I don’t know about you, but I think I like Weezer’s take on the above phrase more so than my own. In this post, I will dive into a song and as my mind typically does, pull it apart, analyze it, and attempt to explain to my audience why it means what it means to me.
“Back To The Shack” landed on the airwaves about twelve years ago, in 2014. I’ve been a casual fan of Weezer for much of their career, feeding off mostly the radio hits and such, and listening to more of the complete albums when Apple Music came about. I even saw them in concert with The Smashing Pumpkins in Dublin, Ireland back in 2024 (pretty bangin’ time I’d say). As many people have commented in the comment section of the music video for this song, it is a return to Weezer in their authentic, original form, and the Rivers Cuomo makes such known when he sings the opening verse:
“Sorry guys, I didn’t realize that I needed you so much
I thought I’d get a new audience, I forgot that disco sucks
I ended up with nobody and I started feelin’ dumb
Maybe I should play the lead guitar and Pat should play the drums”
Evidently, while I was in college and studying for my current profession, Weezer went off and did some stuff that people didn’t like. They were no longer recognizable to their core audience, to where they started in their career. And how many bands and artists have done this? (Recollects Bob Dylan’s ‘Christian’ music phase in the early 80’s) It’s not a mortal sin; it’s just not often to hear a roaring mea culpa a few years later. And as for us, the listeners, what can we unpack? Oftentimes, our lives throws us for loops. We go and try different things, try to ‘get a new audience’ so to speak. And perhaps we’re happy for a while. After all, refreshing the ordinary and trying new things can be just what we need sometimes. At what expense, however?
“Take me back, back to the shack
Back to the strat with the lightning strap
Kick in the door, more hardcore
Rockin’ out like it’s ’94
Let’s turn up the radio
Turn off those stupid singing shows
I know where we need to go
Back to the shack”
I was at a tender, precocious age back in 1994. Bill Clinton was the U.S. President, the OJ Simpson saga began, and the world was five years away from the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Many other events on the world stage were still unbeknownst to me. It was a different time; that much I can discern as I sprout more white hairs on my head. Something I can greatly appreciate as the time has passed is how special the 90s were in terms of music. My favorite band ever, R.E.M., was in peak form and would set a Guinness World Record for the-then biggest recording contract in 1996; grunge and alternative music exploded, and generation defining voices emerged, such as Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, Layne Staley, Alanis Morisette, Chris Cornell, Gwen Stefani, and many more, with some remaining with us to this day.
Oh, sweet nostalgia. Who of us cannot say that we wish we could go back to simpler times? Unlike our cringey Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite, we can’t construct a crystal empowered, crotch rattling time machine with internet bought parts (or we could, but it might hurt) and go back to the glory days. But wouldn’t it be awesome? Just turn up the radio, drown out the 21st century noise, and get back to basics—get “back to the shack,” and rock out. How great it would be to get back to our true form, to our authentic selves, and ‘kick in the doors’ of what is holding us back from being true to form.
“I finally settled down with my girl and I made up with my dad
Had to go and make a few mistakes so I could find out who I am
I’m lettin’ all of these feelings out even if it means I fail
‘Cause this is what I was meant to do and you can’t put that on sale”
Something I’ve come to value is the value of ‘mistakes.’ It’s when me make errors, either in actions or in our judgments, that’s the gist of mistakes. I’ve learned in my journey that accountability cannot be avoided—only delayed, and that mistakes were only worthwhile if something could be learned from them, so that perhaps they might not occur again. Oh but how often they recur, much to our chagrin. Perhaps we ‘need to make mistakes to find out who we are.’ We can take our identities for granted, especially after we’ve been certain of ourselves for such a time. Making mistakes is not a requisite for appreciating our identities, but it is often how it is achieved. And as Rivers sang, the feelings were released “even if it means I fail.” The reckoning had to come despite the consequences. When I make mistakes, not if, I endeavor to ‘let it out’ and acknowledge it. If I take a wrong path, I’m sorry. I messed up, and I’m owning up to it. I’m (hopefully) not going to go down that road again. But if I do, I’m owning up to it again.
“We belong in the rock world
There is so much left to do
If we die in obscurity, oh well
At least we raised some hell”
What will be on our epitaph? How will we be eulogized? Will we be eulogized, even? After we shed our mortal coil, it is beyond our will. Weezer reaffirmed their identity, as the geeky, harmonic, pop-rock metal that earned them their place as elder statesmen of rock music. Their work wasn’t done, though. My work isn’t done, either. I cannot rest on my laurels after leading a life, making mistakes, and scribing my own admissions and reflections. Life may have an ignominious or obscure ending. “Oh well.” Yeah, that’s right. “Oh well.” Who cares? Most of us will not pass into eternal memory, infamy, or grace the pages of history books. And that’s ok. But what are we doing right now? Are we living to the fullest, not merely inhaling, exhaling, slumbering and wallowing, but ‘raising some hell,’ so to speak? Are we true to ourselves? Are we going ‘back to our shack’ and being authentic? A trip back to the past isn’t required. Just a determination to get to work, to whatever is ours, and to keep enduring.
ExistentiaL ect0py 
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