Is Toto’s “Africa” the greatest song of all time? It could very well be – I don’t know that you’ll get much of a debate about that from me. But, it’s also why I always cringe at least a little bit when I hear a band attempt to cover it. It’s basically the musical version of hallowed ground. You just don’t mess around. So, forgive me if I was at least a little skeptical when I heard the news this morning that Weezer covered the song.
But, little did I realize that there was an entire movement behind making this cover happen. It’s really been a six-month journey, with plenty of twists, turns, and adventures. Really, its reads like Tolkien.
The rains down in Africa have been blessed, along with a Twitter user who “jokingly” told alternative rock band Weezer to record a cover of the 1982 song “Africa” by Toto. The user, a 14-year-old girl named Mary from the Cleveland area, started her campaign in December 2017.
Even the teen herself admitted, “#WeezerCoverAfrica has become something much bigger than me and this small account I first created as a joke.” Soon, she started counting as her Twitter page gathered 500, 700, more than 1,000 fans.
The teen was encouraged by the internet’s show of support, and Cuomo even started liking some related posts. But as the weeks ticked by, it seemed like the movement would all be in vain. Until the unthinkable happened last Thursday, and a new song was released by Weezer.
It was a cover of “Rosanna,” by Toto.
After months of asking for, nay, demanding a Weezer cover of “Africa,” we all somehow found ourselves with a highly produced cover of the WRONG song by Toto. This had to be a joke, right?
Even the Ohio teenager was puzzled.
As it turns out, the answer was yes, that was the case. Always ones to have some fun with the internet, Weezer seemingly released the “Rosanna” cover solely to poke fun at the entire #WeezerCoverAfrica online campaign. As radio station CFOX in Vancouver said, “The troll becomes the trolled.”
While the gag was cute, the band behind hits like “Buddy Holly” and “Beverly Hills” still owed the internet an “Africa” cover.
The day finally came on Tuesday morning, when Weezer released their latest track. It was, indeed, a cover of the Toto song “Africa.” And the cover art used for the single was a screenshot of the teenager’s tweet — the one that started it all — set against a jungle background.
What an awesome story. From humble beginnings to championships of social media. Good for the #WeezerCoverAfrica movement. And, really – what’s a good story without some drama? Did Weezer have to go out there and cover “Rosanna” and get everyone in a tizzy? No, but doesn’t it make it all the more sweeter to have this song now?
Again, I was skeptical at first. But, thankfully, Weezer didn’t try to do too much with the song. They just rocked it. It grooves, it’s catchy – it is everything the original version was, but with a modern twist. If you need me the rest of the day, I will be listening to this on repeat.
Jam out.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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