After being hounded by a fan on Twitter for months, Weezer finally cover Toto's 'Africa'
Earlier this year, a dedicated Twitter account named @WeezerAfrica began an epic campaign to request that Weezer cover Toto’s karaoke classic ‘Africa’.
Last week, it seemed like the band had finally responded to the account, before it was evident that Weezer was just trolling the fan. They did release a cover of Toto, but not of 'Africa'.
Instead, Rivers Cuomo, the frontman, covered Toto’s ‘Roseanna’, which won the 1983 Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
Even Toto guitarist Steve Lukather tweeted his approval of the cover, saying, “Very flattered and thanks Weezer.”
He went on, “We recorded this -2nd take NO rehearsal in 1981. Not that anyone cares.. hahaha... Hope we meet someday. Unless you hate us. hahaha.”
The Twitter account responsible for all the hullabaloo, @WeezerCoverAfrica, as Noisey points out, belongs to a teenage girl from Cleveland who goes by the name of Mary.
For months, Mary tried different stunts and tactics, while she called on the band to cover the classic 80s anthem, to no avail, although drummer Patrick Wilson responded with "I laughed" to one tweet.
But now, much to Mary and her 2800 odd followers' delight, in a strange case of life imitating meme, the LA-based alt-rockers have finally given in and "blessed the rains of Africa."
The band’s unique take on the track was posted on YouTube earlier today, and it’s largely faithful to the spirit of the original. They even nodded to Mary's fan account that started this all by including a screenshot in the video post. Check out the cover below.
Meanwhile, Mary, who finally got what she'd been pining for, penned a deeply thankful, but confused post on Twitter.