I haven’t always loved Weezer’s music (though the blue album is brilliant), but I love the band. They’ve always had a knack for understanding their audience and providing content (music, videos, blankets – more on that later) that shows they perfectly understand their fans. Here’s a quick review:

First, the Buddy Holly video:

Directed by the brilliant Spike Jonze.

Then they tweeked the Internet meme with their video for “Pork and Beans”

But now they’ve taken it to a different level with the Weezer Snuggie:

Clever, but when you add in a copy of their latest CD it shifts from clever to shrewd. If you think the Snuggie is dumb, and a Weezer Snuggie is really dumb, then you probably aren’t going to like their music anyway. But if you’re a Weezer fan, you love this type of stuff.

Can you imagine what Weezer concerts must look like now? Thousands of people in Weezer Snuggies. Of course the true diehard fan will be sporting the exclusive Weezer Safari Snuggie. Jimmy Buffett gets a lot of credit, and rightly so, for creating a strong community around his music, Weezer are doing it as well and are guaranteeing themselves a hardcore, devoted fanbase for years to come.

While you’re at it, look at the fantastic Weezer YouTube channel, complete with behind the scenes videos and other good stuff.