Song · Weezer
“The Good Life” by Weezer
From the album Pinkerton (1996)
“The Good Life” by Weezer appears on 15 radio countdowns from 8 stations between 1997 and 2023. It was first released in 1996 on the album Pinkerton. Its best result is #61 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1997. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #202 alternative song of 1997 and #1,747 alternative song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (WeezerVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"The Good Life" was the second single from Weezer's Pinkerton in 1996, and Rivers Cuomo wrote it out of real pain: after an operation to correct his leg in 1995 he was stuck in a brace so agonizing it fed straight into the lyric. The CD booklet even carries an X-ray of that brace. It's crunchy, wound-up power pop, all fuzz and nerves.
The label rushed it out hoping to rescue a stalling album, and it didn't work. The story has a late twist, though: in the 2020s the song caught fire on TikTok along with its B-side, "I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams", a duet with Rachel Haden of That Dog written for Cuomo's unfinished rock opera Songs from the Black Hole.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 61 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1997 | 91 |
| 1997 | 66 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 1997 | 99 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 936 | 107.7 The End | The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1077 |
| 2002 | 111 | The Buzz | The Buzz Top Songs of All-Time (Labor Day 2002, partial) | 144 |
| 2004 | 184 | 107.7 The End | The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) | 500 |
| 2004 | 293 | Y100 | Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) | 300 |
| 2007 | 761 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2007 | 884 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2008 | 762 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) | 2009 |
| 2009 | 779 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) | 2010 |
| 2010 | 746 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) | 2011 |
| 2011 | 684 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) | 2011 |
| 2013 | 659 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) | 2012 |
| 2014 | 620 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) | 2013 |
| 2023 | 411 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "The Good Life" by Weezer.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.