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Rivers Cuomo Explains His ‘Crazy Way to Write’ Tracks on ‘Song Exploder’

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 12: Musicians Rivers Cuomo (L) and Patrick Wilson of Weezer perform onstage during 106.7 KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas 2015 at The Forum on December 12, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for CBS Radio)

Rivers Cuomo was the guest on the latest episode of the behind-the-scenes music podcast Song Exploderand the Weezer frontman walked host Hrishikesh Hirway through the writing and recording of “Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori,” off of the band’s latest self-titled album. It turns out Cuomo has an elaborate, somewhat odd writing process, involving tons of spreadsheets of accumulated title ideas and random, cast-off lyric fragments, and several private a cappella jam sessions where he makes embarrassing noises behind strictly enforced closed doors. Hear how Cuomo and the rest of the band do it in the episode below.