pictures (II), released July 2001 (United States). The concept, Weezer performing at a Mexican couple's wedding reception in East L.A. was Siega's own pitch, described by Weezer's Karl Koch as 'Marcos' Mexican Wedding plan made for a fun day in East L.A., and a really pretty video.' All four then-current band members appear, including bassist Mikey Welsh, making it one of only two Weezer music videos to feature Welsh. MTV executives disliked this version and pushed the band to film a second video, which was subsequently directed by Spike Jonze and became the more widely aired of the two. Version 1 remains the more obscure cut, though it was the version made available for download on iTunes.